25/11/2024
The First Sunrise
Maya never believed in grand love stories. Life had taught her to keep her heart locked away, tucked safely behind the walls she’d spent years building. Love, to her, was like a firework—beautiful for a moment, but fleeting, and often dangerous. So when she walked into the tiny bookstore on her lunch break, love was the last thing on her mind.
She was browsing the poetry section when she felt it: a gaze so intense it seemed to warm the coldest corners of her heart. Turning slowly, she found herself locking eyes with a stranger. He wasn’t movie-star handsome, but the way he looked at her—like she was the first sunrise he’d ever seen—took her breath away.
“Sorry,” he said, an awkward smile spreading across his face. “I didn’t mean to stare. It’s just... you remind me of someone.”
Maya raised an eyebrow, amused. “Let me guess—someone important?”
“Yes,” he replied simply. “But she’s a lot older and has wrinkles. You just have her eyes.”
Caught off guard by his sincerity, Maya laughed. “Flattery and poetry—dangerous combination in a bookstore.”
He grinned. “I was just here for coffee. But now, I think I’m here for something else.”
They spent the next hour talking about everything and nothing—her love for sunsets, his obsession with cooking, her favorite poem, his terrible attempts at writing one. Maya forgot the time, the walls, the reasons she kept people at a distance.
As she left the bookstore, he called after her. “I didn’t catch your name!”
“Maya,” she said, hesitating before adding, “Maybe I’ll see you around.”
Weeks passed, and every lunch break, she found herself drawn back to the bookstore. Sometimes he was there, and sometimes he wasn’t. But when he was, their conversations grew longer, their smiles wider. Slowly, Maya’s heart began to thaw.
One day, as they sat on the bookstore steps, sharing coffee and a bag of pastries, he turned to her and said, “You know, I wasn’t looking for love either. But when I saw you that day, I realized maybe love was looking for me.”
Maya didn’t reply. She didn’t need to. Instead, she leaned her head on his shoulder, letting the warmth of the moment wash over her.
For the first time in years, she wasn’t afraid of falling. For the first time, she believed love might not be a firework after all. Maybe, just maybe, it was a sunrise—steady, beautiful, and full of hope.
The tour operator will take care of Visa arrangements for visitors. All travelers except Indian residents require visa for traveling to Bhutan.
