Reminisces - Part Two

 "And Never The Twain Shall Meet" (With due apologies to Rudyard Kipling)

The meeting in Paris was so unbelievable and astonishing that it took him days to get over and her fragrance and embrace lingered on even longer.

He could not believe his luck.

Talk about being at the right time and the right place.

Awesome !

He had never been a ladies man, a few childhood crushes, but not the one to go chasing a girl and making an utter fool of himself.

Something about her, her inherent beauty, her passion for her music, her insatiable appetite to create stupendous hits, time after time, and not forgetting that quintessential smile, her uninhibited and unpretentious laugh, seemed to strike an emotional chord in him.

Being a music aficionado, he knew all her songs (in fact, his music collection would be incomplete without all her albums) and he could write an entire thesis on this eternal beauty, a term he had specially coined for her.

He followed only her on all social media platforms and instantly liked all her posts without seeing them first. His iPhone and his Mac contained her photographs assimilated over a period of time. 

He loved all her photo shoots, she was so captivating and photogenic that even the camera lingered on, capturing each nuance of her radiant face. 

It was clearly evident that he had placed her on a pedestal and thought the world of her without actually having met her in person. Quite ironic when he considered the fact that he had never actually been to her concerts, only heard her or watched her videos…

His close friends used to admire his silent adulation for an artist that they imagined he had utterly no hope of ever meeting, at least in this life.

It never bothered him, not in the slightest manner and accepted all their attempts to laugh at his idiosyncrasies with his wry sense of humor.

After all, he would tolerate anything for the only person who mattered the most in his life.

He loved posting his own thoughts on her on Instagram and always addressed her as,” Hey beautiful” and ended them with “love you forever” and imagined that she had read his odes to her and smiled. What a vivid imagination he seemed to possess and what a belief in his creative prowess. Fascinating and hysterical !

Good god, he thought, I am turning into a real romantic here and to what purpose?

Why on earth would someone like her even bother about someone like him?

Famous last words.

As he exited the building clutching the newspaper as if his life depended on it, he decided unequivocally that he would frame her exquisite signature, worth its weight in gold. He collided with an exceedingly pretty young woman who looked to admonish him and that changed to instant admiration but he, with an impish grin said " excusez moi, madame", assisted her in picking up her scattered bags and without a second glance moved on.

"Odd", thought the young lady, normally all men would have tried to strike a conversation.

 After all, this was Paris, the city of love and romance.

C'est la vie.

What she could not have imagined was that this man had eyes for only one woman and right at this moment he was so caught up in his own dream world that he barely noticed anything or anyone.

History has a habit of repeating itself so while he collected his thoughts and wondered about how fickle life was and what an opportunity he had lost meeting his idol and spending more time with her....

A series of events were about to unfold that would certainly leave one love-struck individual absolutely stunned and a believer in miracles…

It happened at Charles De Gaul airport, where he was waiting to board his flight to New York and felt, rather, inhaled a whip of her fragrance and thought that he was really going crazy, when she softly said: " Say what, so now my unsung hero is going to follow me everywhere?"

Starstruck, he turned and there she was, a vision of allure, looking as stunning and gorgeous as ever and that smile, wow..

For the first time in his life, he was at loss for words and realized how dumb and moronic he looked to this angel."I am sorry, what," was all he could hastily mumble in disbelief.

"Oh come now, you really expect me to believe that this is not planned but coincidental,” she innocently retorted and she could see him blushing and looking more embraced by the minute.

"Ma'am, I assure you that I, I, I , had no idea, you have to trust me, I would never do such a thing, especially to you of all the people” somehow wishing that the ground would open up and swallow him completely.

"So when you accosted me just a few hours ago and openly declared that you knew who I was, that was by chance “, actually enjoying his discomfort.

He was so caught up in the moment that he failed to notice how her eyes were mischievously twinkling and her endearing smile never left her face. She was teasing him so blatantly and enjoying herself. 

After a very long and an emotionally draining week, she needed to unwind and just let go. 

Forget the stress and anxiety over the new and totally out of the box, in fact, there was no box, event she had set her mind on, much against the advice of her manager. 

She was going to create something so ethereal and unique, but would she be able to pull it off?

That is why she decided to travel incognito and arrived at the airport hoping again that she would not be recognized.

Not realizing that just this one time the roles were about to be reversed.

So she decided she had found the perfect “subject” to enjoy herself and in turn make this self-convinced admirer of hers, the target of her attention, soon to be affection.

There was something really endearing about him, his innocence and transparency, the way he looked at her, his boyish charm and his wit had really stayed somewhere in her subconscious. 

In fact, it had been a revelation when he had spoken with such genuine admiration with no ulterior motive or as they say, no strings attached.

It was time to ease his discomfort.

“Hey”, she exclaimed, linking his arm with hers,

“I am just pulling your leg, dummy. Tell me more and stop addressing me as Ma’am, you know my name don’t you? Ever been to one of my concerts, nah, I thought so. Would like to attend one, as my crew, you know the usual. You will constantly be with me all the time, traveling, at all the hotels, after parties, backstage, interviews and what have you...

Whatever, well it would be like wherever you looked you would find…Me,… Would you like that? 

Hope we can travel together, you really know how to make a girl feel special .”

Surprisingly, he held her hand in his and said: “You never fail to amaze me and you do know how compassionate and down to earth you are, with a voice one could hear forever.”

She leaned her head on his shoulder and instinctively knew she had made the right choice. Nothing could stop her now.

Oblivious to everyone, she whispered,” Is that all? Do you really think you can fool me again?”

 This time it was he who laughed out loud, drawing envious glances from all the men.

“Where have you been all my life.... I mean if looks could kill....Would you do something for me?” he asked innocently.

“Yes of course, gladly “, she retorted.

“It would relate to you never being a judge on a World or Universe Pageant.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, because you would be declared a winner instantaneously and the rest of the participants would feel let down.”

“What rubbish, how can a judge be declared the winner, never mind. I suppose being with you anything is possible.”

Stopping and looking into her eyes intensely, he softly said “ You are a work of art, an artist par excellence. Every day, your inner elegance is revealed in all the things that you do, artistically create - magic.

 A simple look, a discerning smile that is inherently just yours and nobody can replicate that. 

Your creative brilliance is vividly captured in all your songs, your desire to scale new heights and 

your compelling voice, in any language, is enough for me to go to the end of the world with you...'

He held her hands and continued in an even softer and more romantic voice, confidently now..

“Hey, beautiful,

Remember you will always rock.

I wish you eternal happiness.

 Keep smiling always because your smile is enough to make my day. 

I will if you grant me that honor, always love you forever......"