It was supposed to be such a pleasant morning. But it turned out to be an unpleasant one considering the surroundings I was in. The Marina beach was flooded with pollution, considering the cyclone that had recently hit the state. The increased water level brought back the plastic on roads with it when it came back to its original level. After almost a month, it actually started to look like a beach again. My pleasant thought about watching the sunrise in the beach had fallen on face in the same dirt after taking in the smell. The mild foul smell that usually beaches give away was denser that day.

Uncapping the camera eye, with the least interest, I started clicking pictures of the lying plastic, the waves. They were not so clear but I had to click the shots as I was ordered by my little sister. I was not really bothered about taking the pictures of plastic as there weren't many people around me. A very few families who had come to witness the morning sunrise and a fewer policemen with conservancy staff to clean up the beach.

I couldn't even sit on the sand and enjoy the feels looking at the plastic. What got me was the head of a mannequin, which probably got back with the flooded water from some shopping mall. I shuddered at the look of it before realizing what it actually was. As it was, the mannequin head was buried in the ground and only the hair was in view, making it look like a real human's head that was chopped of from the body. There was this girl not so far from me. She looked at the same thing and shouted on the top of her lungs. Damn, she had such a loud voice. The pitch her voice hit almost made me drop my camera. And later when a guy, who somehow looked related to her, showed her it was just a doll, almost everyone around her cracked up, me included. I could have removed the head and avoided her from the embarrassment. Again, had I done that, I would have definitely missed this laughter. The one good thing about this not so pleasant sunrise watching.

With the sun rising higher, the sand crystals shone brighter. Surprisingly, even the plastic started to look appealing under the early morning sun rays.

There was something wrong with my camera. However hard I tried, the pictures were just not coming out clear. Just when I was changing my angles for better light and clearer view, the camera caught something or rather someone. It was her. That girl with the loud voice. Unknowingly, my finger that sat on the snap button got a shot of her and another, and one more. When I realized what I was doing, I stopped and took a look at those photographs of hers. Oh man, the girl with the loud voice has gotten even louder speaking smile. That smile made my just doing morning great. Sad that I couldn't have a look at her eyes. One eye I could see was crooked up in the corner from the smiling. I could bet, she had those diamond like shining eyes.

I lifted my head to see what she was actually doing when I captured her. She was smiling at a camera. Not mine, but that guy's, who was with her when she got scared looking at the mannequin's head. I stole that smile anyways. She ran to that guy and lowered the camera in his hands to her level and checked the photos. They were laughing at the camera and I noticed that they both had the same smile. He must be her brother. They looked somewhat similar, except he was a tone fairer and a bit too much taller than her. She had to jump to get hold of the camera when that guy raised his hands. I chuckled despite myself. That was when I realized I was being a creep, so I decided to mind my own business.

When the day looked clearer with the sunlight, people started to increase in number. The stalls just began to open. The joggers started sweating in their tracks. The noise grew in a decibel with every passing unit of time. When I was almost done building a sand castle to get a good picture clicked, I heard someone call out my name, "Adarsh!"

I turned around to look for whoever it was. It was her again. The girl with loud voice. She was not very close to me, but her voice rang really close. Wait, how did she know my name? And she was signaling me to go over to her.

What had she gotten to do with me? I wondered.

Before I could make a step forward, I heard someone saying, "Arey, coming. A minute. Don't shout."

I turned to my right to see who I suppose was her brother. We both shared the same name. cool, ain't it?

When I looked back at her, I found her digging up a hole with her hands. I built a castle while she dug a hole. Cool, again. That reminded me of my sand castle. I swiftly looked at it. Thank Gods, it was safe. I didn't want to mess it up and waste more of my time rebuilding it. I wouldn't basically care if it weren't for my youngest sister and her gallery expo that was set in two days. I knew better than messing with my sisters. Lesson learnt in hard ways!

I shifted my attention back to her after getting the pictures of my hard built castle. I knew it was sick of me to keep stalking her. But again, I couldn't help myself. She was so magnetic. And she was pulling me to her as strong as her voice. 

I moved towards her and sat down on the edge of an idly set boat in front of her. Having finished digging the hole, she stood up dusting away her palms. The hole didn't look that big in diameter. I wondered what she had in mind to be digging that hole until I saw her pull that guy towards it and made him stand in it. His feet inside the hole, she started refilling it with the sand, covering his feet up until a few inches of his height. 

The expression on her brother's face gave away how he was sick of her antics. 

I feel ya bro! I wanted to shout, but I saw her stood up beside him clapping and moved her hand over their shoulders comparing their heights. Her lips formed a pout when she still found herself shorter than her brother by a few inches. 

I felt myself smiling looking at her. In an instant, her pout turned to a smile. That same smile I saw the first time. Trust me, it was breath taking from the up front. Her eyes. I just saw her eyes. They were shining as bright as those distant waves under the morning sunlight. 

