The prize

It seemed unusual that she had come alone there. Not many people I know like walkin alone by the beach side. There was nothing amiss that evening. The horizon was blue as ever. Lighting the horizon were the lights of anchored ships. The breeze was cool as always, peppered with warm sand. She was alone, no one was coming to see her.

She was not beautiful in the way the world generally describes beauty. But, her' s was a face that had something new to show everytime one looked back. I was goin nowhere in particular. So I stood there, lighted cigar in hand, counting the waves as they touched my feet . She was there, not interested in the waves yet considering them.

I counted the breakers upto eleven, and then lost count, as my gaze lingered on her. What was on her mind now? Another wave broke on my feet. Of all the colours at play that evening , the rays bouncing of her moist skin were the most appealing.

As the last rays of the sun dove in the far ocean, the rest of the world blurred around us.That was when she turned towards me for the first time, and held me in her gaze. She just looked plainly, with neither interest nor intrigue. Any man would yearn for a look more loving from those eyes.

As the breeze flowed by my face, I found myself unwittingly searchin for her scent in it. Such is the power of a woman that she can melt the hardest of hearts and mellow the most raving of beasts. She was a heady mix of all things sweet. And my senses by now were drunk on her presence. My mind was already reaching across all corners to find a merry thing to say. In my thoughts, reason was at war with emotion .

Emotion had the upper hand that day, and I decided to smile at her the next time she glanced this way. Emotion might have won the battle, but the war was far from over. And it so happened that reason had the last laugh that evening as her cell phone broke into song. She spoke with a grave expression at first. Slowly, her face glowed brighter in the starlight , in a way that only love can cause. She seemed more interested in the waves . Her feet played in the sand. She was smiling more now.

She wasn't mine in the first place, yet I felt at loss. I was not the interested in the waves anymore, nor the sand , nor the breeze. Its not nice being the loser always. I looked at her one last time, and she turned towards me too. She smiled. I thought it wasn't for me. "No, she's smiling at u !". So, I walked back that night, with the consolation prize .