AARVI
“Excuse me! Hello? Miss…” A faint, muffled sound reached my ears, but it felt too heavy to open my eyes. I was comfortable and warm, and I didn’t want to leave yet.
“Wake up.” A deep voice spoke close to my ear, followed by a nudge on my arm. I snapped my eyes open in a second. Bright lights hit my vision, and fresh aqua smell hit my nostrils. The flight. London. Oh yes! One of the cabin crew was standing on the aisle while my tray table was already open, and a meal packet was sitting there.
She smiled at me as she said, “Enjoy your meal,” and proceeded forward.
I was confused. Did I fall asleep?
I looked at my watch and it has been two hours since we took off. Oh fuck! I just lost two hours of my flight to sleep.
Shouldn’t have spent the night watching Bridgerton!
Yeah, well, in my defense, that was the only way I could shut my anxiety up. I stretched my arms a little, moving my neck from side to side.
What I had almost forgotten was who I was sitting with. The man beside me very gracefully peeled off the silver foil that wrapped the meal platter and put it aside. He then took the disposable forks and spoons and wiped them with the napkin provided with the plate. Smell of curry and fruits filled the air, and suddenly he looked my way.
Instantly, I felt my cheeks flush and my skin warm up.
How the hell am I getting myself into these situations again and again?
He didn’t say a word before he went on to have his food.
I started to undo the foil wrapped around my meal as well, but on the inside, I started to feel that I should talk to him. Yes, he spilled coffee over me, but he apologized and gave me his window seat, and woke me up so that I wouldn’t miss my food.
Okay. That might be an exaggeration.
Who cares? Bottom line is, I have been unnecessarily rude to him, and he, well, he has been human. I should at least apologize for the way I behaved because I wasn’t the person he saw. He just caught me in a bad moment.
But some part of me was scared of rejection as well. It was a long flight, and how awkward would it be if I spoke to him and he never replied?
Stop thinking so much!
Right. It’s only fair that I clear the air, and so what if he doesn’t speak to me? At least I tried to be a better person. That shows integrity now, doesn’t it?
I exhaled a long breath before I turned his way. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare,” I said, looking at his face for signs if he was still pissed or wasn’t interested in talking to me.
“Are you talking to me?” He asked, putting a pause on my running thoughts.
“Is there anybody that you think can hear me?” I gave him the side eye, but with a smile this time.
The hint of a smile on his face gave me the boost that I needed. “I’m sorry for earlier as well. I was just having a moment, and the coffee came out of nowhere. I just… I shouldn’t have behaved like that.” I tried to sound as genuine as possible.
“In that case, apology accepted. I’m sorry for spilling that cup on you as well. How about we start over? I’m David Carlsen. Nice to meet you,” he said, extending his hand towards me. I smiled at how easily he warmed up before taking his hand. “Aarvi Dutta. Nice to meet you, too.”
“Aarvi? Like the letter R and V?” He asked, tilting his head to the other side, which made him look absolutely adorable.
“Aha. Exactly like the letters R and V,” I nodded.
“But it is actually the real letters R and V. I mean, is it some kind of short form for something bigger?”
I scrunched my nose as I responded, “No. It’s A-A-R-V-I… Aarvi.”
He hummed while nodding his head before he asked, “So, what brings you to London, Aarvi?” He took a spoonful of food into his mouth, waiting for an answer.
I took my time to wipe the corner of my mouth with the tissue before I replied, “I’m on vacation.”
“Oh. That’s nice to know. Well, lemme know if you need any help crafting your itinerary.”
“Hm. I kinda have that figured out, but I will definitely remember you when the situation arises.” I smiled. “What about you? What brings you to London?” I asked, finally looking at him.
“Oh, I am from London. I was in Dubai for business.”
“How lucky. What kind of business? If you don’t mind me asking.” I picked up a grape and popped it in my mouth.
His otherwise relaxed features tensed up as I watched him take a spoonful of food into his mouth, and it almost felt like he was intentionally stalling his response.
I took that as my cue and returned my attention to my food. It was totally fine for him not to want to talk about it. Maybe it was something dear to him, and I was just a stranger.
“I was here to buy a property. Didn’t get it. So, I’m flying back.” He replied very straightforwardly without any lingering emotions.
“I’m sorry to hear that. But hey, who knows? Maybe you’re meant for something better. Also, we don’t have to talk about it.” I said with a small smile of mine. I knew how looking forward to something that ended up not happening felt. I mean, every other person is acquainted with this feeling.
Flashbacks of our interaction in the airport resurfaced, and I was feeling horrible again. He really was having a hard time, and I just lashed out at him like that.
