Tale teller – Simran Ramsay

Rashi was in the midst of a gut wrenching break up. After 2 years of being in love with Aryan how did her friends expect her to let go of the relationship she had poured her heart into. She’d spend nights crying, her sleep was fragmented and unrefreshing, her eyes were swollen and her heart was broken.

Her friends were on a new mission to make her move on and Rashi didn’t have the strength in her to fight it anymore and so they resorted to bumble. After 2 glasses of wine and one long conversation about the inner workings of the dating app, the swiping began. 

The next morning, Rashi woke up to a bittersweet concoction of a hangover and a witty message from a boy. ” I’m looking for someone to share my love of pani puri and literature” She had not uploaded her profile picture and neither did he, which made it that much more exciting: the fact that they had chosen each other solely based on their interests. They started texting more and more often. Rashi found herself flustered, she caught herself smiling at the texts he’d sent and she was enjoying their repartee a little too much. To her, he was a breath of fresh air: refreshing.

They had decided to meet and while she sat at a table for two, her eyes glued to the door, she realised how nervous she was. That was until he walked in, a familiar face wearing the same amused expression that she wore. Standing in front of her was her recent ex- boyfriend Aryan.

Both of them stood there: awkward, confused, dumbfounded and completely speechless. But oncewhat had happened finally set in, they burst into a fit of laughter. Something in the air felt like fate.

They ordered a plate of pani puri, something they’d share on their never-endingdates. A shy smile spread across her face as she remembered how they would fight over the last puri and giggle at each other’s stuffed mouths. Those were good times.

When the plate arrived, they both picked one each and popped the crisp basket of flavour into their mouths. It was a mouthful of magic, the perfect amalgamation of sweet, tangy and spicy. Before they knew it, there was just one pani puri left — the most coveted prize of all. She was just about to slyly grab it but… her claws were a tad bit too late. The winner held it with passion in between his index and thumb, his mouth watering greedily. But instead of letting the puri burst in his mouth, he smiled kindly. Gulped away his greed and moved his hand towards her mouth. Surprised, she ate it. That pani puri sure tasted better than all the rest. It not only held the sweet, spicy and tangy goodness but also the intoxicating proposition of the start of something new.