CHAPTER- 2

FIRST TEA TOGETHER—

“Hi”, I heard a voice. She was my friend Palak. Palak stayed next to my house.

Our house shared a common boundary. So, I could easily listen her shouting at her mom very often. I & mom had visited her house several numbers of times to attend Pujas organized at least thrice in a month.  So, I was expecting her today again with any such invitations. Of course today I was least bothered about anything but my fascination towards her. Finally, out of my illusory dreams, I found myself ill-fitted. It was now time to run & change to be a handsome hunk  in front of my dream girl.

“Hey, Hi Palak, C’mon get-in, It’s too hot outside”. I'd deliberately used such dialogue to avoid any further abashment Nevertheless its waste mentioning that inside it will be twice with Zero power. Saying this I ran away towards my bedroom leaving them in anteroom. Running straight toward kitchen I informed about Palak's arrival to Mom. Now she had come out to foster them. I was so embarrassed about the thought for first impression I would have left on her. Standing against mirror, merely for 3-4 minutes, Constantly watching myself in the same costume I was trying to rate myself negatively. Thinking that I will lose my chance to meet her in my home for the first time ever, I scattered all the cloths from cup-board.  Took my favorite blue color jeans which unfortunately mom hadn’t ironed due to power cut. I out of my elation wore it along with a transparent orange color Shirt.

I was too bothered about my looks at sudden within my own house.

“Prateek, What’re you doing dear inside, C’mon meet palak & her friend”. She asked softly.

“Yes Mom, I’m there in a minute”, Replied I.

“Hey , Prateek, being so busy haan? Don’t you wanna meet us too after you’re out for engineering. That’s sad”, said Palak in a Sarcastic but soft voice.

Before I could put any silly excuse, She again interrupted but this time it was of my interest.

“Meet Sowmya, She’s my best friend. She too had come for her vacation”. Palak Introduced.

“Hi”, I said with almost 270 degree of fake smile.

“Hi, Prateek”, Was her decent reply towards my fake one.

“How’s life then? How about your two semesters. Hope you did clear them without any carry forwards, isn’t it? Just Kidding”, said Palak making me feel so nervous in front of her.

“Yeah, I did & there’s nothing to kid about. Engineering is all about carrying forwards”, I gave a suspicious smile looking at palak.

My mom prepared the first of my romantic tea ever. It was like as if she's been arranging date of her own Son with an angel he always wanted to be with. However, everyone of us had our tea without any nonsense talks in between.

In the meantime, I didn’t speak anything but constantly kept an eagles eye on her. She too also seemed to be little uncomfortable. Palak & mom were busy in their own discussion about rituals & pujas customary things which I’m least interested in. We were sitting facing each other diagonally opposite & she was on my left.  Times of India was what she was trying to turn over every now & then.

I finally did dare to speak to her.

“So, you too an engineer, Huh ? I Mean a would be engineer ?”, I started with a usual question.

She smiled at me before she could answer.  That was the moment I wanted to capture in my eyes forever. She looked stunning with her all white teeth’s polished properly. I was falling for her every now & then.

“Yes, I too am pursuing B.tech & will be an engineer very soon by the time you’ll be one of course”.  She answered. May be with a Hint that we both belong to same batch.

“Okay, Namaste auntie ji, then we shall go, Prateek, keep in touch. Meet you next time again you’re back. I had to invite some other People too”, Palak told mutually to me & mom.

We hadn't even spoken for two minutes & it’s time for them to go. Palak was least interested in introducing Sowmya to me. And also I didn't had enough information about her to contact again. But this is what I’m good at.

“Palak, Can I've your contact number, I hope you won’t mind. I can forward you some  good SMSs &  May be I need them sometime when I do need to contact my parents urgently”, I blabbed when they almost reached the main gate.

“Yeah sure”, she replied. I was reluctant to bring up my black & white handset which my father had provided me as my first one after looking at their color ones.

“Better we exchange our numbers over pen”, I said avoiding the idea of missed calls which would have led to the monotonous sound of my mobile make noise.

“Sowmya, if you don’t mind we two can be friends”, I said smiling offering her a piece of paper with my mobile number over it. Palak had found nothing unusual in this & as she was my classmate & neighbor for past four & two years respectively.

She smiled & thus had accepted my first proposal.

It was time for them to go while for me it was to go ahead.  So, I finally had her number in my mobile. Couldn't dare to call her of course for at least first 2-3  days.  However, I can never forget the first tea we had together sitting in my own house. I just wanted to go & kiss the Cup with my own lips before my mom puts it for washing. I just wanted to hold the moment forever. I can’t let her go like this anyway.She meant something very special to me. Everything she possessed meant something to me. I just wanted to sit & think about her & only her.  

“Prateek…Prateek, Beta get those Cups & plates here in the kitchen”, said my mom. I kissed the cup gently on the way towards kitchen. It added to my madness when she said, “ We’ll anyway wash it tomorrow morning, so keep them aside”.

Note to readers:-

Many of you may/mayn't  be liking it but having a question of course  whether its all dramatization, scripted, real or imagination. I would answer to that by saying that this may/mayn't be completely real, I won’t reveal it & I leave it to you. This is very near to my heart. I’m working hard to find time out of my daily routine to complete it. Hope I’m able to do so & with consistently improving quality.

When it comes to answer your question, I would say the title of the blog should be sufficient. With this I put my UltraBook back to sleep & I too go inside the bed.

