For all those who missed the earlier parts:

The Girl in the Mall - Part 1
The Girl in the Mall - Part 2

Truth, they say, is sometimes stranger than fiction. Well it’s certainly true in my case. It was almost six months to the day that I last saw the girl in the mall and yet somehow, it was as if I had just seen her. After that incident, I returned back to my college and business went on as usual. The next time I went back to Delhi was to attend my sister's marriage in January. Busy with preparations and stuff, there was hardly any time left for other pursuits (read partying with friends). Now the basic schedule for the wedding was something like this-

Day 1- Cocktail party for friends (means no oldies allowed)
Day 2-The Wedding
Day 3- Reception

So finally Day 1 arrived and that was something that me and my friends had been looking forward to most of all. I mean ya my sister's wedding was important but then so was this man. This took place at a farmhouse on M.G Road so basically we had a free reign from 9 at night to about 4 in the morning. The party started and slowly everyone got into the groove. The drinks and snacks had started and the dance floor too was beginning to come alive. After having supplied my friends with all the necessary stuff, I went around meeting all my sister's friends whom I’ve known since childhood and partying with them.

Suddenly, Abhinav came running to me and pulled (read dragged)me to one of the corners where some guests were sitting. And that was when the world around me stopped. I had seen Her again and no, this was no imagination. She was really there and this time I knew I wasn't letting go of her so easily. But she was sitting with one of my sister's friends (Neetu Didi). I call her Didi cause many of my sister's friends tied me Rakhi when I was small (C'mon guys, you can't protest to all this when you are in Class 2!! I was innocent back then).

So I went and found my sister and literally dragged her from the dance floor and demanded to know whether she knew the girl sitting with Neetu Didi. And I absolutely hated that smirk on my sister's face when she asked, “Why?". Some bullshit later and she finally told me that that girl is Neetu Didi's younger sibling Shikha. Now I was in a moral dilemma. I mean I treat Neetu Didi as my sister but does her sister also qualify as one. No way, my brain told me. Even Neetu Didi's my sister by sheer ill-luck and not by choice so definitely her sister doesn’t qualify in that category. And my assumptions received further impetus from Abhinav and Saurav who told me that" Real Sister ki friend who's your muh bola sister ki sister is definitely not sister". Seriously man, thats like saying Osama and Bush are brothers or like Mallika Sherawat doing puja!!! It’s as far stretched from reality as possible.

So after convincing myself that I wasn't committing any cardinal sin, I spent the next ten minutes wondering how to go and talk to her. Believe me, it doesn't help one bit if you have friends like mine who give you advice ranging from writing a love letter (I mean C'mon guys, get a life!!Who writes love letters now) to going straight to her and snogging her in front of everyone (apparently according to them, she'll think that I am very direct in my approach and hence THE MAN). So once again, I dragged my sister off the dance floor (with my future bro-in-law giving me murderous looks) and asked her to do something!!

Finally my sister agreed and we pretended to chat to the guests and slowly made our way to where she was sitting. My heartbeat seemed to grow proportionally as we moved closer and closer to them and at one point of time, I even decided to back off. Well, what are sisters for after all!! Oodles of gyaan later and we finally reached their table where I started chatting with Neetu didi while glancing at her every 5 secs. And finally, we were formally introduced!!! I extended my hand to her and said in the most macho tone I could muster at that time (not easy when your heart's accelerating like an F1 car)," Hi, I am Aman!”. And she said, "Hi ".That’s it!! Just Hi, nothing more nothing less!! I mean, she must be having some name right? "That’s the end of my love life", I told myself.

And then she started laughing and I was like," My name's not that funny also". "No stupid", she said," I am laughing cause you still don't recognize me. I am Shikha, dumbo!. Remember we used to play when my sister used to come to your place back when they were in school. I think we were in lower KG then. U still don't remember kya??".
Now believe me, I have absolutely no recollections of my childhood. Not one bit!! The last thing I remember from my childhood was when i was caned by my principal for bunking to a girl's school in class 9(that’s another story). So there's no way I know whether I even studied in lower KG or not!! But of course I couldn’t tell her that so I put on the best thinking expression I could come up with and said "Oh ya, of course I do..ya u still look the same". "Shut up liar, I know you don't remember me. I do cause I slapped you when you hid my Barbie doll". Ok that was quite embarrassing but at least it broke the ice.

After that we got along like a house on fire. Chatted stuff ranging from anything to everything (nope, I am not telling you guys anything). And yes, we even discussed my antics in the mall six months ago. Well 2 hours later and I remembered I had other friends too. So I introduced her to my friends and she introduced Anushka to my friends (yup, she too had come along with her). And then we danced and danced and danced. Holding her close to me, taking in her fragrance and just being with her was like a dream come true. It was the happiest night of my life. Obviously the drinks too helped but I cannot remember having so much fun ever in my life!!

The next three days passed in a blur and I was on my way back to college before I even knew it. She came to see me off at the station and a lot went unspoken there. They say everything's written in the eyes and that you can read a person like a book by just looking into their eyes. Well, I did just that and so did she. And even though there were a lot of things we didn't understand, most of it we did and we were grateful for that. We were in touch constantly after that and we still are to this day.

