ALWAYS - AN UNCONVENTIONAL LOVE STORY

As she stood amongst a crowd of students her age, she felt lost in the chatter. Nervously she touched the right strap of her college bag. Nothing she wanted more than to run away, but she had enlisted to attend the festival along with a few of her batch mates, people who she didn't relate to and here she was. 

Three of her batch mates approached her. She smiled. Yes. No. They talked in monosyllables. Then they left her standing alone in the middle of the crowded registration hall.

She looked around in the crowd, a stranger was staring at her. She looked at him from top to bottom. He was smartly dressed with a camera in his hand.

Why is he staring at me like that? I will punch his face if he takes my pic. she looked away. A minute later he had disappeared.

There were going to be speeches by authors, actors, directors and the likes, music, dancing and what nots spread across three days and she had already marked the events she wanted to attend. In between she would catch up on that book she was reading. Now all she needed was a quiet corner where she could read Shakespeare. Outside the main hall, at the entrance.

It was the first day and she had already attended two events and the third one was after an hour. So she quickly grabbed a bite and sat to read her ebook. Midway she heard someone ask, "Can I?"

She said, "Yes," without looking up.

Next she heard a shutter sound and realised someone had clicked her pic.

"Hey! You can't take my picture without my permission," she protested angrily.

It was the same formal guy.

"I asked you and you said yes," he replied back holding his camera.

"I thought you were asking permission to sit".

"Well, you shouldn't be so preoccupied like that".

"Fine. But can you delete my image?"

"Give me one reason why," he said smiling

"For obvious reasons dude".

"Some girls beg me to take their images".

"I am not 'Some'".

"Then who are you?"

"Sameera," she said putting her hand forward.

"Dev," he said shaking hands with her.

Time went by fast as both of them started chatting, sitting next to each other. He was a student like her, but instead of writing, which was her specialty, his was photography. He was just leaving the festival when he had spotted her, sitting quietly in the corner, reading. Serene. Unlike the image she was in the morning when he had first spotted her. Then she left him to attend the last event, while he left for home.  

The next day her eyes searched for him, but he was nowhere to be found. After lunch, she found her self standing near the entrance and looking at her batch mates talking just outside the entrance.

"Sameera, come here. Shailaja is telling us how she met her boyfriend. Don't stand there alone, come here," shouted one of them.

Gossip! Breathe Sam, Breathe.

She slowly walked towards the group and stood there listening to one of the girls describing about her first encounter with her guy, while the remaining asked her questions occasionally.

Sameera wasn't paying attention. The feeling of running away came back to her. Short talk and gossip felt frivolous to the introvert. She looked around and saw a known face and ran towards him.

"I thought you said you were not going to come," she told him.

"I said I wasn't sure," said Dev.

"So what brought you back?" she asked.

"I met someone back here yesterday and was hoping she would allow me to click her image."

"I thought you already took one of her's".

"I deleted that".

"Why?"

"Because she hadn't given me permission for it".

"And what makes you think she will give you permission now?"

"I saw her standing miserably next to that group and then running towards me, happily. As if I had just rescued her".

She laughed loudly. Then catching his arm, she recited,
"In this stupid chaos,
my ears seek silence.
When this world gossips,
I search  the truth.
I am lost and yet
you have found me.
And now you want to
capture my essence?
But I ask thee,
my dear sir,
will you be able to do justice
to me?"

He leaned towards her and softly whispered in her ears, "Always".

P.S: It's been a year since #BNLF and this one has been inspired by the event that introduced me to wonderful friends. #Missing you guys.