Love is Blind

11 Mar 2011 7 Comments

by Sonali Joshi-Bhatt in General Tags: Characters of the story - Sophia

It was more than ten minutes since Sophia was stuck in the traffic.

She was on a busy highway and the cars in front of her looked like an army of ants, except that the cars were of different colors and moved slower than the ants.

Traffic jams can indeed irritate a person. People would not mind wasting hours sitting in front of the TV but standing in the traffic even for a minute can get on their nerves. Sophia was getting frustrated too.

Sophia looked into the rear-view mirror and saw an old couple sitting in the car behind her. “How sweet, they remind me of my grandparents,” she uttered. The man was happily sleeping or at least seemed to while the woman who was behind the steering wheel looked tired.

Sophia now turned her gaze towards the car in front of her. They might be new lovers, she thought. They looked so happy despite the traffic jam and it seemed as if they were enjoying each other’s company. Both the young and the old couple now reminded Sophia of her single status. It suddenly dawned upon her that she was still single and was getting old!

I am sure God will listen to my prayers and one day, I will meet the man of my dreams! Sophia thought. “Hear my prayers, O Lord!”……… “Before I get old,” she quickly added to clarify.

The traffic jam seemed to be clearing at a faster pace now. She was able to drive at least a couple of inches now as opposed to being at a standstill a few minutes ago. While she was tapping her fingers on the steering wheel producing a rhythm, she turned to look at the car to her left.

She was pleasantly surprised to see a handsome guy in the car next to her. While she was still staring at him, the guy turned to her. Sophia couldn’t help but smile at him. He reciprocated with a bigger smile! Sophia almost blushed and quickly turned and looked ahead to cover her blushing face.

Did God finally answer my prayers? Maybe he was listening to me a few seconds ago and decided to grant me my wish? How could he sometimes be so kind? Sophia thought.

She also recalled the lines from the book she had been reading the last few days. It said somewhere in ‘The Alchemist’ that when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. Maybe I am stuck in this traffic because God wanted me to meet this handsome guy.

Sophia’s heart started pounding in her chest and her mind drifted away from the traffic jam. She had this sweet feeling that was different.

The Love Guru I met last week also told me that I would meet the love of my life this week. Could this guy be the one? But isn’t it lust and not love at first sight? How can it be love at first sight? It’s definitely lust! Hey, but I also read once that lust can lead to love. The Love Guru also told me to be open and bold. Maybe this is the time to take things in my stride. How will I get to know if it’s lust or love unless I test it. I better do something!

Sophia slowly turned to the guy and lo and behold, he smiled again!

The traffic jam seemed to ease further and the cars were now slowly moving without having to halt. Oh no! Why are the cars moving now? Sophia thought. She immediately drove ahead to be exactly beside the guy’s car. All the vehicles were rushing to their destinations but Sophia and the guy were driving next to each other.

What started as a smile soon became a flirtatious race on the road. They were racing with one another, sometimes driving at a very high speed and sometimes driving very slowly. When Sophia went slowly, the guy went slowly too and then when Sophia raced her car, the guy raced it too. Sophia knew that the guy was doing this on purpose and was hinting at something – maybe our blossoming love, she thought and smiled. It gave her goosebumps.

In their flirtatious drive, they did not realize that they were driving carelessly. They forgot that at any minute such careless driving could turn dangerous not only for them but for others too. But who was there to tell them? They were both lost in their blind love!

Every time they crossed each other’s car, they would catch a glimpse of each other and smile. They were certainly flirting with one another. At one point, the guy’s car went much ahead of Sophia’s car. Sophia began to race her car and was slowly approaching the guy’s car when she suddenly saw his brake lights flaring three times. What does that mean? He did it three times! The brake lights lit three times. Is he trying to convey something? Three times….does that mean I LOVE YOU! Three words and hence three times! Has he proposed me? Did he just say that? Oh my God! I can’t believe it! He said that!

The Love Guru was right when he told me I would find my love this week. I should not let this opportunity pass. Sophia saw that his car was now moving at a slow speed. Maybe he was waiting for me to respond, she thought. It is my turn to drive fast and go in front of him and give the same signal. Yes! I love him. I will push my brake lights three times and tell him that I love him!

Sophia quickly increased her speed but it was too late now! She lost her new-found love.

The traffic cop who was hiding behind the bush drove behind Sophia’s car with his flashing lights on and Sophia had to pull over her car to the side.

Twenty minutes later, she smiled at the cop, took the speeding ticket from him and drove slowly until she reached home. She wondered if she would ever meet that guy again.