I shook my head to cancel the uncomfortable feeling that was crippling inside and took the last bite of my food, but I hadn’t gulped it down when I felt his eyes on me. I turned my face to my right and there he was, staring at me with an unreadable expression.
“What? Why are you staring at me like that?”
He took two seconds before he said, “I… I think it just unsettled me a little for how easily you said that. Meant for something bigger.” He scoffed, running his hand through his hair. “My mum tells me the same thing. Which is why I find it even more amusing that it came from you.”
“Why is that amusing?” I asked, wiping my fingers and the corner of my lips with the tissue for one last time before discarding it.
“How can it not be?” he shifted in his seat to face me while I moved a little as well, giving him the attention. “I mean, let’s take this deal of mine. It was important to me and goshh… I can’t even begin to explain how much it meant to me. But I end up failing it. And now, I am supposed to believe it happened because I’m meant for something bigger? Doesn’t that sound bizarre?” He proceeded to scoff again but stopped midway as I shook my head and said, “No.”
His eyes settled on me instantly. “Tell me, do you think people can survive without hope?”
He squinted his eyes a little as I watched him trying to formulate an answer, and when he couldn’t, he asked, “How is that relevant here?”
“Because that’s what it is. Telling you you’re meant for something else is a hope that your mom tries to give you every time she feels you might become hopeless. You can’t live a day without hope.”
His eyes wandered in space, which meant I got through his thoughts. My lips curled up in victory when I noticed him shaking his head a little. “I still don’t agree with you, but I like how you put it.” He looked at me from the corner of his eyes as he smirked, while I simply grinned.
I looked at my watch, and we still had more than six hours to go. I was certain I would doze off again at some point, but since I had food in my belly now, I felt a little awake and energized. So, I put my earbuds on and pulled up the book that I was reading on my phone.
An hour went by, just like that, and suddenly my eyelids felt heavy and my eyes a little itchy from staring at the screen at-a-stretch. I looked around and found that David had already dozed off like most of the other passengers. The cabin lights had dimmed down, so I let myself get influenced by the environment and closed my eyes.
A faint chatter woke me up as I opened my eyes slowly. The cabin lights seemed too bright to look at. The flight attendants were asking everybody to put their seatbelts on as we were soon landing. I tried to move, but something heavy sat over my crown. It wasn’t until I turned to my right that I realized what it was. Or rather, who it was.
I had apparently moved so close to David that I was sleeping on him while his head was resting on my crown. I looked down.
At least our hands weren’t mingling, or worse, grabbing his arm or something. How did this happen?
My movements must have woken him up because when I looked up slowly, his eyes were already on me. He looked just as shocked as I, but he didn’t move. And neither did I.
Something must have been there in the air surrounding us, or why else would I find it almost impossible to look away from him, even though every cell in my mind was screaming just that? His blue eyes were so blue at the moment, they appeared black. That’s when I noticed how his irises had a web of white specks in them, making them appear even more appealing.
His gaze roamed all around my face before it settled somewhere below my nose for just a second longer, before it met my gaze again.
“Excuse me, please tie up your seatbelts.” The attendant said with a smile and proceeded to say the same thing in the back again. But that intervention finally broke the hypnotic spell that we were under as we moved away from each other.
What the hell just happened?
I shook my head and buckled up my seatbelt. I didn’t know if I should say something to him, but staying silent felt the safest option.
“Sorry about that. Don’t know how that happened.” He finally said, and I found myself extremely relieved that he chose to speak first.
“I know. Me too.” Was that the most appealing thing I could say? Probably not. But I wasn’t trying to be appealing. I went with whatever words my mind pulled up, and that’s about it.
By the next fifteen minutes, we landed at Heathrow Airport. The seatbelt sign went off as people slowly started getting up to get their bags. I remained seated. I always waited till most people had left the craft before I got up and moved. It didn’t save me any time, but what was the point of standing and making a queue, trying to see who gets to leave faster? We all have landed, and we all will leave. But people had to make everything a competition.
Surprisingly, David didn’t move either until the line of people on the aisle had almost moved out. We got up one by one, retrieved our bags, and walked through the jet bridge as we entered the terminal.
Bright overhead lights and sleek modern design caught my eye almost instantly. High ceilings, polished floors, and large digital boards directing passengers to their destination, the terminal appeared huge compared to the ones I have seen in India.
I looked for signs, and when I finally spotted the immigration area, I took a step but then turned back. David was still following behind. I could very easily just go on with my to-dos, but not having a final word with him felt weird. Almost illegal to do. At least a goodbye, maybe?
“Hey, I’m headed here,” I gestured towards the immigration spot.
His eyes went back and forth between me and the queue of people in front of the counters before he said, “Oh yeah.” He nodded his head.
