1 ENCOUNTER

I first saw him when I was just twelve years old. He worked at our stable. Who was he i didn't know it then but i felt a sudden draw towards him i was a bratty 12 year old whose brain function for 2 things one to play and second to prank. The next question will be about him obviously i know well how can you expect me to answer i have only met him. If you are really interested let me tell you he was my everything he still is. This is a story of a brat and a poor soul who was an unwilling object of admiration from a brat.

This is our journey I have asked his permission to tell our story and he was like who will be interested? But I know someone will be. Raja and me falling in love who would have thought certainly not him nor me with the way things turned out ours was far from a perfect love story. It was kind of a mess all over the place child like innocent demanding everything from us not giving anything back. We have lost and gained in love just like you and every one else.

You all will be wondering who am I? Well my name is Asha . If you are expecting me to be some deep chick with kind heart and stuff you are on the wrong story because Iam not, eventhough my sister is, you can go after her like everyone. I was living a rather blissful life with a lot of fun involving unfortunate servants who calls me Ashu baby because I had every bit tantrum that you could see in a child. But I was far from a well behaved one the servants were scared of me. Not of my tantrums mind you though it was good nothing could beat my legendary pranking skills.

If you are imagining love is some kind of a magic feeling , I can tell you it is not instead it makes you crazy and dangerous. I was a dangerous threat to Raja's peace of mind once he saw me.

I burst through the door pushing fanny my big sister who is four years older than me leaving her crying. I moved around the living room and dumped oil on the floor my nasty nanny will be on the way soon she sleeps till noon even if she doesn't fall I don't mind there are many people in the house I hate. I thought of my agenda for today, nothing interesting to do even torturing servants doesn't seem appealing. I aimlessly wandered to stable to find a new person mucking the stable.

I knew every servant in my house majority have been there for years the new ones occasionally appeared have been successful sent away by me. I couldn't take anybody I don't like working for me. I always kept servants in their toes or else you wouldn't know what they would have done here. Certainly not work all of them hated any work and were huge gossips who will put many women to shame.

I have never seen him before I staightened my dress unconsiously. I registered he was quiet handsome and he is not wearing a shirt. He also looks a little different , almost like a white person. I noticed it because I always like to watch them simply because they are rare here in my country India. I watched him washing a white horse and he was absorbed in the task and I backed away to hide.

When he was finished he moved on to washing the other horse there were only two horse in the stable my dad was not a horse person and he let the stable on because it has been there for generations though number of horses keeps dwindling. I moved on casually like I wasn't hiding and watching him and proceeded to untie the rope on the white horse.

He turned and saw me immediately saying halt, I froze no one ever said that to me before I mused but gathering a condemning look at him I saddled the horse and climbed on it. He said in a calming voice that he has just finished washing the horse and it isn't even dry. I haughtily asked him to move away and to my surprise he reached over the horse pulling me down and looked me squarely in the eye and said, " So you are the brat they were all talking about" . I frowned at him and without thinking I kicked him in the balls. He was surprised and grunted with pain. I felt really happy and went on my merry way. That was my initial encounter with Raja there were many more to come.

That time I only thought of him as a handsome servant he was the kind of guy any woman would crush on. The level of my feelings were not very deep what I saw and my reaction were pretty much the same you will have for a stranger who pass by you on a busy road or the cute server guy you met on the coffee shop or the hunk who asked your number from a pub.

But his face was carved into my mind because of his handsomeness and his way of treating horses. I loved my horses beside myself they were only the ones I loved. I fed them apples and sugar without anyone knowing. I loved those innocent creatures Ramu kaaka tells me the love for horse has come from my mother.

She loved and looked after them always also took time to help them during their birth and even buried them with honor in our garden. She thinks that God has made horses so man could learn how such amazing creatures have all the qualities Ike speed , beauty and agility but still manages to look so innocent that you could not help but fall in love with them.