Little Ways Down The Road - Chapter 1 - The Girl at the Beach

It had been well past two years. Still, he never altered his time-table. Even if it rained or ran low temperatures, even if fog blocked the roads, he didn't stop doing what he loved.

The sea beach area in Visakhapatnam is famous for the number of morning joggers it attracts. All along the road adjoining the beach runs a footpath, and a wall between the beach and road, with the wall being nearly two feet high, one and a half feet wide. This wall running between the beach and the pavement served as a place people could sit and view the sea. The sea waves always seem closer and the mist it sprays feels heavenly. People of almost all age groups come for morning walks and jogging, small games at the beach sands. Some bring their pets along, some come with their friends, family. Some come alone.

Arjun was one such loner who came jogging every morning sharp at 5:30. He would start from his house by walk, reach the beach road in ten minutes and then he would jog along the beach, occasionally looking at the waves, otherwise, thinking of something deeply. After an hour of jog, he would halt at a spot along the wall, somewhat farther from the traffic, where the waves seemed closer than at any other place. He would sit at the wall, facing the sea, and relax with his thoughts.

It was a Sunday morning with clouds brimming the sky. As he sat facing the misty, slashing sea, Arjun's thoughts got focused on one girl, a girl who had changed his life. A girl who never came back. A girl whose name he never knew...

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He had completed his MBA from one of the prestigious institutions in the country. But that didn't give him any happiness. The girl who he thought would be his love, had broken up with him for all wrong reasons. Because, according to her, he wasn't tying himself up to her. She had wanted him to hover around her all day and night, to focus just on her. How much ever he had wanted to, he had other things to attend to. As priorities increased, thoughts differed, misunderstandings increased and so did the distance between them. Finally she had called it off, without any second thought about second chances. Arjun had remained broken for a long time, unable to forget it, unable to forget her.

It was then that he came to Vizag, to be alone, to be far away from those memories. His father owned a business which sprawled across half the country. There were plans to start a new one in the city and he was there. Arjun came down more for his personal reasons than the interest in his dad's business. Being rich and smart wasn't enough for him to satiate the emptiness in his heart anymore. He had wanted to give himself some time to recover and thought maybe trying to build physical strength might distract him.

He started staying away from late night parties, gatherings and such celebrations which reminded him of his past life. Instead, he started going to bed early and go for a jog at the beach, a ten minute walkable distance from his house, early in the morning.

The first ever time he went jogging, he had his concentration all on his mental worries. But amidst that, he couldn't help noticing her. He didn't completely see her face as she was sitting with her back to him at the wall adjoining the beach. But he could make out that she looked like any other girl, not so special. Except, she was very fair in colour with partly curly hair which fluttered with the wind, half tied, half left loose and a serious expression on face.

She wore a white t-shirt and blue sweatpants. Sitting on the wall, facing the sea, she had a big diary in her lap. Head bent, she went on writing, slowly, pouring her thoughts into the journal, oblivious to her surroundings. It was the concentration she was having on her work that caught his attention. He stopped in his tracks for a moment, looked at her and when it dawned on him that she hadn't noticed him or anything else at all, he sighed and went away, jogging.

This happened for over a week. He initially would observe her in passing as he jogged, for a moment or two. She would be sitting on the wall, facing the sea and writing something in her diary or watching the sea peacefully. But after 3 or 4 days, he started pausing his jog, standing a little away from her and observing her for a longer time. It was her tenacity that caught his attention. She would write, sigh, stare at the sea waves intently, thinking deeply, smile to herself sometimes and then bend her head down to continue writing her diary. She would fill the whole page by the end. She would never care who passed by her, who sat on the wall next to her, nothing. It was as if she was in a different world of her own. And everyday, she would wear white clothes. He never saw her using a cell phone or I-pod or any gadget. He doubted if she brought any of them with her to the beach.

One evening Arjun was watching prime-time news on TV at his home when he heard a report that the crime rate in the city was increasing. Girls were no longer safe to go out alone. Arjun's immediate thought was about the stranger, the girl who sat alone at the beach, everyday. He felt quite stupid, thinking about a stranger's safety.

The next day, as he halted near the loner, he thought if he should warn her not to roam alone. Before he could decide, however, a few sturdy and gangly, unkempt guys came walking by. As they passed her, they commented in an unholy way on the girl. That angered Arjun. But he couldn't end up fighting them; it would seem really off and foolish. Instead, he gave a low sigh and sat on the wall next to the girl, at a distance of ten inches. She was oblivious to that too.

"You know, you mustn't come here alone like this, it's not safe," he said to her seriously.

For the first time, she jerked back into reality and turned to him. As he saw her face completely, he couldn't help admiring the innocence and purity it reflected.

"What?" she asked. Her voice sounded different, sweet, yet with a tint of an unusual greyishness .

"You shouldn't come here alone," he repeated and jerked his head towards the stray guys who were standing a few feet away, looking at the two of them.

She gave a casual look at them and then turned back to him. "It's quite common here. Don't think about it. It's not so serious," she assured.

"What do you mean? Aren't you afraid that something might happen?" He was surprised.

"At this morning hour, when so many people are jogging here?" She chuckled. "I am confident enough about my fate to trust that nothing serious would happen."

She felt paranoia creeping in her, discussing her security issues with a handsome guy who had so suddenly apparated near her.

He shook his head and said with a smile, "That's over confidence."

She chuckled again and began her writing. He observed for a while and then stared aimlessly at the sea. He waited for those stray guys to disappear and then said to the girl, "Don't be so sure of yourself. Fate is not in your hands." She looked at him, gulping and then gave a small nod. He stayed there till the clock struck seven, watching her think and write, giving low sighs in between. Then both got up at the same time.

"Be safe," he said slowly and then without any formal goodbye or a smile as such, he turned and went off jogging. She stood there, staring at him as he disappeared.

Though she tried hard, she couldn't get the strange guy, who had been worried about her safety, out of her head. She wondered if she would see him again.

The next day morning, she sat at her usual place, writing her thoughts as usual. After some time, she sensed a movement beside her. Turning her head, she saw the same, strange guy sitting next to her at the same distance like the previous day.

"You like doing what you want to do, I suppose, no matter how risky it is," he spoke softly.

"Yes," she replied with a smile.

"Why don't your friends come with you?" he asked casually.

"Why should I tell that to a stranger?" she questioned.

"Don't you ever think that I like getting strangers speak out all their details to me." He was irritated to find that she was doubting his character.

Both didn't speak for a long time. Meanwhile, she went on writing her diary. She sensed, felt it deep in her heart, that the guy sitting beside her was trustworthy, that he wasn't any rogue taking advantage of a lonely girl. He looked quite respectable.

"I like staying alone," she said slowly.

He turned to her, thinking why she had so suddenly decided to disclose her opinion. "That's not good always. Days are changing," he observed.

"Maybe. But I don't change," she said, still writing. Somehow, her confidence brought a smile to his face. At seven, both got up.

"Bye," they said to each other and went off in different directions.

This schedule continued for almost a week. They would greet each other "Good morning!" when he came jogging and sat beside her. Occasionally they would talk about the weather. He would look at her as she wrote her diary. She would watch him from under the cover of her eyelashes, diagonally, and notice him stare at the sea thinking something, occasionally observing her. At the usual time, they would leave, saying "Bye," to each other . Sometimes, one of them would turn back to see the other disappear.