The sun bloomed like a sunflower gifting its golden petals of hope and positivity to the world. The birds chorused their melodious birdsong welcoming the blush of scarlet and the warmth of tangerine along with the golden hues of the delightful morning.

Gazing toward the illuminated morning sky, sat Neha just beneath the ethereal glow feeling helpless and hopeless at the turn of events in her life. Her face had lost its colour and her expressive eyes lacked their charm. Her heart pained as all she could remember was her father’s words, "Anju, I wish you didn’t give birth to such a disgrace years ago".

Her father’s thoughts towards her had shook her to the core. She wanted to shriek and cry but something inside her was compelling her to recollect her broken pieces and start her day with hope and joy. Her brain was continuously telling her, "You are anything but a disgrace, Neha", trying to calm her perturbed soul while she sat on one of the benches at the lawn of community park.

It was Wednesday and Neha had to go to her workplace. She wanted to enter the gates of the Federal Bank of India, the place she felt home, with her head held high instead of her eyes cast down to the ground. To motivate herself for another day after getting humiliated by her father last night, Neha had decided to visit the park early in the morning despite she was in no mood to jog around the running track.

Arjun, on the other hand, had woken up early today. He was excited to see Bruno bonding with Neha. “You want a reason to make a fool of yourself again in front of her”, his brain mocked at him when he enthusiastically got ready for a morning walk waking up Bruno at five in the morning and earning a loud bark from his cranky dog.

Arjun and Bruno were jogging in the park while his dark brown eyes searched for the special someone. "Why are you behaving like a horny teenager, man?" His brain chided him while he tried to see Neha or maybe, his Sneha.

“Finally you know her name!” His brain teased him again while he scratched the back of his neck. "I want to call her Sneha with love", mumbled Arjun and he was surprised at himself. He was a grown up thirty-seven year old man but much to his dismay, he was acting like an adolescent kid waiting to have a glimpse of his crush.

Completing the two laps, he took Bruno to the garden. Arjun experienced a sudden jerk as Bruno ran ferociously freeing himself from Arjun’s hold. He was horrified at the sudden change in Bruno’s behaviour. Being a well-trained dog, Bruno never did any such thing earlier. "Bruno", he shouted following him but his heart melted at the scene in front of him.

Neha was sitting on the bench absent-mindedly while everyone seemed to be busy in their own world. She was lost in her thoughts when an angel with golden fur came towards her and jumped onto her, clutching her knees. Neha was taken aback at the sudden commotion but she smiled warmly for the first time today as she patted Bruno’s back.

"Hi", she murmured while Bruno laid his head in her lap as she caressed his head. Arjun was surprised to witness their bond. Bruno never mingled with strangers but with Neha, the case was totally different. Bruno was hugging Neha and Arjun could feel the warmth they shared.

Arjun took a minute to notice Neha. He could see her smiling but at the same time, he felt that her smile didn’t reach her eyes. Her gloomy eyes had a strange longing for something or someone while dark circles marred her beautiful face. Her chiseled nose was red. Arjun wondered, “What’s wrong with her?”

Arjun walked towards her and sat beside her quietly. Bruno woofed at him with joy perhaps, he was elated to meet Neha. Bruno’s woof was enough to garner attention of Neha towards Arjun who greeted her gloomy self with a charming smile.

“Hi”, mumbled Arjun politely while his heart urged to know the reason of her despondent self. “Good morning”, replied Neha in a slow murmur as she took her hands away from Bruno.

She felt uncomfortable in the presence of the new ‘perverted’ manager who would mock at her for being clumsy and then send ice to heal the injury.
She was already occupied with the issues in her family and she didn’t want any problems at work. Federal Bank of India made her feel home and she did not want to ruin the bond of hers with her workplace.

“The injury seems to be healed”, spoke Arjun pointing at her forehead not knowing what to speak. As much as Arjun was driven towards her charismatic aura, she seemed to have a reserved persona.

“Why? Do you want her to bang her head again so you could laugh at her expense?” His brain chided him for spouting nonsense. It was nothing but a mild bump which was obviously supposed to be healed.

“Don’t know why but this guy knows how to make you feel better.” Her brain teased her when an involuntary smile crept on her rosy lips. She had forgotten about the bump as her heart felt stabbed by her father’s words. She could not help but admire his empathetic attitude.

As her father’s humiliating words rang in her ears along with Rahul’s accusations upon which her father blindly believed, she felt a tug in her heart and her eyes began welling up for an unknown reason. She was a strong woman but a caring gesture from a stranger was making her feel all the warmth she had expected to get from her parents.

Afraid of breaking down and embarrassing herself, she nodded, not willing to engage in any conversation and got up to leave when she heard Arjun's voice once again.

“I need a favour”, said Arjun absent-mindedly because he wanted to sit and talk with her.

“What favour except of observing her?”, asked his brain and he could not help but smile coyly.

“What?”, asked Neha as she sat on the bench again.

“Tell him that you have some chores to do and leave”, suggested her brain but did she actually want to leave? The silent symphonies with him amidst the cool air were refreshing but she was feeling anxious at the same time.

Arjun was caught off-guard. What favour could he ask from her?

