8:30 AM: Dhara’s say(Part 2)

 Her question struck me. Mayur could have waked me up! But why didn’t he?

I quickly opened my inbox, and saw last night’s messages.

Yes, now I remember.

I had a fight with him last night- over some stupid idiotic thing. And that’s the reason why there are no dozens of ‘early morning “I love u my angel” messages’ or any missed calls on my phone. I felt anger rise again.

“I fought with him last night.”

 Before Sonali could ask anything else, Anushree entered with two plates of breakfast (neither one for me, of course!). Both of them started gobbling their share, as I lay on my bed, pitying myself for not getting ready and going to college, missing a day’s attendance.

 After they finished, Anushree took her bag and rose to leave.

“Are you coming?” She asked Sonali.

“Just give me two minutes…” She replied, as she gulped her last bite of bread and started searching for her notebooks.

“Ok. I’m waiting outside. Bye!” Anushree waved at me and left.

“Bye.” I said.

“Are you not coming even for the rest of your classes?” Sonali asked, putting her notebooks inside her bag.

  “Err… no. Maybe I’m going to meet him in the afternoon. So got to get ready.”

Finally she picked up her bag and smiled at me.

“Lucky you! All the best. Bye!” She smiled as she left.

“I’ll call you. Bye!” I smiled at her too.

She winked and left.

After they went, I was left all alone in my room. I lay there thinking about…

“NISHANT! OMG! OMG! He must be wandering out there, all alone! How could I be so cruel… SHAME ON ME!” I said out aloud.

I had totally forgotten that he was new here. He had told me earlier that it was his first visit to Delhi, and although his brother lived here, he didn’t know how to even reach him.

“Oh poor fellow! I’ll call him right away.” I took out the name ‘Nishant’ and pressed ‘Call’. 

P.S.He had lied that it was his first visit to Delhi, but his lie proved to be profitable for both of us.

8:30 AM: Dhara’s say(Part 1)

    After Tanya left, Sonali showed me a ’thumbs up’ and went to the bathroom for a wash after Anushree came out .She’s my second roommate.

  We have only one bathroom to share amongst five girls (what a pity!), and it’s always a ‘first come, first serve’ rule. So it’s better to wake up and go for a wash as early as possible if you don’t really love bunking your morning class (which of course nobody likes, as attendance matters a lot in Delhi University), or else you are most welcome to go to college without a wash!

“So? Not attending your first class today?” Anushree asked, as she got dressed.

“Yes… sort of bunking today.” I answered, wearing my blanket once again and preparing to lie down.

“When are you going to meet Nishant? Today?” she asked, rather sarcastically. God! She might have heard me shout on the phone.

 “No…” I lied, “not today. I’m meeting him tomorrow, or maybe day after tomorrow.”

“I see…” She combed her hair, applied powder and closed the drawer with a bang. It sounds very irritating to me. But I can’t say anything to her.

I grabbed my cell phone in disgust, and wished terribly that she goes out of the room, just for a moment long enough for me to digest her sarcasm and cool my anger.

And I knew she will be going out any minute to get herself some breakfast.

   Having put her necessary notebooks inside her bag, Anushree was about to leave the room. Just as she reached the door, Sonali entered, shivering. For a second of a moment I felt pity for her as I lay inside my cosy blanket.

“You want breakfast?” Anushree asked her as she was leaving.

“Yes please… And please bring some hot milk for me.” Sonali said closing the door, and began to dress up.

 I was changing the song that woke me up. I hate that song from today onwards. As I was assigning a new song to his name, Sonali called me out.

 “Are you really not going to meet him today?”

“I don’t know. I’m terribly angry with him.” There! The song’s changed.

“Ok, but then, what about Mayur? Why didn’t he wake you up?” she asked again, now combing her hair.

 Her question struck me. Mayur could have waked me up! But why didn’t he?

8:15 AM: Nishant’s say:

   Seated on my bag, I started to survey the station. Coolies, passengers, hawkers…. All seemed so busy with themselves as if no one had any time to waste looking at some other people. What others were doing was of no business to them. In fact, at the moment, I seemed the only person in the station who had nowhere to go and nothing to do. Crap!

 I was beginning to feel ashamed of myself, when I suddenly remembered the call which I had disconnected in the hurry.

“Let me call him now,” I thought. At least I’ve got something to do now. I felt proud of myself!

I took out my phone, and went to the ‘call log’.

It showed ‘Bhaiyya’ on the first place. I was about to press the green button, when I suddenly paused at the second name.

‘Dhara’

“Here you are my speed breaker. My destination”, I whispered.

I went to the second name and pressed the green button. It rang…for several seconds.

