“Listen to me and listen to me very carefully; I respect you, fine, but her insolence I will not tolerate. There is a limit to everything! How in the wide world can someone actually criticize a language in a language forum? You are the administrator, you control the literary portion of the forum, make sure there are no such idiotic blogs anymore, because if there are, this time I was very accommodating trust me; the next time she wouldn’t like what she would hear!” brown spectacled eyes flashed with fire as acid churned out effortlessly from the lucid lips; the long hair even seemed to have gained an electric spark of their own. Alaina was a character; you had to give her that. Sharp, biting and definitely cutting when it suited her. Else, a petite, caring damsel; sometimes people round her got really confused which was the real personality.
Presently the subject of her scorching met the blazing inferno with the pacific orbs. “You are of course right, and I will try my best that the events are not repeated.” Oh for love of everything that was holy! Why did the fountain of nectar always insist on shushing down the furore? And you couldn’t even shout at it because you would miss the next few words. Damn that voice to the thrice damned hell! There, she had actually used one word twice in a single sentence. May be she was losing the edge. Alaina hanged her head in defeat. Winning a once over with Agron was a distant and definitely invincible dream. The man knew logic, the man knew his reference and the man definitely knew his way with words. “Fine, but you have to give me this that just because you don’t know the meaning of a word in a text I doubt you would run to the dictionary to check it; ask the person right in front of you, period. And, if that person thinks you are a fool because of that, well, that can’t be helped right?” “I have told you numerous times, you are not a fool Elaina”
Why, oh why did her name have to sound so much more beautiful when it came from that voice? That voice! People could die for it, literally. “You are not an idiot...you are just like what I was and still am...so if you have to fight, then fight; don’t listen to what people have to say, it’s not going to come of any use anyways; remember you can never make everyone happy at the same time...you are a romantic but not a fool...look into yourself and find the beautiful you.” As the voice washed over her, the nerves seemed to calm down which was pretty obviously visible even to the resourceful ocean because the caramelizing stopped. “See Elaina, the normal word stock of a person who has passed from an English medium school is around twenty five thousand to thirty thousand words. The more they read, the more they speak, this increases to say forty thousand, at a maximum fifty to sixty thousand. Now, there are four point five billion words in English language. If you look at the ratio, its almost negative. If a person thinks you are a fool because you don’t know the meaning of a word, then there is no greater fool.”
Agron smiled in satisfaction. He knew very well the battle was won. Aliana would not bother to argue with this reference, rather she did not have enough reference at the moment to contradict this, and this girl definitely hated having a lower footing in an argument. Agron had always been a master judge of character, and if all his observations had not been wrong, this girl definitely was very academic, rather academic to a fault. As expected Alaina gave him a wan smile and turned to leave. When almost at the door, the little menace turned and smiled brightly at him, “A good day to you sir, thank you for listening and sorry for all the shouting.” With that, the furry of energy vanished round the door as it closed with a soft thud. As she walked away from the man who had been in the centre of her attention for quite a few days now, Alaina reverted back to the day they had met. Never in her life had she thought she would turn completely featherhead by the sound of a voice.
Alaina was a regular visitor to the oxford book store, no wonder even the vendors round the exquisite parlour knew her by now. Saturday evening had turned out to be a bearer of clear sky; so as the luminescent heavens twinkled away, the bookworm decided to have some food. Just as the exemplary scent of well preserved tomes greeted her senses, Alaina noticed a dog sitting right at the centre of the bustling alley. Vehicle after vehicle flew past the mewling babe. As though in slow motion, a similar incident flashed through her vision-a wining puppy, staring at her, moments later…a lifeless carcass. Dropping everything in her possession, Alaina raced like a person possessed. Ignoring the honking indignant drivers, the storm few to the epicenter to scoop up the instigator of all the drama into her arms. Apologizing vehemently to the now coagulated traffic, she carried the now pacified tot over to the walk-way.
“Philanthropist” a hushed voice declared clinically from behind the young girl who now sat coddling the puppy as if it were her own child. Fiery eyes scanned the group accumulated for quite some time; unable to locate the offender, giving up at last. A while later, Alaina decided that she had better get moving if she intended to stuff some food into her starving psyche; so lifting the cub off her arms, she set it free with one last pat. With a wistful look, the lady at last stepped into the actual purpose of her late evening outing. Oxford book store was paradise to every book lover. Shelves and shelves of cautiously housed volumes lined the tall elegant woody walls. Alaina always did feel at home in this lovely hub; surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of books, at last she felt safe. Quickly she deposited her bag and turned to her usual corner. Just as the nimble fingers caressed the covers of a Joyce paperback, the same honey suckle voice blew to her ears, “So the philanthropist reads James Joyce!” Indignation burning through her system, Alaina swiveled round and for a first time, vocabulary abandoned her. In front of her stood the most majestic soul she had ever had the good fortune of meeting.
