Thomas sat lazing in the comfortable lounger, soaking in the sun. It was the perfect place to be in. The open café beside the winding road up to the Acropolis had a super view of the ancient Greek ruins which captured the imagination of every traveller to Greece and also those who had merely read about it. It was hard work walking up from the Temple of Zeus, strolling through the museum on his way to the Temple of Athena.
Because he had started early, the streets were yet empty, not packed with international travelers, and local guides. The huge tourism buses plying were few too, leaving room for quite a few runners, bikers and rollerbladers. The chalky off-white, beige mountains, and monuments from thousands of years ago stood sentinel as the lush green trees tried to comfort them in swathes of green.
He ordered a pitcher of chilled beer and gyros. Mesmerised by the view, the sun, and the yummy gyro, which just melted in his mouth he felt life was perfect! He had been planning this vacation for months, and the lockdown had tossed all plans in the can! Now that he was here, he was going to enjoy to the hilt. Trips to Santorini and Mykonos were finally coming alive.
As the chilled beer touched his parched lips and disappeared in his throat, he felt better and better. The soft creamy tzatziki was tantalizing his taste buds as he bit into the gyro, munching the perfectly cooked succulent meat, along with bits of crunchy onion and tangy fresh, tomatoes. He closed his eyes to savour this moment!
He saw her as he opened his eyes. Beautiful! Mesmerizing! Ethereal! She was running up the street and stopped at his café. She went up to the manager and requested for something as she sat down at the table right besides him. Her thick dark hair was carelessly tied up in a ponytail. Her delicate, blemish free skin was glowing, sans makeup. Her dimpled cheeks framed the most beautiful smile ever. The smile danced up to her eyes as she turned towards him and said ‘Hello!’
He wondered if he was dreaming… or had a heart attack and was in Heaven! Pinching himself, he realized he was very much alive, and this Dream girl was real. ‘Hi! I am Thomas!’ he said a tad too quickly! “ I am Nike!”
Soon her tall glass of lemonade arrived and as she sipped it she closed her eyes! She seemed oblivious of her surroundings. She could be from anywhere…. A tourist… a local … or one of the Greek Goddesses.
Thomas now emboldened by his food, drink, and good luck, waited to start a conversation with her. As she opened her eyes, she found the stranger staring at her with no reserve. It irked her but she was used to men. Thomas tried his best smile and blurted out ‘Can I get you a beer?’ ‘ Maybe you would like to climb up to the Acropolis with me?’ And winked. ‘Why would you think so?’ she quipped. ‘Girls find me attractive and I’m a gentleman. Ha ha ha!’ Wink! Wink!
‘Why are you winking so much?’ she questioned, quite appalled by this precocious young man. “ The bubble of overconfidence was burst by the pointed question of reality and he stammered, “Oh, it’s a problem I have. I wink occasionally involuntarily!”
“ So be it!” She winked back and rose to leave. Its then he noticed that not only were her shoes ‘Nike’, she had wings on her feet!
And he never stopped winking ever after!
Pic by By Sefer azeri – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62298842
Much ado over a wink!! Wow and kudos to you.
It would make a Ramdev stand on his head! And Nike? Like it or not, sure enough Anamika, you and Amitava are brand ambassadors of the “wings on feet”.
And now that your prolific pen is doing all the mileage, I am sure the Thomas’s eyes are looking for much more than what meets the eye😉.
I guess the intellectually challenged like me would be salivating at the palatal delights in the sumptuous “tzatziki”!!
Mouth watering, awe inspiring or perspiring the reader can feel it and savour all the flavour.
Well written indeed👍🏼
Thanks for your appreciation!