Rules rule my world ..

 I was sixteen years old when why dad called me to the living room and said

"Son, I want you to always remember, these three rules"

"1. Be extra careful of pretty girls."

"2. You are a man, nobody is coming to help you with your problem, pull up your socks for your entire life."

"3. Don't trust somebody who appears to be extra nice."

And then he asked, "Did you understand son?"

"Yes Dad", I said as I moved out of my living room, not sure why was he telling me so mean rules to me.

But I held on to these rules most of my life, my life revolved around school, books, and knowledge. In my college, my friends wondered if there was a problem with me. I used to ignore all the girls who showed the slightest interest in me. 

After college, I moved to Hyderabad for my work. I am a very social person by nature, and I like going out to events around the city. One such day, I went to a writing event in the city. I was sitting at a table just in front of the entrance, and one good-looking, pretty-dressed girl walked in through the gate. She took a chair and sat at the same table I was sitting at.

After a while, she tried to get my attention, but as Instructed I ignored her, she then came closer and tried to say hi, but I was busy scrolling on my phone. 

She then went ahead and said, Hey my name is Sakshi, and I don't have any problem, I am just intrigued by you. I just want to know you. 

I gave her my concealed excited answer and said Hi. She then said when are you here since, where do you stay, what did I do. She then said that she stayed close to where I stayed. She showed a genuine interest in getting to know me and asked a lot of questions about myself. We ended up exchanging contact numbers. 

Her voice was so beautiful, perfectly complementing her face, she listened to me and just wanted to know more about me.

Later on, a couple of days later on Friday evening she gave me a call. 

The first time I didn't pick, I didn't know what to say to her.

I ended up calling her back after 10 minutes, to see what she had to say.

Softly she said "It was a pleasure meeting you at the event last weekend. You seem to be a really nice guy. I would like to know you better. Is it okay, If we plan and meet tomorrow morning so that we can know each other better? Hiding my excitement I said okay, we can meet."

She seemed to be a pretty nice girl, but there was something unusual, It's usually the other way around, and a guy making an effort. Nevertheless, I jumped on the running bus, after all, who doesn't like attention.

The next day when we met I realized that we were dressed in the same way, she wore a sweat t-shirt and workout pants, with a cap on her forehead. She probably came straight after her workout and her post-workout glow made her look extra pretty, with the winter sun rays shining pretty on her cheeks. 

And she mentioned "Indeed matches are made in heaven"

I smiled and didn't say anything.

She asked if it was okay if we could go to the nearest Apollo pharmacy, she needed some medicines for her grandma who was diabetic and was close to running out. She usually forgets to take the medicines if she doesn't find a packet in her box. This medicine was to be taken at a particular time without any miss. She then expertly guided the storeboy to the correct medicine. 

That's when I said, "Our children would be both smart and beautiful".

She let out a sheepish smile, overhearing my sentence but pretending to have not heard it.

We walked out and went to the restaurant, she asked me to order anything I wanted for breakfast, it was her treat.

I didn't eat anything since I hadn't eaten anything till now, we ordered a heavy breakfast and sat talking. Our conversation revolved around how men are slowly turning into a forgotten gender. Especially in our country where a man is considered guilty until proven otherwise, and a woman is innocent until proven otherwise. 

The criminal laws are heavily one-sided, and the suicide rate of adult males is alarmingly higher than women. How both men and women should help and support each other unlike things going one way. She showed me pictures of her flat, her dog, and her office. She said she had almost everything she needed, money was never even her top 3 concern. 

The only thing she was afraid, that she might not be able to find a genuine guy in life to settle down with. 

She was probably hinting at something, and my heart had turned into a complete melt when she said that. I was unimaginably attracted to her.

In the middle of our talk she looked at her watch, she said that she needed to remind her grandma to take medicines because she was both diabetic and forgetful, she took out her phone from her pocket and said "Oh damn, my phone is completely drained, I won't be able to make this call"

I felt very bad for her and said can I help you with that. I handed her the new iPhone that I just bought a couple of weeks ago, she dialed a number and said "Hello grandma"

She then gave me to Sush, and said "Give me a minute I am coming back".

The restaurant we were in was particularly noisy, so I concluded it was because she couldn't hear the sickly voice of her grandmother. I saw her making a call again near the exit of the restaurant I was so sure that she was coming back. After a while, she walked out, thereafter I waited five minutes turning thirty minutes into one hour, one and a half hours, two hours. The girl didn't show up. 

As much as I wanted to I couldn't scream at the top of my voice inside that restaurant. I felt silly and embarrassed. The waiter came and handed me the bill of 2751 rupees, which I paid through my card. When I told him my story, he kept his tray on the table and laughed very hard. I asked him to help me with his phone, I dialed my number and it was switched off. That's when the reality hit me.

A week later when I told my friends about it, they laughed at first and felt sorry for me. Somebody then pointed it out  "It's okay, you got to know what it's like to go on a date,if you hadn't given yourself a chance, you would have never known." 

I know I was punished for breaking my dad's rule no 1, but the price I paid was not only a broken heart.