Pearls of Love

A/N: Hey there! :D :D I'm finally back with another OS after quite some time. :) :)

Happy Reading! :D :D

It was a beautiful winter morning. A nine year old boy strolled about the forest casually, taking in the breathtaking nature before his eyes, a brass pot in his hand. The school trip had proved to be much better than he expected it to be and this exploration was even better. Their scouts' team had gone separate ways to fetch wood and water for cooking, and as fate could have it, he was in charge of getting the water that only gave him more opportunity to explore the forest.

Finally reaching the bank, he looked at the breathtaking beauty of the lake, the dry leaves falling around the area lazily. The boy rolled up his pants and made his way into the lake, getting to the part where clean water was accessible. The water was icy cold, but the boy enjoyed it. Even though the boy was now heading towards deep waters almost 1/3rd more than his height, he did not worry. The day had a very bewitching effect, and made him feel a calm that was most pleasing.

He now used his arms to make his way towards the center, as he used the brass pot in his hand as support. However, he had barely managed to fill the pot when he lost balance, his feet getting entangled with the weeds that were trapped below, and he felt the weeds pull him below the surface. The cold however soon turned into agony as he felt it attack him like fire. His brain itself seemed to have frozen as he tried to push through the dark water to the surface.

The boy kicked out wildly, trying to push himself back to the surface, but the weeds prevented him from doing so. Thrashing, suffocating, he scrabbled at the entangled weeds, and now little lights were popping inside his head, and he was going to drown, there was nothing left, nothing he could do, and the arms that closed around his chest were surely Death's.

Choking and retching, soaking and colder than he had ever been in his life, he came to face down to the edge of the bank. Somewhere close by, another person was panting and coughing and staggering around. He barely saw a silhouette above him and could have sworn that he had seen the most beautiful girl of his life in the moment. She looked younger than him, her face curiously staring into his own, and her long eyelashes batting itself frequently, while her long black hair remained plastered to her face.

"Are you alright?"

"I guess so." said the boy, who could still feel himself throwing up water. A distant sound was heard and the girl quickly got up from his side, looking frightened.

"I need to go... do please take care and be alive." The boy widened his eyes in surprise as he tried to raise himself up from the grassy ground, but failed.

"No wait... wait! Come back, please!" But even before he could as much as get up, she had disappeared behind a couple of trees.

"Come back!" yelled the man in his room as he eyes shot open, his hand suspended midair as though trying to catch hold of something. Quickly retracting his hand away once the haze of the moment faded away, he threw his palm over his face, shaking his head hopelessly against his pillow.

He had been dreaming about the same girl every night from the past sixteen years, yet the incident just felt like yesterday. Yesterday, when he fell in love with the girl who had so miraculously saved his life. The girl, who was no less than an angel in his eyes. He had lost his heart to her in the moment his blurry eyes had seen her for the first time, infusing within him a new life that only made him thrive.

He did not know who she was or where she was or how she reached there to save him, but she had been a regular part of his life each night with the dreams. Or to be more precise, the same dream. Yawning softly, he realized that it was already dawn. Getting out of bed, he quickly made his way to the washroom, the usual curiosity-filled thoughts of his dream abandoning him.

"No!" yelled the girl as he sprung up from her bed, looking around the room wildly. The moment she realized that everything was alright, she heaved a long sigh of relief, before she let her head drop back on the pillow. She had dreamt about this incident after a long time, and she could not, for the life of it, imagine what had triggered the dream, but either way, she sighed.

The incident had taken place so long ago that sometimes, she wasn't sure that whether it was even real. Even though the possibility about the fact that it was all a fabrication of her imagination had crossed her mind several times, she knew deep in her heart that it was real. She had pondered several times upon the boy in her dream, and how she had kept dreaming about him repetitively for several years, but she could never draw a conclusion from it.

She did not know what it was about the boy that had fascinated her so much and had taken her fancy, but she knew that she felt something for him. Love would be too strong a word, but infatuation would be too small a one too. There was something about the way his chocolate eyes had stared through her own onyx ones that had captivated her heart, made her feel alive in all those years.

She had lost hopes in her heart of ever being loved that day when she had sought refuge at the lake. She could not see any light to her predicament for her heart was bleeding with the pain of losing her loved ones. She was far too young to bear the burden of such pain, yet her little heart tried to beat against the shattering impact of what had been taken away from her three months prior to that.

