A Reticent Walk

Do you believe in love at first sight?

I Don’t

I can’t possibly imagine falling for someone in just one glance

Neither did she

But somehow as soon as I saw her for the first time

Walking, as if the world didn’t exist

Swaying around the offices

About the circular path

In that quarantined government campus

As I sat there on a wall. separating the offices and the residence

I felt something strange as if I was obliged to talk to her

I got off and walked towards her

For some reason, it was impossible to walk properly

As if the cerebellum wanted me to copy her movements

She noticed me walking beside her.

She glanced at me with a tilted head, smiled, and continued to walk

It was almost as if this was her incentive to walk

That silent walk is something I’d like to be reminded of as I die

That would be my last wish, to walk with her again

Beneath the dusky evening sky

As the sun went down the horizon

And the sky looked as if it was painted by Van Gogh himself

I’ll remember her face

I’ll remember her voice

I’ll remember everything

It’s impossible to forget something so mesmerizing that resides permanently in your subconscious mind

I don’t know her name

We never talked

That’s what we’ve been always taught

Ask the name

Get to know the person

I think It’s not important to know the person

As long as you can feel the person

The silence that you share with them is the most intimate you can ever be with them

Those walks were the only thing I looked forward to every day

Every single evening, we would walk around those empty offices

Singing along the way, our favourite songs

That final day, we decided to sit instead

Still no exchange of words

Just hours of pure silence

We let our minds talk to each other

We held hands

We embraced

We were intimate

I never saw her again

I was told her mother had a transfer

Amidst quarantine, they had to leave the city

I never asked her name

And I never saw her again

I don’t regret being unaware of her name

Awareness would’ve lead to a labelled relationship

A relationship accepted by society

A relationship that would’ve either been wonderful or a disaster

We were not ready to take that chance

What we had there was much more beautiful

We never met after the last day

But I now know what to wish for just before death

I wish to know her name someday!