badminton court, which was now replaced by a small garden and fountain.

He had kept in touch with Sanjit over the years and they had exchanged quite a few emails and kept up with the events in each other’s lives despite the distance. On a few occasions, even Sonika had written to him. Once, after his graduation to congratulate him at his topper rank at the university and another time, to ask for some information about some courses at his university.

As he sat on the bench and realized how time had flown, he wondered what she was like now. He certainly knew what she looked like.
A couple of years ago, Sanjit had sent him a few pictures of their last family holiday. The first picture was of Meeta Aunty and Jaideep Uncle, Sanjit’s parents. They still looked just as graceful as ever. And although the image was blurry and shaky, he could still figure that the tall, slender girl in the background was obviously Sonika. He could only see her side face. Her hair was tied up in a bun and she was wearing a sleeveless top and well-fitted jeans. The picture was taken from a distance and in cloudy weather, Sanjit had explained in his mail. In another picture, taken in bright sunshine, she was facing the camera. Her hair, left down loose, was blowing over her face. She was laughing and her hand was up in an unsuccessful attempt to hold it in place. She had shoulder length hair, he’d noted, a far cry from her blunt cut back in those days. It was a candid shot. Right beside her were Sanjit and Meeta Aunty. Arjun had pondered over it for quite some time, noting every detail and feature in Sonika’s face. Her smile was just as bewitching, and Arjun had lost his heart to it again.

He wondered whether she still liked the things she did back then. Whether she would recognize him, if they were to meet as strangers. Probably not, he figured. How would she? After all the lanky kid with floppy hair had transformed into a well-built man with neatly styled hair, he reasoned. Not many would recognize him now, he realized. He was worried, though. What if she didn’t feel the same as he did? Or worse, what if she had found someone. His brow furrowed in anxiety. Even if she did, it probably wouldn’t be serious. Sanjit would surely have shared with him had it been so. He relaxed a bit though well aware that he could not be sure. He decided to leave it up to fate and take things as they came.






Just as he was about to get up, someone whizzed past him. The tall, slender frame and side profile was familiar. Sonika! He fell in love all over again and felt something stir up in his chest. “Look’s like Cupid’s arrow just shot through my heart,” he muttered, grinning ruefully. She hadn’t recognised him, he realized with a start. “Oh, well…” he sighed and stood up.

“Arjun?” Someone excitedly called out. He looked up to see Sonika had walked back to him and was now standing in front of him. Her shoulder-length hair, left loose was falling over her face and she tried unsuccessfully to brush it away. “Yeah, hi,” he smiled, secretly pleased that she had infact recognized him. He vaguely heard some warning shouts of “Watch Out” from someone but nothing would distract him now.

 

He refused to look away and continued to gaze smilingly at the beautiful girl in front of him. And, she smiled right back at him. This was paradise. She was in love with him too, he thought. He could die and go to heaven, right then.

“Thwack!” a loud whack on the head broke him out of his reverie. He looked up to see that Sonika was nowhere around, but the footballers staring at him. He picked up the football that had ended his dream so cruelly and tossed it back to them.

“Cupid’s Ball just hit me on the head,” he corrected himself. Hoping the fantasy would come true soon, Arjun walked back home, looking forward to visiting the Mehras’ in the evening.

 

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