Arrangement - Part Five

Several days flew with one rendezvous after another appointment, with one hope after another disappointment.  Some girls he met twice, only to be disillusioned with either them or himself.  The lunches and dinners began to weigh him down and he woke early every morning with gloom.  The sun continued to rise at its scheduled hour, the woman in the garden showed up like clockwork saluting the sun on her mat, the vendors crowded under the tree in preparation for a day’s sales.

One morning, Arun decided to skip his second cup of tea with his parents and went down for a walk.  He walked outside the garden on a muddy path, his head bent low as he watched the ground ahead of him before taking each step.  Outside the main entrance to the park, right by the tiny, swinging gate, he spotted a shiny object, partially submerged in a pile of mud.  He picked it up, polished off the dirt and admired an exquisite and a unique piece of jewelry.  It had tiny diamond studs around an amber star with one corner broken off.  He looked around and spotted children in uniforms skipping their way to school and a group of elderly men walking slowly inside the park.  Arun decided to put the little treasure in his pocket.

That evening, for dinner, he met his last appointment from the girls he had shortlisted from the binder.  They met in a café style restaurant with self-service that offered a variety of eastern and western food choices.  As Arun followed the girl towards an empty table in the corner while they balanced their trays, he admired her long, dark hair flowing down to her waist.  They made themselves comfortable across from each other and the girl timidly ran a finger to guide her hair behind her right ear.

A sparkle attracted Arun’s attention and he almost dropped his tray.  The star, unique as the one on his table at home, hung from his dinner companion’s ear. Few seconds of awkward pause later, he asked her about her earring.  She looked at him quizzically, but simply said that she’d had them for years.  Her hand went up to reveal her other ear and Arun noticed two stars in the second one of the pair.  He pointed out to her about the missing piece in the first one and observed her face change at the realization of her loss.   Visibly distressed, she blurted calmly how special these earrings were to her, a parting gift from her grandmother, a good luck charm, how her mother will never forgive her for being so careless.  Arun watched her and admired her button nose, flushed cheeks, round eyes while she struggled with her controlled anguish.  Noticing his amusement, she recollected herself and apologized for her conduct. 

Arun smiled and told her that he had the missing piece.  Relieved, she put her hand out to him to claim his find.  He shook his head and told her that it was sitting at his home and she looked at him, confused.  He related to her the events of the morning when he had found the piece outside the park and declared, “Looks like the stars are finding their way home...”

to be continued...