sanyuja
New Member
I wrote this story sometime ago and finally had the nerves to post it here. Please let me know how you find it. I am expecting some good comments from you novella.
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Yet another cup of coffee- steaming hot, with a tinge of bitter coffee smell, served in a stylish red colored cup and saucer with bright yellow flowers on them. She had had numerous cups of coffee sitting right here at this table at this cafe ‘Cafe Coffee Day.’ This is where she has spent most of her lonely moments, thinking about her life, talking to herself. And this is where she met him exactly a year back.
It was a rainy afternoon. She was on her way back from work, as usual, and was sitting at her favorite table at the cafe sipping a cup of coffee. The cafe was almost full because of the people who had come in to avoid the rain. She sat there looking at the rain drops that were causing a splash in the small puddle. She couldn’t help comparing it with her own life, small drops causing ripples in her puddle of life. She was lost in her own thoughts of how she is going to handle her parents this time when they mention the topic of her marriage and that’s when she saw him.
He entered the cafe holding a blue-colored, hard-bound book over his head to protect himself from the rain. He was dressed formally in a white striped, light blue shirt and dark blue trousers. He had very unusual features which instantly attracted her towards him. He had dark, expressive eyes, a prominent jaw line, and a big nose which didn’t really suit his overall look. It was this imperfection that she found most intriguing. She observed all this from the corner of her eye, not wanting to let him know what she was doing. She looked around her and saw that there was no table free and almost wished that he sits at her table.
He looked around for a minute to spot a vacant table, failed to find one and started moving towards a table where a man sat alone. On the way, their eyes met once just for a fraction of a second and she immediately turned away afraid that he might realize what’s going on in her mind. She sat there stealing glances at him as he ordered his espresso and sipped it leisurely while reading the book he had brought with him. He did not seem to notice her staring at him. He seemed to be enjoying his black coffee. She made a mental note to try espresso next time instead of the cappuccino that she had everyday. He sat there, his head buried in his book, and she staring at him. It stopped raining and he left with his book in hand and was gone – leaving a feeling of void within her.
It was either her luck or pure coincidence- she saw him frequently at the cafe. He would sit at a table with some book or the other in his hand with his espresso and she would sit at her table with her cappuccino. She had tried espresso but could not bear the bitter taste of it and had gone back to her usual cappuccino. Sometimes he would sit so close to her table that she felt intimidated. She had met his eyes once or twice and even tried to smile but had failed. She would think about how she will approach him one day, talk to him, and befriend him. They would sit at the same table, drink coffee and chat about their lives. She would tell him about her likes and dislikes. She would tell him that she likes sushi, John Travolta, beaches and Stephen King – in that order. She would tell him how she hates cockroaches. She would sit there and dream about all this and he would leave when she was lost in her dreams. She would look up to find him gone. She would sigh and tell herself that she would talk to him the next day for sure and leave.
One day he vanished. She waited for him looking out of the window, hoping to see him with a book in his hand. When it was quite late, she grew anxious. She shuddered at the thought of not seeing him for a day. She became restless thinking about all the reasons that withheld him. She sat there until it was too dark and left with tears in her eyes.
She had spent several days like this, waiting for him at the cafe and had left with a heavy heart. She had slowly started realizing that he would never come. Though she hoped that he would come one day, she had known that she was being impractical. Finally, she had convinced herself that he would never come.
Now, she sat at the same table in the same cafe, thinking about what all had happened over the past year. Nothing actually had had happened, but her life had covered one full cycle of hope and depression. She herself didn’t know why she had been so depressed when he had vanished. She couldn’t fathom why she was so attached to him. Why was he so important to her? Why did she still hope that he would come back into her life one day? Why was she being so impractical?
She was lost in her thoughts when she realized it was raining. She looked out of the window to see the rain drops causing ripples in the puddle. She thought of her life being shaken by a man -comparable to a small rain drop- who she had never spoken to. She laughed at herself thinking how silly she was to still hope that she will meet him. She decided she would put him out of her mind and life. She decided she wouldn’t let him affect her life so much. This thought brought new confidence to her.
She got up with confidence as a transformed woman who knows what she wants. She stepped out of the cafe and looked out at the world around her- bright and lively- just how her new life will be. She thought about how she would lead her life as an independent, confident woman – who has no attachments to a man, who knows how not to let others rule her life. She smiled at the world around her and stepped out of the cafe with confident steps. She was immersed in the dreams of her new life when she saw him again walking down the street.
