CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40: ANANYA LOST AGAIN!

Alex used the Ninja UAV drone to play until night, and as the clock approached six, he carefully put it away, started his electric bike, and started to patrol around Mumbai Tech Park as part of his daily security rounds.

Patrolling was not hard at all it was a daily routine, easy, and took nothing more than a consistent pace and keen vision.

Provided that he made it patrol of around the Park perimeter until six o’clock, he could punch out and head home, the end of another successful day.

But halfway along his round, Alex saw a familiar face standing just a short distance away.

"Isn’t that..." He braked his bike, looking more closely. "The girl from this morning?"

The sight made him raise an eyebrow in surprise. It was indeed Ananya, and she was standing nervously by one of the pathways, with tears welling up in her eyes.

She has big eyes that are fluttering in puzzlement, pressed lips, and appears utterly out of place in the huge Tech Park.

Alex couldn’t help a chuckle. "Why is she standing there like a fool? Don’t tell me she is lost again?"

Grasping the bike, he dipped to one side and asked with confusion, "Lost again?"

The instant she identified his voice, Ananya’s entire expression changed. Her tiny face lit up in an instant, and her eyes shone with relief, almost as if she had discovered a savior in the middle of the desert.

"It’s you! I..." Her voice broke and her cheeks flushed a brilliant red, making her appear even more disheveled.

Alex almost laughed aloud. His guess had been spot-on she really was lost again.

In truth, Ananya knew she was directionally challenged, so she had carefully planned to leave with her colleagues this evening. As long as she followed them out of the Tech Park, she could easily grab a taxi and head home without getting into trouble.

Unfortunately, today she had been late, and for that reason, she had accumulated more work. She was not given the choice but to remain behind and do overtime until late in the evening. By the time she finally completed the work and emerged from the office, all her coworkers had already gone.

Alone, she made her way down the stairs, only to discover she had not the slightest clue where the main exit was.

She attempted one route, then another, but nothing felt right. After walking around for over a half hour lost, she looked confused and lost herself again.

Watching her stand there hopelessly, Alex let out a sigh. "Forget it. I will be a good person till the end today, okay? I’m nearly off duty anyway. I’ll pick you up and drop you home."

There was helplessness in his voice, but also a dash of warmth. This girl was something else so cute but so clueless, yet her naivety made it impossible to leave her here alone.

Especially city is not safe at night these days.

Ananya’s face immediately lit up, and she literally bounced on her feet as she ran to him. She got onto the back of his electric bike without hesitation, her hands touching lightly on his shoulders as she settled in.

The second she was behind him, her heart began racing out of control.

This wasn’t how she imagined that morning that she will sit with him again. But still this was a moment out of her fantasy straight.

Ananya’s house was just five kilometers from the Mumbai Tech Park, so on an electric bike it took hardly ten minutes, but somehow this short journey felt warm and cozy to her.

As a gentle night wind caressed their faces, the two of them started talking, their words merging harmoniously with the whirring of the bike, so that the moment felt like something straight out of a film.

After talking and casual chat, Alex found out more about her Ananya had recently graduated this year and had secured her first job at an advertisement design company within the Tech Park, brimming with enthusiasm and optimism for the future.

But as Alex lifted his eyebrows and inquired curiously, "How did you end up so lost you don’t know where your own company is?" her face flushed bright red, and she could only laugh scornfully.

Eventually, she admitted the truth, her voice gentle but sincere, her fingers anxiously tightening on the rim of her bag as if fearfully worried he would laugh at her.

In her 2 grade in school, It was discovered that she suffered from Developmental Topographical Disorientation (DTD), a congenital cognitive disorder that rendered it almost impossible for her to perceive spatial relationships, resulting in such a poor sense of direction that she frequently lost her way even in environments she walked through tens of times.

Ananya’s condition was extremely rare, something only a few individuals on the planet ever encountered.

Though it wasn’t a serious disease, once you had it there was no cure, no fix only adjusting to living with it.

It was for this reason that she had gotten lost twice in one day, powerless against her own brain’s failure to find its way.

—————

Driving past the busy streets of Mumbai on his electric bike, Alex rode in steady pace, dodging cars and honking rickshaws until he finally came to a stop before a residential complex.

"This is it," he said matter-of-factly, parking the bike, but before he could even take off his helmet, Ananya had already disembarked.

"Thank you so, so much!" she exclaimed, her voice shaking with earnestness, her bright eyes glinting as if she’d just been pulled from the jaws of despair.

Her heart was racing furiously, the beat too fast, too loud, and she had no idea why.

With this plain-looking security man, there was that strange but fabulous feeling churning in her chest, something she couldn’t quite make sense off.

Was this.... What others referred to as falling in love at first sight?

The realization caused her cheeks to flush, and she jerkily shook her head as though to shoo the thought away, but the heat remained on her cheeks.

At least one thing was certain this man may be a plain guard, but he was certainly nicer than a majority of individuals she had ever encountered.