Love Is Bliss (Collection of Short Love Stories)

Love in Lockdown

Bangalore: Silicon valley of India.

This city is a hub of various multinational IT companies and is known for its pleasant whether. Amrita shifted to Bangalore when she got a job offer from a renowned multinational IT company. It was a big decision for her to shift but her parents supported her and made it easy for her to make a decision.

Currently she was sitting at her balcony in a rented apartment of a high rise building sipping her coffee and was gazing over the garden which was now empty because of the corona pandemic. It was a complete lockdown in the city. People would only step out of their house if it was emergency or completely necessary. It seemed as if life has come to a stop. The streets and restaurants which were usually bustling with people were now deserted.

Amrita was finding it hard to adjust as she recently moved here and suddenly there was a breakout of corona virus. But she was managing herself pretty well. On week days she would do office work from home, cook, clean and sleep, and on weekends she would watch TV shows, movies, read books, sit at her balcony with a cup of coffee and call it a day.

She was observing the sunset from her balcony when she suddenly heard a voice in the balcony across her. There was not that much distance between their balconies. She could see and hear properly whatever was going on there. A guy was talking with someone through his headphones and from his serious and professional tone it seemed like he was in a conference meeting. He was explaining something and occassionally nodding to whatever the person was saying on the opposite side of the call.

Amrita observed him. She was seeing him for the first time since she moved here. He was quite tall and charming, and his voice was very poised and manly enough for her to find him attractive. Suddenly he looked up and looked straight into her eyes.

She froze.

"My god. What if he thinks I am some kind of creep who enjoys gawking at boys from balcony?" She thought to herself.

With that thought in her mind she quickly went inside her house and shut the balcony door. She watched TV, cooked and went to sleep.

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Next day was Monday. Amrita was working on an important project so she didn't even realise where the entire day went and it was time for dinner. She stood up from her work space and went to kitchen to cook something for herself. She was not in the mood to make something from scratch so she cooked noodles and went to balcony to enjoy it with the cool breeze. Balcony was her only escape during this lockdown. A place where she could feel that she is outside.

She was eating her noodles when she heard a voice. She looked at the opposite balcony and the boy from the previous day was looking at her and waving a paper. "Why the hell is he waving a paper?" She thought out loud. When she looked closely, something was written on it.

"Hey, I'm Paras."

She laughed when she saw what was written. "Why are you writing things on a paper when I can perfectly hear you?" She asked him with the hint of amusement in her voice.

"I thought writing it down is less creepy than shouting my name to strangers." He smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"So, what's up?" She asked him taking a bite from her plate.

"Well as we are locked down at our homes, I thought it would be great to talk to someone other than myself and my office colleagues. I am tired of talking to same people everyday so when I saw you yesterday, I had to introduce myself and say Hi."

She let his words hang in the air for a while and thought over it. Well, it was not such a bad idea to make a friend, right? She will also have someone to talk to every once in a while.

"So how are we planning to talk? I don't think shouting at eachother like this is in interest of other people living in the building." She raised her eyebrows at him and waited for his reply.

Paras scribbled something on the big paper and held up for her to see.

It was his phone number.

She laughed and fished out her phone to save his number and gave him a missed call so that he can also save hers.

From that day on, they chatted regularly and sometimes called eachother from their balconies after completing their office work. They both were enjoying eachothers company and was surprised to find that they have many things in common. They both worked in an IT industry and have moved here for work. They both enjoy same kind of TV shows and always give recommendations to eachother about what to watch next.

Life was good!

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One day they were talking on the phone from their balconies and Paras suggested something.

"Will you go out on a date with me?"

Amrita was shocked at the suddenness of the question. She looked at him and saw that he was serious. A blush crept up on her face at the idea of going out on a date with him. She had started liking him but a date is a big step, isn't it?

"Are you just going to stand there and keep blushing? I'm waiting for your answer." He teased her which made her blush harder.

"Ummm...erm....but how are we going to go on a date in this lockdown?" She asked him nervously.

"I will take that as a Yes for the date. And don't worry about the lockdown. Ever heard about a virtual date?" He winked at her.

Paras was over the moon when she agreed for the date. From the day he saw her across his balcony in a white top and a cup of coffee. He was hooked. She looked beautiful with her long hair and dark brown eyes. So next day when he saw her again eating noodles from the bowl and gazing at the sunset, he decided to talk to her. And rest is history.

He started planning for their virtual date. He asked her to download the movie "Before the sunrise" and also shared a YouTube video of recipe of baking a garlic bread and cooking an italian red sauce pasta. They planned their date on Sunday evening so that they can have enough time to prepare for their date.

They both downloaded the movie and cooked the same meal. After getting ready, they video called eachother from their phone and started the movie at the same time on their laptop. They both talked, laughed and watched the movie while eating the same meal. It was a definition of a perfect virtual date.

"I don't know it might sound weird but I have started falling for you Amrita. I know we don't even know eachother that much and haven't even met properly in person but there is something about you that makes me want to know you more and talk to you all day long. This pandemic has done one thing good for me. I met you because of it and I would like to go on a real date after everything goes back to normal." Paras confessed his feelings over the video call and Amrita was speechless. She didn't know what to say but he knew that she feels the same way and doesn't need to put it in words.

Was it a relationship?

A flirtationship?

Just friends who enjoy eachothers company?

Don't know what it was but it was definitely a start of something new and beautiful.

They both can't wait for this pandemic to end and to explore what they have. They don't know how it will turn out but they both are hopeful and looking forward to it.

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Hello readers!!

What are your views on this story? Kindly vote and comment your views.

Also how it is going for you in this pandemic? How are you keeping yourself motivated? I would like to hear from all of you.

Thanks for reading.