Pratik was an IIT Bombay engineer, fresh out of college and ready to take on the world. He had always been a bit of a workaholic, focusing on his studies and career aspirations above all else. But as he settled into his new job, he found himself feeling a bit lonely and longing for something more.
One day, while out running errands, Pratik stumbled upon a small art gallery tucked away in a quiet corner of the city. Intrigued, he wandered in and was immediately struck by the beauty of the paintings on display. As he stood there, lost in thought, a soft voice caught his attention.
"Can I help you with something?"
Pratik turned to see a young woman standing behind the counter, a shy smile on her face. She was petite and delicate, with long dark hair and piercing brown eyes. Pratik was immediately struck by her beauty and found himself at a loss for words.
"Um, yes, I was just looking," he stuttered.
The woman smiled again and introduced herself as Arpita, the artist behind the paintings on display. Pratik was fascinated by her talent and asked her all sorts of questions about her art and her inspiration.
As they talked, Pratik found himself completely captivated by Arpita's shy, yet confident demeanor.
He started looking for excuses to go the Fine Arts gallery, again and again.
"Wow, what a stunning painting this time", he remarked. "It was there last week also", Arpita dryly commented.
"Oh was it", I didn't realise only. "Wow"
Even the peons knew that Pratik had fallen for Arpita.
One day, he mustered up courage, to ask her out. "Excuse me, want to go for a coffee today, after the gallery closes" he asked.
Arpita, very matter of factly said, I don't want to disappoint you, but its closes very late today, and I don't wanna reach home late.
He was crestfallen, "how about tomorrow?" she asked?
Pratik's day was made, he was drawn to her passion for art and her love of the creative process. And as they continued to chat, he realized that he was falling for her.
Over the next few weeks, Pratik and Arpita started going on dates to the movies and other cultural events around the city. They were completely in sync, finishing each other's sentences and finding common ground on almost everything.