THE MEETING
JOE drove through numerous hairpin curves before he found the signboard that said ST. Thomas church is 200 m to the right. That was the place in Lisa’s mail. . It was rather strange. She had called him to a church. He wondered why she had chosen a church. Wasn't there any other place they could meet? He had found it hard to accept the fact he was meeting her in a church. He eventually convinced himself to consider that she would bear a proper reason for selecting a church. It wasn't long after that he saw an old church with a creepy looking gate. He had been riding for hours now, but he did not feel tired. He liked driving and he often went on long road trips. Also, his excitement to meet her suppressed any feeling of exhaustion.
His car entered the gate, but he didn't find any other vehicles. He suspected whether it was the right place. He parked the car and walked towards the church. It was not a very big church, but seemed to be very old. Google said it was Neo-Gothic architecture. And he believed Google. It was mostly made of stone. Very tall. He stepped inside the church walking through a small veranda. At the far end of the church, he saw a young woman kneeling in front of the altar. That very instant he realized it was her. It was his Lisa. The person he came to meet driving all the way.
Joe walked towards her. He was happy like never before. He was living his dream. It was all completely unexpected for him. He never, even in his wildest dreams imagined her to reach out to him.
Joe knelt beside her. He couldn't take his eyes off her. Her small brown eyes, thin eyebrows, broad forehead and silky smooth, bouncy hair, It was all as it was. Seeing her, he even forgot that he was in a holy place. Lisa was praying with her eyes closed and hands folded. He felt she had become more beautiful. She was wearing a Blue jeans and a white top with a scarf around her neck.
Strands of hair covered part of her face like it used to. "Stop staring me and thank God for this moment,” said Lisa without even opening her eyes but moving the hair on her face to the back of her ear. It was then it struck Joe that he was in a church. Without any more hesitation, he closed his eyes and thanked God for making him be with her again. God had made his biggest wish come true. Why wouldn't he pray??
When he opened his eyes again, she was not there. He was breathless for a moment.
'Was I imagining all that ', he said to himself.
He was back on his feet instantly and paced toward the door. To his relief, he found her sitting on the steps of the veranda having dairy milk
“You thought I was gone?" Asked Lisa without turning back
"Obviously, yes. Who Wouldn’t?"
"Come sit. You would have a lot of questions"
"I sure do. But I want the answer to only one question now.” Joe said as he sat down beside Lisa.
"Go on". Lisa said without looking at him.
"When?"
"Thought you might ask that. Well....Convocation day"
"You are seriously telling me that you actually got that?”. Joe was absolutely taken aback. “But how? I saw it falling into the water"
"You didn't see what happened after that. Did you? "
“No"
"I came back for it. I had seen you throwing it" said Lisa giving Joe rest of the chocolate.
“I had understood your feelings for me long before. I know you became friends with me just because of that.” Lisa paused to wipe off the chocolate. “Why did you wait for the last minute? Why didn’t you do it earlier? “. Lisa’s eyes met with Joe's eyes for the first time since the convocation day a year ago.
“I......uh!!!!” Joe never thought she would ask that question.
“By the time I realized what I had for you was love it was too late. And I didn't want it to be a talk in the campus like with all those pass time lovers. Besides You were always surrounded either by your friends gang or boys who were flirting with you whenever I want to tell you how I felt about you . Do you how difficult it was for me to keep myself from punching them. Plus, I didn’t know how you would react. Unlike you I was not able to recognize your feelings for me. I had assumed the convocation day to be a perfect time, but it didn’t turn out as I had planned. That Shruthi ruined everything.”
“You know, why don’t we get to my place and talk. It’s getting dark. We have to go. "Lisa interrupted Joe's narrative and stood up.
Joe also stood up eating the last bite of the chocolate and searched the area for a place to dispose of the cover. He found a waste bin not far from where he stood. He dumped the cover in it, took the car key out of his pocket and walked towards the car.
"May I” Lisa broke the silence.
"Sure" said Joe tossing the key to her with a pleasant smile on his face.
"Be nice with my car, Lisa. It’s new”
"I know, I know.” Said Lisa as she started the car and drove away