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Peek-A-Boo
Let's play a game of peek-a-boo
I will disappear suddenly
And leave the task of finding me to you
She could feel unusual palpitations inside her. She was never good with crowd situations. She disliked the way the people's bodies would rub up against her, invading her space. The way the smell of sweat and dust would penetrate her nostrils, killing any appetite she had inside her. The noises around her felt like they would swallow her whole if she wasn't careful.
As she would mistakenly step over people's toes, they would turn around and give her angry stares and call her 'Idiot!'. Even though she knew they were just irritated, because of the stress of life, their hostility sickened her. What was just plain annoyance seemed like murderous hatred. She knew she was over-reacting, her therapist had told her it was common for people with her condition to exaggerate other people's reactions towards them.
Inspite of her better judgement she had come to the fair, goaded by her friends who kept telling her that 'She needed to get a life'. She'd tried her best to stick to them, but at some point, they seemed to have got themselves rid of her, and she had landed up alone, trying to navigate her way out of the nightmarish crowd.
What happened baby?
Why the frown on your face?
I'm right here
This is no race
She felt so lonely, so unwanted. She craned her ears, hoping for some kind of announcement about her. But she heard nothing. She'd seen this happen in movie. The loser of the group ended up wandering somewhere, and nobody even noticed until their body ended up face down in a swimming pool or in a gutter.
She scanned the crowd, looking for her friends' faces while simultaneously looking for suspicious faces. She was too old to fall for the 'sweet' trick, but she knew about those flirty guys, the ones who called girls 'baby' and 'honey' and tried to pick her up without even bothering to know her name. She'd read in the newspaper about how such 'honeys' usually ended up in a hospital or in the graveyard. She shivered and pulled her jacket close. Even though she felt life was a pain, she knew how much her family loved her, especially her little brother. She had to take care of herself for their sake!
Boo!
Ha, I caught you!
Oh baby, why the tears?
I'll always be there to drive away your fears
She turned around and smiled as she realized who was screaming her name. Him. She felt a burst of warmth shoot out through her and erase all the fear and anxiety that had been suffocating her earlier. She shyly walked to where he was standing. She'd never expected that he would return back her affection for her, but then why else would he be the only one in their group to bother looking for her?
'You stupid stupid girl!' he thundered. She was taken aback, but swallowed the tears that sprung to her eyes. He's just upset because he thought something had happened to you, she assured herself.
'Do you know how much of a fix you put us in?' he yelled. 'We all wasted so much time looking for you, that you ruined our trip! We weren't able to have any fun! If we still hadn't found you by eight o clock, we were going to call the police. Do you know how much trouble that would have been? Inviting you on this trip was a bad idea. Inviting you anywhere is a bad idea. You know, everybody else won't tell this because they don't want to hurt your feelings. But you're a real weirdo. Everybody pities you,' he sneered.
She didn't respond for a moment. Finally she said, somewhat coldly, 'I apologize for the inconvenience I caused you. I'll go home right now.'
'Good,' he said, somewhat hesitantly. He knew he'd been harsh. Though her face was turned towards the ground, he could see the teardrops making dark spots in the dirt.
'Look, I didn't mean to be rude-'
But she'd already walked away. She should have known. How stupid could she be? If people from her own sex didn't want to socialize with her, then why should she expect anything from a boy? If anything, at least her girlfriends didn't insult her. So the only reason he cared about why she went missing was because she'd ruined all his fun.
She should have stayed at home. But there was no fun in that either. Her parents were tired of dealing with her condition. Only her little brother, bless his soul, wanted her. She thought about him, and the hatred that had accumulated in her heart vanished.
When she returned home, she ignored her parents' 'How-have-you-been?' She went directly to her little brother's room where he was lying under the blanket. She tickled him and he laughed, throwing his arms around her. She peppered his face with kisses and looked at his eyes, so warm and welcoming, in contrast to his angry eyes. 'Let's play a game,' she said.
'Which game?' he asked innocently.
'Same one, your favourite!'
One two three four
Let's play a game of peek-a-boo
I will disappear suddenly
And leave the task of finding me to you
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Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
