The Strangers - Across the Silent Heartbeat-Chapter 4: The Proposal

Now, hopes and happiness seemed to drag into a montage of strings in Arjun's life, shackled through the strings of everyday chatter with Ayesha. It was woven into the day-to-day routine, through him like a need, a blizzard of his days, as much as body warmth. Her thoughts did a jig on the strings of his mind as he hummed through his coding projects and college work.

It was one fine evening when the sun was on its way down, putting darkness upon the city and tinting it gold. Deep inside, Arjun felt that these feelings for Ayesha were becoming very deep. Their conversations went down to one of the most private matters concerning a person's life, and he realized he simply fell for her. The more he knew her, the more interested and attracted he became by her kindness, passion, and strength.

He could feel the thudding in his chest with the racing heart and finally made up his mind to speak whatever came to his mind. He replied very cautiously; even by the tips of his fingers, the words typed were literally shaking. He really had to be true and sincere, though not known to what extent Ayesha would react to this.

Hi, Ayesha. There is something that has been running through my mind this whole time, so it's very important that you know. You have been part of my biggest life these past months. My care for you has tremendously grown of late, to be honest, and I can't help the feeling that my feelings towards you increased to something other than friendship. I love you, Ayesha. I hope you feel the same.

Poised is never a good thing to be overly a Send key, he thought. His heart galloped in anticipation of her reply. Moments ticked by at a crawl, milli metering by to grind on his nerves as he waited in virtual limbo between euphoria and dread.

It was a quiet introverted evening, with her mind going on with thoughts about Arjun and how the

two of them were coming closer. His presence in her life had been overbearingly nothing that she might eventually like; now this new message from him really stirred jumbled emotions in her.

She scrolled through Arjun's confession, and she smiled softly—half with the flutter of warmth at the honesty and depth of feelings, and half with the catch of uncertainty over an occasional phrase that was far weightier than she was prepared for.

After two minutes, Ayesha pulled herself together and wrote a thank-you note but said she needed some time. She had to tell him the truth but at the same time be respectful of the special bond between them.

I really appreciate that you have been straight-forward with me these past few days, Arjun. What all you said has hit me definitely, and I would really like to give it back: just the enjoyment of our conversations, the bonding that has developed. Your feelings are much appreciated, but I need sometime to absorb the realization. Hope you understand.

Arjun read Ayesha's reply, with mixed feelings, a tinge of relief, and a bit of disappointment. He was relieved that at least she had been honest about her state and did respect her need for time. Just the way he liked how she did his confession, he made up his mind— he'll be patient and supportive.

Although he might have shut her off in the very beginning, he can charm Ayesha into submission at long last. He shall simply pour his heart out in those conversations he shared with her and talk about bits of surprises and gestures that could make her smile. He sent her virtual flowers, wrote her poems, and tried to learn Bengali.

In this good evening, Ayesha received a message in a voice that was like Arjun's, trying his level best to croon a few lines of her favourite songs. It actually sounded very bad, but he tried so much that she burst into laughing and surged with love toward him.

She didn't send a voice message back. She wanted to sing with him, sharing the happiness of that moment by bringing each other still closer.

But yes, there were times when they shared some playfulness and 'sweetness' across the virtual space. They kept planning when they would watch movies virtually, shared music, and even generated a memory of being physically far apart from each other. With each interaction, the bonding between the two got more and more real, and Ayesha started looking forward more and more to what kind of creative and intellectual surprises lay in store from Arjun.

Yet even in this dance around the nascent relationship of Arjun and Ayesha, he stuck through with his feelings in the tough test of time: small manifestations of tenderness, truckloads of patience, and unflinching support.

He respected the fact that she needed to go slow yet maintained the fact that she knew she meant a lot for him.

Days passed by, and with each day, it seemed as if they knew more about each other. How much he loved and cared for her, no one learned, but Ayesha could not help but be amazed considering the amount of love Arjun had been showering on her. Her wounds were still very fresh, yet she couldn't deny that with every meeting with him, some kind of warmth crept into her heart.

In fact, one evening, as they sat talking about what lay ahead, Ayesha even started pulling Arjun's leg about how hard he was actually trying to woo her. She said that he really persisted so much and came up with so many beautiful ideas. Actually, these things really make her smile once in a while, but she really enjoys the process of getting to know Arjun.

That laughter was needed release. He loved how her spirit was playful, and how she accepted his liking. She did break into peals of laughter and light-hearted repartees for what their connection bore.

The two were at very considerate, very caring, very patient, and yet very playful ways of the relationship between Arjun and Ayesha; at least that was the dimension their relationship had taken towards the end of the episode. Though the sentiments that Ayesha nursed hadn't completely washed off, she couldn't turn her back on the rising feelings for Arjun.

He hit send on the "Good night" and really sent it with full force for what it portrayed. In one action, the phone went across the world to her, held tightly under Arjun's light that warmed her insides with connectivity, continued—and all this could portend.

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Yet they anticipate the next part of their adventure, well aware that the very thing in which they are so keen to witness will happen precisely where their growing relationship, in their two far-apart corners of the earth, will lead them.

Arjun and Ayesha's new journey starts.......