A CONVERSATION BETWEEN TWO INTROVERTS
He is Introverted…
He continues his daily routine of going from home to the office, working in a corporate MNC culture, and returning to his house around 9:00 p.m. while carrying the weight of expectations and his side hustle. The introverted and single man then carves out some time for himself to pursue his interest, which has become a daily habit.
He travels home to the office in the corporate cab, where he runs into a number of folks who work there. People vary every day, occasionally repeating themselves according to their shifts at the office and the router allocated to the cab. While traveling, he had the opportunity to interact with others, but he didn’t say much beyond hello. He is improving on his shortcomings. Among friends, relatives, and strangers, he is not the same person. He responds in accordance with the circumstances and context. He is making small talk with strangers in an effort to alter his personality.
Though introverted, he is not timid. He is expressive and becomes more at ease when interacting with others. After observing people, it takes a little time to get comfortable.
Let’s talk about her…
She travels with him in the same cab. Both work for the same company but have different projects. Infrequently, he rides with her in the cab from the office to his house or vice versa. She is pretty and cute. He observed her and realized that she may be introverted and a little arrogant by nature, until he didn’t get to know her.
She always dresses nicely and spends the entire time staring out the window. Aside from giving her OTP to the cab driver, she said absolutely nothing — not even hello to the other passenger.
He tried to say hello to her several times. But he used to stop himself every time.
“Seeing her face, it seemed that it was clearly written, get lost!”
She was not the regular co-passenger. That’s why he did not go ahead and talk to her. One day, he was waiting for his cab at the place where she also came and talked on her phone to the driver.
and bang!
The first time she shared her words with him was that “this is not the right physical ID; the driver is waiting for us on that ID.” She had finally broken her silence that day. He asked about her work profile because he already knew her name. And she replied in a single word, and after that, there was a long silence in the whole cab during the trip.
And he reached home along with that silence.
And what happens next?
Both started getting the same cab roster daily. And one day, she really starts talking. Maybe now she is comfortable with him while they travel daily together. He discovered that she was the top student at her college. When she told him about it, he also shared his journey with her. They got cabs together every night and talked a lot during the trip. Both get really familiar with each other. And both have shared their phone numbers. He also asked her to grab some pasta at the office café, but she is still not that comfortable with him, or maybe she is a shy person who takes time to get along with people, or for other reasons, because everyone has their own secret.
Due to the lengthy route and the city’s festival season, cabs were running behind schedule to get them home in time. They have more time to communicate because of these events. Due to the delay, he noticed her worrying a few times during the journey, but the conversation was going on all the time. The subjects they covered were both interesting and private, and pertained to their work and hobbies as well. She had many goals and aspirations, including a love of travel and a desire to hang out and see new places. She was happy and career-focused. She enjoys singing, eating, and yes, even learning. Additionally, she informed him about her client’s upcoming Friday visit. The innocent girl thought that the client would give the team members chocolates as a gift.
He often noticed the cab driver and guard. They were also enjoying their conversation.
The End of the Conversation
And the day comes when the conversation between two introverts is going to an end. It was Friday, before the weekend, and that was their last conversation as co-passengers. He witnessed some funny incidents during their trip as well. He was carrying a chocolate bar that day. They met at the drop point like always, and she said that she didn’t get the chocolates as a gift from her project client. He listened to her, and when the cab was heading towards the destination, he offered her the chocolate he had.
She laughed, she was confused, and she denied taking it. But he tried again and again. He thought that he had made a mistake. The cab driver and guard also noticed. But after a few minutes, she asked, “Which chocolate have you brought?” He told her the name, and she said, “You should have brought that one." And here we go. They shared the chocolate and enjoyed the ride together.
They said their goodbyes as fellow travelers. After that, she became preoccupied with her job, and they didn’t get the cab together. She doesn’t use WhatsApp all that frequently. Now he’s got one month to work remotely.
It could be a beginning or an end. He is not sure.