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Yet another cup of coffee- steaming hot, with a tinge of bitter coffee smell, served in a stylish red colored cup and saucer with bright yellow flowers on them. She had had numerous cups of coffee sitting right here at this table at this cafe ‘Cafe Coffee Day.’ This is where she has spent most of her lonely moments, thinking about her life, talking to herself. And this is where she met him exactly a year back.
It was a rainy afternoon. She was on her way back from work, as usual, and was sitting at her favorite table at the cafe sipping a cup of coffee. The cafe was almost full because of the people who had come in to avoid the rain. She sat there looking at the rain drops that were causing a splash in the small puddle. She couldn’t help comparing it with her own life, small drops causing ripples in her puddle of life. She was lost in her own thoughts of how she is going to handle her parents this time when they mention the topic of her marriage and that’s when she saw him.
He entered the cafe holding a blue-colored, hard-bound book over his head to protect himself from the rain. He was dressed formally in a white striped, light blue shirt and dark blue trousers. He had very unusual features which instantly attracted her towards him. He had dark, expressive eyes, a prominent jaw line, and a big nose which didn’t really suit his overall look. It was this imperfection that she found most intriguing. She observed all this from the corner of her eye, not wanting to let him know what she was doing. She looked around her and saw that there was no table free and almost wished that he sits at her table.
He looked around for a minute to spot a vacant table, failed to find one and started moving towards a table where a man sat alone. On the way, their eyes met once just for a fraction of a second and she immediately turned away afraid that he might realize what’s going on in her mind. She sat there stealing glances at him as he ordered his espresso and sipped it leisurely while reading the book he had brought with him. He did not seem to notice her staring at him. He seemed to be enjoying his black coffee. She made a mental note to try espresso next time instead of the cappuccino that she had everyday. He sat there, his head buried in his book, and she staring at him. It stopped raining and he left with his book in hand and was gone – leaving a feeling of void within her.
It was either her luck or pure coincidence- she saw him frequently at the cafe. He would sit at a table with some book or the other in his hand with his espresso and she would sit at her table with her cappuccino. She had tried espresso but could not bear the bitter taste of it and had gone back to her usual cappuccino. Sometimes he would sit so close to her table that she felt intimidated. She had met his eyes once or twice and even tried to smile but had failed. She would think about how she will approach him one day, talk to him, and befriend him. They would sit at the same table, drink coffee and chat about their lives. She would tell him about her likes and dislikes. She would tell him that she likes sushi, John Travolta, beaches and Stephen King – in that order. She would tell him how she hates cockroaches. She would sit there and dream about all this and he would leave when she was lost in her dreams. She would look up to find him gone. She would sigh and tell herself that she would talk to him the next day for sure and leave.
One day he vanished. She waited for him looking out of the window, hoping to see him with a book in his hand. When it was quite late, she grew anxious. She shuddered at the thought of not seeing him for a day. She became restless thinking about all the reasons that withheld him. She sat there until it was too dark and left with tears in her eyes.
She had spent several days like this, waiting for him at the cafe and had left with a heavy heart. She had slowly started realizing that he would never come. Though she hoped that he would come one day, she had known that she was being impractical. Finally, she had convinced herself that he would never come.
Now, she sat at the same table in the same cafe, thinking about what all had happened over the past year. Nothing actually had had happened, but her life had covered one full cycle of hope and depression. She herself didn’t know why she had been so depressed when he had vanished. She couldn’t fathom why she was so attached to him. Why was he so important to her? Why did she still hope that he would come back into her life one day? Why was she being so impractical?
She was lost in her thoughts when she realized it was raining. She looked out of the window to see the rain drops causing ripples in the puddle. She thought of her life being shaken by a man -comparable to a small rain drop- who she had never spoken to. She laughed at herself thinking how silly she was to still hope that she will meet him. She decided she would put him out of her mind and life. She decided she wouldn’t let him affect her life so much. This thought brought new confidence to her.
She got up with confidence as a transformed woman who knows what she wants. She stepped out of the cafe and looked out at the world around her- bright and lively- just how her new life will be. She thought about how she would lead her life as an independent, confident woman – who has no attachments to a man, who knows how not to let others rule her life. She smiled at the world around her and stepped out of the cafe with confident steps. She was immersed in the dreams of her new life when she saw him again walking down the street.
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