A drunk starry night story

It was an extraordinary evening; the sky was clear and full of stars. There couldn’t be a better romantic moment than lying here by the lake, on the grass, face up, stargazing. The stars seem to be moving a little faster though like I was sitting on a roller coaster – going round and round. Talking about a round, the lake looked wee bit rounder today as well.

‘What am I doing by this round -er lake?’ I wondered laying there on the grass. Mind you, I was not the kind of person who goes out enjoying pleasantries with nature. There was a definite reason l was there and I was sure to find it soon.

There you go, yes, Roy was supposed to fix me a meet here with Anita. He had me convinced that today is the perfect day to open up my feelings for Anita. I had been in love with Anita since the day I saw her, going all doodle-bumps whenever I would see her on campus. Her pretty little puppy eyes would make my knees go weak and I would freeze the moment she was arm’s length around me.

A little strength for the knees is what the doctor would prescribe for tonight and that is what it got to be – a blob of whiskey on the Rocks; that would give me an edge.

You ask a man to go to war, he would be worried about the outcome – yes, but never deterred. Love was another bird altogether. It could give one wings and it is surely capable of cutting it off – too complex for a man to comprehend. A little light-headed approach was the trick, Roy was right.

‘Whoa! These stars are going all whoosh, could use a remote to pause. A little light approach eh?’ I thought. And I also thought that I heard a ruffle around the bush.

‘Roy, is that you my friend?’ I felt the blood rush to my face as I tried to get out of the starry rollercoaster and to sit up.

‘Oh, Anita!’ and the blood flowed back to the knees.

‘How are you, Anita? Waiting for your bus?’ is all I managed to blurt out – trying hard not to chew on my tongue. A man must see an opportunity afar and I was a man for sure and I was not going to let this opportunity go by.

I looked up at her face, mustering all the courage the blobs of whiskey had left in me. Her face was like that of an angel, not that I had seen one but it sure seemed close to one. I could actually see the halo she was carrying around her. ‘Eh?’ I thought. ‘Whatever’, I let go. Her eyes were sparkling like dew drops in the moonlit night. Her blonde hair swayed in the cool breeze. Blonde? I thought she had black hair –either ways, beeautifful!

That instance an inspiration from Bollywood movie flowed through me and words floated out of my mouth without hesitation – ‘Anita, will you marry me?’

Before she could react, I got to my knees and gesticulated ‘Anita, I am in love with you and no one else’ my arms wide open. ‘You rule every heartbeat and every moment of my life” I continued, my arms to my heart.

‘My purpose in life is to be at your command and yours, to be mine’ I was almost in tears now. ‘My heart belongs to you and deep within, you do realize that yours belongs to me’. My arms wide open to embrace her. That was it! A profound relief created an aura of comfort around me.

There was an eerie silence all around. I was looking through her and could see stars passing by her head like we were floating. I felt a kiss on my cheek and my heart bloomed a thousand roses. The kisses were pouring now and they were getting wetter. ‘Oh!’ I thought, ‘this is the most beautiful moment’.

Phat-tazzh! Lightning struck me really hard on the cheek. When the stars from the impact started vanishing, I could see Roy standing tall with his dog, Pooch, by his side. The rest, as they say, could be history.

When afternoon dawned on me next, Roy barged into the room yelling, “You idiot, what were you doing by the lake all conked off? We were to meet at the bridge, remember?” His pitch was getting hard in my head and words coming slow. He could have been yelling on a loudspeaker.

‘I had to keep Anita around with all the lies so that you guys could talk and you were romancing the dog?’ That was all I could make out from the fifteen minutes of Roy yelling at me and that is when it all dawned on me. Notably embarrassed and horribly hung-over; I replied, ‘My friend, the feeling of being in love is way better than being in love itself’.

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