And that's when she had seen him. In that moment when their eyes met, she could only see a strange kind on love in them for her, and in those few moments where they had locked eyes, she could have sworn that they had formed a bond. Her heart found a few will to live and to love, and she had been gifted the strength to face her new life ever since.

But she knew that pondering over those same emotions could wait. She turned around towards the bed stand and looked at the clock sleepily. 6AM. Her eyes widening in surprise, she quickly sprung up from the bed again, as though somebody had shocked her, hurriedly making her way into the washroom, knowing for certain that she was going to be late for her seminar at the University.

Twenty minutes later, he rushed to the kitchen where his mother had already made him his breakfast, while his father gave him a broad smile. Quickly eating his breakfast and draining down his cup of coffee at the same time, he quickly bid his father goodbye and kissed his mother for the same, before hurriedly sitting into his car and driving himself to his office, where he had an important meeting in half an hour.

Reaching the office, he was greeted warmly by all of his peers and subordinates, as he smiled broadly. Somehow, there was something about the day that made his spirits rise, something that he hadn't felt in ages, yet it felt welcome. Morning smoothly transitioned into noon along with a successful meeting that got the man's company a seven-crore deal. Everybody was happy, and the man had given his employees a day off while he sat in his cabin finishing off some last-minute details.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The man picked up his cellphone and smiled broadly.

"Sumit! Hey there! How are you?"

"I'm good, mate, but in a bit of a dilemma." The man wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion as he heard the tension in his friend's voice.

"What about?"

"You know about Shalini, right? Well, we are going on a date today. But, we need someone to accompany us as well. Family issues," his friend added hurriedly, just as the man was about to speak. The man, in turn, spoke awkwardly.

"So you want me to join the two of you?"

"Yes," said Sumit as he sighed on the phone, before speaking in a harried tone. "Look I know that you are busy, but really, it would be a huge load off my head. Besides, I don't trust anybody else that much."

"I have no problem joining the two of you but what on Earth am I supposed to do all alone?" asked the man reasonably, even though the thought of accompanying his friend on his date was not something that he eagerly looked forward to.

"Well, you won't be alone. Shalini is bringing along her friend as well. The two of you can go on a blind date." The man retained his silence for a minute before he exploded.

"You've got to be kidding me! You know how much I detest blind dates!" The man now groaned inwardly at the thought of what his friend was asking of him and sure enough, when Sumit spoke, his tone was placid.

"Look, on any other occasion, I wouldn't have told you about it, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Besides, Shalini's friend is pretty cool. The same wavelength as yours. The two of you should get along well enough."

"But I-"

"Mate, please. Do it for me. I'll owe you one." The man growled, as he knew that he would not be able to decline helping his friend in times of need. He spoke darkly.

"Alright. At what time am I supposed to meet you?"

"Meet me at 7 at Hotel Carcassonne."

The evening saw the man in Hotel Carcassonne, a bouquet in his hand. He met with Sumit and Shalini, who had expressed their gratitude on his willingness to accompany them, and made sure that things would not be awkward, for which they were to sit on two separate tables. Even though the man now sat on his table silently with no worries of any PDA around him, he couldn't help but feel awkward about this blind date, and about how the night was to be for himself and the unknown girl.

He had kept his attire overly simple for the evening, a simple white T-shirt and jean, with a brown jacket over it. He waited on the table for ten minutes, flipping through the menu card idly when a girl took a seat opposite him. The man looked up and felt his breath get hitched, a quick blush crossing his features. Opposite him sat a girl barely a year younger than him, with beautiful brown eyes, and rosy cheeks, her features overall attractive. She looked stunning in the halter neck aqua dress that she wore that flowed gracefully below her knees, while she gave him a warm smile.

"Hi, I'm Ishaani. Ishaani Parekh." The girl smiled at him radiantly as she extended her hand in polite acquaintance. The man stood up from his chair and completed their round of introductions.

"I'm Ranveer Vaghela. It's a pleasure meeting you."

"I'm sure the pleasure is all mine." Ranveer stared at her curiously for a few moments before asking in a confused voice.

"Have we met each other before?" Ishaani looked lost momentarily, as though trying to recollect whether to two of them had indeed met before. She gave up after a few moments.