“HELLO!”

I was already breathing heavily due to the recent rush at the station. The familiar voice that came from the other end now added to my breathing faster.

“Hello”, I panted.  ” I’ve reached New Delhi. I am at platform number 16, and now…. I have sat down on the platform itself.”

Saying so, I was about to let out a laugh, when suddenly I was cut by an angry voice.

“SHUT UP! IT’S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU THAT I GOT UP LATE TODAY. I MISSED MY POE CLASS. I’M NEVER EVER GONNA COME TO MEET YOU. BYE.”

I couldn’t even figure out what was going on.  The next moment, the call disconnected and all I could hear was an engaged tone.

“What the hell has happened to her?” I brought the phone from my ear to take a look at the screen. Only 00:20 minutes!

Record by my speed breaker! The shortest time she was EVER on phone.

I smiled to myself, as I waited for her to call-back.

P.S.She calls me back when she cools down after disconnecting the call in fury. And she has never changed…

30/11/2009,8:15 am: Dhara’s say (Part 2)

 I was lying on the ground with half-open eyes. I had just now run a race for life, and was feeling very tired and exhausted with fatigue. I couldn’t breathe. My eyes were closing..

“Dhara? Dhara…wake up!”

Tanya was shaking me. But I was not able to get up. I was enervated with the shock.

“Dhara…get up soon!” She shook me again. My eyes closed completely. I couldn’t see her anymore.

 “Dhara, wake up dear. We are getting late for class….!”

“Class..?” Did she just mention ‘class’?

“OH CRAP!”

My eyes burst open. Tanya was sitting beside me, and I was on my bed. I sat up with a start, and searched for my mobile to see the time.

“Oh shit!” I swore again. It was already 8:15 am. And my class starts at 8:40. I covered my face with both hands and swore again, in regret. ‘There I miss my Principles of Economics class…..once again!’

“Come on, get ready.” Tanya said hurriedly. “We’re already very late.”

“Hmm…” I agreed, but showed no sign of moving from bed. Just then my mobile started to ring. The familiar ringtone, which, at other times would have always soothed me, now became the source of my anger.

I received and shouted, “HELLO!”

“Hey…”, his voice came from the other end, panting. “I’ve reached New Delhi. I am at platform number 16, and now…. I have sat down on the platform itself.” Saying so, he was about to laugh, but I interrupted.

“SHUT UP! IT’S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU THAT I GOT UP LATE TODAY. I MISSED MY POE CLASS. I’M NEVER EVER GONNA COME TO MEET YOU. BYE.”

I cut the line, without giving him a chance to say anything. I felt so angry! ‘OW..’, even my head was hurting terribly. ‘What a terrible dream it was!’

“So…are we going for our class then?” Tanya asked slowly, eyeing me doubtfully. I looked up at her from my sitting position and gave her an innocent smile- and she came to know my answer.

‘I was in the mood of bunking today…once again!’

She let out a sigh. “Dhara… why do you do this yaar…?”

“Hey Tanya…” I put my hands upon hers’. “It’s for the last time, and only for today. I promise, I’ll never EVER bunk again. You see, Nishant has arrived just now. And you know it’s so important for me to go and meet him. Tanya, please try to understand. Please yaar….”

I tried to persuade her. She couldn’t help but laugh.

“Ok, ok.. I should get going then…”

She stood up, went up to the mirror, and rearranged her newly ‘straightened’ hair.

“Tanya?” I said, looking at her.

“Yes?” She answered.

“We have two classes today- POE and Maths. Right?”

“Yup.”

“Do you have your coaching class after that?”

“No.”

“Will you come back here then… after college?”

“Hmm… Ok.”

“Thanks yaar…”I smiled.

She smiled back at me and waved me a bye. “I’ll reach here by 11’o clock,” she said to me and then, turned around to wave at my roommate, Sonali.

“Bye Sonali ji…”

“Bye Tanya ji!” Sonali replied, taking out her toothbrush from her mouth.

P.S.That was the beginning of bunking classes by me….for a good cause of course!

30/11/2009,7:30 am: Dhara’s say (Part 1)

     There he was- a tall man, standing with his back facing towards me, and dressed in a white tee-shirt and fitting blue jeans. I couldn’t see his face, but from the portion of his neck visible between the shirt’s collar and the ends of his finely kept hair, I could guess that he was fair complexioned. I walked towards him with slow steps.

Besides, as it was also a blind date, I had to presume that the man was ‘him’ (in lieu of the description he had provided about himself!).

  As I had almost reached him and was about only a few inches away, I decided to call him out by his name. Though both of us were the only beings in that place, I just wanted to make sure that ‘he’ was ‘him’.

