Chapter 1
"This is stupid," I muttered for the umpteenth time.
"I need to get my brain checked," I thought again.
C'mon, which sane person would think of checking your darn mail, when you are supposed to bury your head in your books for the impending exam, you've next day?
But for some weird reason, my conscience is asking me to check my mail. You might be wondering if conscience asks you to do these kind of stuff too? Ha-ha then you don't know me. For a fact, we get of all kinds of weird ideas during exams. In fact, my creative side of brain always works during my exams, which is not required at the moment.
I sighed bored of my usual pep talk.
"Alright I'd check that mail and get done with this and would start studying," I promised Babaji honestly.
I remembered I promised Babaji to study almost five times today. After dressing the pup which had a broken leg, after listening to one favorite song of mine, after having a bowl of chocolate ice cream, and. . . okay I think you get that I am real honest in things like these.
"This time pakka wala Promise Babaji," I said catching the skin at my throat, and looking at heavens.
Taking the flutter of curtains as Babaji sign, (Poor Babaji, even though he doesn't wish to give me a sign, I take anything as his sign, according to the situation)
Turning on my lappy, I drummed my fingers, whistling a tune, which I always manage to whistle in a wrong tune.
I entered my id and password almost absent mindedly as I was thinking of ways to do the whistle correctly at this time.
My mail opened meanwhile revealing daily horoscopes and forwarded mails from my friends.
"Ta-daa! There was no important mail. Now I can study peacefully" I told to myself but for a fleeting second, a thought crossed my mind, making me freeze.
What about that account?
"No no no!" I didn't realize I said it aloud.
Composing myself, I put back another cheeky smile of mine before assuring myself that I was being stupid and that there'd be nothing in that account too.
I hope there was nothing.
But if I know there's nothing, why am I worrying about opening it?
Knowing that I can't fight my inner voice anymore, I typed another ID of mine, which I was opening after ages.
The wait seemed to extend to eternity and I chewed my lips to control the tension building inside me.
I threw a casual look, acting nonchalant but the top mail in the mailbox, made my eyes widen and the facade I wore slipped slowly.
I froze watching a mail, addressed for me. . . from him.
* * *
After typing off what she intended to, Geet looked back at the content and sighed. She loved writing and it was one of her favorite past time. What started off as diary writing, extended to writing fiction in a website called Indiaforums.
Indiaforums, which was a website for tele-gossip and tele-serials, caught her attention when she came across one of it's creative sections, the Writer's Corner. Her quest for reading anything and everything made her an active member of the website. After reading handful of fictions, she thought to post her own stories. However, she managed to write only One shots, which started and ended in one single update. She didn't expect much response, as her stories didn't revolve on the leads of any particular TV show. Instead, she wrote every story or most of them with no name, addressing the leads simply with pronouns. And hence she had never expected many people following her stories. In fact she never thought even a single person would have the time and energy to read the crap she writes. But surprisingly she found her first reader Annie, who, there after stuck to each and every writing of hers and Geet too slowly let her guard down and became thick friends with Annie.
Geet never thought she'd write in a public forums for various reasons. She was shy, that being a major point, but writing in a public forum has its advantages. She need not reveal who she is after all. And Indiaforums has only women population, which made her to be at ease.
Today, she was the writer of almost ten stories in the website and had good number of readers to her works. However she feared about the reader's response this time. For the first time, she's going to go out of track, and post a story with more than one part. And that too a story, which'd haunt her till death.
She let out a sigh and closed her eyes with her palms. Shutting down her laptop, she picked up her books to study for the impending exam she'd the next day. . .
* * *
The exams were done finally, making everyone breathe a sigh of relief. Celebrations were full on swing at her college canteen. Only one semester to go, and then they'd be free birds. This was the final year of graduation and she'd given her first semester end exams. They were blessed with two weeks of holidays, in which they'd an industrial tour. After the tour, they'd be back again and they'd a project to do. The project classes and college classes should be handled for four months and then, they'd be awarded with bachelor degree.
Sitting alone at one of the tables of canteen and waiting for her best buddies to catch up, she flipped with her phone. A sudden idea stuck her and she opened web browser in her mobile to check comments for her new story. Her hands started trembling fearing the response. After all, this wasn't a mere story for her.
"Geet"
A call from someone made her jump out of her skin and the alarm made her drop her phone.
Before she could bend down to pick up, someone volunteered, and picked up her phone.
Looking back at the person's face, she found Meer looking at her phone with a quizzical look.
"Meer" Geet greeted and quickly corrected. "Sorry, Meera"
An awkward silence followed, when Meera handled Geet's mobile quietly. After sharing wonderful two years as best buddies, they fell back into just known strangers. It was awkward however for both of them, but that wasn't in their hands anyway. Life gives you surprises sometimes making some equations alter permanently and theirs was one of it.
"How was the exam?" Meera asked trying to make a small talk.
"It was umm OK.. I mean not bad" Geet replied her eyes lack of attention, as they mindlessly wandered among the crowd.
Meera mistook the gesture to be lack of interest in talking to her.
"OK got to go then" Meera replied walking away after wishing Geet happy holidays.
It didn't struck Geet until Meera walked few meters ahead. Once she came back to her senses, she called out Meera's name.
"Meer.. I mean Meera, I'm sorry. I didn't want to be rude. I just. . ." she trailed off "Something was bothering me and that's why. . ." she finished, looking at Meera.
"Is everything okay?" asked Meera concerned.
"Nothing to worry just a simple head ache" Geet replied lamely.
If Meera was surprised, she didn't show.
"Take care Geet" Meera replied before walking away.
She recalled what she saw in Geet's mobile. "Indiaforums?" Meera murmured as she made her way out of the canteen.
* * *
NEXT: Part 2
Edited by Cloud9. - 13 years ago
Real Estate
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