Sugarless Love (part1 )

After travelling for 40kms up and down the hills, he finally delivered his last package for the day.He pulled out a hankerchief  from his pocket, and wiped off that one drop of sweat on his forehead, that had managed to loom despite the chilling winds.While cursing the day when he took up this part time job of a delivery guy,he started his scooter and hopped on to go back.The high altitude had turned his throat into Sahara desert,so he began looking around for  some place to quench his thirst....for water ofcourse!.At a visible distance he saw a board
'Sapna Tea stall'

As if living in  her own climatic region of some sort, under that almost broken hut like structure,she was draped in a thin cotton sari and and a namesake shawl sprawling between her neck and shoulder.
She heard the sound of a scooter approaching and got up to greet the customer.

"Excuse me...can I have a glass of water??"
She looked at him in the eye..and without an inch of expression said..
"Sorry Sir...we serve only tea..no water"
"And how do you make tea without water?"
He expected a smile,but got none.She kept gazing at him as though her eyes were too tired to blink.He couldn't comprehend the situation or her body language,so quickly ordered for one cup of tea..to jump the awkwardness.While sitting on the one single piece of furniture in the proximity,he watched her making tea.
It took him more than one glance to appreciate her beauty,and once he arrived at it,he realized ..she was too pretty to be alone.
With the extra vigilant senses that a women is blessed with,she could feel him staring from the corner of her eye.She brought the tea to him,and kept it on table in front.With his eyes locked elsewhere,he picked it up and was about to drink when she said
"Wait!"
She rushed inside and brought a bowl of sugar and spoon and placed it in front of him.
"Please add sugar to taste....the tea is sugarless"
He smiled.In his mind he imagined a bollywood scene with 'sarson ke khet' and violins playing in backgroud and considered saying  something like...it must be sweet already,you have made it and blah blah...but with her face going from cold to chilled..he erased the  theorization .
He drank it as slowly as possible to delay the end.He made one or two futile attempts to strike a conversation,and after hell lot of perseverance managed to get a few nods and a teeny-weeny smile.
Despite minimal exchange of words,he learnt that she lived there alone and was content with the amount of money she made my this small tea stall.
She was in her late twenties,but her face was stuck up at a younger age.A few wrinkles here and there gave away what her seemingly innocent eyes were trying to hide.
He stood up to place the cup in the washing area,but she almost  snatched it from him and went ahead.He followed her, to keep the wordless conversation on.
Near the sink,he saw a bunch of broken cups neatly placed.
"Hey...these are broken...you don't throw them??"
As expected..she said nothing,answering in one go was against her practice.
"these are broken..."
She looked at him,almost through him..
"those are....those are memories..."
She was too interesting and beautiful to be not met again.

He now made sure that he would grab all the parcels to be delivered in that area.Now winter,cold breeze etc,didn't bother him.She was magnetic!
He would sometimes drink 2-3 cups of tea in a row...just for her to be there.And she was growing fond of him too.She had graduated from 'nods' and 'smiles' to actual sentences.

It had been a month...and they met almost daily.For him,it had crossed the levels of attraction...it felt Love
For her....he didnt know...

To be continued....