Now to answer the question foremost in everyone's mind. Are we or are we not? Well, as of now we're just friends although very close ones. I dunno about the future and frankly speaking I don't care. Cause I believe that if you're meant to meet someone, then the entire universe will conspire to bring you together. And after reading all this, you might just tend to agree with me. And that, my friends, was my story.

Now many people have asked me why I included Anushka's name in all this when she didn't have any part to play. The answer to that is Abhinav! Because Shikha wasn't the only girl in the mall that day and I wasn't the only guy there. This story did have two different endings. And a little bird told me that Abhinav and Anushka had a very umm private sort of dinner two nights ago and the bugger hasn't answered my calls since then (obviously!!). So here's wishing them all the best from everyone who's reading this.

P.S-: I re-wrote this 3 part story 'cause of a phone call that I got from the U.S a few weeks ago which brought back a lot of memories of an old friend :)

Read Part - 1 here -> The Girl in the Mall - Part 1

Hmmm so where were we? Oh ya the movie had just ended and we followed her out back into the mall. Well she kept glancing back at our group so that gave us even further reason to pursue our goal. I guess they were hungry because we soon found ourselves sitting in Pizza Hut trying to figure out what to order(Ahem,actually we were a little low on cash so umm we had to Google the entire menu to find the cheapest stuff). Eventually we ended up with 4 slices of garlic bread for the three of us(you should have seen the look on the attendant's face when we said " One garlic bread pls, that'll be all". He actually asked us thrice if we wanted anything more.The nerve of some ppl!

Ok back to the story now. So here I was sitting diagonally opposite her in order to have a clear view of her(her face I mean...filthy minds). She obviously knew I was staring so she had to show some 'bhaav' after all(these girls I tell you). After 10 mins or so, she too got into the game and we started a game of 'Who Blinks 1st!' And so we stared and stared and stared. Ah, those beautiful eyes still haunt me day and night. Well,I never even got to taste even a bit of that garlic bread(some friends I have)but who cared anyways at that point of time.

After Pizza Hut, she and her friend walked into a huge garment store(I think it was Westside but like I said I could have cared less even if it was Hell) and we dutifully followed them like lambs to the slaughter. From one section to another, from 4th floor till the 1st, always keeping her within my sights. Until she disappeared that is! We searched the entire 1st floor better than the FBI but still no sign of her. One minute she was there and the next she went Kapoosh!!

Until Saurav's brilliant idea,"She must have gone to the basement, I saw a sign saying that's the girls section." So down we went and as soon as we went there, 3 pairs of salesgirl eyes stared at us as if we had committed Harakiri. Why you may ask? Well, 'cause we had just entered the Lingerie section!! Imagine, 3 guys and 3 salesgirls and the lingerie section. Now I don't know who was more embarrassed,They or Us. And to top off his brilliant suggestion, Saurav comes up with THE most(no words to describe this) excuse,"Lets go to the toilet guys!".That too aloud! Now remember, there are 3 girls, 3 guys and the lingerie all around us. Don't you think it wasn't the best time to excuse ourselves to go the loo. U get my drift right?? Well in a sense he was right. It was the girls section after all!!!

Anyways after escaping(read running for our lives) from the men-not-allowed-and-should-not-be-seen-here department, we went and searched the only other likely place they could have gone. Outside the mall,that is (Brilliant na,I still congratulate myself for figuring that one out). And yes she was there, standing right next to her car (A red Santro, see I still remember..Isiko kehte hain saccha pyar). "Oh my god, she's leaving",I thought. "This can't be happening to me!". But there we were, standing about 10 meters apart waiting for the other one to make the 1st move. I know I should have done something but as to exactly what I should have done I still don't know (C'mon girls, you know how tongue-tied we guys are in moments like these).

And then she Smiled. And I mean that smile which can light a thousand bulbs. That mischievous, naughty, lovable smile that you don't normally hand out to every other person that you meet. And with that she got into her car and drove off into the sunset leaving me expressionless in her wake.

I stood there rooted to that spot for the next two minutes until I felt blood flow in me again. Did that just happen or was I still dreaming? Only when Abhinav and Saurav dragged me off from there did I get back to reality. She was really gone, just like that!!

And now I am serious. I mean was that it? After all that happened since the morning, was it really meant to end this way? Because believe me, there was something between us. It was there when I first saw her, it was there in the hall, more so after that and that connection reached its zenith when she gave me that smile. I know many of you must be thinking " Haha,kat gaya iska or that both of us were just flirting". Ya I do agree, it was timepass but there's no way I can explain to anyone of you why this time it was so different.

So what happened to that girl, you may ask or what's the use in writing all this if she went away!! But like I said, there was something between us and that's why "The Girl in the Mall" might have left but the "Girl from the Mall" certainly didn't. Yes, I met her again!! As to how I met her again and what happened after that, well you'll just have to wait a little more.

