Rima Parkar

Romance

5.0  

Rima Parkar

Romance

New life, New beginnings

New life, New beginnings

8 mins
12.1K


Vivian rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn while listening to the irate customer yelling on his call. He had been listening to the customer’s rants for around 15 minutes and was on the verge of losing his patience. But he remained calm as it was it his duty to do so and he was being paid well. Working in a call center since the last two years had made him more co-operative and understanding of other people’s needs. After the customer stopped complaining, Vivian made sure he pacified the customer and gave him an apt solution. Once the customer was convinced, he finally let him Scot-free. He disconnected the call and finally heaved a sigh of relief after 25 minutes. As he removed his headset, he heard his boss yelling from the far end of the room, “ Control your AHT, Vivian.”

His friends laughed at him as he made a funny face. A happy-go-lucky guy, Vivian believed in spreading happiness with his funny yet weird antics. His jokes; to some were amusing, and to some; cringe worthy. After a tiresome call, he interrupted his friends in their banter.

“ What were you guys laughing about? That too, without me.”

“ Nothing much.” Prerna replied back. “ We were just discussing about the new batch that is taking training and joining us from next week. Look, here they come.”

Prerna and the others stared at the group of around 20 young boys and girls as if they were a bunch of celebrities who were walking on the red carpet. Vivian also followed suit and started staring at the group till his eyes lost focus and rested on the most beautiful pair of eyes he had ever seen. Her eyes were neither too big; nor too small. Just the perfect size. He thought to himself. He observed that she had a fairly sharp nose and perfect lips. She was neither too fair nor was she too dark. Standing tall at 5.8 inches, she was a bit on the healthier side but Vivian wasn’t bothered a single bit. Their eyes met for a second or two, but she quickly took them back and engaged herself in a conversation with the girl next to her. As the group left the room, Vivian felt that the girl he had just seen, was a match made in heaven by God for his 5.11 inches, athletic frame. After a stressed day at work, the day was about to end on a good note for him.

From the next day onward itself, he tried to acquire information about the new batch from his seniors and colleagues. He even tried to make friends with some of the boys and girls in that group. Even though Vivian was smart and a good observer, he was unsuccessful in getting any information about the beautiful girl who had taken his breath away. The only valid information he could find out was her name- Raina Sharma and nothing else. No one actually knew about her as she rarely spoke to anyone. And even if she did talk to someone, it would only be if it was actually necessary. It seemed to him that the girl had locked herself up in a casket and had hidden the key. She didn’t want anyone to find her or locate her.

 Raina would mostly be with her batch mates. So when the new batch started taking calls, he made sure that he was around her group or at least, somewhere nearby. He would try to start a conversation with one or two of her friends and maybe crack a few jokes here and there. While the others laughed their hearts out, Raina did not even smile. And even if she did, it was hardly noticeable. The only successful feat Vivian had accomplished was managing to get the girl’s attention. He noticed her observing him. It didn’t indicate much though. Her expressions were blank like a piece of paper. As the days grew by, Vivian started getting more and more frustrated. His love story hadn’t progressed much since the time of its inception. No conversation, no smiles and no hi’s or bye’s. No matter how hard he tried, the girl behaved as if he just didn’t exist. She would lock eyes with him for a second or two, as if she was trying to interrogate him with her eyes.

Not the one who would easily give up, Vivian went a step further one day and started flirting with one of her friends to observe her reaction. Raina stared at both of them for a minute, then turned back and focused on her computer screen. This reaction of hers made him all the more irritated. He felt like he was fighting a losing battle and decided to give up as Raina just didn’t seem interested in him or even his friendship. Even though he had mentally given up, his heart had not. He still continued being around her, from a distance.

A few days later, God finally answered Vivian’s prayers. The supervisors were busy in an important meeting and all the executives were busy taking calls. Always a latecomer, Vivian unexpectedly arrived 20 minutes early that day. He sat in Raina’s opposite direction and observed her biting her nails while taking her call. She seemed tense. A few seconds later, she put the customer on hold and frantically searched around the floor to find someone who could help her. But as the others were busy on their own calls, she had no option left apart from asking Vivian. Vivian, on realizing that she was coming towards him, pretended to be busy eyeing his computer screen.

“ Excuse me.” A soft voice spoke behind him. He waited for a second till he turned around and tried to look as stern as possible. “What is your name?”

Vivian rolled his eyes in disgust but replied back. “ The name’s Vivian.” As if she doesn’t know, he thought to himself.

“ Hi! My name is Raina. I actually have a query.” She spoke in a chastised manner, as if someone was demanding her kidneys at gunpoint, which confused Vivian. She seemed to be on the verge of crying. It broke his heart to see her so vulnerable and he changed his mood immediately.

“ Yes, Raina. Tell me.” He spoke firmly, to assure her that he was willing to help. She smiled weakly and started explaining the customer’s query. Vivian analyzed every move of hers, the way her eyes blinked and the way she pursed her lips; while keeping his ears open. He gave her a complete solution and also gave her tips on handling irate customers’ calls in future. She thanked him profusely and ran towards her computer screen to pacify the customer. He looked right through her as she continued her call and she showed him a thumbs-up once the call was over. Vivian felt as if he was in seventh heaven. After all, an eternity had passed for the great wall of silence to be broken between him and Raina.

The next day, he mustered up some courage and sat next to her. Even though she was on a call, she smiled at him and he smiled back at her. Raina hardly spoke about herself the entire day but thanks to the customers, Vivian got a chance to interact with her many times. That was all he wanted for now. Vivian made sure that he didn’t sit next to her everyday but he would always be around her to offer his help. Like a guiding angel. He didn’t want her to think that he was too desperate for her attention and make her run away from him. Day by day, he discovered new aspects of Raina’s personality.

An introvert, Raina was a humble and down-to-earth person. She was fun-loving, even though she pretended she wasn’t. It took her awhile till she got used to Vivian’s random jokes on work and life. Slowly, but steadily, she opened up to him once she started trusting him. They became good friends. Vivian realized that Raina was witty and challenged him to bring out his best behavior. He could never guess where the conversation would head to, once she started speaking. He was amazed with the fact that she could read him like an open book without him having to try. He would do all the talking and she would do all the listening. In the beginning, Raina hated Vivian’s weird sense of humor. But she loved to explore his thoughts and would, more than often, turn his jokes on himself. She made sure that she kept the mystery in their relationship intact. But even her insults didn’t stop him from persuading her and winning her heart.

 Both of them were poles apart. While one was loud and over-the-top, the other one was calm and serene. But they realized that they had a strange connection between them that was impossible to resist. Both of them were crazy about each other even though they chose not to speak about it. One thing Vivian had realized by now, was that Raina was different and he had to be patient with her.

She was as gentle as a rose and he didn’t want to push her away. He wanted to hold onto her for life and treasure every precious little moment that he spent with her. Two years later, they decided to take their relationship to the next level when both of them realized that they couldn’t live without each other any longer. With love and dedication, they began writing a new chapter in their lives. A chapter, not meant to be finished. 


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