"I don't think so, no. Although, it does feel like that." Both of them stared at each other for a few moments before Ranveer remembered to give her the bouquet of blue orchids that he had bought her. He handed it over to her flustered, while she chuckled and gave him a gratifying smile. Both of them took their seats while Ranveer now spoke in an embarrassed tone.

"Please forgive me if I'm awkward on the date. It's my first time on a blind date and needless to say, I'm pretty uncomfortable with them."

"Oh don't worry, that's my precise view on the topic. Well, its five minutes to our acquaintance and we already have a common point. This looks promising."

"It does." Ranveer and Ishaani smiled at each other broadly, the latter asking politely.

"Shall we order for something to eat, if you don't mind? I'm starving."

"I was going to say the same thing." Ranveer and Ishaani smiled at each other as the former signaled the waiter to take their order, both of them settling into a comfortable silence.

The evening proceeded smoothly, and nobody who saw Ranveer and Ishaani together in that period would have guessed that they were meeting each other for the first time. The two of them bonded over quickly, their likes and dislikes way apart, yet their wavelength the same, their expectations and ambition in life alike.

The two of them spoke like comrades who were catching up after years of estrangement, like two people who were the best of friends. They both found a genuine liking for each other, mentally thanking their stars that something good had come out from the blind date that was most certain to see doom. Rounds of laughter and jokes passed around the table as the two of them ate simultaneously, both of them all smiles for each other.

So far, it was perfect.

"-and so then Ruth tells me that the deal is yours and voilà! It's ours!" Ishaani gave him an impressed look as Ranveer explained how he had procured the seven-crore deal the same afternoon. She spoke in an awestruck tone.

"Wow! It must be so awesome being the CEO of a company now, mustn't it?" Ranveer looked a little uncomfortable, and spoke in a modest voice.

"It's much more responsibility than it looks to be."

"That goes without saying. But you can't deny that being amongst the youngest CEOs of a company is rewarding." Ranveer smiled in appreciation.

"Yes, that's true. It does have its pros and cons both, although the pros outweigh the cons," he admitted openly, and Ishaani smiled broadly. Ranveer continued. "But you aren't that behind either. Being a professor in criminal psychology at your age is nothing short of an achievement." Ishaani gave him a genial smile.

"Well, I always believe that if you do something you love, you are bound to exceed," she said in a passionate voice, while Ranveer nodded his head in agreement. Looking at her inquisitively, Ranveer questioned.

"Sumit tells me that you are a national level athlete as well. Is that true?" Ishaani nodded her head as the waiter brought them their desserts, a lemon mousse placed before her. Taking a bite from the same, she nodded her head.

"I'm afraid so. I'm a national level swimmer. It's why I became late, my training went up till 5."

"Oh, that's alright. But I'm glad that you are amongst those who respect time."

"Oh trust me, I do." Both of them gave each other a silent look of understanding, before returning their attention over to their desserts. They ate the remainder of their meal in warm silence, as the other's company was now endearing rather than awkward. The moment dessert came to an end, Ishaani asked softly.

"So tell me, who all are a part of your family?" Ranveer gave her a stern look as she went to take the bill book from his hand, and quickly slipped his credit card into it. She cocked her eyebrow in skepticism, he doing the same, before she rolled her eyes at him irritably. He relaxed back into his seat and spoke in a calm voice.

"Only me and my parents. I don't have any siblings. What about you?" Ishaani shrugged her shoulders with a slight indifference, her voice now blank.

"Nobody, to be precise. My parents and elder sister died in a car crash when I was seven. I've been living in an orphanage since. That is, till 18. Post that, I got myself an apartment from the money my parents had that I was given access to." Even though Ishaani gave him a blank look, he smiled at her in all too-much understanding.

"That's... I'm so sorry. It must be a very difficult life." Ishaani gave him a sad smile, her voice slightly heavy.

"It certainly hasn't been easy."

The dinner coming to an end, Sumit and Shalini took off for the park while Ranveer and Ishaani chose to go to the beach. Both of them strolled silently, the night breeze of the sea making them feel peaceful while the waves of the sea crashed across the shore in a calm rhythm. The sky above them was clear, the moon glowing brightly and the stars around enhancing the stunning beauty of the night.

