When She walked into my Dream

I never imagined that something like this would ever happen to me. But as we often hear in Bengali, “Whatever happens is for good!” And because of that, I ended up making a profit out of what could have been a loss—oh, sorry, sorry, I skipped the introduction part, didn’t I?

Hi! I’m Agni. “Agni naam sunke fire samjhe kya? Fire nahi flower hai main!” My name is the complete opposite of what I am. I’m a typical introvert, just like how major love stories unfold… I don’t dare to get into any argument or drama with anyone, nor can I even talk about such things to anyone. I’m writing the whole story instead of narrating it, to tell you about my transformation and her transfer in my life.

I was sitting in the airport lounge, and my flight was delayed by 2 hours and 34 minutes. You know how “Bengali timing at 6 can sometimes mean 9!” Anyway, I was on my way to visit my friend Sayan’s place, just for a little getaway. It had been ages since we’d last met, so I was looking forward to it.

Usually, friends can be a bit mischievous, but today this one turned out to be lucky for me. Thanks to him, Disha entered my life. “Who’s Disha, you ask?” Ah, hold on, be patient! Just keep reading till the end. Our—no, no, My (okay, maybe just a little possessively my)—Dream Girl is about to make her entrance very soon. 

Early in the morning, I dragged myself out of bed, barely awake, and made it to the airport—only to find out my flight was already delayed. Who knew it’d get even worse? Want a spoiler? The flight’s about to be delayed even longer! Hehe Okay, okay, no more spoilers!

I hadn’t prepared for what I’d do if the flight got delayed. So, I sat down, plugged in my earphones, and grabbed my bag. Closing my eyes, I started listening to music—“Ke Mahi Tainnu Khabar Nahi!” I had my face buried in the bag, completely lost in the music, when I realized at some point that my eyes had closed without me even noticing.

I realized it when I heard that sweet, melodious voice, like a cuckoo’s call, softly speaking those words into my ears.

I felt like I was seeing everything in slow motion as I looked up from my bag, and there she was, standing before me—her voice so sweet and soothing. She seemed to be in some kind of distress, asking for help. Her phone had died, and she desperately needed to make an urgent call.

I couldn’t believe my eyes as I took in her appearance. Was this real? She was absolutely stunning. With her brown eyes framed by black glasses, her hair styled softly, and a hint of pinkish lipstick on her lips, she had this effortless charm. Her cheeks had a warm, rosy glow, and her skin was like the finest porcelain, almost glowing. 

She was wearing a lavender oversized t-shirt paired with black cargo jeans and a pair of white sneakers. The entire look was casual yet stylish, and she carried herself with such grace. It felt like a dream—one I didn’t want to wake up from.

I was half asleep when the woman sitting next to me suddenly spoke, “No, no, I can’t do anything. Can’t you bring it from home?“

“Who says something like this?” I thought I was dreaming of such a beautiful girl. Where did this voice come from?

I lifted my head to see the crow when I saw – a peacock? I mean, a peahen, no wait—it’s the same girl I saw earlier when I was half asleep. What’s going on? Was I dreaming, or did I see her? WTH, man! I rubbed my eyes and checked everything, just to make sure it was real. But who knows what happened?

The girl looked at me and, with a pleading expression, said, “Please, can I take your phone? I need to make a call, just one call, it’s urgent!” I was completely stunned. Even though I wanted to help, I had just told myself to be cautious in the introduction… Anyway, without thinking much, I handed her my phone. I didn’t realize that it was still connected to the earphones. She dialed a number, but I could still hear the ringing through my earphones. So I handed her an earbud.

“Oh! Thanks!” she said, letting out a sigh of relief.

I didn’t realize that another earbud was ringing in my ear. Even though I didn’t want to, I could hear it—on the other side, a girl had picked up the phone again.

“Hello?” – A girl’s voice came from the other side.

“Yes, hello, it’s me, Shreya listen my phone is out of charge, it’s dead, I’m using someone else’s phone to do the call.” – the girl sitting next to me said.

I thought the girl’s name was ‘Shreya‘, but that must be the name of a girl from that area. If her name is not Shreya then is this angel’s name Apsara? ‘Hehe (blushing) The girl is speaking in Bengali, wow, Bengali!’ (I am overexcited).

While thinking all this, I didn’t realize that their conversation had ended. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t hear anything after that. Anyway, the girl indicated the seat next to mine and expressed her desire to sit, saying, “May I?”

“Sure!” – I said.

“Thank you so much; oh sorry, I totally forgot to introduce myself.” She extended her hand as if for a handshake and said, “Hi! I’m Disha, and you?”

