42 Quirks

—–
The intensity of the moment faded and so did the embrace. She rested her head on his shoulder. He began moving his fingers through her hair looking into a deep unknown somewhere, the expressions on his face conveying a sense of deep contentment.
—–

They had been engaged for six months now.

As she sat waiting on the park bench, she was reminded of the day in the coffee shop. The entire café had witnessed a wonderful once-in-a-lifetime event. Many of the girls (especially, the PYT) had gone home with a twinkle in their eyes.

Now the only thing that remained was to inform her parents. He was an orphan by birth and lived with his old Aunt who clearly approved of her. Her parents had a vague idea of him as he had been to her home on two occasions: once during Christmas and second when the computer had conked off. They had seemed to accept him fairly well back then, or were they just being courteous to a guest and a friend?

As she pondered these questions over, she became aware that he was looking intently at her. Her reverie was broken and she looked at him. His gaze seemed to reassure her that everything would be alright. She smiled wanly and held his arm. They had walked to her house. He kissed her on the forehead and said, “Good night.” He turned to leave and stopped. He looked at her and said, “Don’t worry, it’ll be alright. They like me, you know. They can’t refuse.”

She had broken the news to her mom, haltingly and trying to judge her reaction at every statement. Her mom took it quite coolly and responded, “We knew.”

“You knew? What do you mean, you knew?”

“He spoke to us yesterday. He asked us for our permission. And we were only too happy to give it to him. You are a very bad liar.” And she had broken into peals of laughter while her daughter stood there stunned. He never failed to surprise.

As the reminiscences came back she chuckled to herself. She gave a cursory glance to the watch more out of habit than the need to know the time. And she realized she had been waiting for him for the last three quarters of the hour. She looked up at the gate. This was getting to be a regular occurrence now.

Third time this week that he was late. Was he…

No, he couldn’t. He is too much in love with me to do that…

That’s what I think. Maybe that’s what he wants me to think. Maybe he’s trying to avoid me. Maybe he’s grown bored of the entire thing. Maybe he doesn’t love me anymore…

No, it cannot be!!

Why not? He’s been an hour late, twice already! He wasn’t like this before! In fact, he was the one who used to wait for me…

That was then. This is now.

Maybe he’s exacting revenge on me, making me wait.

Or maybe he’s really found someone…

Why would he do that? He doesn’t look like the kind…

Men are all the same. They soon get bored and look out for greener pastures.

But I would have caught him somehow or the other!!

He could be seeing her on the sly…

If there is a ‘her’. And if there is, then God help her, because I am gonna claw her face to shreds!!

What else could explain his regular delays? It had to be… another… woman…

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—–
He smiled at her and pulled her closer and embraced her tightly. They needed it. They knew they needed it. There was to be no looking back now…
—–

She sat sipping the coffee, her eyes riveted to the entrance.

As she took a third sip of the warm liquid, she began to think of the days that had passed and smiled.

After the incident in the theater, life had never been the same. It was now a roller-coaster of fun and enjoyment. He had the talent of surprising her every time she thought he had exhausted his stock. Somehow he managed to come up with something new each time. She wondered how long it would last.

She had been doing that often lately. She never knew she could become so involved in a man. But then he was different. Yeah, right! Nice way of saying, I am madly in love with him. Was he equally serious about her? There was no way of knowing. They had been seeing each other for almost 2 months now. Should they move on to a further level? Or is it too early? What will he think? Is he ready? Or was she just a passing fancy? STOP!!

She held her hand to steady herself. Her eyes were shut tight. She tried to calm her frayed nerves and slowly opened her eyes. He was sitting in front of her.

“They are calling for you,” he said, simply.

“What?”

It hadn’t registered to her that the café speakers had been calling out her name for the past thirty seconds or so.

“I said they are calling for you,” he said it again.

“Calling for me? What for?” she managed to blurt out.

“Beats me! Why don’t you ask them?” he said without so much of a flicker of interest on his face.

She rose in a daze and started to walk towards the counter. A couple of steps later she paused and looked back. He had calmly picked up a newspaper and was nonchalantly sipping away at her coffee. She chuckled to herself and proceeded towards the counter.

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———
He gazed long and deep into her eyes… She leaned on to him and planted a little peck on his lips. It was her way of saying, ‘There, satisfied now?’ He liked that.
———

She came over to him. His heart was doing a thousand already. When she spoke, it went out of control. He could barely hear her words with his heart booming. For a brief instant he wondered whether she could hear it.

She was saying something, but the words wouldn’t register. He was so engrossed in looking at her that he forgot that he was supposed to hear and answer – as is wont in a conversation.

” … you coming?”, he snapped back to reality just in time to catch the last few words.