It was not that the face was flawless, nor was he handsome in the typical sense, but all the faults in his royal features blended together in an intricate brew to give the most magical upshot. Stoic eyes like the great pacific lined by a solitary hefted brow and a tiny smile on the throes, the nucleus of her attention stared insolently at her as though waiting for an outburst. Struggling to get a control over her now scattered thoughts, Alaina wondered what in that voice, those eyes had really ungrounded her. “I…love reading” was all the usually spewing volcano could manage. “Love reading what?” It was more of a challenge than a question, as though challenging her present location. Shaking her head in resignation, Alaina smiled for the first time in the day, “I love reading anything sir, the smell of knowledge has now become a long time addiction. This book store, its mystic aroma, its tomes…they remind me of my humanity, they remind me of being alive and parching for knowledge.” The clinical expression had been replaced by one of reluctant respect, the smile on the oh so eluding orifice had broadened a bit; “Join me.”
The sound of silence turned and walked slowly towards the cafeteria accompanied by his already selected companion for the evening. Alaina stood for a moment contemplating the strange happenings of the evening, the strange invitation and the even stranger, stranger. Gently lifting the manuscript that had brought out the little drama off its secure housing, she followed the magneto to the corner desk. “Agron” the strange stranger extended his artistic hands in greetings. “Ah, yeah right, Hi, Alaina, a pleasure meeting you.” The gentle pressure on her hand elevated before the larger hand elevated off the smaller one it had engulfed. “Elaina you mean” “No, Alaina” “Ah, the lady is not very knowledgeable about her name I see” the smile in those eyes were worth the humiliation she felt at the moment. Dearest Jesus! She had never met anyone so captivating in her life! “I do know my name thank you” Alaina knew she had answered only out of habit and evidently, Agron knew too. “Elaina, my dear, is an Italian name, which before you interrupt, I should inform you, I know you know. But what you don’t know is, Italian names starting with ‘a’ have pronunciations starting with ‘e’. Now do you get my point?” Agron had a way about his words Alaina couldn’t deny that even in her dreams. Simple words when thrown out from those jaws transformed into sinuous poetry. “I…yeah, I didn’t know that. Thanks” A man had in twenty two years of her life, first time, provided such knowledge to her that she valued. Alaina looked at Agron in reverence and for the nth time thanked whatever deity had chanced their meeting.
Back to present, Alaina still could not remember one day when she had regretted her taking this man up as her mentor ever since. Even when he had cut her down brutally moments back, chastised her over enthusiasm and taken her complains with the tranquil of the moon, she did not regret. Agron had given a different meaning to her life altogether, not just a change in name, a change in perspective itself. Daily the knives had been edged against each other to increase their cut, daily the emotions had been burnt out to purge them of the dirt, daily the bookworm had been thrashed to transform into a butterfly of vivid knowledge. Yes Agron owned her, he owned everything she was today, he owned everything she had done, everything she was capable of.
Presently the subject of her scorching met the blazing inferno with the pacific orbs. “You are of course right, and I will try my best that the events are not repeated.” Oh for love of everything that was holy! Why did the fountain of nectar always insist on shushing down the furore? And you couldn’t even shout at it because you would miss the next few words. Damn that voice to the thrice damned hell! There, she had actually used one word twice in a single sentence. May be she was losing the edge. Alaina hanged her head in defeat. Winning a once over with Agron was a distant and definitely invincible dream. The man knew logic, the man knew his reference and the man definitely knew his way with words. “Fine, but you have to give me this that just because you don’t know the meaning of a word in a text I doubt you would run to the dictionary to check it; ask the person right in front of you, period. And, if that person thinks you are a fool because of that, well, that can’t be helped right?” “I have told you numerous times, you are not a fool Elaina”
Why, oh why did her name have to sound so much more beautiful when it came from that voice? That voice! People could die for it, literally. “You are not an idiot...you are just like what I was and still am...so if you have to fight, then fight; don’t listen to what people have to say, it’s not going to come of any use anyways; remember you can never make everyone happy at the same time...you are a romantic but not a fool...look into yourself and find the beautiful you.” As the voice washed over her, the nerves seemed to calm down which was pretty obviously visible even to the resourceful ocean because the caramelizing stopped. “See Elaina, the normal word stock of a person who has passed from an English medium school is around twenty five thousand to thirty thousand words. The more they read, the more they speak, this increases to say forty thousand, at a maximum fifty to sixty thousand. Now, there are four point five billion words in English language. If you look at the ratio, its almost negative. If a person thinks you are a fool because you don’t know the meaning of a word, then there is no greater fool.”
Agron smiled in satisfaction. He knew very well the battle was won. Aliana would not bother to argue with this reference, rather she did not have enough reference at the moment to contradict this, and this girl definitely hated having a lower footing in an argument. Agron had always been a master judge of character, and if all his observations had not been wrong, this girl definitely was very academic, rather academic to a fault. As expected Alaina gave him a wan smile and turned to leave. When almost at the door, the little menace turned and smiled brightly at him, “A good day to you sir, thank you for listening and sorry for all the shouting.” With that, the furry of energy vanished round the door as it closed with a soft thud. As she walked away from the man who had been in the centre of her attention for quite a few days now, Alaina reverted back to the day they had met. Never in her life had she thought she would turn completely featherhead by the sound of a voice.