After ‘Disha?’ what follows? Is it “Patani”? I don’t know(PataNahi), maybe!

“Agni” – I said, shaking hands.

“Maine chaha tujhe meri khata nahi, Meri khata hain ki tujhe pata nahi…” I was listening to the song through my earphones, and when the call ended it started playing again, I looked up just as we were shaking hands.

I was about to stop the song, feeling embarrassed, but Disha said, “Don’t stop! Such a nice song! Let it play!                                                                                                                                                           So, where are you from? Do you speak Hindi?”

“I can speak, but I am Bengali” I said.

“Oh! Yes, that’s true, Agni! I also didn’t realize it!” Disha said, playfully tapping her forehead to show her silliness.                                                                                                                                            “So where are you going Mr. Fire?” she asked, smiling a little.

“I am going to Delhi for a while, there I have…” – I was about to say when she interrupted.

“Just for a while? Why, will your friend be upset if you go for the whole time?” – she said, laughing.

The joke was really bad, but her laughter was so sweet that a smile automatically appeared on my face seeing her laugh. Among all that, she had a slight gap in her teeth, which, in a way, made it even more charming. Call it simping, call it whatever you want, but honestly, I just couldn’t focus on anything else but her.

“Sorry sorry, it was a really bad joke, but I couldn’t stop myself. Please continue!” – She said.

“Actually, I’m going to meet my friend after 2 years, not just a friend, more like a brother, so I’m really excited.” – I said. “And you?“

“I’m going to my father-in-law’s house, sorry, sorry, I mean my sister’s house, actually her in-laws’ house. I called her earlier using your phone.” – she said

Thank God! It’s not her father-in-law’s house, If she keeps getting excited like this, she’ll end up saying something wrong every time. But never mind, she’s saying such sweet things, everything feels nice except for the father-in-law’s house incident.

“Hey, your phone is with me, here you go, once again, thank you.” – she said

“If you want, you can keep it…” she interrupted and said, “Really? Oh, thanks! Then I’ll keep it, hahaha…“

“I mean, since the flight is still delayed, you can keep it in case a call comes for you, that’s why…” I said.

“So kind of you, yaar!                                                                                                                                Okay!” she said.

The conversation started, from – suddenly her phone died, to – Who is She? What does She do? Where is she from? she started telling me everything.

Alright, alright, I’m telling you everything, patience friends, patience. I can only calm her down, it’s a bit new to explain, but anyway, back to the story.

She lives in Sector 1, with her parents and her sister. But she got married a few months ago, and now she’s taking a break. She’s studying B.Pharm and is currently in her 4th year at MAKAUT University.

She also mentioned that she doesn’t like reading textbooks (just like me), which was a fun connection between us! She loves watching movies, reading storybooks, singing, painting, and can dance too—quite the all-rounder. Guys? – “Wouldn’t it be fair to call her a ‘Jack of all trades’?“

She started showing me her sketches, pulling her sketchbook out of her bag. She didn’t need to exaggerate; her drawings were top-notch. Honestly, no compliments were needed—right from the first sketch I saw, I grabbed the book from her hands with such an amazed reaction that she instantly understood how impressed I was.

“If my phone was on, I would’ve played some songs sung by me” she said.

Can anyone really be this open with a stranger? I wouldn’t have the courage to talk so freely.

“Hello? What are you thinking? I’ve been talking so much, that’s why?” 

“No, no, actually you’re sharing so much even though I’m a stranger, so… I mean, are you always like this?” 

“What do you mean by ‘like this’? I just laughed and said a couple of things, and right away you’ve started judging me. You guys are all the same—ridiculous!” 

I said sorry with a sad expression, almost on the verge of tears, saying, “I didn’t realize you’d get upset. I wasn’t judging you—trust me, I didn’t mean anything bad. I myself can’t speak so confidently with anyone, so I was just asking. I’m really sorry, please forgive me, I didn’t… I didn’t do it intentionally…” Just as I was saying that she burst out laughing, “Hehe!“

“Aww, you’re so cute” she said, giving my cheek a little pinch. “I was just teasing you. You’ve helped me a lot, you know. My sister has issues with panic attacks, and if I couldn’t let her know where I was and that my flight was delayed, she’d start panicking. So by helping me, you’re no longer a stranger—you’re close to me. After all, only close people help without any ‘buts,’ right? That’s why I don’t feel scared to share things with you. And to be honest… you’re kinda cute. And yeah, this is the first time I’m telling a guy that.”

Am I blushing? Am I blushing? Definitely!

