It just took me three dates to fall in love..

Disclaimer: It is not a usual love story. Read at your own risk.

Isn’t it strange how the universe always has a better plan for us? While we hate to see our decisions fail but there is something better formulating for us. I am not attracted to making resolutions but this year I planned an exception.
I made a resolution of not dating anyone (new) in 2018 but alas, I ended up dating a guy in the very first week of 2018.
I met him in one of the workshops and we met three times in the very next week.
When we say everything happens for a reason, every person walks into our lives for a reason, a purpose. I think the universe maintains a complex log of connecting two people at the right moment, at the right situation, at the right place and in a memorable  environment.
Now when I look back I think that three days were enough. I felt as if it was nature’s way of making me the ‘cheerful Padmaja’ again. Maybe the universe was bored with my monotonous life. Maybe the universe wanted me to fall back in love with tennis, cricket, badminton, taking care of myself and cooking.  
This guy never said that I have to change but he left a trail of chain reactions. So one change resulted in other and so forth.
It was a Friday night and I was supposed to meet him after office. So during my office lunch hour, I went to parlour to get my eyebrows groomed. It was almost after a year that I have  groomed my eyebrows.
And, that was the last day I saw him. Maybe his time with me was just to make me reach that point.   That threshold that made me realise that I have to live my life rather than just existing.

   
                          


So what happened during these three dates?
The very next day after meeting him in the workshop, we met again. He suggested that I come down to Borivali from Bandra. I did. He came in this car. He is a Mumbai local but our mother tongues are kinda similar. Ok he was a Bengali guy (yes, again.)
From Borivali, we drove all the way to Juhu beach. Slow songs were playing in the background and that made the moment really magical.
It made me remember all the beautiful long rides that I once took with my best friend.
Sitting there on the beach, I realised that it is really nice to sit with someone and stare at the waves. During this time, he showed me his online library. Boy it was huge. Next few moments we discussed about our preferences. It was no shocker that he liked Jeffrey Archer as well. Jeffrey Archer is my favourite author but it has been a year since I last read his books. Not after the end of Clifton Chronicles. He suggested that I should read 'Prisoner of birth’ and I ordered it the very next day. I scratched my head and thought haven't I given up on fiction  as a waste of time.

Going through his Instagram feed made me alive. I too loved traveling but in 2017 it had taken a back seat because of self imposed restrictions. His way of approaching life made me realise what I was missing. Where did that Padmaja go who would just get up at 5.30 am for a 7-hour bus ride to Trivandrum and back?

I remember leaving my office around 9 pm and reaching my flat around 3 or 4 am. I never do that on weekdays.
The next two days he came all the way from Bhayandar to Bandra and dropped me to my place in Ghatkopar.
Even though he was tall maybe around 6ft, had a perfect V body with no extra ounce of fat(yes I saw that), and those small dimples that made its presence felt when he smiled, what attracted me the most was that he held a mirror that showed me the person that I could become.
He unknowingly made me fall in love with myself. He carved a smile on my face, which barring a few days, remained fixed. I realise my smile looks good on me. So does the lipstick that I bought in 2016.

I  shed my old habits of rigorously following the same timetable. I had to take a break from the boring Padmaja. Because after seeing myself in that mirror, I didn't want to get back to being the boring one. So the next two weeks, I did one new thing every day. (Yes, it is still a routine. What’s with me and schedules.)The things did not have to be very different or extra ordinary. It was mainly about doing the things that I used to love to do earlier and the small pleasures in life like making an elaborate breakfast or milk tea on a weekday.
So for the next two weeks I did things that I once loved doing such as reading fiction books, getting dressed, watching tennis matches, going to open mics, playing badminton with sister and attending workshops.

Those two weeks are long gone. But I see myself asking for off beat films from my friends. It has been months since I saw a movie or a series. Maybe it is time to get back to cricket and embroidery as well.

It just took me three dates with him to fall in love with ...myself.

Let me know what you think in the comments section below.

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