It was late in the evening. yes, the match did help to divert my attention...and the fact that India was winning was just added advantage. Trnng Trrrnnngg...every time my landline rung, I ran like a kid towards the receiver- the way I ran when we first bought home a telephone. Those days calls were rare and every phone ring brought cheer to everyone at home. Only that it had been 9 years since that period, and I was experiencing the same childish joy in answering calls. The difference was just that this time, I was expecting a particular caller- one that would say "Hel'low.." One thought led to another and soon my creative brain started cooking up images of the woman I have never seen before. Would she be older than me? Could be she's some sort of a pyschopath who got her hands onto a phone. But she didn't seem insane even by the wildest assumptions. No, she couldn't be crazy..maybe just immature- someone who doesn't have a lot to do.
Time doesn't pass by when you want it to pass the most. But out here, I didn't even know what i was waiting for! She never said she will call in an hour or after dinner. She said nothing...Oh..except that she would love to hear from me. Did she just drop a hint that I must call her? The thoughts clustering every pea sized cell in my brain, making it even more difficult for me to think clearly. Maybe calling her would calm me down..I picked up the cordless, searched for that number from teh received calls..but, what do I tell her..what did I call her for? What if she assumes I am desperate...No.. Let her call..if she wants.. (bah! Me and my male ego!)
Your heart always controls your body, they say. No wonder, i still had the phone in my hand. "...Har pal yahan..Jee bhar Jeeyo..Jo Hai samaaaa... KAL HO NA HO" My Phoen ringing..My cell phone...how did she get my mobile number?? I rushed to my bedroom and threw the pillow away under which my phone was partially buried (it's a guy's room after all!"
"6 Tonne Calling" was the display of my phone. Dejected would be an understatement. I was expecting.. Oh! By the way,6 Tonne was Chetan, my best friend since childhood. We grew up playing cricket together..
"Haan... Bol...!!" I finally answered, making my discontent obvious.
" Abey..what happened..Ashlesha again ditched you kya?"
" What do you mean ditched? She didn't ditch me, she had to go out with family last week ok?"
"Ya ya, but what the f**k is wrong with you? You seem as if ur childhood sweetheart just ran away with another guy!"
I said nothing. I was already pissed off. (pardon the language!)
"Ok Ok, You coming to Leopold? Chal Sutta aur Vodka maarte hain...What say man!"
"Just leave me alone, will ya? bye.."I just dug my head in my pillow..and lied down..not trying to think about Riya. My mom was going to the neighbor's. So I was left alone..pun intended!!
The Phone was ringing...my head was aching...Did i doze off?? Oh..."The PHONE IS RINGING!!!" I shouted out loud with excitement. I rushed to pick up the call and answered" Huh! (pant).Helloow?"
"Itna Haaf kyu Rahe ho? What were you doing huh? hahahahaha"
'twas her. Her naughty self that has me hit wicket!
"Nahi, I was working out when you called..hence the panting noise.."
"Ooooh...work out and all huh?"
I felt she was ridiculing me..I wanted to retort, but some strange wisdom advised me from doing otherwise..Thankfully!
"So..What did you do now all evening?"
"Hmm..Nothing, I went out with friends..Phir Hukka..Coffee.and all"
"Oh.cool"
"You done with your work?"
"Work?" I asked..utterly surprised.
" You had some work na u said? Kya Jhooth bola tha mujhe? Saale!!"
None of my past 3 Girlfriends ever used any kind of abusive language with me- Never swore at me. But she caught me nonetheless!
"Uh..no..I'm done with it"
"hmm.. (Giggles)"
I fear this lady now. Either she is upto something or is outright crazy. What's tickling her now?
"Im sooooooo boreed!! (yawn)"
"bored? So soon? m sorry yaar i pakaoed you so much" Ha ha ha...very funny!!
" Arre tu nahi re sweetheart, bored of life..studies..studies and so on.."
I felt the tension build up again. Maybe she is free with her showering of intimate words, but the assumption didn't slow down my pacing heartbeat a bit.
"studies? What are you doing? I mean, what studies is bothering you dear? " [i couldn't believe i said that to someone I have talked to for juts 25 minutes!]
"XII Board exams!! So boring ya, i don't like these stupid stuff!"
[So now i knew I was dealing with someone just a year younger.]
"Say something.."
"Like...?"
" Anything..I just wanna hear your voice sweety! It is so soothing and romantic and sexyy (laughs)"
It's amply clear that this female wants to flirt, and has no intention to hide it! But I was feeling too much is happening too fast. I didn't know to be excited or worried. She could be the Police Commissioner's daughter for all you know! Somehow, the danger and abstractness inherent in this conversation hit a sweet spot! I was giving in to the situation and being reactive now.
"No match to that of yours dear" I was digging a hole... Hoping i don't dig beneath my own feet!
"LOl...Achcha..by the way, do you have a cell-phone? Or are you happy with me calling on your landline?"
She made the move I wanted her to make... "sure..my number is 99******07"
"FYI.. you can call me too if you want, mere duffer! Chalo..i got to hang up...family calling for dinner!"
"Ohh..Ok..No worries.catch ya later.."
"Byee sweety.." And she hung up.
Whew! That was something... Did I go too far? No, I think I just reciprocated. If she is immature, one year older makes me no better candidate myself.
I just sat in my bedroom... The cool sea breeze blowing in the room and onto my face, I was just staring at the dead black sea from my bedroom.
"Ding DOng!" That must be dad- he will never use the key, always expect mama to be home and open the door for him. Sometimes I feel he treats Mom no different than the employees in his office.
Mom heard the bell and rushed home..Mom and dad talked about something- bet Dad must have asked a million questions over why was she at the neighbor's this late. My "Family" was about to sit for dinner too. I was feeling full- the conversations were being replayed over and over again. Something about the whole incident felt good. Unbelievably true... My cell-phone battery was low , so I picked it up to put it for charging.
"1 Message Received"
My heart skipped a beat at the screen.. could it be her? Why Do I want it to be from her? Why was I so desperate??!! As I clicked the Read option in my Nokia 6600, I waited for the large screen to throw up a name I saved just this evening. My mind was running a million permutations to throw up one single possible option the message could contain. And I didn;t even know it was from her..but somewhere I felt it...
The message read as :
I knew that very moment what began as a misunderstanding today would culminate into something bigger than I had imagined. But I could not even presage what was in store for me...
To be continued....
First things first - why a new blog? Wht happened to the old one?
ReplyDeleteGood story... waiting to find out wht happens next..
Thank mate..the older one was on finance..and I was restricted from doing anything even remotely related to research and all till May on account of a project..but I am working on a new article for nonsensexrules too..
ReplyDelete