butterflysly_04
Teesta Sikdar x Hriday Banerjee
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
A woman whose life is in shambles. A man struggling to prove his worth. And the nightly metro rides which become their salvation
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
To him, she was unforgettable.
Standing on the podium, her voice schoed through the four walls of the lecture hall as she deftly explained the complicated theorems of foundational calculus. Blackboard smudged with the whites of chalk, her fingertips dusted in the same as she turns around, asking if doubts lingered in anyone's mind.
Kohl laden eyes, sharp and distant, would sweep over the exhausted yet crowded bunch. They didn't halt on him. Never did. And somewhere in the back of his mind, it nagged suspiciously - rousing questions too ridiculous to be asked aloud.
To her, he was just another face in the crowd.
One amongst the many that she passed by everyday. Unimportant and forgotten as soon as work hours were over.
Until she sees him again. Sitting four seats away from her at the station, seemingly waiting for the same metro as hers.
Vexation pinches the bridge of his nose, atop which rests a pair of specs. Checking his watch every five seconds, his feet restlessly taps on the concrete beneath. Backpack carelessly strewn on the seat beside, he would fish out his phone - clicking and swiping with a fury that she couldn't help but chuckle at it.
Instantly, he jolts up. Caught off-guard and out of his natural habitat and for the first time ever, their eye contact would last longer than a minute. His lip twitches, trying to coax a smile unto his lips but he stops as soon.
For a brief time, only silence remains between them. Then, he asks, "Are you okay, Ma'am?"
And she would chuckle again; because she isn't.