"This feels so beautiful." Ishaani and Ranveer walked over the shore line as they felt the waves flowing over their feet. The former shut her eyes and spoke in a mesmerized tone.

"Oh it is."

"So, have you ever fallen in love?" Ranveer did not know why he asked her this, but he did. He turned to look at Ishaani, who had a very undecipherable expression on her face. After a few minutes, she spoke quietly.

"I guess so... although you can't exactly call it love. Or maybe you can, I don't know."

"What do you mean?" Ishaani looked at him, a strange fire dancing in her eyes as she spoke slowly, her eyes distantly viewing the memory of the boy whose image was so distinctly burnt across her mind.

"I only saw him once in my entire life, that too many years ago." Ranveer gave her a small smile, speaking in a carefully-measured playful tone.

"Love at first sight, eh?" Ishaani gave him a mischievous smile, and gave him a non-committal jerk of her head.

"Something like that, yes. I've thought about him a lot, and strangely enough, I've never felt anything for any other boy ever since. He gave me a new life that day, a new will to live and to love, to learn and to experience life. The closest I've come across to genuinely liking a guy after him is you." Ranveer gave her a overwhelmed look before his face quickly flitted back into a pleased one.

"The feeling is mutual."

"So you've been in love too?" Ishaani cocked her eyebrow at him expectantly, while he gave her a flustered look. Both of them now walked a little distance away from the shore line, now away from the frothing waves as they sat down, making themselves comfortable.

"Yes, I was nine. She'd saved my life that day. I've never felt like that for any girl," said Ranveer sincerely while Ishaani smiled towards the star-studded sky, speaking sincerely.

"She must be a lucky girl." Ranveer looked at her intently for a moment, thinking upon whether or not should he tell her about his story, before he decided in favour of it.

"I don't know who she is."

"What?" Ishaani looked back towards him in surprise, while he flushed dully.

"I had gone for a school camping trip and has been a victim of an accident. I'd gone to the lake for fetching water when I fell into it. I nearly died when a girl saved me. I don't know who she was or how she happened to come there, but she did and she saved me. One moment she was there, the next moment, gone." Ishaani now looked at him as comprehension dawned. She asked him a little too eagerly.

"And what did she tell you?"

"She asked me if I was alright and I said I was and then she said-"

"-that I need to go. Please take care and be alive." Ranveer looked at her stunned for a moment before he asked her in an awestruck voice.

"It was you?" Ishaani looked dumbfounded for a moment before she nodded her head.

"Yes... yes it was me."

"I can't believe it! I've been searching for you for all these years and you..."

"I know..." Both of them looked at each other amazed, as they spent the next few minutes trying to take in the staggering truth that had just been finally disclosed. The particular memory had been such a crucial point in their life and had determined the way their lives were to pave itself. It was after several minutes that Ranveer asked in a curious voice.

"So what were you doing by that lake that day?"

"I had come camping with my orphanage. I got into an ugly argument with one of the other kids. It was my birthday that day, you see, and it had just been 3 months since the death of my family. Even though I had just turned eight, I gained maturity the moment I lost the shelter of a family. The kid I got into an argument with spoke a lot of mean things and basically implied that I was to be unloved for life because I deserved it. I stormed off, never wanting to return back. I came by the lake and had barely composed myself when I saw you drowning in the water. I thought as much that you must be drowning, so I jumped in and saved you."

"Oh."

"I pulled you out from the water and I was satisfied that you were at least alive. But before I could do anything, my patron had come looking for me. I went to call her for help but by the time I could trace her voice, she had headed towards another direction. By the time we met and I could bring her back to you, you were gone."

"Yes, my scout members had reached the lake in search for me. They took me back to the campsite." Ishaani now looked at him seriously.

"What were you doing in the first place?"

"I had gone to fetch water."

"In the middle of the lake? I do hope that you read the signboard before you jumped?" Ishaani gave Ranveer a bemused look and the latter shook his head in embarrassment.

"There was a signboard?" Ishaani nodded her head.

"Yes, and only a trained swimmer could successfully swim through half of it and back. In fact, even I was lucky to save both of us."

"You knew how to swim back then?"

"Yes, I had won my first swimming competition." Ranveer could hear the pride in her voice and gave her a deep look. He cupped her cheek slowly, while his voice only rose to a soulful whisper.