Before I could snap away my sight from her, she saw me. She looked at me in the eye and walked to me, still smiling. 

Uh-oh, I'm in trouble, ain't I? I thought. 

My heart hammered against my chest as she came closer to me. 

"Hey, if you don't mind, can you take a picture of me and my brother, please?" she asked. Her voice was oozing melody when she talked in a lower tone. Was she the same girl with the loud voice or was she replaced by someone else when I was busy building my sand castle? And wait, she said he was her brother, so my hunch was right. 

"Please?" she stressed again when I gave no reply. 

"Sure" I said and walked with her and took a few snaps of them, just so that one serves if the rest of them comes out blur.

She ran to me when I pulled down the camera from my eye level. She stood close to me to checkout those photographs as the camera was still hung to my neck. It felt so right being that close to her and smelling in her hair conditioner. 

"This one is so good, thanks." she smiled at me.

I smiled back at her and looked at her brother wiping off the sand from his feet. Thanks that he was busy, he didn't notice me checking out his sister. Brothers could be damn scary at such times!

I sensed my phone buzzing in my jeans pocket when I saw her brother moving towards us. I excused myself from her and walked away from them to answer the call. 

It was a work emergency. While talking from a distance, I looked at the brother-sister duo talking something with the brother deeply examining me. 

Had his brotherly instincts already won over my observant eyes on her sister? Was I being really observant or was I being lecherous? Whatever it was, my gut suggested me to run away from there before having my ribs broken by her brother.

I pulled away my gaze from them to concentrate back on the call and turned out I had to leave for work immediately. Damn, this girl with the loud voice made me late for my work. 

I looked at her for one last time. Looked like, she was waiting to talk to me. Good thing. I also looked at her brother and he seemed to be waiting to talk to me too. That was definitely not a good thing. I turned back on my feet and walked away from the beach towards the road to my work.

•••

I was at this desi café at my office corner, sipping on my evening coffee to relieve my work stress when someone behind me said, "Hey!"

Was it for me? Wait, I knew this voice. Praying to God, I turned back and yes. God had answered my prayers. It was her. The girl with the loud voice. 

When I didn't say anything, she looked doubtful and asked, "Hey, you are the guy with the camera?" More like confirming my identity.

Fair enough. At least, my name in her mind wasn't as bad as hers in mine.

"Yeah."

"Uh--this morning you got my pictures in your camera and I forgot to share them to mine."

"Oh, I am sorry. You should have asked me."

"Thought so, but you walked away by then."

"You could have called me, you know. Anyways, you have a really loud voice." I said and bit my tongue for losing control.

She gave a knowing smile, like she just noted something and said, "I could, but it didn't feel right calling out "The guy with the camera" in my loud voice" quoting my name.

I threw my head back and laughed, "But you just called me that"

"Not in front of everyone" she shrugged.

"Fair enough." I said and realized before saying, "Right now, I don't have my camera."

Oddly, she smiled. That same breath taking smile again and said, "It's okay. We can share it later."

It almost seemed like I was not the only one waiting to meet her again. The thought itself was enough to lighten my mood, that my yet to hit caffeine was unable to do.

As if she read my expressions and with a bit of mischief in her tone, she said, "What? You think only you can check me out?"

Now, it was my turn to steal her all-teeth style of smile. I couldn't contain it to myself. "You noticed me looking at you?"

"Of course, why else in the heavens would you think I would have you capture my pictures in your camera when I got one of my own?"

I was beyond astonished, "What if you hadn't run into me, now?"

She chuckled and said, "After all these, you really think I just ran into you now?"

Saying I was shocked would be an understatement. I was way beyond shocked. I would probably be looking like a cartoon with the eyes popped out at the moment.

"I am sorry, but I come to the same place to have chai every evening and I have had a crush on you, big time. Although, I don't know anything except your face."

"Oh my dear God!!!" I said rubbing my face rapidly with my palms.

She smiled and asked, "So, the guy with the camera, what is your actual name?"

"Adarsh!" I said and noticed the surprise on her face. "That's right. I share my name with your brother." I smiled and asked, "What's your name?"

"Dhvani" she said.

I chuckled and said, "Why am I not surprised?"

At that, she laughed.

"What would you like to have, Dhvani?" 

She shook her head, giving away her smile and said in her loud voice, "Bhayya, ek chai aur biscuit!!"

I shook my head with a smile. 

This girl with the loud voice!

A/N: Hello, guys! This is a short story that finishes in this one shot. Hope you liked it. Let me tell you, parts of this story are from my own experience. I visited the Marina beach right after the cyclone in TamilNadu ended and it was a horrible sight with full of plastic. I also dug a hole and had my brother stand in it and still, I looked shorter. Except, I saw no one, neither was I seen by anyone.

Anyways, if you liked this story, please do vote and let me know in the comments. Also, check my another book "Musk and Melodies". You will love that one for sure if you loved this. :)