Abinav had been single since his childhood.
Not because he hates girls. But because he hates girly-ness.
This dates back to his high school. even before he was nicknamed, Abi-Naive.
His high school darling (almost), Sana. Sana was short, dusky, chubby, and much more physically. But none of that was the reason for being Abinav's darling.
She was witty and intellectually challenging. They both could get to the depth of any topic. Even the simple ones. And that is what seems attractive to Abinav.
Until one day...
"Abin, I am hungry"
"Eat"
"I know that. I was asking, shall we go out to eat?" Her eye rolled.
"No, you were not asking that. But anyways, Okay. Where do you want to eat?"
"It is your wish. But get me somewhere quickly"
"Okay. We'll go and have a North Indian chat"
"No. Too spicy"
"Then, we'll go to the South Indian"
"Nah. Heavy"
Abinav detached his attention from his monitor and redirected it towards Sana. "Where do you want to go then?"
"Your wish, Abin"
That is when Abinav lost his interest in girls. For he knew finding one with lesser girly-ness was possible but the odds are not in his favor. girly-ness was too complex for him to understand, He admitted his limitation to himself.
Years rolled by. He completed his research degree and went in for employment. Once in a while, he thinks of girls but suddenly remembers the complimentary girly-ness that accompanies and he rejects his thoughts. And other times, he is just too busy.
Abinav loves to work late hours. It is already past 10 PM. He was returning from work on his routine train. The train was almost empty.
He prefers the train as his mode of transport. Not because it is cheap or traffic free but because of its orderliness and routine-ness. Something about the Railway System brings him peace.
He noticed a person, sitting alone in a window seat, wearing a T-shirt. There was something written on the T-shirt.
Abinav cannot help himself from looking at the t-shirt. He cannot leave the scene without knowing what is written in that. It is just his thing. He cannot go by without reading when he sees something written. After some meticulous struggle and awkward looks from the person, he read the T-shirt. He chuckled to himself. It was something funny.
This became routine. Seeing that person by the window side with a t-shirt is now the new normal. There was always something written on the T-shirt. He always made sure that he reads it.
But that did not go well with that person. Of course, it is not an obvious thing for a girl to understand. For her, Abinav was a creepy guy on a late-night train who just would not stop ogling. She tried changing her place on the train but couldn't escape Abinav. Not his glance which was always curious. Little did she know that it was the text on the t-shirt that interested him. One day, it became too much for her to take this anymore. She walked to Abinav.
"What is the matter? Haven't you seen a girl before?"
"I have. Why would you ask?"
His face was straight and that was surprising for her. For her, the expectation was guilt, a sprinkle of guilt, at the least.
"Why do I ask?? Why are you staring at me then for the past couple of weeks?"
"No, that is not correct. I am not looking at you."
"What? Then what is it that you are looking at?"
"The text in the t-shirt. I just love reading"
"Don't be lame, you ** "
"No really. I cannot stop myself from reading."
"Oh yeah? If it is what you are looking at, tell me what is written on my t-shirt right now." She hid the text with her bag, attempting to prevent him from reading now.
It was not tough for Abinav. In fact, it was not tough for him to recite the wordings on every t-shirt of hers that he has read ever since, thanks to his "eidetic" memory.
Surprise and Laughter were her response. But somehow she did not feel like apologizing. And back to her window seat, she went.
From that day onwards, every day, their eyes caught each other and at times, few words were exchanged.