Anvesha:

"Papa, why do you have to go to work today? I felt like discussing this week with you..." I said.

"Shona, even I wanted to discuss few things with you, but, it's urgent. I shall remain there till evening, so don't wait for me during lunch."

I sighed and nodded to my father. I went in the kitchen and packed his dabba. After handing it to him, he left. I went for a quick bath and then decided to do some studying.

Today is Sunday. The past week has been nothing but hectic. College is proving to be more difficult than I thought. I even had an argument with a man who calls himself a "teacher", but in reality is a shame to them, I mean, that man was saying all stereotypical things about women and I had to shut him.

I managed to gain myself a few friends too, all women, as it was an all-women college.

You must be wondering if I ran into those three British men, no...after that encounter with Alexander-Alex, whichever his name was, I didn't bump into him or his friends and I'm grateful to God for that.

***

After two hours of a study session, I felt bored. There was nothing to do at home, so I decided to go outside and buy some grocery.

I changed into a red silk sari, which had golden embroidery at the edges. I tied my hair into a simple loose braid and then applied surma. After that I was ready to leave.

As I walked in the busy streets of Calcutta, I was reminded of the richness of my nation. All types of spices, clothing...etcetera were displayed at the shops. I bought everything I thought was finished or was close to finishing at home.

I was busy buying vegetables when I caught a glimpse of a blonde head.

No!

I paid the vegetable seller and hurried off to a different direction, but I was too late because soon I heard, "Hey!"

I stopped dead in my track and closed my eyes. Not this again. This day reminds me exactly of the day I slapped him.

After taking a deep breath, I turned around.

I was met with the sight of a smiling British man. I recognized him immediately, the silent friend of Alexander. His icy blonde hair were parted from the left side of his scalp and was neatly swept off his face. His blue eyes sparkled with a look I couldn't comprehend. His lips were curved into a wide smile.

Why did he want to talk to me?

I didn't answer him, instead I turned around and was about to leave when he said, "Miss, please wait."I couldn't help but notice that he almost sounded desperate.

My mouth fell open and I wasn't able to hide the look of surprise from my face when he came and stood in front of me. He just referred to me as "Miss", which is considered as a type of respect. A British man just referred to an Indian woman with this much respect, am I making some kind of history here?

Even though he seemed to respect me, he was still the friend of the person I hated. "You shouldn't be here. This is the part of town where Indians are, your part of town is on the other side."

His face fell. "I was trying to find you, that's why I came here."

Trying to find you...what?

"I-I...can I help you?" I managed to let out.

"Please, come with me. I wanted to talk to you." He said to me, while dragging his hand in an 'after you' gesture.

I stared at him. Something about him gave away that he genuinely wanted to talk to me, instead of insulting me like some people. He seemed to be a polite man, with high moral values.

I nodded to him and began walking, with him close behind me.

When I looked around, I realized that people were giving us curious gazes and some stared at us open-mouthed. I decided to ignore them and continued walking.

I didn't know where he wanted us to go, so I just went to the way to King's.

"You really seem to love this place." He said once we reached there.

"It's my childhood getaway", I said to him, offering him a light smile. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

He remained silent for some time, his eyes unfocused as if he was in deep thoughts. "I wanted to say sorry for my friend's behaviour. I hope he hasn't hurt your feeling...", he trailed off.

For the umpteenth time my mouth fell open. Nothing could wipe away the look of surprise which crossed my face. The genuinty of his words was something which caught me off-guard. I was at loss of words. What am I supposed to say to this? No words could describe the overwhelming feeling I felt.

"I know you think I'm doing this on his behalf and that this is a game of some type, but it's not true. If you don't trust me--"

"It's okay." I cut him off. His eyes widened. His mouth opened and closed, like he wanted to say something. "I-are you sure?"

I offered him a sincere smile and nodded. "I'm sure"

A wide smile spread on his face and then he brought his hand forward. "Hello, I'm Matthew Hemmings."

I looked at his hand and then at him. I didn't know if I should just act all friendly with him. I was about to flick his hand away when I was reminded that this was the same friend who smiled at meon our first encounter, the same friend who watched me with an open mouth and the very same friend who shot me a thumbs up sign when I was stuttering in front of Alexander...the day I had apologized to him.

He had been nothing but polite, soI brought my own hand forward and shook his, "It's a pleasure to meet you Matthew. I'm Anvesha."

I dropped his hand and then sat down under the tree. He looked confused, like he was deciding to sit or not, but then he shook his head and sat beside me. I raised my eyebrows at him, but he just gave me a goofy smile.

I didn't feel uncomfortable sitting beside him, like the time Alexander was here.

Matthew seems to be a polite and well-mannered man, unlike his friend. The way he offered a smile after I said something, the way he explained everything without getting annoyed...these actions seemed to justify this statement.

After talking about random things, we drifted into a comfortable silence. Matthew liked to go on walks and loved the Mother Nature, just like me. He is just my age.

I looked off at distance. It was almost evening. The sun was just above the horizon, causing a hue of pinks, purples and blues to form in the sky.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" He said. I glanced towards him and saw that he was staring at the sunset just like me. I stared at his side profile; he was indeed very handsome...not like Alexander, but handsome in his own way.

Why am I continuously comparing Matthew to that ill-mannered Englishman?

I looked at the sunset which was now just perfect. "It is"

And then suddenly, my father's words came rushing back to me. "I shall remain there till evening...". He must be coming back by now! I got up quickly and dusted my sari. I looked at Matthew who was now standing himself. He looked confused.

"Oh...I shall leave now, it's getting late." I told him.

A look of realization and...relief, crossed his features. "Oh, I forgot, sorry. Yes, I must leave too."

I offered him a smile and said, "Have a good day!"

He returned the smile. "You too"

I waved at him and started walking. As I recalled my conversation with him, a smile made its way on my face. It was fun having to meet a person who didn't judge you and didn't talk to you like you were some kind of "filthy creature". I've talked to two British men in my whole life, and both were total opposites. One was sweet, polite and well mannered, while the other was rude, arrogant and highly judgmental.

All British men weren't the same after all.

***

I was halfway home, when I heard a deep, breathless voice say, "Miss, wait!"

I turned around and saw Matthew, breathing heavily. His hands were on his knees, as if he had been running. My eyed widened, "What happened? Is everything alright?"

"I...wanted to...ask you something." He said in between breaths.

"Okay..." I urged for him to continue as I walked towards him.

Finally when his breathing came back to normal, he said, "Are we friends?"

The question was supposed to get me off guard, but the serious look on Matthew's face and the way his hair were now totally disheveled made this situation sort of funny. Laughter made its way through my throat before I could stop it. Matthew was puzzled at first, but upon realizing, even he began to laugh.

Matthew was a really nice person. He didn't fake things and seemed to understand me. The society and my father would take time to accept the fact that I was friends with a British man, some would even be highly against it, but at that moment I didn't even think twice before saying, "Yes, we're friends."

Maybe I won't tell anyone at all...

...

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