The french bread-part 5

He was up early before the sun rise. He had washed his teeth zillionth time until it was shining white bright. He had shaven of his lucky beard and what remained was small stubble. He had long shower.  He got dressed in one of his best attire-same that he wore when he had first laid his eyes on her. 

He rehearsed the words he was going to tell her in his mind. Yet after so much of practice, he felt really nervous.  “ What if something wrong happened? What if , she said no?” he wondered.  He took few minutes to relax and cool down. Later he walked confidently out of his so called cocoon room.

This time he boarded the bus. He didn’t want to be taken for a ride by cab or auto drivers. Luckily he was helped by some friendly locals who showed him the right bus and which stop he had to get down. He didn’t feel awkward to be only foreigner amongst the people. However he felt a bit weird about his co passengers staring at him. 

He reluctantly got down the stop. As he walked towards the street where her house was located, his heart thumped louder. He wanted to go back. His mind was scolding him that he was doing of blunder and his heart was surely going to break. He tried to not to listen to his mind. He was close to his destiny. He was going to see her after two weeks. 

He saw many people gather at the door step. They were smiling and greeting each other for new found happiness. He could feel tension rising up in his heart. What was happening at her house? As he moved closer, he saw her at last. To his dismay, he saw a guy standing close to her.  A close friend was taking a snap of them.  He felt his heart ache when he saw some stranger standing so close to his love. 

“Congrats Rashmi! I can’t believe you said yes for the marriage. “, someone shouted from behind.  His heart broke into pieces. He couldn’t believe his ears. Did he hear right! Yes it was true! She was going to be part of someone else life. He realised that he had delayed too much to tell her the truth. He had lost her.

He turned his way towards the path back home. The words were echoing in his ears- Rohini’s question on how would he react if she didn’t approve and his sister’s harsh words that his pursuit for love was insane. 

It was midnight. The streets were empty. He was  a lone ranger in this strange country.  He had been walking for hours. His mind froze after the incident. His heart replayed the memories when he was with her. He was engrossed in her memory that he didn’t notice that he was being followed.  As he increased his speed, he was stopped by wanted local culprits in front.

He couldn’t turn back as he was surrounded by them. It didn’t take minutes for them to physically assault him. They kicked him on his stomach for hours. They punched his face until it started bleeding. However he didn’t scream…worst part he didn’t feel pain. They left him unconscious and stole everything-his wallet and clothes. 

(To be continued)