Miss Chauhan, will you love me?
Ashutosh stared at the moon once again and sighed deeply. Why does he have to do what he doesn't want to do? He never wanted to touch any other girl except Amrita in his life. Yet, here he was standing in the crossroad full of complicated situations and the decision that he has to make.
He knows his people disgust, hate humans. Once he was the same as them. But now, he knows not every human is the same. Some are the bad product of upbringings, while others are good products of the upbringings they have been blessed with.
~~
27th Feb 2022;
Since, The Raj had gotten the tender for the research and allocation of land that would be used for the construction of the branch of AIIMS [ All India Institute of Medical Sciences]. So, Ashutosh, Vivek and Yuvika were busy dealing with legal procedures with the legal team of The Raj and The Government Official.
Half of the day passed by just like that. During the half of the day, they made a list of barren, abandoned lands that could be used for construction of the Institute. Again in the evening the duo roam around on their own.
He took her to Cafe where they ordered some snacks and coffee. Yuvika could tell he had something to say, just by watching his facial expression. So, she kept glancing at him, to get the cue to stop drinking and listen to him.But even her meal came to an end. Yet, he didn't utter anything.
Once she was done, she cleaned her lips with the tissue paper and placed it down. When Ashutosh saw her finishing her meal, he finally uttered ; ' Miss Chauhan, may I ask something, which is not related to business?'
She stared at him for a moment, then gave it a thought and nodded, while saying; 'Until it's not something that I can't give an answer about. I will try my best to assist you, boss.'
' You still haven't stopped calling me as your boss.' He pin-pointed her mistake out while acknowledging what she said.
'I apologize, Mr. Pratihast. But both Miss. Rajput and Mr. Bacchas call you boss. So, it's kinda a habitual thing.' She explained with an apologetic grin.
'Alright. Just make sure to not to call me that, when you meet my family or your family.' Ashutosh alerted her, making her nod.
'You.. You wanted to ask something, Mr. Pratihast.' Yuvika couldn't help but bring out the subject to save herself from a good lecture.
' What are your views on love?' He asked, making her stare back at him with an incredulous look.
'You can choose not to answer.' He added.
'It's not about that, Boss… I mean, Mr. Pratihast. I mean, don't mind me saying that, but you are more of a workaholic type of a person which is quite a huge contrast to the person who talks about love.' She said,while bursting into a round of laughter.
'I am sorry. Please, give me some time to gather my thoughts about this. Then, I will give you an answer.' She said, while bursting into another round of laughter. Especially after watching the scowl on his face, which was funnier than her train of thoughts.
She was trying to control her laughter, to pull the stern, straight face, but it was getting difficult. She thought he might get angry, but she saw the smile forming on his lips, putting her laugh on a halt.
' You look cute while smiling freely, Miss Chauhan. You should smile more often.' He complimented, she really looked like a happy, contented kitty, who needed a pat. While she froze. Did he… did her boss just compliment her berserk laughter? Damnit! That's even more scary than the ghost in the horror stories.
'Are you alright, Miss Chauhan?' Ashutosh asked, while waving his hand in front of the frozen statue's eyes.
'Umm.. y-yes. I am.' She said with a stutter.
'Do you have to take this long to give an exact reply?' He asked, staring at her with a frown.
'Oh no. It's just that… sigh!... nevermind. About love, I don't think much about this topic. If it's love, then it's love. If it's not, then it isn't.
.
.
.
I think when you feel deeply connected with someone or something, that's love. When you feel the deep affection, deep liking towards someone or something, when you get to experience all the intense feelings such as doting, yearning, caring,fondness, warmth, tenderness,passion, romance, devotion, adoration, attachment and all.
When you feel like nothing else except that person or thing matters in this World. When you feel even a lifetime with a person as short as a moment, when you love to cherish the world and it's goodness, with the power of love. When you feel like the world is nothing but a bland sight without them, that's love.
.
.
.
Ahem, I am sorry, but I can be a real philosopher sometimes.'She replied with an embarrassed smile. Earning a smile from him too.
'That you can be. But I am sure you are not letting your philosophical side take charge while giving me this answer. You see, you are barely stating the basics here.' He couldn't help but add, making her stare at him with a confused look.
'Then, tell me what your views are on love, Boss.' She asked back, acting on her angry impulse, but she regretted it immediately.
'I-I am sorry, Boss. I didn't mean to.' She said with an apologetic face.
'Well, you should be sorry, but for calling me boss, again and again, not for putting your thoughts in front of me.
As for love; since I had never loved someone. So, I don't know what it truly is or means. But when I see the smile on my parents' faces, for me that feeling is really very special. When we meet each other, hug each other, talk with each other, laugh with each other, dine together, spend the moments together, that's the most precious time and memories for me.
When they are sad or unhappy, then I want to do whatever it takes to bring that smile back on their face. When I pull a prank on them and they get angry and scold me, but later burst out laughing remembering it, bringing smiles when reminiscing them, is precious.
For me all this is love.But still I can't share my life with them. Ain't that strange?
That's why, I wanted to know what your thoughts on love are.' Ashutosh explained, making her turn serious too.
'Mr. Pratihast, it's not necessary what our thoughts on love are. The thing is if we love something, we get to know about it, either sooner or later. Sometimes love comes with a great definition, but sometimes it comes with a sudden surprise that no definition can define it.
Some people love with conditions, making it conditional love. Some people don't, making it unconditional love. Some people can define love, some can't. Some people realize they are in love before things go out of hand, while some don't realize even when things have come to an end.
Every person has his/her own point of view on love. Neither a person is right, nor a person is wrong. It's just a perspective. As for universal love, then we humans aren't the only ones who shower creatures with love. In Fact we can't even be compared with Mother Nature and Mother Earth, when it comes to love. Yet, I don't think they would have any views on love. Because, love is in our actions, love is in our surroundings, love is everywhere if we have the right eye to see that.
As for my perspective, I believe love is the most unreasonable feeling, which can show up anytime, anywhere. You can feel infatuated towards a person you know for years, in a moment, or you can feel infatuated to a complete stranger. As I said, it's unreasonable. So, trying logic with love would be the biggest stupidity.
You might bump into someone, feel attracted towards them and then you come to one conclusion, you want to spend the rest of your life with that person. It's either him or no one else.
For some people, they might want to take some time in order to entrust themselves to someone else for the rest of their lives. But when it's love, then no other emotion exists. When we fall out of love we become full of negativity, because when we are in love, then our positive, optimistic side takes over, making us feel that this World is a wonderful place.
Falling in love isn't a big deal, but staying in love is. Because, on average, we fall in love with four people in our lifetime.So, it can be anyone. But letting that feeling last longer for a lifetime, that's where the real challenge lies.' Yuvika explained, with the air of a scholar.
Bringing a small smile on Ashutosh's afec, who nodded.
'Then, Miss Chauhan, will you fall in love with me?' Ashutosh asked, making the girl to stare at him with a bewildered 'what the fuck?' look all over her face.