At four in the afternoon Nia took an Uber to the Shopping Mall to buy candy and toys for the children at the shelter. Moreover Little Astha's birthday fell on Sunday. Astha was Hindi for hope, faith and support. Nia bought balloons, a lot of candy and walked to the toy section. She soon got busy selecting the toys.
Her eyes were on a cute Dora plush toy as she walked to where it was standing on the shelf. She thought, 'Astha will love it.' "Ahhh...", her face hit on a wall.
The wall grew hands and held her by the arms to steady her steps. She looked up at the human wall, while patting her forehead. "I'm sorr...oh." She opened her mouth and closed it like a fish out of the water. He was still holding her by her arms. Only a minute of black out, electricity returned to her body and Nia stepped back. His hands fell to his sides.
Yougal Lucas stared in amusement at the woman glaring at him, she was still patting her forehead with her palm. Her face hit on his chest where his ailing heart lay. Now there was a dull ache on that part of the chest. 'My heart is already in pain due to her hatred, now this pain. Well, it's nothing compared to the pain inside. Ahhh...she is glaring at me.'
He bore the pain on his chest like a stoic and asked her with a soft smile, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." She cursed her luck for bumping into him both literally and figuratively. "Sorry for that." She said, pointing with her chin at his chest. Her face screamed embarrassment. 'Oh god! My face hit on his chest. How could I be walking like that?" Nia rebuked herself.
"It's okay." He was still smiling and standing on her way.
'Not okay.' Her brain screamed at her. She averted the eyes from his face to stare at Dora standing nearly above his head.
He stretched out his hand and took the plush toy Dora from the shelf. Giving the toy to her Yougal asked, "You wanted this." It was more a question than a statement. He knew she ran a shelter for abandoned women and children. He came for Dora too. He let her have it, not only because he wanted to be on her good side but also because he thought that a child abandoned had more right to have it.
He picked up a Husky soft toy instead. He was happy to run into her. The dull pain on his chest where her face hit him did not matter. 'Oh...it matters actually, no...not the pain. It matters that she literally bumped into me. Her face touched me, my chest, where my heart lies.' Thoughts raced inside his head.
It seemed the stars had conspired to bring them together and a little inconvenience as the dull ache on the chest felt like a speck of dust on the shirt. As he pondered on, the ache felt sweet. Though only for a few seconds, yet her eyes, nose, those beautiful lips, her whole face was buried on his chest. He wanted to laugh, do somersault like a teen who had a chance to touch the girl he liked for the first time. It was a pity that he had to curb the wild feelings.
Instead he gave her a soft smile. Yougal felt warmth creeping in and embracing him or was it a cool breeze fanning him in a hot afternoon in early August? He did not have time to fumble for words to describe it to himself. Whatever it was, it made him comfortable and he wanted more of it.
This warmth or the cool comfort was a new feeling for Yougal Lucas and it was powerful. When he saw her turning away and walking to the checkout counter he followed her like an intoxicated person, with the husky plush toy in hand.
Nia saw him carrying the husky plush toy he had picked up. He came to buy toys for Yana. She thought. The little girl talked with her on Dr Eden's phone when she came to the hospital to see her great grandma. Nia could not ask Yougal about her. Did he want the Dora toy? She asked herself. Suddenly she turned back which made her almost bump into him again.
But Yougal Lucas caught her by the arm before she collided with him. The beautiful hazel eyes looked questioningly at her. He had thought she was going to pay for the things and leave.
"Wait." She said with the trace of a slight smile on her face. Then she walked back to the toy section. He followed her again, still in a trance.
'Did she smile at me? Am I imagining things like the love struck heroes of Hindi movie? No, she definitely had a smile on her face.' The usually impassive Yougal Lucas Sinha felt like screaming wildly in joy. He watched the woman carefully going through the rows of shelves filled with toys.
"I got it." She smiled like a small girl and looked at him triumphantly. Yougal Lucas stood staring at her beaming face like a starstruck fanboy.
"I can't reach it." Nia pointed to a toy. The man showed no reaction. He did not even look at what she was pointing to. She let out a soft sigh, then reluctantly touched his arm. He felt like electric current passing through his body. Yougal Lucas came back from his dreamland.