Why was this so awkward? “Well, it was nice meeting you.” I smiled, and he just nodded a little before I turned to secure a spot in the queue. His lack of words had me feeling disappointed, but I didn’t know him well enough to say anything either.
Some interactions were meant to be this way. You see them, you feel something, but that’s just it. You never see them again and move on. It’s not fair, but I guess that’s how life works. I tried to shift my mind from him to the job I was here for right now.
Slowly, I reached the counter and the UK Border Officer, in his crisp navy-blue uniform, looked at me through the gap between his eyes and his rectangular glasses. He asked me about my visit, scanned my passport, and after a brief exchange, finally stamped it with a firm thud.
Now, baggage claim.
I made a mental note as I inspected the stamp he just pressed against my passport. My lips quirked up upon the realisation that my passport now had a London stamp in it. I actually, really did it.
As I took two more steps, I found David standing where I had left him, looking at his phone. My brows knit in confusion.
“You didn’t leave?” I asked before I could stop myself. He looked up and shoved his phone in his pocket. “I almost did, but then I thought we would be going in the same direction anyway. So, I decided to wait for you.” He said very casually before he flashed me a full smile, which formed a dent in his right cheek.
Something happened inside me. Something like my heart skipping a beat, which felt more like if you deflate a huge balloon with a pin. Was this the first time he really smiled? Or did I not notice this about him earlier?
“Is something wrong?” his question brought me back to our conversation. I shook my head instantly. “No. Everything’s okay. A-okay,” I said, holding onto the straps of my bag a little tighter than before.
We walked to the baggage claim hall, where multiple conveyor belts were lined up, all working for different flights that had landed before or were preparing to land. I searched for our flight number, but before I could find it, David pointed in the space as he said, “We are this way.” I didn’t even bother double-checking if he was right. I just followed him and stood beside him.
I watched people come, get their bags, and even leave, but God knows where my suitcase was. We have been standing here for almost ten whole minutes now, occasionally stealing a few glances at each other, while also occasionally getting caught.
I didn’t know if I should strike up a conversation because his bag could come out next, and he would be on his way, and there wouldn’t be any point in continuing any kind of conversation. And I think he felt the same since he didn’t speak to me as well.
Another couple of minutes later, I finally spotted my shiny rose gold trolley and took it off the conveyor. “Is this all? Or are we looking for more?” David asked me.
“No, that’s all. Your bag is taking time, it seems.” I said, looking back at the conveyor outlet.
“That’s because I don’t have any. I travel with only cabin bags for these kinds of trips.”
I looked at him with utmost confusion. “Then why did you waste so much of your time waiting here?”
“Uh… I was waiting with you? And we are heading in the same direction? Didn’t I tell you that?”
“You did. But I thought you said that for baggage claim. There was absolutely no need for you to stay this long, David. I would have managed just fine.”
He gave me an unimpressed look as I stood there trying to wrap my head around what he had just done. Who does that? We were strangers. Not even friends. I’m not sure even friends would do that.
“Anyway, where are you heading now?” He asked, breaking the chain of my thoughts.
I gripped the handle of my suitcase as we started walking towards the exit. “Mayfair. You?”
“Chelsea.” While I had heard this name, I did not have much idea where it was. “I can drop you off if you want. It’s really on the way. Where are you staying?”
I debated whether I should tell him all of this about me. I mean, yes, we have had good conversations, and he didn’t look like the serial killer types, but what do I know? Yet, somehow, I found the courage to convince myself otherwise and decided to trust my gut, which was telling me to be nice and that it was okay. “I’m staying at Violet Hues. And that won’t be necessary.”
“That’s literally on my way. Come, let me drop you.”
I stopped walking and sighed. “I appreciate it, David, but I can’t keep taking favours from you. Especially when I know there is no way I can return them. Thank you for offering, but I’m gonna have to decline.”
His lips pursed and formed a thin line. “Alright then. I hope you have a great vacation, Aarvi. And I really hope that we meet again. Take care.” He winked as he flashed me that beautiful smile again and went his way.
I really hope that we meet again.
I stood there, trying to understand why the hell I was feeling a sudden flutter in my stomach, before somebody yelled from behind, “Miss, step aside!” and the next thing I saw was a man pushing a trolley filled with several big suitcases and going the other way.
Right. Back in vacation mode.
I was breathing London air. What did I have to think about? A small smile spread across my face as I finally took my phone out and booked an Uber to my hotel.
Welcome to London, Aaru!
Author's note: That went well, I guess! But what's waiting for Aarvi in London? She is finally here, but will this trip work out the way she wants? Or will fate find a way to screw it over?
Honestly, I feel for Aarvi so much. I just want this trip to be successful. T_T
Anyway, let's see what happens!
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Thank you for reading!
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