Spontaneous Life
"Dai a cig please", I stop by a street shop, above is a dance restaurant shuns the silence of the night, I witness the night creatures walking to their own set designation, street vendors calling out to pedestrians and people hurrying to catch the last bus in the route.
I take a few puffs and cough violently I sense people looking at me curiously, I throw away the cigarette in the drain and cover my mouth with my handkerchief I looked embarrassed sensing the curious glances I was being awarded by passerby’s with all the things in my mind I had forgotten I never smoked.
I looked at my watch and see that its just seven the cyber café was still open, I got inside and logged in my msn to check my e-mail box; filled with letters from old friends who today had little or no significance in my life at all as I sat deleting spam mail and strolling down to read a lengthy mail sent by a friend who was in Australia when suddenly my chat box started blinking I looked at the email id and start chatting with a friend I hadn’t meet for years.
Hey! She said ‘What's up?’
‘I am good !what about you ?’ I typed and within seconds came the reply ‘I am fine life’s great here’ she typed. I had forgotten where she was but I didn’t ask as it would surely sound rude.
‘Do you have a web cam?’ she asked
I sent a web cam invite to her, to let her see how I looked after 4 years.
‘Aryan is that you??’ the text came with a zillion question marks.
Yes!! I answered
‘You look damn handsome dude, you look so cute, gosh my heart skipped a few beats seeing you. Hey! give me your number Aryan lets meet’ I smiled amused experiencing her sheer excitement just through the words she had typed.
‘Do you remember we used to share Tiffin when we were at school?’ I smiled how could I forget Tiffin break my neatly parted hair on the right, the neatly ironed school uniform with the school monogram on it. I stared blankly lost in my own thought I was so innocent then but the innocent is lost overcome by hollow emotions.
‘Do you have a girl friend Aryan’ she asked, the most frequently asked question. 'Why do people expect you to have a girl friend does having one make you normal?' I wondered.
‘Yes’ I lied what’s the harm if that makes it sound normal.
‘Wow who’s the lucky girl’ she asked shaking the screen violently sending me a buzz. I make up a name and pressed the send button. For half an hour I chatted with my long lost friend and as we sailed through memory lane she started to tell me about her Boyfriend and her recent breakup. They had been together for 6 years and now here she was pointing out drawbacks, flaws in his character. I smiled amused 'if this was love, then everything that poets have written, writers have described in volumes is all fake because love at last turns out to be vengeance'.
I signed off and went out to be a part of a group of people gathered in the other side of the road. The reason a bike had just hit a passerby.
The bike rider was deliberately trying to reason that the entire fault was of the passerby who had ignored the sky bridge. But despite his protests the crowd started beating the poor chap and broke the front light of his bike. I shrugged and walked away helpless.
I wave for a taxi and get in. The 8’ clock news was on and the driver bombarded me with his opinion on the the recent news story about the 'Uncertainty that surrounded the constitution drafting process'.
‘I am worried Bhai where are these politicians heading our country'. True, I thought with the recent political changes that we witnessed we had all wished for positive changes but to see all our hopes and aspirations rested in the shoulder of power-hungry politicians was surely very depressing.
The cab stops at my gate and I open the door with an extra key I had. The house smelled of a mixture of alcohol and expensive perfume. I could hear my parents fighting as usual hearing the front door click my drunken father came outside and looked at me with his puffed eyes.
‘Where were you’ he demanded as his voice echoed around in our marbled house. I chose not to answer and walk past him and enter my little sisters room 'My little angel was fast asleep' I smile and search through my pocket and take out a chocolate bar and put it inside her bag 'She will be happy that I kept my promise' I gently close the door and enter my room.
I roll in my bed to get rid of the back pain that was killing me. Suddenly I feel my mobile buzz in my pocket the SMS read ‘Hey Aryan lets meet 4:00 tomorrow- Ira’ 'People were dying of hunger and here people dated in posh restaurants with a billing in 4 digits' I thought as I toss my cell phone in the table.
I stuff my head phones in my ears to listen to the latest Linkin park song as I start scribbling a new song for my band in my note book. 'It had been 3 years that my friend and I had started off a band but who would give an amateur a chance' strong negative feeling possessed me 'Who cares' I thought suddenly 'One day will be our day' I smile as I continue to scribble more lines. My back was hurting and my eyes were slowly giving away to sleep; I try to sleep with my headphones on as it was the only way I could sleep in peace without getting disturbed by the sound of the fight in my parent’s room.
‘Another damn day tomorrow’ I thought and with that my heavily dosed eyes gives away to sleep.
Comments
One of the most brilliantly written fiction I have ever read. As the name suggests it is spontaneous and very touching
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