Matters Of The Heart

It was 1:30 and in the last two hours, he had barely solved 7 problems. He was sitting hunched over a book on 'Multivariable Calculus And Differential Equations'. In the silence that surrounded him, there was nothing to distract him.  Yet, his pen was lying on the table and his head was resting on his left hand. In the copy in front of him,  there were scribbles and lines scratched out. At the top right corner of the battered copy, there was a doodle.  A pair of eyes stared back at him. He was good at sketching but even the beautiful eyes that stared at him seemed dull in comparison to HER eyes. Her beautiful,  beautiful eyes. Lined with kohl, they seemed to be the prettiest eyes that he had ever laid eyes on. Her dimpled smile was just as heartbreakingly beautiful. When she laughed, he would hold his breath and listen. Just listen to the sweet sound which made his heart grow warm. She had raven black hair that fell down in ringlets on either side of her narrow face. Sometimes she would braid it, other times she would let her hair fall down to her waist.

They were good friends. They were classmates and sometimes bunked boring lectures to catch a movie or sit in a small cafe and talk. Hours would pass by but their stories would never end. He loved the sound of her voice, but it was her stories that captivated him. Her myriad stories that kept him mesmerised and longing for more. They had their fights. Meaningless bantering on their favourite bands, football teams or movies. He would sometimes let her win. Just to see her face light up and how she would scrunch her nose and tease him. He was hopelessly in love. However like any other boy,  he was scared to tell the girl how he felt. He was afraid, he didn't want to lose what they already had  in the pursuit of something more. However, the heart yearns and he craves for her. There hasn't been a day when he didn't talk to her.Maybe she likes him too...maybe, she's afraid too. ..But he can't know for sure. Maybe it was time for him to finally tell her about it. He couldn't bear to imagine seeing her walk away with someone else. He wanted to be that 'someone else'.He checks his phone again. An empty, illuminated screen greets him, signalling no reply to the message he had sent 10 minutes ago. He waits.

She woke up disoriented. Grabbing the phone, it didnt light up when she pressed on the power button. "Battery must be dead", she thought. She checked the digital clock. It read 1:30 A.M . She turned to her side and she peered at the light coming in through the cracks of her bedroom door. "He's still studying. I'm so proud of him. " She smiled and turned around and went back to sleep.