THE MAGIC by Valsala Menon

Nita ran down the stairs and slid smoothly behind the wheels of her brand new Audi. As she drove out of her office, the watchman at the gate saluted her smartly. She smiled to herself. At 39, she had everything; a successful career as a Creative Head of a leading Ad agency in the city, a plush apartment of her own, a dream car , but somehow instead of feeling on top of the world, she felt empty.

There was no one waiting for her back home, neither a doting husband nor a couple of chubby kids. At 39, and pushing 40, Nita was still single. Her thoughts inevitably turned to her parents. With a pang of regret, she thought of her mom who had desperately wanted to see her married and settled in life. She had turned a deaf ear to their pleas and gone on to scale the corporate ladder with each passing year.

“Now, I guess it is too late for me…” Her glance fell on a couple nearby, who were busy chatting and laughing with their ten year old daughter.

“If only I could find someone nice, a charming gentleman, who can be a good companion for me through life…” Her thoughts turned to a book she had read recently. She was surprised to find herself wishing dear Universe, please usher in a handsome, intelligent and good humored young man into my life…

Nita chuckled to herself as she thought, “Wishful thinking”.

Meanwhile, at the airport in the city, a tall, young man dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a shirt, strode purposefully towards his cab. Well built, fair, with a sprinkling of grey streaking his naturally brown hair, Rahul looked every inch a gentleman who had carved a niche for himself in the world. Calm, poised yet bristling with unbridled energy, Rahul felt as if he couldn’t wait to get on with his day.

Rahul had just come down from Chicago for a much needed break from work and also to spend time with his aging parents. Having never had much belief in arranged marriages, Rahul had been too busy in his career to even befriend a lady let alone fall in love. Of late, Rahul yearned for some intelligent female companionship, someone to whom he could open out his heart to. How he wished he had an elegant and charming long haired Indian beauty waiting for him at home in the evenings…..