"I found you." Ishaani smiled at him, as she felt her nose brushing against his own gently. She spoke with the same intensity.

"I found you too." Ranveer looked at her deeply as though he had found his treasure; his own heaven on earth.

"Ishaani," he whispered, his face was only inches from her own and the warmth of his breath lit her up like a candle. A rush of heat started in her chest and slowly spread throughout her body, reaching every last limb. She could feel his eyes watching her every move, from the slight twitch of her lip to the way her shoulders rose and fell as she breathed. He leaned forward slowly, his hand brushing the hair out of her face and in an instant his lips were on hers. It was magic, the way his lips connected with hers. It was right, and somehow, among all of the dizziness and the clinging to him like a life line, something inside her changed, never to be reversed.

Breaking apart from their kiss slowly, Ranveer looked at her dumbfounded.

"I... I'm sorry... I... well..."

"No, it's fine." Ranveer looked at her uncertainly yet he could see her eyes ablaze with a passion that only made her look godly.

"Are you sure? I mean, it's barely three hours since we met and we... well..."

"On any normal occasion, I would have slapped you away, but I don't know... it just felt right. We may have met merely hours back, but it feels like I know you for eternity." Both of them smiled at each other and Ranveer kissed her forehead lovingly. Ishaani gently laid her head on Ranveer's shoulder and sighed serenely while the latter spoke softly.

"So..."

"So..."

"What now?"

"I don't know." Ranveer looked at her affectionately and spoke in an anxious tone.

"Are you willing to give this a shot?"

"I don't mind at all," she replied and Ranveer looked jubilant. Ishaani continued. "But I think it's time I left. It's pretty late already."

"Oh, alright." Ranveer's expression turned into one of badly hidden disappointment and Ishaani knew why. She slowly got up, Ranveer doing the same.

"So, when are we meeting next?" Ranveer's mood instantly lifted up and they both smiled at each other in comprehension. He asked excitedly.

"Next Friday?"

"Sound like a plan."

"I still can't believe that this is happening for real."

"Well, this is definitely a start." Ranveer pulled Ishaani into his arms gently and gave her a bear hug, which felt slightly awkward at first, but ending up with both of them melting into it eventually. Ranveer spoke in a muffled voice.

"Thank you for saving my life." Ishaani smiled against his chest, the warmth of his embrace igniting the same fire in her heart when she first saw him. She replied in a sweet whisper.

"Thank you for saving mine too." Both of them smiled and interlocked their fingers within each others before something caught their attention. Turning around, they saw a shell-like object near the place where the waves had just crashed by. Making their way towards it curiously, Ishaani knelt down and picked up the object, gasping in surprise.

Ranveer knelt beside her to see a large oyster in her hand, and he pressed her shoulders lightly. Ishaani snapped out from her reverie and quickly opened it to find two gigantic blue pearls gleaming back at her. She felt her breath get hitched in her throat as she removed them from the shell and put them on her palm while Ranveer scrutinized them closely, his heart beating with a newfound joy.

"Whoa..." was all that Ranveer managed to articulate after a few minutes of revering silence. Ishaani looked at him teary-eyed before she whispered softly.

"My mother always said that blue pearls were a sign of true love, of the fact that they were meant to be." Ranveer and Ishaani looked at each other for a moment before the former helped the latter to get back on her feet again. She gave him an anxious look for a moment, handing him one of the pearls.

"No, I can't..."

"Shhh. If we found this, then we found it for a reason. I don't know where this is going to take us or what life has in store for us, but either way I'm ready to discover this journey with you. I don't mean to intimidate you or rush into anything, but it's how I feel about it."

"I feel the same way. And if what you say is true, we complete each other. We have shared an unknown bond for sixteen years and I think that it's about time that we sought to explore this together, when fate has so miraculously given us the chance to do so."

Ishaani nodded her head feverishly as Ranveer carefully kept the pearl inside his wallet. Ishaani gently covered the pearl in a handkerchief and stowed it inside her bag, while she looked at Ranveer firmly.

"Shall we?" Ranveer pushed out his arm and Ishaani gave him a small blush as she linked her arm within his own, making their way towards the car.

Love; it felt like a falling raindrop scatter on a trembling leaf, and then rolling off of its tip in a cascade of pearls.

Constructive criticism will be more than welcome and sorry for any typos. :D :D