A night full
of tears can make your morning lighter. She cried for hours that night and the
very next day she was all cheerful about her life. Arjun didn’t expect her
there in the coffee shop again. However, she did come. Not because she had a
thing for him, but because there are so many routes to travel in life, but the
routes most familiar are the ones where you build your house, make it a home,
live there and never leave.
She did not
wish any alteration in her life, she wanted this life. She liked the table
where they used to sit and gossip about the bitchy girls, big boss (her
favorite) or anything that was present around them. She liked everything.
“I also like
your voice,” He appeared out of nowhere, as if reading her mind, and sat next
to her. He wasn’t wearing his uniform today. He was possibly on leave. She
looked at him like a Smurf look at the other Smurf.
“Stop
insulting me. I’m UGLY and there is no better way to say this. I don’t have a
pretty pair of eyes or a vocal cord hampered by Cadbury. I know, I don’t have a
slim figure. Large is the size of my tees. You know what ‘L’ means to a girl? And,
even for a moment if we forget about the shapes and sizes, my face looks like
Japan after World War-II. You shouldn’t be making fun of me in public.” Her voice had the a genuine shiver of
depression. As she sipped her coffee, she felt his hand over her hand.
“If you ever
want to see the real world, blindfold yourself for a day,” He paused, “Every
person reveals himself/herself to you when you are blindly into them.”
“Why are we
even talking about this? We should not be…” Her mind was having a second
thought. Was she a good person? She didn’t even know. She just knew that God
was so harsh on her when He created her. If not beautiful, He could have made
her a petite average looking girl. She was way too angry on god.
“Can I meet
you tonight at 8? Anywhere you wish to meet. Maybe… I can change what you
think.”
She did
agree to it that day. Perhaps! She too was tired with this thought of ugliness.
If not look, maybe she too wanted to feel beautiful. That night they met at an
ordinary terrace of her building. She was wearing an XL t-shirt with a big
Micky Mouse on it and purple printed pajamas followed by chappals. There was
nothing extra-ordinary about that night
but something happened that brought them together.
“Can you see
me?” He asked her. They were sitting next to each other. All lights on the
terrace were off and moon was sliced enough to not to act like a zero watt
light bulb.
“I can see
your outline,” She reverted back and joined her hands on her knees.
“What do you
feel is the most beautiful thing around you?” He asked her and could predict
her answer as well.
“Stars,” She
said without thinking.
“Then what
about the moon?” He asked.
“It is also
beautiful.”
“These are
the things you can see, close your eyes and tell me, what do you think is the
most beautiful thing around you?”
He closed his eyes too.
“I cannot feel anything,” She said.
He held her hand. His heart skipped a beat, her heart caught a beat. It wasn’t an answer that could be expressed in words. Love is something like that, a silent answer to an invisible question. Most of the people complaining that they cannot find love, because it is the answer to be felt. How about closing your eyes, getting blind, and wait for a tap on your hand. Love will come, blind, warm on the skin of your hand.
He closed his eyes too.
“I cannot feel anything,” She said.
He held her hand. His heart skipped a beat, her heart caught a beat. It wasn’t an answer that could be expressed in words. Love is something like that, a silent answer to an invisible question. Most of the people complaining that they cannot find love, because it is the answer to be felt. How about closing your eyes, getting blind, and wait for a tap on your hand. Love will come, blind, warm on the skin of your hand.
They both
opened their eyes and he felt the outline of her face getting widened at
cheeks. Her outline was smiling at him. His outline was staring at her.
She blinked
in the dark.
He blinked in the dark.
He blinked in the dark.
*****
Shimla: Few Years Later.
Her hands were shivering as she started tapping on her cell phone’s screen. She was short of energy. She had now become pale and petite. The cell phone could fall out of her hand any moment. She held the mic icon on its screen and started recording the audio. “Come back, please… I need to close my eyes and feel the answers to my questions.”
Her hands were shivering as she started tapping on her cell phone’s screen. She was short of energy. She had now become pale and petite. The cell phone could fall out of her hand any moment. She held the mic icon on its screen and started recording the audio. “Come back, please… I need to close my eyes and feel the answers to my questions.”
The cell phone
finally dropped down from her hand. As her thumb moved away from the screen,
the voice note got recorded and was sent automatically. A single tick appeared
in front of it. The other tick, which meant that the texts were delivered, didn’t
appear, just like the last nine messages.
The cell
phones kissed the floor and its screen turned black.
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