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Another great srory

Those eyes….

I did not know at that time that even I was prone to such weaknesses as this. I always looked at those other girls with unconcealed disdain and could not help but wonder how on earth one became so vain and shallow!
That was until the day I accidentally bumped into him! I mean that literally.
I could not stand idiotic people who walked aimlessly with limbs flying everywhere and those who knew me knew it was best to keep their distance especially in the morning as I had a zero tolerance policy on such matters, so you can imagine the kind of shock I was in when a complete 6’4 heavily built block of flesh walked right into me as if I did not exist!
I was so shocked I wanted to drop dead and then the all too familiar upsurge of fury gave me back my tongue but as I was taking in some air to prepare me for an outburst of verbal diarrhea, I did the unforgivable mistake of looking him in the eye! That was the moment I lost my senses, strong will and stubbornness.
I was completely mesmerized. He had this hypnotic stare and I was irreversibly bewitched! So am standing there, with my mouth poised for some yelling spree but I can’t say anything and I can’t hear either. I am looking at him but I can’t see him! I am totally lost in that hypnotic stare. I can see he is saying something but I can’t comprehend a word. And then as if things weren’t bad enough as it was, the corners of his mouth start a slow torturous ascent and finally curve into the most beautiful smile I ever saw. That, ladies and gentlemen, was the moment of my distraction. I was transformed into those stupid, giggling, absolutely annoying females that I loathed.
There was this persistent buzz in my ears and I longed for my old self back but then, as there was no telling how I got here how then would I go back? when I miraculously dislodged my eyes from his, and after some seconds- which could well be hours as I had lost all track of time- I got my senses back I heard him say ‘hi’ albeit for the umpteenth time and all I could manage was a weak, somewhat shaky ‘hallo’. I hated this weakling I had become already!
He was not helping either; he still had that smile on his face.
‘At this point I would like to sincerely apologize for bumping into you like that, I should have been watching my step but I was not. Please pardon me for any inconveniences caused ma’am’
This little speech was delivered in one long breath in a deep, deep, drawling voice.
I shook my head in the affirmative, not trusting myself to speak, he sidestepped me and walked away.

As I walked away I tried to think why the hell my heart was doing somersaults and how come I seemed to walk on air. I simply could not fathom the magnitude of this attraction. I had never felt anything like this in my entire life and I did not like the feel of it.
When I got home that evening, I was a zombie, going over my chores like a robot; completely out of this world. All I could think of was those eyes! That hypnotizing stare, that smile. So as I lay in my bed later that night I said a prayer and asked God to take this cup of suffering from me, but was quick to add that if it was his will then I am cool with it. Because if truth was to be told, I was somewhat thrilled by the bitter sweet taste in my mouth that the encounter had left me with.
The morning after!
No one ever told me that one could crave this much! I woke up with a yearning so strong it felt like someone was wrenching my heart out. I asked God to give me strength because I had to go through the day either way. So I took the familiar path to my place of work only it was not so familiar any more. Any one who saw me must have thought I have gone nuts. I looked everyone in the eye hoping against all hope that I might look at the next pair of eyes and find myself looking into those eyes again. As I approached that spot where I had bumped into him, I slowed down and hoped that he would materialize. I was walking in slow motion, looking frantically in all directions but he was no where in sight.
I could not believe myself when I felt my eyes grow moist. Here I was, a grown woman, near panic, wanting to break down just because some stranger did not happen to walk by me. I was so mad at my self but try as I may my feet just could not let me leave the “crime scene”.
After a while -which felt like a lifetime- I resigned to my fate. I started to drag my feet in the general direction of my office and then I totally broke down. I was crying shamelessly like some abandoned child. My make up was all smudged. I leaned over the railing on the road and wept my heart out, and that, people, was the condition my knight-in-shinning-armor found me in.
‘Are you ok ma’am?’
That drawling deep voice again! My head shot up and I looked squarely into those eyes. The eyes I had been searching for. I was basking in the warmth of those eyes when I noticed a strange look in them. Then I got a mental picture of what my face must look like and I swirled around in an instant and tried to bring some order but I guess I only made matters worse by smearing the mascara that was a lone streak down my face and all over my cheeks, the tears did not help any.
‘Is anything the matter? Can I be of any assistance?’
Needless to say I was completely dumbfounded. The moment I had been waiting for was finally here, but I am standing with my back to the man I was previously aching for, like the moron I had become. I made a super human effort of turning around and facing him and was suddenly hit with a stroke of genius!
‘Actually there is’ I answered him in a meek voice I could hardly recognize.
‘I am new in town’ (I had lived there for the last 20 yrs of my life) ‘and I have lost my way. (I knew the town inside out). ‘I was headed to a certain building called freedom house. (There is not a house like that in Africa for all I know!) , ‘Could you please show me the way?’
‘Freedom house…., let’s see…. I don’t think I have ever heard of it are you sure it’s on this side of town?
‘Yes I am pretty sure but I think I took a wrong turn! I am totally lost oh my God what am I going to do?’ I replied almost getting hysterical.
I wanted to slap myself so hard to rouse me from this stupor I seemed to be trapped in. My mouth had gotten a life of its own it was putting me in more trouble with every word it uttered. So there is this voice at the back of my head screaming to the man ‘get out of my face I am a brand new raving lunatic!’ and there is this other one saying ‘you go girl! Butt your eyelids a little harder he might just notice something in your eyes to.’
He said, ‘what direction do you think it might be?’
‘I have totally lost my bearing kind sir, what do you suggest?’
My heart literally stopped with his next words.
‘I could walk you down the street and see if there is any other person who knows the house.’
That was an impossibility of course. There was no way I was asking around for an imaginary freedom house besides, half the people on this street know me since I walk past them twice a day everyday. They would double over with laughter if the gentleman asked for help for this lost lady! Before I could embarrass myself anymore, my phone rung. Thank God for small mercies,
It was my sister, she was calling on a completely different matter but I went ahead and told her my tale of horror of how I was lost and could not find freedom house, she started asking me if I was in any trouble at all and I told her a kind sir was trying to help, that, in women’s language, translates to boy trouble. She burst out laughing and surprisingly I got the humor but caught myself just before I broke out into laughter. So she is laughing on the other end and I am saying “yes… yes… aha… oh… ok …. I see…..” on this other side.

When she started screaming (that’s how she takes her laughter a notch higher) I hung up on her.
‘So I turn to the gentleman and say, oh that was my sister she just gave me the directions and it’s not freedom house its freeman’s house. But thanks for offering to help, I appreciate it.’
‘Are you sure you can make it on your own? Plus your face is all messed up how about we………..’
There it was, he used the word ‘we’ before I did!
‘Ok’ I said before he even asked.
He chuckled and took my hand by the elbow and walked me to the nearest restaurant. Needles to say I was walking on air all the way to the restaurant and I had this sheepish grin on my face that I couldn’t get rid of.
Long story short I managed to single handedly ruin the short breakfast date that followed because I spilled tea on him and myself (knocked the tea pot over, yes I did) spread breadcrumbs all very my retouched face, did I say I used the ‘excuse me I have to powder my nose’ line like three times. I have absolutely no idea where my clumsiness came from because prior to meeting this handsome stranger, clumsiness did not appear in my dictionary. The weird thing was he was actually enjoying himself amid all those awkward moments.
We exchanged numbers and promised to keep in touch. Which we did and with time became extremely good friends I even managed to stop holding my breath (until I turned blue) every time he called, but the best thing about this whole thing was that I got liberated from being so uptight and I actually let my heart feel, all because of a split second gaze into the eyes of a stranger. I can actually say two souls entwined in the blink of an eye!