Love Never Ends - Episode 1

“Take care, see you soon”, Deep said while hanging up the call. The warmth and concern in his voice were something that had kept Riya connected to him for the past 2 years. Riya saw the time. It was 9 am and the Sun was nowhere visible. It was going to be a gloomy day again. It was the start of June and the monsoon had just set in. Mumbai rains were something that Riya never enjoyed. She reluctantly got up from the couch and pushed herself to cook some breakfast before her office began. This corona pandemic had changed the entire routine and she wondered how life was 2 years back.

As she tossed up the poha and pour the tea, a message popped up on her screen “keep smiling babes, I am here to bright up your day”. Deep and his messages!! She couldn’t control her smile and got to her work desk.

7th August 2019, early morning Riya was waiting for her day tour bus at the corner of the street in Lucerne. This was going to be her dream day tour from her most awaited trip. She had called the operator to confirm the pick-up location twice since morning. “Mam wait outside the MAC D outlet across the station” the tour operator informed her. “We are reaching there in half-hour”. It had been 40 mins but the bus was nowhere in sight. There were tourists waiting for different destinations at the same spot. She asked a few about Mount Titlis but it seemed no one at this stop was to board with her. At this time, she saw a bus around the corner and she was finally relieved to know it was her tour bus. The Tour guide was an old lady who greeted her graciously, confirmed her name and booking slip, and asked her to step in. As the bus was already full Riya just struggled with her huge backpack to move towards her seat in the back.

Just as she came near her window seat, she saw it occupied by an Indian guy. “Can you please shift? This window seat has been booked by me”, Riya asked politely. She still had a childish charm in her voice.“Ohh! I am sorry”. The man who seemed to be in his 40s quickly got up and came out. This was the first time Deep and Riya saw each other.

As Riya struggled to remove the backpack, Deep quickly offered “May I help?”. She just smiled and Deep took the backpack and kept it above.

“Thanks,” Riya said and settled in her window seat. He was seated just beside her. Riya in her red georgette top and blue skinny jeans looked super fab. She never liked to put up makeup but today she had taken a little effort to make the day special. kajal in her beautiful black eyes, the red shimmery gloss, pink blush, and mild perfume made her feel special from inside. She seemed too excited to watch the happenings outside. Deep who was till now in the window seat was surely missing the fun. He had come from Zurich sitting and watching the beauty outside. Switzerland has so much beauty that losing a window seat had really disappointed him.

He tried to look outside but could sense discomfort in Riya’s posture. So instead decided to listen to what the tour operator was narrating about the Trip to Mount Titlis. But the presence of Riya had sparked curiosity in him. Riya in her early 30s had a charm that nobody could ignore. Besides she seemed to be the only Indian during the tour today. Deep decided to break the ice and put forward his hand for a shake before her. “Hi, I am Deep Singh”. Riya with a warm smile but with a little awkwardness shook his hand and replied, “Hi, I am Riya Sathe”.