Page 60 - You Only Live Once [BooksLD]

anymore as in the past week my smartphone had beeped a million times
with tons of messages—devastating ones, no calls though.

People huddled under the shade of shops or restaurants, having been
caught unawares by the rains. All shelters seemed crowded, with no place
for solitude, something I aspired to find at the shack. With tapering hope, I
pushed against the door and stumbled into Ricky’s.

Much to my surprise, the shack played 70s classic rock hits, a
phenomena you are least likely to come across these days as there is mostly
pop or EDM playing at shacks. I would have loved the ambience otherwise
as I am fond of beer as well as the song that played in the background, ‘Eye
Of The Tiger ,’ but it was different today. I could not rejoice in the rains as

much as I otherwise do, as my thoughts were preoccupied with Tara whom I
was dying to see, meet, touch, and what not.
She hadn’t called in days. She had just sent WhatsApp messages that felt
unfamiliar.

She had not let me sleep for almost a month now and my anxiety rose
exponentially with the days that passed by. Needless to mention, I felt tired
and exhausted, so I decided to get a coffee. I paced towards the counter to
get it. The guy at the bar looked as if he was in his early 20s, probably an

undergraduate student from a putative college like mine, working here part-
time only to fulfill his desire of being independent in a developing country
like India.
I appreciated his courage for having taken on a lesser-appreciated role,
though unfairly so, for the sake of this desire.

While I stood in queue, waiting for my turn, I glanced around shack. The
shack was predominantly occupied with couples and tourists. Only a few
people in groups of three or more were present. It was crowded and

confirmed my speculation and it was hard to find a secluded place here.
To my surprise, I did locate a table in a corner that was fairly away from
the dense crowd, but still couldn’t save me from all the noisy chatter.

I desired for such a place, not so much to keep away from the noise, but
to find an escape from the people so they didn’t catch me bursting into
tears, which I knew could happen at any moment and I didn’t want to hold
people’s unwanted attention.

While I was lost in my own world as usual, a middle-aged man of athletic
built approached me. His calves seemed as strong as the rocks by the beach.