“Ni- Nishant?”

The man flinched at my voice. He quickly turned around to face me, and now it was my turn to flinch.

“Oh my God,” I gasped. “This can’t be you….”

Nishant, the boy I had been talking to on phone for the last two months, was standing right there in front of me- wearing round spectacles (that just reminded me of Gandhiji), had pimples  all over his face, a well-kept moustache(I hate moustaches!), and the worst of all- his teeth- “OH MY GOD!”

“Hi Dhara.” He smiled at me, and his front line of teeth bulged out of his mouth. They weren’t even properly arranged, and had such large spaces between them that I could bet a thousand bucks on the fact that he could drink water through them even without opening his mouth!

“Hello Dhara,”he said again. “Nice to meet you.”

Saying so, he forwarded his right hand in a gesture of shaking hands.

“No, you can’t be Nishant.” I said and started to back away from him.

“Arey…. I’m Nishant, Dhara.” He said and started to move towards me. As he came nearer, his teeth began to grow longer.  I was terrified. I started to move away from him backwards, fast, faster, and finally broke into a run in the opposite direction. I heard him shout from behind, “Wait Dhara, wait for me….”

I was running for my life. I didn’t stop running even for a moment, although I could still hear him yelling my name. I saw Tanya at a distance, waiting for me.  I started running towards her at full speed, feeling so relieved at the very sight of my dear friend.

 After running for about a couple of minutes, I could hear Nishant no more. I broke down on the ground, heaving a sigh of relief.  I was feeling so damn tired because of the ‘run-for-my-life’ activity. However, Tanya was by my side now. She put her hands on my shoulders and called me, “Dhara?”

COMING UP IN THE NEXT CHAPTER......

30/11/2009,7:30 am: Dhara’s say:

     There he was- a tall man, standing with his back facing towards me, and dressed in red shirt and fitting blue jeans. I couldn’t see his face, but from the portion of his neck visible between the shirt’s collar and the ends of his finely kept hair, I could guess that he was fair complexioned. I walked towards him with slow steps...

Whom does Dhara meet? Will her expectations turn out to be true? 

30/11/2009,7:00 AM:Nishant’s say:

      It was morning. I could see my fellow passengers moving hither and thither in a slight rush.

“Must be some destination station,” I thought.

 I stretched myself, and let out a long yawn. I was still half awake. Rubbing my eyes, I looked outside the window. The train was at a halt. But the rush of coolies as well as passengers made it difficult to view the name of the station.

“Chalo bhai, let’s see which station have I reached.”

I wore my shoes, still yawning, and stood up from my seat. My bunk was empty, meaning my fellow passengers had already evacuated the train. Curiously I looked away from my berth. Almost half of the train seemed empty. Strange!

As I rushed to the nearest door, my phone rang. ‘Bhaiya calling….’, it said.

“Hello...” I answered.

“Hello Nishant! Pahunch gya? ” My brother shouted from the other end.

I reached the door and my eyes began to scan the station,

“Haan bhaiya, I have reached a station, but I don’t …re…cog….nise… Hey, I’VE REACHED NEW DELHI!” I exclaimed as I saw the sign flashing ‘WELCOME TO NEW DELHI’.

“Oh good!” bhaiya shouted again. ”Haven’t you de-boarded yet?”

“No, no.. I was in confusion actually… bhaiyya, I’ll just call you back. Bye”, I hurriedly disconnected the call, as I rushed back to my berth.

In a haste I wore my jacket, hung my backpack, took out my ‘Aristocrat’ from underneath my seat and rushed to the door once more. I jumped down the train, and began to trolley amongst the huge rush of people. I went on and on, till I found a secluded place near a small tea stall. I stopped there and positioned my bag safely on one side, so that it won’t come in the way of the rushing people. I looked this way and that, hoping to find a place to sit down. Unfortunately there was no seat in sight other than my own bag, and so I decided to sit on it.

As I seated myself on my ‘almost vulnerable Aristocrat’, I heaved out a sigh of relief.

“At last, I’ve reached my destination!” I thought and smiled to myself.

P.S.Who knew that this destination would become my DESTINY one day...?

Preface

     Hi friends. Here I am yet another crazy writer standing before you saying, “Please read my novel…” with yet again the same topic- A Love Story. This is a normal trend following us uprooting crazy writers, and you can obviously blame our age for that. Yes, we fall in love, and the excess hormonal secretion triggers us to do something extremely creative and outstanding.

             So please read these episodes of a unique love story and leave behind your comments on the same. I’m eagerly anticipating considerable (?) response from all of my dear readers.

THANKS!

Regards,
DHARA