ArtoonsInn prompt for 250-word Flash Fiction (August, 2024) – Write about a love story between two persons from a panipuri seller’s POV. They meet for the first time at the panipuri shop.

 

The Sophia College campus was abuzz with excitement as their annual inter-collegiate festival commenced.

Sitting in my chaat joint opposite the college gates, I happily served the famished youngsters thronging my eatery, Panchratan Chaat House, which boasted of crisp golgappas served with five differently-flavoured syrups – jaggery, mint, cumin, tamarind, and green chilli.

“Chacha, ten plates of golgappa, please!”

Sunn’s buoyant voice rang out as she and her buddies, new and old, sat at their favourite table. Sunn, or Sanjana, with her tomboyish looks and devil-may-care ways, was everybody’s favourite person. How effortlessly she befriended the lonely newcomer Tanaya, seated at an adjacent table! This was Sunn – refreshingly different!

Demure, sporting cotton sarees, large bindis and a long braid, Tanaya (promptly rechristened Tan), stood out in the clique. Sunn, oddly, started appearing extra-protective around her.

“Chacha, only mint and jaggery syrup for Tan…nothing spicy.”

Sunn oozed warmth and concern, while Tanaya looked grateful.

The event culminated and the outsiders left. But Tanaya continued her visits, with Sunn in tow. They spent long hours at my shop – laughing, chatting, eating, fighting, or simply reading in companionable silence. I was curious to understand their friendship…is this what people meant by ‘opposites attract’?

And then I chanced upon it one afternoon – hands locked tight under the table as Sunn spoke intensely while Tanaya blushed a shade of beetroot. When they exited, they were still holding hands.

The truth suddenly dawned on me. Sunn was, indeed, different. So was Tanaya. And together, they were beautiful!

(Story only – 250 words)

P.C. Eliott Reyna on Unsplash