Suresh was a small time roadside florist. His day started at 5 am. He would go to the supplier with his van to collect fresh flowers for the day. At 5:30 he will open the shutter of his shop. By 6 am his shop will be all set for the day. It was a small 4 X 4 feet khokha, situated on the footpath, nearby to the Pushp Vihar red light. His main customers were the nearby temples in Madangir, Pushp Vihar Sector 4, sector 7 etc. He also used to get orders for floral decorations in school functions or wedding ceremonies. He was not highly educated, but when working with flowers he turned into an artist. He could make the most beautiful designs. He had a keen sense of colour combination and when his product was ready it seemed perfect. All the colours, the pattern, the choice of flowers, everything seemed to be just right. He used to keep his shop open till 8 pm, after which he would pack up the stuffs, load the bouquets in his van, pull down the shutter of his shop and head back to his home in Khanpur. Neglecting the occasional pestering of the police to pay rent for the footpath shop, life was mostly good for Suresh.
It was the month of January, at around 7:45 pm when Suresh was rounding up his things. It was foggy throughout the day and the cover was getting thicker as the night progressed. The yellowish glare of the halogen street lights coupled with the fog, generated a mysterious ambience all around. Even the ever busy red light of Pushp Vihar had less number of vehicles that day.
Suresh saw a girl coming from the nearby bus stop. She was wearing an overcoat and was walking briskly towards Sector 4, while talking to someone on the phone. She walked past him, still talking on the phone. Suresh didn’t mind her and carried on with his work of packing up. A car zoomed past Suresh at high speed. It was dangerous to drive that fast in such poor visibility.
A-holes will get themselves killed or will kill someone else. Suresh muttered to himself.
Suddenly he heard a shriek from a distance. Nothing was visible owing to the fog. Suresh dropped his flowers and went running in the direction of the shriek. He could see that the car had stopped. Someone from the car was holding an arm of the girl.
Suresh shouted, “Hey. Who is there?” He started running towards the scene.
They promptly restarted the car and fled.
“Madam. Are you okay?” Suresh asked the girl.
The girl was sobbing and shaking really bad.
“Do you live nearby?”
She nodded.
“May I accompany you to your home?”
The girl looked at him uneasily. Suresh could understand that the girl can’t trust a stranger guy.
“Okay. Why don’t you just call up someone from your family to come here, till then I will wait here?”
“It’s okay. I can manage myself.” But her voice was still shaking.
“Madam it is not safe in this heavy fog. I know you can’t trust me. My name is Suresh. I run a small flower shop just nearby to the red light. You walk past my shop, probably twice a day. Now I know you still may not be convinced but please allow me to walk you till the society gate. After that it is comparatively safer”.
She nodded her head.
They walked in absolute silence. It was just 5 minutes walk.
Upon reaching the gate the girl looked at Suresh with thankful eyes. “Thank you so much”.
“Take care.” said Suresh.
He waited at the gate till she entered her building.
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Next day Suresh was busy as usual. Republic Day celebrations were impending in the schools and many of them had booked him for decorations. Garlands for decorating the stage, bouquets to be given to chief guests, petal rangoli : the demand was very high. Suresh was making garlands when someone stopped in front of his shop. It was the same girl from yesterday.
She greeted him.
“Hi. Thank you so much for your help yesterday.”
“Hi madam. Arey it’s okay. It is my duty. I have been working here since past 7 years. Any responsible person would have done the same.”
“But still. In current times it is very difficult to expect any help from stranger. So thank you again”.
Suresh smiled.
“Okay Suresh. I got to go now, or I will be late for my office”
“Madam just wait for a minute.”
Suresh put together few colourful orchids and wrapped it up in a small, beautiful bouquet. “Here take this. Have a nice day”
“Wow. You are really good at this stuff. How much for it?” She started opening her bag.
Suresh looked a bit disappointed. “I am not selling it to you madam. This a humble gift for you. I do not want money for it”.
She realised her folly and took the bouquet from him. “Thank you”. She hurried towards the bus stop amidst the morning fog cover.
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It became a daily routine for both of them. She used to greet Suresh once in the morning and again in evening, while getting back from her office. Occasionally it won’t be a mere nod of head in acknowledgement and they would chat for a minute or two.
The girl was off on an official tour in the middle of January, so their morning ritual was interrupted. Suresh missed her but he didn’t have time to brood on it. He worked really hard through the last week of January and first week of February. After finishing off with the Republic Day functions, he worked on few marriage ceremonies too.
One fine February morning while setting up his shop Suresh heard a familiar sweet voice.
“Hi Suresh. How have you been?”
“Arey waah. Madam !!! You are back. I am good. How are you? How was the tour?”
“It was as usual. Boring stuff. So you’ve been busy?”
“Yeah. 26 January, marriages. Lots of work. But I am glad that I am keeping busy. It’s my bread and butter.”
“Now another season is coming. Valentine’s week. Your sales must increase during that time?”
“Yes. This year too I am hoping for the best”
“It will be great. Don’t worry. See you then. Bye” She said with a smile.
At that moment Suresh really believed that whatever she says will come true. How can anyone with such a divinely beautiful smile ever be wrong?
He decided that he will give her a bouquet made of the most exquisite roses on 7th February, Rose day.
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Valentine’s week started. The day arrived. Suresh opened his shop one hour early that day. He chose the freshet of the flowers and put all his expertise into making the bouquet. It was by far his best creation till date. It was a 3 layered circular bouquet, one of the most complicated designs. But Suresh pulled it off perfectly.
He started waiting for her. Her usual time of crossing the shop passed by, but she was nowhere to be seen. As the day progressed more and more customers started flocking his shop. The sales were at an all-time high. Suresh was happy with the sales but his eyes were alternating between the bus-stop and the sector expecting to find her.
It was 7 pm in the evening when he finally saw her coming from bus stop. He wondered how did he missed her in the morning.
“Hi Suresh. So, how were the sales today?” She asked in her ever-cheerful voice.
“Hello madam. Sales were best today. All your predictions came true. Thanks for that.”
She smiled, “No need to thank me. Your hard work deserved this. Now it is high time you give a name to your shop. You are a big trader now”
“I don’t know about that. By the way I didn’t see you in the morning today. Actually I have something to give to you”
“A colleague came over. I went to office in his car in the morning. While passing by I saw you busy in selling flowers, so I didn’t disturb you. Anyways, you wanted to give me something?”
Suresh took out the bouquet and handed it over to her.
She marvelled at its beauty. The roses, their arrangement, the layering, the wrapping, everything about the bouquet was beautiful.
She smiled, “Thank you so much Suresh”
Suresh smiled and nodded.
“There’s another thing which I want to tell you.” she added in a somewhat lower voice.
“I got my posting order today. I am shifting to Hyderabad. So I guess I won’t be seeing you anymore. I wish you all the best.” She extended her hand for a hand shake.
Suresh completed the hand shake with a forced smile.
“madam. Can I ask you one thing?”
“Sure.”
“May I know your name?”
She blushed. “Oh. I am so sorry. I never Introduced myself. Taruna. Taruna Chatterjee.”
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Life went in its normal course for both Taruna and Suresh. Their paths crossed for a brief interval of time and it never really affected any of their lives. Just the small 4X4 khokhanearby to the Pushp Vihar red light now had a name.
“Taruna Flower Shop.”
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