It was the day of college orientation program. He got up earlier than usual, dressed well above his standard style. He travelled in a local bus that took him to Ponda city. The view was mesmerizing and the cool breeze can melt down any stress in mind. The rich green fields, whose green shades ran up on the hills behind. The long and wide river, which supplied water to marshes and fisheries business, looked beautiful with the scenery.
He then realized that he will have to walk up the hill around a kilometre from last bus stop. After pandemic and a yearlong homestay without any workout he was soon drained by the time he reached college. He was soaked in sweat due to humid climate of the state. He knew few of the classmates who were his seniors during graduation.
"Hey" he greeted them with excitement, "It's truly been a year since I have seen you last".
"No doubt bro. We all are seeing each other after a years' time" said Prasi, who was small fair girl with light brown eyes that really differentiated all the part of her eyes.
"Congratulations" said Raj, who was tallest person in the college. "Oh! Why?" Shubh asked puzzled.
Raj replied "For being one of the only ten boys out of hundred and ten students." Was this a good news or the bad could only be known as time passes. He stuck up with them for that day, as for being an introvert, he couldn't be courageous enough to talk to new people. He planned that whoever his friends talked to, he would befriend them.
He looked around the class searching to find anyone who can be of interest. Unfortunately, there was hardly anyone that grabbed his attention. The day passed with teacher's introduction and instructions regarding the course and examination. He thought, "It would have been good to have online classes again" since he didn't find an inspiration to attend classes in physical mode.
Few days passed by in similar monotonous manner. He would wake up, go to college, have a nice time with friends, and come back home and sleep. He did make friends with many and also the teachers were very fun. They cracked up jokes in class, have fun with student but Shubh just couldn't gather up the interest to attend the college. It was a normal day and all were attending a class. Teacher caught someone using mobile and pointed it out. Shubh had just turned his head to look at fun, when he met a gaze of a beautiful pair of eyes. The moment was so swift he wished for another glance and looked in that way. Those were the most beautiful pair of eyes he had ever seen. When she smiled they shrunk until only her black iris were visible. She had a small birth marks on her right lower eyelid. He could not see her full face due to the mask. But the eyes did seem familiar to him. He remembered her from somewhere. Must have been from his previous college. He wanted to observe her more but just couldn't gather up courage to look at her. Sometimes with a chance when he would look behind, he tried to catch a glimpse of her and observed dark, straight and fluffy hair. He thought," if only the eyes can make me so uneasy and attract towards them, then I don't even need to see her face". He felt a strong feeling in his heart that he had never experienced before.
He was so engrossed in his thought about her that he forgot it was the last class for the day. When the time was up and everyone was leaving, he tried to find her in the rush, but failed at the attempt. He cursed his luck really hard, even though he never believed in God and luck. He wondered, "where in the world was she till today?". He wanted to know more about her, but he hardly knew her and her friends. Disheartened and excited at the same time, he went home and wished to go to college the next day as soon as possible.
He planned to find her name from his friends without giving them any hints about his attraction. "How difficult will it be just to ask the name of a person?" he asked himself. As soon as he reached college, he looked out for any opportunity to ask her name. It was a lot difficult than he had anticipated. He could not spot her anywhere and didn't know how to ask about her for he had known nothing about her. He was about to lose hope that day when the opportunity he was seeking came as a short film.
In few months' time, the state election for assembly were to be held in different states of India, including Goa. Thus, government had announced many competitions to raise awareness about voting rights of the citizens. One of the competition was the Short film. Announcements of participation were made two week earlier. Shubh wished to participate but chose not to because of his ambivertness.
Sir, the director of the short film, premiered the film in the class. And the lead actress was none other than the girl he wanted to know about. He couldn't take his eyes off the screen. She seemed to him the prettiest face he has ever seen. Her eyes would sparkle when she smiled and black hair with brown streaks were perfect. When she laughed her upper lip turned slightly towards left, displaying her perfect straight white teeth, and nose drew up some lines. It was the smile, he always wanted to see, that would make him smile too. Her nose was just perfect and all the features complimented each other. But something in the film scared him from inside out. The lead actor was his friend Raj. He happens to propose her in the scene. However, she rejects him directly with a scold. This scene just shook Shubh, for he didn't want to repeat the same scene in real.
When the film ended, sir called upon all the names of the crew members. Shubh waited impatiently that sir might call them as well. But that never happened. Later, all the boys gathered around Raj for having a fun time, also to ask the condition of his broken heart on-screen.
"Come on man" said Dras, tall dark boy with a good comic timing, "you got rejected by a girl. Don't be sad now".
All gave the same sense of sympathy sarcastically "Yeah man, cheer up". Raj too joined this whole teasing moment sportingly and gave his brave heart acting, "don't worry boys. God has saved someone special for me". Shubh saw the perfect situation to know the name. He asked, "Bro, at least tell us the name of that girl you proposed". He felt so smart at that moment and thought, all the novels he read paid off today. Raj answered his question and the name just rung in Shubh's ear for a long time. "Laxmi". That was her name. It's the name of Goddess of Wealth and prosperity in Hinduism. He felt he has just won a big gift.