Alaina was a regular visitor to the oxford book store, no wonder even the vendors round the exquisite parlour knew her by now. Saturday evening had turned out to be a bearer of clear sky; so as the luminescent heavens twinkled away, the bookworm decided to have some food. Just as the exemplary scent of well preserved tomes greeted her senses, Alaina noticed a dog sitting right at the centre of the bustling alley. Vehicle after vehicle flew past the mewling babe. As though in slow motion, a similar incident flashed through her vision-a wining puppy, staring at her, moments later…a lifeless carcass. Dropping everything in her possession, Alaina raced like a person possessed. Ignoring the honking indignant drivers, the storm few to the epicenter to scoop up the instigator of all the drama into her arms. Apologizing vehemently to the now coagulated traffic, she carried the now pacified tot over to the walk-way.
“Philanthropist” a hushed voice declared clinically from behind the young girl who now sat coddling the puppy as if it were her own child. Fiery eyes scanned the group accumulated for quite some time; unable to locate the offender, giving up at last. A while later, Alaina decided that she had better get moving if she intended to stuff some food into her starving psyche; so lifting the cub off her arms, she set it free with one last pat. With a wistful look, the lady at last stepped into the actual purpose of her late evening outing. Oxford book store was paradise to every book lover. Shelves and shelves of cautiously housed volumes lined the tall elegant woody walls. Alaina always did feel at home in this lovely hub; surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of books, at last she felt safe. Quickly she deposited her bag and turned to her usual corner. Just as the nimble fingers caressed the covers of a Joyce paperback, the same honey suckle voice blew to her ears, “So the philanthropist reads James Joyce!” Indignation burning through her system, Alaina swiveled round and for a first time, vocabulary abandoned her. In front of her stood the most majestic soul she had ever had the good fortune of meeting.
It was not that the face was flawless, nor was he handsome in the typical sense, but all the faults in his royal features blended together in an intricate brew to give the most magical upshot. Stoic eyes like the great pacific lined by a solitary hefted brow and a tiny smile on the throes, the nucleus of her attention stared insolently at her as though waiting for an outburst. Struggling to get a control over her now scattered thoughts, Alaina wondered what in that voice, those eyes had really ungrounded her. “I…love reading” was all the usually spewing volcano could manage. “Love reading what?” It was more of a challenge than a question, as though challenging her present location. Shaking her head in resignation, Alaina smiled for the first time in the day, “I love reading anything sir, the smell of knowledge has now become a long time addiction. This book store, its mystic aroma, its tomes…they remind me of my humanity, they remind me of being alive and parching for knowledge.” The clinical expression had been replaced by one of reluctant respect, the smile on the oh so eluding orifice had broadened a bit; “Join me.”
The sound of silence turned and walked slowly towards the cafeteria accompanied by his already selected companion for the evening. Alaina stood for a moment contemplating the strange happenings of the evening, the strange invitation and the even stranger, stranger. Gently lifting the manuscript that had brought out the little drama off its secure housing, she followed the magneto to the corner desk. “Agron” the strange stranger extended his artistic hands in greetings. “Ah, yeah right, Hi, Alaina, a pleasure meeting you.” The gentle pressure on her hand elevated before the larger hand elevated off the smaller one it had engulfed. “Elaina you mean” “No, Alaina” “Ah, the lady is not very knowledgeable about her name I see” the smile in those eyes were worth the humiliation she felt at the moment. Dearest Jesus! She had never met anyone so captivating in her life! “I do know my name thank you” Alaina knew she had answered only out of habit and evidently, Agron knew too. “Elaina, my dear, is an Italian name, which before you interrupt, I should inform you, I know you know. But what you don’t know is, Italian names starting with ‘a’ have pronunciations starting with ‘e’. Now do you get my point?” Agron had a way about his words Alaina couldn’t deny that even in her dreams. Simple words when thrown out from those jaws transformed into sinuous poetry. “I…yeah, I didn’t know that. Thanks” A man had in twenty two years of her life, first time, provided such knowledge to her that she valued. Alaina looked at Agron in reverence and for the nth time thanked whatever deity had chanced their meeting.
Back to present, Alaina still could not remember one day when she had regretted her taking this man up as her mentor ever since. Even when he had cut her down brutally moments back, chastised her over enthusiasm and taken her complains with the tranquil of the moon, she did not regret. Agron had given a different meaning to her life altogether, not just a change in name, a change in perspective itself. Daily the knives had been edged against each other to increase their cut, daily the emotions had been burnt out to purge them of the dirt, daily the bookworm had been thrashed to transform into a butterfly of vivid knowledge. Yes Agron owned her, he owned everything she was today, he owned everything she had done, everything she was capable of.
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