I was blushing so hard, I had to look down, feeling shy…

“Look at you, are you blushing? Haye, too cute…”                                                                                 “Do you use Instagram?” – she asked.  

“Yeah, why?” 

“My boyfriend will kill you, that’s why” 

“What?”  

“Arey! We’ll stay in touch, just give me your ID”                                                                                 

We’ll stay in touch, ‘Oh Zara Zara touch me touch me touch me, Oh Zara Zara kiss me kiss me…’ no no, the kiss part is a bit too much, but you want my Insta ID, haha, here you go!

“By the way, what’s the password for your screen? If you don’t mind me asking, I’m not going to steal your phone, and if I did, I have already told you the address, so come and take it.“

“Na Na, the password is 2003” I said.

Why did she open YouTube? Now, don’t judge me after seeing my feed!

“Oho! Another boy with Kabir Singh? Do you really like this song that much?” she said.

The song is called ‘Bekhayali’ from Shahid Kapoor’s movie. Anyway, it’s one of my favorite songs, so I hope she just doesn’t judge me for it!

“Great choice! This is one of my fav songs too, you know? Yaar, we’re really vibing, let’s see what other songs are there!“

This way, I got to know all the details about the song data. And then came that moment, ‘the climax‘ excited guys?

The flight announcement was made, the sad part is that my flight was before. And in a little while, we will be separated, don’t know when we will meet again.

“Tussi jaa rahe ho? Tussi na jao! Has the announcement been made already? I mean, I’ll be alone, I’ll get bored, what else?” – she said.

The dialogue was delivered perfectly, and from the clarity of her expression, I realized that she was saying all of this instead of actually saying what she felt from within as if I was the one supposed to say it. So, in the flow of the movie, I said – “Hum hain rahi pyaar ke phir milenge chalte chalte, Tanni… I mean Disha partner“

She said with a smile, “Hehe, that was nice.“

I said, “Don’t worry, keep the power bank with you, and there’s still time. We’ll meet again, I won’t be dying so soon.“

She said, “What nonsense? Okay, listen. Be careful.                                                                                Oh no! I absolutely forgot what I had to do…“

I was totally flabber gastrogen or something like that, I mean, I was feeling flattered, bro. My name is Agni, but this girl blew me away.

“Now, stop staring at me, don’t just stand here, or else the plane will leave!” 

“Ha ha, Bye!” – I said, and I left with my bag.

I stood in line, got my ticket checked, then proceeded to the security check. The officer told me to place all my gadgets in the tray.

Fuch-ka!! My phone and earbuds are with her. I was too scared to say anything, and just then the security officer kindly said, “If you’ve left anything behind, please take it, Sir. We don’t have much time.“

I ran to the place where I was sitting earlier, but no one was there. What just happened to me? Did I get scammed? Where is Disha? There’s still 10 minutes left. I went to ask the lady nearby, but she gave me a rude attitude and said, “No, no, I don’t know anything. Who asked you to help that unknown girl who was showing off? Did she leave a hat on your head?“

Ugh, my mind wasn’t working properly, and on top of that, this fat aunty, “Do you look at everyone like this? You need an eye check-up!” – I said and walked off. After a moment while looking for her, I heard her voice again from nearby…

“Hello, partner? Are you searching for this?” Disha called out.

Uff, my life is back! Without our phones, we couldn’t go anywhere these days. I never imagined something so terrifying would happen to me.

“You here? And I’ve been looking for you everywhere…“

She stopped me and said, “Where? This one? The chubby aunty… she can be seen from here too. What a joke! He forgets his phone and he is blaming me for this. Can’t I even go to the washroom for a bit?” 

“No no, sorry, actually I got a bit stressed, that’s why. Give it, give it, it’s getting late” I said.

“Hmm, here you go, I have made a call, you will find my name in the call history” she said.

Taking the phone, I said “Thanks!” and she suddenly asked, “Are you sure, you are not forgetting anything else?“

“Again? Oh, the earbuds!” I realized I had been searching for them. When I spread my arms to receive it, she unexpectedly hugged me…

[Silence…Longgg Silenceee]

Hug! I mean HUG!!! In my life, I have never hugged any girl other than my mom and sister. Anyway, I held on.

“Here are your earbuds, Bye Partner, Hum hain rahi pyaar ke…” and together we said, “Phir milenge chalte chalte…”

Waving, I was heading towards the check-in when a message popped up: “You’ve arrived, but be careful.” I saw the name – Shreya ♡ – and saved it. I turned around and saw her smiling and waving.

[Blackout]