I was woken up by the sunlight streaming in. For a few moments I felt disoriented, I couldn't remember where I was, and then it all came to me. Trinity. Dublin. Ireland.
I broke into a big grin. A little smug of myself... I dreamt of it and here I am.
The sky although bright had ample amounts of white fluffy clouds. The sun played hide and seek in them.One could see the literal silver lining of the cloud. I decided to take a morning walk to get acquainted with the campus. Last night I had hit the sack as soon as I reached my room, of course, after calling my parents to let them know I was doing fine. Now is the time to explore...
The place was B-E-A-utiful. 16th century buildings, well kept lawns and Boy ! Was it huge.
I was still ambling when, WHAM !!! A football hit me right on the head.
The impact was so intense that it had my ears ringing for seconds and my vision blurred but I could make shapes running towards me. I didn't know I had hit the ground but did when I realized people were trying to get me on my feet. There were many voices asking the same question, "Are you alright ?"
I could feel myself nodding in assurance, but it felt like I was having an out-of-body experience. I knew what I was doing but I didn't feel doing it.
"Are you alright love?" This voice brought me back to immediacy. I looked for the person. Dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, cleft chin but a face with a perturbed look on it. "Are you alright love ?" he asked me but this time handing me a bottle of water.I had a query in my head, why was I being referred to as 'love'. I wanted to ask him but I just nodded again.
"I am so sorry. The ball went out of the grounds. I didn't mean to." He said ardently.
"It's okay. I strayed too close to the football grounds. I should have been more alert."
I turned to go.
"Wait..." He called out. "I feel very sorry for ruining your morning. Is there any way I could redeem myself."
"No... It's fine." Honestly, a crowd was starting to form and I wanted to get away as quickly as I could.
"Let me walk with you to your destination. Where are you going, by the way ?"
"The dormitories." I muttered.
"Good... Let's walk to the dormitories. I have had enough of football for the morning."
"Okay... Let's." And we did, veering away from the crowds.
"I am Logan Ryan, by the way." He extended his hand for a shake.
"I am Shaurya Suri." I said shaking his hands.
"Your name is an alliteration." He said and as if to explain why he made this observation, he added, "M.Phil Creative Writing. Literature lover and a grammar geek."
"And your name rhymes. M.Phil Creative Writing, same here." I smiled.
"Ohh... So we are classmates." He inferred with a reciprocating smile. "I am afraid I won't be able to get your name right. I have heard it for the first time in my life." His grin turned apologetic.
"It is an Indian name." I interjected, to provide him with an excuse for his inability to pronounce my name.
"Ohh... India. I am from Mullingar..." I looked at him questioningly, "Ireland." He said answering my question.
"OK." An Irish guy. We walked in silence for a few minutes. "Excuse me, I have a question to ask." I said to break the awkwardness of silence but more importantly to have my query answered.
"Go right ahead."
"Why did you use word love back there, when you asked me if I was alright."
He looked at me quizzically, as if I had asked in which direction does the sun rise from.
"I have heard it for the first time." I explained.
Comprehending my question, he answered, "This is a term of endearment often used around here, like dear. I hope I have not offended you, I am not familiar with Indian customs." His face turning perturbed again.
"No, no... I was just curious."
He gave a smile of relief. "It seems we have a lot to teach each other. I need to pronounce your name correctly, but it would have to wait for some other day because we have reached the dormitories."
I looked around, indeed we had.
"Okay, so I gotta let you go..." but he lingered, "I can't emphasize how sorry I feel for hitting you with the football."
"You didn't mean to..." I said climbing the steps while he stood at the bottom. "Don't beat up yourself about that." I smiled to convince him.
"If you say so... See you later in the class love." He winked and turned on his heels.
"Sure."
Good weather, hit by a ball on the very first day and the classes didn't start until tomorrow. How would the classes be like. Going by the incidents of the morning, I would deduce it would be normal, good with a bit of bad. But first I need to call Ardaas, check on him and check if my mitigation efforts were successful
To be continued...
No comments:
Post a Comment