ESL Blogs

My 'Dinner guest" is a lady whom I got acquainted on internet.  I happened to travel to USA so I got the chance and invited her on dinner while I was in transit. 

So here is my DINNER GUEST 

Dé.jà vu

I was waiting for her in the hotel lobby, where I had to have a short stay as a transit passenger.  I did not give her the time, but I e-mailed only the name of the hotel in which the airline was going to provide me the lodging. I had nothing to do specifically there in the hotel, so I came down to the lobby restaurant made myself comfortable in a sofa from where I could keep an eye on the entrance of the hotel.  The contents of the e-mail I sent to her were echoing in my mind:

“I am travelling, and I have made my flight arrangement so that I can get a transit in your city.  My stay will be for about 10 hours, so the airline will provide me a room in Hotel Serena located near the airport in your city.   I would be very pleased if you could pay me a visit and have DINNER WITH ME if it is convenient to you………………….”

I was there sitting on the sofa, and periodically eyeing the entrance.  All at once I felt that the atmosphere around me changed, and filled with an enchanting fragrance just as the same I used to feel whenever she came before me in my imagination. Yes she had come! She put her delicate feet in to the entrance.

I didn’t know how all it use to happen, or maybe it was because of the love I have for her, I could never see her as a separate person. I always felt that she is a part of me, runs like blood in my veins and I breathe which gives me life.   It always surprised me that mere an appearance of her could transform the entire surrounding.

She threw her searching eyes around, and stopped at me.  There was complete silence, I was hearing nothing, the slight movement of her bosom, where she was holding the baby was giving me the sense of her breathing, which she was trying to control.  There was a smile of content on her face.  She stepped towards me; as usual I felt that if she was floating.  I stood up when she came near me.    She sat on the other corner of the sofa very calmly as if there was not need of any formalities. 

There were two more eyes looking at me besides her…………..the baby, she was smiling and cuddling while looking at me.  I smiled back to her………………trying to scan her face as I wanted to find some reflection.

We were sitting there in silence, or as we did not need words to communicate, just as our eyes were doing the rest.  Quiet, but all was there we talked.  I was in a deep calm seeing her contented; the happiness pouring out of her was all I saw. 

“Aren’t you going to order, am I not invited at dinner?”  She was smiling while talking to me.

“You do it.” 

“Okay, here is Alcatra (menu).” She chose some dishes, as she knew very well what suited to me as well as hers.  They were all Egyptian dishes.

I did not know how much time was passed. Then she asked after  we have finished the dinner, “When is your connecting flight?” I at once came into the material world.   I threw an eye on the clock in the lobby,   “the airline coaster is about to come within an hour.”  I replied very dejectedly.

  ‘Ok, I must leave now!” There was a gloom clouded on her face.

“Tell me, do you feel any remorse after seeing me?”  I asked her while she was trying to compose herself.

“Remorse!”  There was a shock in her voice,  “Why! No!............I am rather finding myself as I am in a complete protection, save, and without any fear………..very contented.”  She was speaking very confidently and her eyes were shining more and more with every word she spoke. 

“I am really having a longing that I might have the power to reverse the turntable of life back to synchronize it with yours.”  There was a deep smile on her face with a light colour of shy. 

 “Thanks for the dinner.”

“Thanks for coming.”

“I had to, I was longing to see you in physical and you provided me that chance.” Saying this she stood up to leave. 

“I would have to bring some gift for you, but I could not decide what……….”

She interjected, “Oh there is no need for it!”   She smiled,  “I already have my gift…………..”  She eyed her baby and gave her a big kiss.

That was a ‘dé.jà vu’.  It was happening to me once again. Many year ago I faced the same situation someone said the same words to me and I could not say a single word in return except staring her as I was seeing her this time spell bound stepping down far away at the last step of the hotel’s exit, where she was going out of my sight engraving her last look in my heart.  Once again there was a heavy burden on my heart, but this time I did not violate the norms and ethics of love but NATURE did.