“Sorry? I wasn’t listening…”

“I said, we – that is I, Sam and Anita – are going for a movie in the evening, and I was wondering, if you aren’t doing anything, then maybe you would like to join us…”

He couldn’t believe it! Neither his ears nor his luck! She was asking him out? But …

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As he unlocked the doors to his room (yeah, can’t call it a home, yet…) all his loneliness seemed to creep out of the darkness. He entered the room, locking the door behind him.

The darkness comforted him like an ally, a friend. He removed his shoes, undressed and sat down for a few moments, bare, almost naked. The floor was cold, especially during the winters. Each contact with the skin sent miniature electric shocks down the spine. Yet, it all seemed comforting, almost surreal. The cold tried to fight with his skin for a few moments. Then, the treacherous swine that it was, it did a one-eighty and bonded with his skin, comforting it, soothing it, lulling it to sleep.

And then the explosions began, one-by-one.

First came Frustration, which seeped in, throwing all senses into disarray. Then, Irritation and Anger mounted a combined attack, scattering all the vestiges of hope. Third came Cowardice, with its big mace, which it used to smash all notions of bravado and valor. Finally, Helplessness struck, filling in the gaps left behind by its allies. When it was all over, Desperation stood over the ruins surveying the conquered remnants of a broken soul.

Each blow took away a little more than the previous one. The brain began closing all its functions one-by-one.

Save one.

From the beginning till the end, He kept hearing a laugh, that of a small child. It seemed to come from a distance. It neither grew louder, nor did it fade. It stayed where it was, beckoning him to come closer, inviting him tantalizingly, slowly driving him mad. It was the same every time, somewhere between a giggle and a chuckle, just short of being a full-throated laugh, like one of those baby videos, or ring-tones that one comes across occasionally. It dared him to come and explore, to search for it. He stretched out an arm hoping to catch it, and yet, fully knowing that he would never reach it.

And then he found himself lying on the cold, hard floor.

Oddly enough, he never shed a single tear. Maybe because of a false mojo, or maybe because he had grown accustomed to it. No, the latter can’t be true. He had NEVER shed a single tear, ever. He wondered why?

He got up and poured himself a glass of cold water. And shoved it down his throat. He wiped off the imaginary beads of sweat on his forehead, and sat at the edge of his bed. The exhaustion took its toll and he dropped back on the bed.

Lying on his back, watching the ceiling fan rotate slowly, He was suddenly reminded of the client meetings for the next day and the research he needed to undertake for his personal project. He was reminded of the post he needed to compose for his blog and about the premium he needed to pay on his insurance. The mundane took over slowly, and he shut his eyes. His sub-conscious issued a command to his brain to generate a list of To-Dos for the next day.

And he ventured into the abyss. Just like that.

“Is everything alright, sir? Are you ok?”

“Uhh, err.. no. I mean, yes, I am fine. Ummm… well… yeah, I am fine.”

He signed the papers and gave them back to her. It was an invoice for ordering some equipment. He flicked the thought away from his mind as soon as he registered it. Obviously, there were other more important things to think about.”

“Sandy, wait.” He called back after her. “You didn’t, by any chance, hear something strange outside, did you?”

She furrowed her brow in thought and replied slowly, “Now that you mention it, I think I heard something.”

“What? What did you hear?” He almost grabbed her. She was both bewildered and scared by his actions. He realized his foolishness and immediately let her go. Somewhat awkward and frightened, Sandy instinctively took a step back.

“I am… I am sorry.” He drew a long breath. “What was it that you heard?”

He had seen the expression of nervousness and panic beginning to set in on her face.

“Umm, well I thought I heard some noises in your room, and…” Sandy

“She’s right,” the voice again.

“Did you hear that?” he almost shouted to Sandy.

“Hear what?” Sandy asked, with a hint of apprehension and confusion in her voice which had already reached the tremolo point.

“C’mon, you think she can hear me? You know what, you gotta start believing in me by now.” the voice had a sadistic edge to it. It was as if the entity behind the voice was beginning to enjoy the beginning of an insanity. An insanity for which it was the cause.

“No… nothing. Forget it.”

“Are you sure? Do you want me to get you a doctor or something?” – Sandy again.

“No… no… it’s fine. I am fine…” he said.

“Sir, I think, I should – ”

“I SAID I AM FINE!! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!” This time he did shout.

Sandy looked at him in horror and with her slender little fingers on her mouth hastily stepped out. The office would start buzzing with the news in a short while now. But that was the least of his current concerns.

“Tch, tch. You shouldn’t have yelled at her like that. Poor thing. She’s all shaken up now. Look what you did to her…”

And then the walls in front of him dissolved into thin air and he saw a crowd outside, right in front of Sandy’s desk. She was sobbing and somebody passed he a Kleenex. She took the Kleenex and continued sobbing. One or two of the other employees, shot curious glances at his cabin door. The other women were trying to cajole her and console her. They tried, at the same time, to coax her to tell them what had happened.

And then the opacity of the walls returned and all was as before.

