VIDUSHI'S STORY:
Happy Birthday :
She sat on the bench behind the basketball court , it was late at night , ten minutes past midnight to be precise. Her fingers kept twisting and un twisting themselves in a restless, unconscious motion , her eyes kept darting to the phone beside her on the bench . Silently she willed it to ring , to chirp , break the endless silence . Five minutes passed, then ten , until finally it was nearly one .
" Give up Vidushi , they're not going to call , they haven't called in three years , why would anything change this year?" , she muttered under her breath . Her parents had made it clear , she was dead to them , and nobody wished a dead person on their birthday . She knew the facts , but it didn't stop her from checking her phone again anyway . The display lit up , it was past one now , and useless waiting any longer .
She bent down , and with slow , deliberate motions , drew out a plastic bag from under the bench .She carefully set it on the bench , and took out a box from within . With shaking hands , she opened the box , to reveal a cake . Vidushi stared blankly at it. For a few minutes , she was tempted to smash the cake against the floor , and walk away , it would be incredibly satisfying . She forced in deep breaths , and reigned in the urge , she reached for the candle , and poked it into the gooey centre of the cake , and gripped the plastic knife in her hand .
She lit a match , and held it to the candle , in the flickering light the time read one thirty. She was pathetic thought Vidushi , waiting endlessly , for something that would never come . With a heavy heart she reached for her phone , she flipped through it , for a few minutes . Apparently satisfied , she leaned the phone on the bench , and bent over the cake .
She sang softly to herself , her voice mixing with others , singing from the video playing on her phone " happy birthday to you , happy birthday dear Vidushi " . As she blew out the candle , she made a wish " I hope this birthday is somehow different from the past three years, even a tiny bit "
Vidushi cut a tiny sliver of cake and ate it . She watched as a younger, happier version of herself , laughed in delight as her parents fed her a piece , and friends rubbed cake into her face.
With violently trembling hands she cut another piece , and offered it up to her parents in the video , a hysterical laugh escaped her , she clamped a hand to her mouth , and forced it back down . The piece fell noiselessly to the ground.
Under the cover of darkness she considered throwing the whole cake in the bin , like she had for the past three years . Nobody would know , the cake was an ordinary nameless dark chocolate one . The cake was boxed , put back into the bag , and she rose , prepared to dispose it .
Something stopped her , an annoying voice in the back of her mind , sounding suspiciously like Parth spoke " you don't realise the value of anything . Do you have any idea how many people go hungry , and here you are all set to throw away an entire cake , disgusting."
God ! Why couldn't she get him out of her brain , it was bloody inconvenient at times. It was her birthday after all , she could do what she liked with the cake , Path be dammed .
Vidushi sat back down , she hurriedly opened the box , and began cutting out wedges of the cake , before she changed her mind .
Soundlessly she stole into the canteen , and grabbed a stack of paper plates . She dashed back to the basketball court , and placed the cake slices on the palate
She waited for the watchman to go on his usual rounds ,before leaving him a piece. She left two covered slices on the canteen counter . Vidushi jumped in through an open window , and entered the mechanical lab ; two plates of cake pieces were left covered next to the machines .
One slice remained , she wondered where to leave it . Vidushi grinned , she knew who would definitely enjoy it . She jingled the lock of an office door , " come on come on " she muttered , twisting the hairpin this way and that . The door gave way , and she walked in triumphantly , she left the last slice on his table , and shut the door behind her . PKC , would have a nice surprise tomorrow, the man loved his food after all. In her excitement , she hadn't noticed a tall figure, cloaked in shadows following her every move.
With a bounce in her step, and a surprisingly lighter heart, she made her way back to the hostel room . It had been nicer to share the cake she thought , rather than bin the whole thing.
It was different from her usual plans , and it gave her hope that this birthday would be a better one than the previous ones. As she slid under the covers ,she turned the volume up on her phone , maybe even her parents would call.
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