"Obviously you can’t ask her to sit with you so that you can leer upon her like a hormonal teenager, idiot", his brain chided him while he scratched the back of his neck getting embarrassed at himself.

“Umm.. Actually... I mean...”, stuttered Arjun earning a suspicious glare from her while various thoughts rummaged through his brain.

“Could you suggest a gym?” Finally Arjun came up with a valid excuse to initiate a small talk.

“Perverted jerk”, her brain confirmed disliking his efforts to make her sit and talk to him but her heart was filled with an unknown warmth, not because, a guy was trying to talk with him but because, someone was showing concerns for her small injury while her own parents refused to acknowledge her emotional turmoil.

“We have plentiful in this locality. Why don’t you take a membership and explore yourself?” Neha suggested only to get a silence from another side.

Meanwhile Arjun’s mind was just stuck at the word, ‘explore'. “Only if she knows what all you want to explore”, his brain mocked at him while he mentally answered, “For now, I just want to explore the reason behind her gloomy eyes”.

“I mean, I have no idea. I never thought of going to gym.” Neha clarified herself as her blunt answer sounded rude to herself. He was a senior colleague of hers and she was supposed to maintain cordial relationship, atleast.

“I wish we could go together”, Arjun wondered and his brain snapped at his stupid thoughts. He was surely getting mad in her proximity.

"Jogging does wonders to your fit body", mumbled Arjun and face-palmed himself for speaking his mind. “She won’t take a minute to call you a creep, idiot”, his brain reprimanded him as her eyes displayed irritation.

“Bye”, muttered Neha suppressing her urge to tell him that his idiotic ways were making her feel uncomfortable.

“Ms. Neha”. Arjun stopped her again from leaving the garden. “Are you okay?” These three words uttered from his mouth even before he could form a better sentence to ask if something was bothering her.

She mumbled, “Yeah”, while she could not help but wonder, “How does he know that I am not?”.

Her pitch black eyes saw his dark brown ones when he gestured her to sit and murmured, “Sunrises are beautiful”.

“Yeah”, spoke Neha looking at the faraway horizon with Arjun not knowing what to speak in response as her body slumped beside him. She was trying to act civil with the new manager as of now though she was not able to figure the reason of his creepy ways.

“Pervert”, she thought when her brain reasoned, “He is just a weirdo because perverts know how to charm women”, and she could not help but agree.

“You know sun looks attractive in the scarlet blush but it look spellbinding when the tangerine hue casts its warmth”, muttered Arjun looking at the morning sun and Neha was not able to understand the reason of his weird philosophy.

“Huh!”, she exclaimed.

“Life is beautiful when we are passionate about things we do but it gets fantastic when we warmly embrace everything life has in store for us”, advised Arjun and Neha was getting pissed off.

Could not being able to control her anger, she asked, “Why are you telling me this?”

"Whatever it is, it shall too pass but all you need is to stay happy", he stated firmly looking into her pitch black eyes and her breath hitched. She felt guilty for snapping at him while he would just trying to tell her that she should stay happy despite, her circumstances. She felt an instant connection with him and she was glad there was someone to assure her that things would get fine when her parents had humiliated her.

“I know something is bothering you but don’t let it overpower you”, mumbled Arjun.

“How do you know?”, Neha asked not blinking her eyes. She was afraid if she would blink her eyes, Arjun would vanish. Everything seemed to be a dream where some stranger was consoling her instead of judging her and surprisingly, she never wanted this dream to end.

“Your eyes are an open book, Ms. Neha. Anyone can read them. I know something is bothering you but don’t worry, things would fall into their place.” Arjun replied as he stood up to leave.

“Take care and keep smiling", he spoke grinning at her and this time, Neha smiled warmly showcasing her sparkling white teeth. She was overwhelmed with his assurances. It was all she needed to brighten up her day. “He is right and he isn't bad”, she thought as she admired his caring nature.

As Arjun and Neha got up to leave, Bruno stood over and hugged Neha. He woofed as she caressed his golden furs before parting ways.

All the way back, Arjun grinned heartily reminiscing the full-blown smile of Neha while Neha was in a daze. With a warm smile playing on her lips, she walked back home. “I will be like the tangerine hues of the sun and make my life fantastic”, she murmured as she looked herself in the mirror while getting ready for work. She didn’t know if Arjun was a gentleman or a creep but she wanted to follow his advice in her life.

•••••••••••••••♥️•••••••••••••••

Hi everyone

I am in love with this chapter. 🧡

So, I had returned home early from work yesterday. I was watching the sunset while standing on my terrace when I penned down this sunrise theory.😅

(I guess you know I am weird 🤣 )

Before beginning this chapter, I had envisioned these lines (attached in the picture) and I guess, I need to follow them in my life 🙈

I pity Neha and I could feel the connection between Neha and Arjun 😍

Well! I practically feel, it doesn't take much efforts to say a motivational two liner to somebody who is sad. For that person, your words mean a lot. An advice/assurance without any prejudice is always welcomed 🌟

I want to know about your take on this story under the following heads,

• Character development

• Plot development

• Pace of the story

With immense love, I sign off, only to be back soon 💜