Strangers In Love

A short story that I wrote over the weekend. It’s a work of fiction and bears no resemblance to anyone or any incident.

——————————————-
He meets her on the Internet and very unusually they fall in “love” with each other after a brief chat session. Two “lovers” from diverse cultures and city are brought together by fate and technology. In truth by technology but the two strongly believed it was fate. They exchanged their cell numbers so they could share their happiness and sorrow. This meant endless hours of naughty “love” chirping and philosophical discussions 24/7. A special “happy” ring-tone was set especially for her so he could single her call out from the various others on his cell-phone. When verbal communication was unable to express itself satisfactorily, they would turn instantly to messaging. Wherever they went, their feelings followed just like that through the never-ending tender vocabulary. Tragically she was committed to someone and he was fully aware about it. Yet he believed there was the hand of god that drew them closer to each other everyday and each night. He was full of hope and positive and she thought there was nothing that could separate them. Despite her background she promised to be with him forever.

Mornings would not initiate unless he sent her a ‘good morning’ message and wished her a wonderful day. She would instantly reciprocate with kind words and start her day too. That would be followed by an hour long discussion over the phone on her way to the office. Then a series of few more messages filled the day between the breakfast and the snacks that included subjects like partner fantasies, love talk and lunch menus. A call again in the evening would suggest each one was homeward bound again. Night time discussions were special but restricted somewhat and could not continue beyond a certain period respecting the household elders. Each obeyed the others word on everything including following a set routine. When the call was disconnected, it was time for an entirely new series of messages while laying down on their cosy beds till each one drifted into slumber. The warmth of their adoration was being conveyed perfectly well despite being several thousand miles away from each other even though it was still unrefined and suggestive in nature. Images were also being exchanged so each would know how the other looked. That would help in coming closer to some extent.

He prayed to god so that she would become his love and life partner forever. He had hoped that his love would be freed from the burden of a blurry future. He had wished that things would just not remain implied and would come out in the open like pure sunshine. But she would always remain silent on the subject because she knew she was engaged to someone. Although the relationship was growing into the future uncertainty was also gathering pace over her relationship with the other guy. It was unnerving for him to think about her as a life partner having a soft corner for another person. She did not discuss her love life and was silent on the matter once again. They did not want this to come in the middle of their “happiness”. It did not affect them initially and “love” blossomed through chats and messaging while the seething issues were brushed under the carpet intentionally.

During their conversations, intimacy was the theme they’d rarely fail to explore. He would ask her what she was wearing in whispers and later appreciate by saying how beautiful she must be looking. He would want to cajole and caress her as she would blush on the other side. At other times she would patiently listen to his discourses on philosophy, love and life. She would talk about her family and inquire about his mother’s health and condition. This display of care and the feeling of emotional tender warmth was unbelievable for him. He felt he had found true “love”. In those days only tender and soothing love songs could be heard from his iPod.

It was close to a month now since they’d met. They were longing to be face-to-face with each other. Soon a date was fixed for the d-day and a flight was booked online that would take him closer to his beloved than ever. There was a palpable strain evident in the air regarding their friendly face-off. “What if?” and other such dreadful questions mingled in their minds. Answering them would have woken them up from their sequence. All they knew was they were friends for ever now. Everything was set in motion and he was happy. She had carefully prepared the itinerary herself so he could travel back on time. Upon landing at the destination he had promised to take her to the Ganesh temple first and seek the blessings of god who he thought had written an unimaginative love story ever. If this was a dream he said, he wanted to sleep a little longer. This was going to be the hour of reckoning for him. Will he propose marriage to her or won’t he? will this relationship that commenced in unusual circumstances work for both or otherwise? questions, questions and more questions. Reality requires human gumption to be challenged. No time for reality anyway now.

Then something happened quite unexpectedly that threatened to wake him up. That particular day, a week before the scheduled meeting, there was no word from her since morning. He had sent her a ‘good morning’ message which was not reciprocated. He sent her more worried messages which failed to evoke any response from her side. He began to call her frantically. She wasn’t answering the phone. There are no alternate numbers to try, there’s no postal address to write to. There’s only his dearest cell phone who could connect him with her. What had gone wrong? Was she hurt in an accident? is she all right? did he do something foolish? questions kept hitting his soul like needles. He was becoming restless and began to palpitate at such strange thoughts. If she was indeed in danger of her life, there is no way he could do anything about it but he needed to know the truth behind her disappearance. For whatever reason, he did not want to lose her just when things had begun to look good for both. “oh god please not again!” he prayed. He gathers his composure and pushes the redial button. A few rings later she answers the call this time. He skips a beat instantly.

There’s an uneasy silence at first before he begins to breathe some life into the conversation. There’s no time for random “hello” greetings. No time either for the daily weather forecast of their local cities. He comes straight to the point and asks her where she was and why she was inaccessible. She replies in a rather gloomy tone. He understands what has happened. The dream which he has nurtured for a month now is about to succumb. The devil called reality has managed to catch up with him again. Her past is beckoning her and so she has to make a choice. Her commitment is testing her, challenging her to accept defeat and she won’t budge. She has to choose now from the two that would most definitely destroy one man’s dreams. She’s sad but he understands her state of mind. He knows it’s going to make them both happy even if it makes him seem like a complete loser in the end. It’s a small price to pay for happiness and togetherness. He looks at her picture on the screen and disconnects the call. For the last time.

Five days have passed since he has received any communication from her. He’s longing for those discussions and intimacy and the warmth of her affection that he has grown so fond of. So habituated that he keeps checking his mobile for little vibrations and missed calls but there are none. He knows she will never return to him but he will miss her till the end of time. She would certainly be happy with her beloved, now that her mind is focused on her man. Even though the “happy” ring tone on his mobile device will never chime again to her call. She’s made the right choice and he has faith in her. So he won’t call her again now. He pushes a button on the screen to delete her contact details from his device. Being strangers again was not a strange thing after all. Reality had dawned on him as he wakes up slowly from his “sleep”.

Strangers in Love by Bhooshan Pandya is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at www.bhooshan.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.bhooshan.com.