He groaned and made for his chair.

Technorati Tags: story, bizarre, conversation

“No, you’re not.”

Again. The same voice.

“Who are you?” His voice betrayed a hint of fear.

There was no answer.

“Hello?? Are you there?”

“Yes. I am here.”

“But, who are you?”

“How does it matter?”

“Erm, I think, I need to know who I am talking to, I guess…”

“Why?”

Beacuse, I can’t be talking to a voice, he wanted to say. But he thought better of it and instead said, “It’s better that way, I think”

“What if I told you I am no one? What if I told you I am simply a voice?”

He looked up, startled. Could this thing, this voice, read his mind? Did it read his mind? Or was it a lucky coincidence? Who was it? Rather, what was it? Before he could say anything, the voice prodded on.

“What if I told you I am real and yet unreal? That I am everywhere and yet nowhere? That I am no one and everyone? That I am what you belive and what you don’t? What if I said, I am right here, where you can see me, and yet you cannot, or rather, don’t want to? Would you believe me, then?”

“No way! That’s impossible!”

“Why?”

“Because, then you would have to be God!”

“Good, that’s close enough.”

“What?”

“You heard me the first time.”

He reeled back, trying to comprehend the situation. This can’t be happening, he thought to himself. I can’t be talking to… to… He couldn’t bring himself to utter the words.

“Oh, come on! Don’t be so naive! You have been expecting me haven’t you?”

“What? No, no… You… I… No… Wait, there’s -”

” – nothing to say.” The voice jutted in. “It’s time now. Let’s start, before we get too late.”

So, this is it? This is how it happens? I had imagined it to be a little more grand. I think I deserve much better. Wait a minute, you can read my thoughts, can’t you? You know what I am thinking. Why don’t you answer me, then?

At that precise moment, there was a knock, and the door opened.

To be continued…

Technorati Tags: story, call, bizarre, conversation

He looked at his watch. Eleven thirty-five. Hmm, hardly a few minutes had passed. But he now knew what he had to do.

He stood up and walked out of the room.

****

The night was chilly. Only the foolhardy or the young could have dared to venture out.

He was neither. He was just a man bound to fate, following meekly in the footsteps of his destiny. And she had been a bitch. At least, that was what he thought.

He wrapped the trench coat tighter around himself and strode on.

He passed a tramp searcing for his dinner among the trash cans. And judging by the size of his loot, the exercise had not been fruitless. In fact it had been anything but fruitless. He stopped on the far side of the road for a few moments to savour the expression of delight on the tramp’s face.

Funny, he mused to himself, we give without realizing the joy of giving. And here I am, giving away something I would never dream of parting with…

He shook of the thoughts and some of the winter chill and strode on.

He tried to focus on the events of the day.

*****
It had been a bizarre day, to say the least. Everything had gone perfectly well.

His office staff had been on time. His secretary had soprted all the letters correctly. The few calls he made to partners had gone suprisingly well and pleasant. Everything was surprisingly in tune, as if somebody was giving him a sign. Or may be it was his own cynicism, which he himself admitted, (in solitude, never in public) had grown unbearable of late.

By lunch time, things had settled to a fine smooth cruise, again, something he had not been accustomed to, of late. Bt he shrugged it off as a good day among the bad ones and concentrated on his tasks for the day.

And then things started to happen.

A precious Ming vase had fallen off the mantle-piece, apparently unaided. And yet, sa it fell, something (?) had miraculously swept a sheaf of papers underneath and it had landed softly.

The result: an unbroken vase and a messy office, with papers strewn around.

Then again, there was a note from his wife in his lunch box. There were two things about the lunch box that surprised him.

One was the note and the other was the Lunch box itself. In their twenty years of married life, he could never recall his wife sending him home-made lunch, much less, a note in his lunch.

Was it a coincidence? Or was it… He chose to shrug it off and opened the lunch box. The aroma that arose from the box was heavenly. And he began to wolf it down.

Once he had finished eating, he turned his attention towards the note. It bore the unmistakably simple, elegant writing of his wife. On the note were written four simple words, the fourth one being her signature.

Three words that they had uttered to each other countless time in the past and yet, in a way, left unspoken. Three words that had become a standard way of greeting farewell to each other – over the phone, while leaving for work…

And then suddenly, those three words had appeared as if out of nowhere, as if to remind him that she was there no matter what…

Wait a second, I am getting paranoid, he thought to himself. Nothing’s gonna happen to me.

And then he heard two simple words.

They were faint, as if in the distance. But they were there. Hanging in the silence, that had suddenly encompassed the entire of his being. Two simple words. Two words that defied his optimism and cynicism at the same time mocking him and showing him the truth behind his illusions of grandeur. Two words that brought the world down to its knees.

“Oh, really?”

To be continued

Technorati Tags: story, call, bizarre, words, coincidence