Next Week : The Girl From The Mall - The Grand Finale

Well I had lately been reading a lot of my friends’ post which were somehow related to their marriage with most of them contributing their woes and happiness respectively. I was happily reading all their posts and comments and joining in the fun with so many others because i never thought for even a milli-shilli second that the word marriage was going to take one giant leap into my life. Its not that i am against it (I'd love to get married one day so interested females pls wait till then) ; its just that at 23 years of age it doesn't seem right ( taking away an innocent boy's innocence)
Now I have no idea how my mom got to read some of these blogs ( she hardly knows how to operate a computer yet somehow she did, there's no other explanation for her bringing up this topic all of a sudden) but nonetheless, the fact of the matter is that 2 days ago i was subject to intense questioning and embarrassing comments by my dear Mommy( although by the end i think she was embarrassed for bringing this topic up :-). For more details, read on!). So here's a not so typical conversation that took place 2 days ago...

Phone ringing in the background...Tring Tring!! Tring Tring ( Sorry i forgot that she called on my mob..ok so playing Hoobastank-The Reason now :-))

Me - Hi Mumma..(and regular stuff that i say every time)...kya chal raha hai and all that

Mom- (Same old) howz work going, are you taking care of your health...Blah Blah (Author holds phone 2 feet away from his ear for the next 5 mins:-)).

Me - Mumbles something inaudible...

Mom - Aman beta, I want to talk to you about something important. Don't take this as a joke please

Me - What happened Mumma? (I thought it was a family emergency or something like that)

Mom - Yesterday we went to XYZ Mama's cousin sister's daughter's marriage. There we got a marriage proposal for you!!

(Author shocked beyond his wits, speechless for 10 secs!!)

Me - Nice joke mom, call me when you fix the date and do all the arrangements..

Mom - Chup karo Aman,kabhi toh serious hua karo. Really Chintu Mausi's ( My Mausi or hers I have no idea:)) family friend ( who is also somehow related to us, don’t ask me how ) ki taraf se tumhare liye ek rishta aaya hai. She's doing her final year now.

Me - How can Chintu Mausi's family friend be doing her final year mumma. She must be so old by now!!

Mom (fired up by now) - Aman,maine bola na yeh mazaak nahi hai. That girl is in her final year now, good family also beta.( I really don't know why parents have to add this line! Obviously if you look for that someone for us, you'll make sure that the family is good..You'll definitely not get me married to Osama's daughter will you!?)

Me - Mumma pls, I am just 23 rite now. How can i even think of marriage? I have to think of my career first:-)

Mom - Arey who's asking you to get married rite now! We only want you both to get acquainted with each other rite now so that after 2-3 yrs we can formally fix something.

Me - (Mind working in devilish ways:-)) Did she come for the shaadi? Is she good looking? (Read maal:-))

Mom - Ya she's very beautiful. Both your papa and I also liked her (At this point i felt like telling her that dear ol' dad agrees with you on everything. After 31 years the poor soul knows that he should never say No to anything:-). But intelligent me knows what’ll happen if i say that so I keep my mouth shut).

Me - So basically you want us to go around for the next 2-3 years? (And I add softly) What’ll happen if things don't work out between us after, say, one year? Can we go our separate ways then?

Mom - Arey, why will that happen? You meet her first, she's a very good girl ( I felt like saying that you've never told me that in the past so many years and here's one girl whom u've met only once and you're going gaga over her!)

At this point of time, I felt I was fighting a losing battle. So I decided that I needed a hmmm bolder approach to get me out of this situation

Me - Look mumma, i am not against marriage or anything but its just too early for me rite now. Waise bhi I have other plans on how and when I want to get married

Mom (now suddenly afraid) - Beta tumhari koi girlfriend-whirlfriend toh nahi hai na? Please Aman ,aisa kuch mat karna jis sey hum muh dikhane layak bhi na rahe (Ya my mom's an emotional drama queen!)

Me - Mumma please yaar!! Koi girlfriend nahi hai!! But i don't want to think bout all that now. What i want is that you choose one girl for me, then I’ll be with her for a year, then I’ll say I am not compatible with her. Ditto for the second one. Then finally I’ll get married to the third girl. Is that ok with you?

Suddenly the call gets cut; whether due to a network problem or whether my mom couldn't believe what she heard; I’ll never know...Anyways Dad called back after 5 mins and here's what happened then .

Dad - Aman, what did you say to her? Your mom's very upset rite now!!

Me - C'mon Papa, I should be the one to get upset! How can you people even think about my marriage rite now?

Dad - (Now clarifying) I told her its not such a good idea to talk all this......( He broke off at this time presumably because of the warning look my mom must have given him...lol...thanks a ton dad...i know how much you risked to say that:-)).

Me - Look Papa, you also know that this is not the rite time for all this..Pls talk to mom and explain her all this..Pls dad, you are the only one who can do this..(My dad must have cursed me for feeding him to the lions:-)).

Anyways that’s where that episode ended and hopefully it’s the end of that topic also (at least for some time). I spoke to my mom last nite and she spoke normally and said to forget bout what all she had said (how can i!!). So all you people out there who thought ' iski to waat lag gayi mamu', sorry to disappoint you fellas! All's well that ends well :-).

P.S -: Despite whatever you said (and I know you are reading this somehow) you are still the best and I love you the most Mom. If only you had given me that girl's phone number (Sigh!!)