THE FATE (✔)

Chapter 11 - Restless

Time elapsed. All back to work as usual. Aman was wearing a light blue shirt and black trouser with a white doctor's coat in his hands and a pair of black loafers walking a little briskly down the long hospital hallway. Masculine perfume spreads to fill the room. The nurses on duty that day greeted him. Aman stopped occasionally to have a slight conversation with them.

A cold room greeted his arrival. Aman stretched his white coat over the back of the chair behind his desk. A pile of patient files was waiting for him. After washing his hands and gulping down a glass of water, he started to read the papers one by one. Fifteen minutes later, Rita, one of the nurses there knocked on his door to inform him that one of the patients' family wanted to see him. And so on until the line in front of the room ran out and the hallway became deserted.

Aman rubbed his face and leaned back against the soft back of his chair. His brown eyes were closed, his breathing was very regular. A silhouette of a woman's figure appeared in his mind. The nose is sharp and the jaw line looks firm. Before long, the shadow approached him and revealed her face. A pair of bright hazel coloured eyes stared at him deeply. Suddenly his brow furrowed. Then he opened his eyes and blinked.

Archana.

"Archana," his heart whispered.

Since that incident, Aman's mind has never left Archana. That woman was very nice. The woman who held him when he was so frightened. The woman who waited for him woke up to make sure he was okay. The woman who almost even checked on him in the morning and asked him to have breakfast with him. The vibration of her voice echoed very clearly in his head. Cute. Her voice was cute, especially when she laughs. However, it could get very serious when the topic being discussed is an important one. One more characteristic of her voice that he liked the most, is soft. Her voice was very gentle, especially when she calmed him down. Although not infrequently her voice sounded firm and straightforward. Yes, at least that's the impression that he got from her voice. A pair of bright eyes with a brilliant twinkle seemed to attract him to put all his life to her.

The woman was attractive. Very attractive, according to Aman. He fell in love with her name. Archana. Sounds strong. It seemed that was fate. So strong was Archana that it was as if she could control the atmosphere around her. Archana was so powerful that it seemed like she could take over the consciousness of anyone she talks to. So strong was Archana that her energy was able to embrace Aman's weakness. Archana was so strong that she made Aman fell. Fell in love. Again.

He was contemplate. "What am I just thinking about? Me? Fall in love? On a stranger? Archana? A stranger?" His thoughts were wrestling with each other. The roar of his emotions towards Archana who had just met him was enough to make him restless.

***

Archana has just finished having dinner with Parvati and Priya. She looked normal. She didn't even talk about the lift crash more to her mother, nor to her sister. Her family knew very little about the incident. No, not that incident, but the person who was with Archana at that time. A man slightly taller than Archana. His nose is sharp, his eyes are brown. His smile is adorable and is always framed by his dimples. Just it. Archana just talked to them about that.

Archana returned to her room and sat on the long sofa which was under the window overlooking the yard of her house. The moonlight was so bright that it penetrated the clear glass accompanying her in silence. She took her laptop and turned it on. Every now and then she sipped the hot coffee she made after dinner. Her red glasses perched on her nose. Her fingers danced gracefully over the letter keys on her laptop. Her eyes were so focused on the screen in front of her that the sound of the door interrupted her focus.

"Who's there?" she asked.

"Didi, it's me," said the person who was behind the door. Knowing that it was Priya, Archana let her in. Priya brought a plate of chocolate biscuits and cheesecake. She placed the plate on the table in front of the sofa where Archana was sitting.

"What are you working on?" asked Priya.

"Nothing. I just rechecked all the reports from the foundation," replied Archana as she took a biscuit and took a bite. Priya just nodded, her lips rounded 'Oh'.

"Didi, may I ask a question?" Priya sat on the empty side beside Archana and joined in taking a cheesecake from the plate. Archana just nodded while raising an eyebrow.

"Didi, do you like him?" Priya shot. Straightly to the point.

Archana cough and stopped chewing. "What? Who?"

"That man, who was stuck with you in the lift. Did something happen between you two?" investigated Priya.

"What are you talking about, Priya? We were just stuck in the lift. That's all," replied Archana with a little curt.

"Hmm, I see. Well that's all then. I'm just asking. I hope you guys meet again, because I want to know what happens next," Priya chuckled.

"What kind of continuation?"

"Oh, Didi. If you don't feel anything, he may feel a vibration that you may not understand. Love," explained Priya. Her tone was made to be softer. Her arms stretched out in the air as if to hug the moon that was about to fall.

Archana sighed. "Thanks for the cake. Now, you better go or I'll hit you for speaking nonsense," scolded Archana while patting Priya's arm.

Priya got up. She seemed quite content to annoy her sister. "Think about my words, my beautiful sister, Archana," she said before running to the door and leaving Archana's room.

Archana was left alone again in her quiet room. Her activity of checking the report wasn't over yet, but Priya's words were really spinning in her head. Her memory goes back to the day when it happened. She still clearly remembered the details. How Aman stopped her until she finally pressed another button to keep the lift doors opened, how her ears loved his voice so close. She remembered him who was afraid of tight spaces. She remembered his cold hand. She remembered his terrified look. She remembered what she saw in his eyes. She remembered that one very well. She also remembered how she became a little open with people she had only met for less than twelve hours. She remembered the urge to hug him when she heard his story. Extraordinary unexpected. Twelve incredible hours of her life. All her feelings mixed into one. Fear, worry, panic, anxiety, ending with feelings of relief and joy. All of this made her wonder how the man was doing now.

Archana remembered that Aman said he's a doctor. Archana used her laptop to find out about it. She typed in Aman's name and the name of the hospital where the man worked. Kept scrolling the screen until she found a name.

Aman Srivastava.

She continued her research. She didn't get much information, but some things were clear. Aman was one of the best doctors in India, has stayed away from the operating table due to trauma, and he's single. She momentarily choked. "Not married yet? Seriously," she thought.

Her memory flashed back to the moment she found herself in Aman's eyes. She didn't want to expect more, because she had only known him for a very short time. They didn't even exchange phone numbers or other personal information.

"Is it possible? Did I just expect it? How can I trust him if I don't know what's in his heart? Me...okay. I admit I saw myself in his eyes. But, how will it all turn out?" Various voices inside her echoed each other. Then, Aman's voice played in her mind again. Her favorite voice. She remembered the figure of that man. Slightly taller than her, smile with dimples, brown coloured eyes. Aman was one of those people who could be talked to about anything.

Many questions swirled in her head. She didn't know the answer. She let the fate take her. But she was afraid. She was afraid that she would experience the same thing as her mother. She didn't want the bitter memories to happen to herself or to Priya ever again. She still hadn't even figured out how to tell his mother that what they had known all along was not true. There was another truth which was greater and very clear. She knew and she was scared. Usually she believed what she saw. She desperately wanted to believe what she had seen a while ago. However, her heart was too scared for any of that.