CHAPTER-1

THE NEXT MORNING -

It was 10:30 am when I checked the clock hanging on the wall. Yes, I had missed my college bus. But this is what exactly I thought two hours before. I was turbulent the whole night. It wasn’t a very usual morning for me. With a lot of her thoughts bouncing on my head the whole night made me felt so sick.  I got up & went straight towards the restroom; my burning red eyes were pure reflection of my restlessness & were narrating something unusual has happened to me.  She, out of sudden but most expected proposal from me was astonished & wanted couple of days before she responds. I was told not to call again, so the only thing I could do was to wait till she calls me back. Expecting a gigantic surprise on my birthday oon 16th January was all I could think out of my curiosity. It was now time to get through with the daily routines.

I was least interested in anything but her. It’s not of course a quixotic one.  I didn’t even see her for past two years. But it was not too long when I started falling for her.  It all started six months back, when I had fortunately gambled with my friend cum roommate, all in joke. I had never thought that very soon I will be the one most bothering about her.  See was now everywhere. I wasn’t interested in any other girls in my college though I had a proposal from few too. There was a girl who had proposed me & wanted to share a kiss with me but unfortunately I was too shy (or you say stupid) to make use of the opportunity. All I did was able to get out of her was a bracelet & a big greeting card like your university degree hard to handle. Uuuuhhh..  I think we shall time travel exactly 3 months back to past.

Blackout in Jharkhand–

 It was a hard time during summer of May 2007, when a group of Maoists had attacked the southern part of Jharkhand destroying all the power grids from nowhere to make the complete city Black. Jharkhand is supposed to be one among the mostly affected areas by Naxalites.  They are very prominent among northern part of the India including Central India too. This was the time when I was in the city to enjoy my semester break which finally turned into a catastrophe. There was shortage of everything. When I say everything here, you were to pay 10 rupees to refill your mobile batteries once. I also had daily job of following married women to get 3 buckets of water promised to each family by our state government. This all lasted for 15 days. The only thing which kept us connected was Newspaper which local vendors used to sell for thrice the price since it was being imported from the nearest unaffected city at a distance of around 150km. While this was not the only trouble there were loot, robberies & theft too started taking place overnight. Situation was worsening day-by-day. Government had again come up with their delusive promises. I just wanted to go run-away back to Raipur seeing all these hullabaloo but wasn't in my destiny too due to sky touching fares of travel which were almost around 5 times the normal adding to your life threatening risks on the way. I was left with no option but to wait for the government & their servants to take an action after they are done with their inutile talks.
But it has been correctly saId, “There’s something good in everything even if it seems to be bad eventually”. Putting those thoughts of the unknown motivator, I started finding out the ways to pass away my leisure time. Ideally speaking, my complete day was full of time with no other work after 10 am once I had provided my mother with three buckets of water.

Then came the day when I heard her for the first time.

“It’s your turn now , make your service”, said my brother shashank to me.
“Uuuuhh…wait its still 5-8, I’ll make it bro..”, I said to my brother with over-confidence.  We were playing badminton as usual for the sixth day as our daily time pass in evening.  While I was in Bermuda Shorts  & only sleeveless to bear with  humid weather, my brother was more bothered about his looks when out & was wearing a blue color jeans with a green color t-shirt over it.

“Here, I go “, I shouted & jumped with my service. Shockingly, my brother didn't respond to the shuttle & ran shyly towards the main gate of my house. He was a kind of reluctant to girls but no he too has his own story like everyone else.

 I was now to turn back to examine if something has really gone wrong. And there she was,  right behind me with her friend actually with our friend gazing at me with my sophisticated looking attire. I too was so insensible for a moment to run like my brother. Her eyes were the only twinkling things I’d ever noticed since the day of blackout. I could feel the smell of her perfume over my half displayed body as was the only fresh things I’d noticed after very long in this blackout where I was only suppose to smell sweating of my brother the whole night . She was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen in my life since my birth standing in front of me next to my mother & sister. She was looking fantastic in light green color salwar with embroidery over it in white & blue. She was absolutely perfect; No doubt that was the moment, when gravity of her love started pulling me & I'd became a victim of “Love at first sight” in this blackout.

PROLOGUE

So here is where my story starts from….

Just after complete four years I realized that yes she’s the same. This night unlike all other I was unable to sleep.  Trust me this had never happened to me before.  Tear droplets falling down my eyes were questioning me, wind blowing outside windows made me felt her essence, I can still recall my heartbeat running twice than normal. It could have been a very usual date of 14^th Jan 2008 to many but to it was the first & last 14^th January of its kind.

To tell what this feeling has served me today,  very few sentences will be good enough. I am what today because of the beautiful January. No doubt that January already has been my favourite for many other reason too, few among them will be ours too & of everyone else of course. The new Oath you take the very first day of January for the complete year, you set your goals, you wipe out your old sin, confess in front of god. January has been always reckoned worldwide not merely because is the beginning of the year but cause is a beginning of many more beautiful things. One among them is I, not to joke but yes it’s my birthday month too.

I can hardly but strongly recall that it was 8:30 pm when I called her, was not the first call of course but never realized that it is my 37^th call to her. To be very frank, I was really afraid to hear her father when someone hangs up the phone. So what now, like every Indian love stories, a bug, yeah there was a sudden knock-knock at my door, good enough to annoy me with dizzy feelings? Expecting my room mate I ordered him to push the door & pull it back to open it with loosely married locks. Neverthless it was my neighbour who will for sure take the start of the story to 9pm, making me expecting her father on call for sure now. After 20 minutes of useless talk, I managed to get rid off him. Now it was too late considering our regular talk to call her, may sound odd but ofcourse her family switches off the light by 08:45pm with her father sleeping with his only mobile girlfriend & her stupid landline crying in the lull.  But when you’re under such a critical condition, you were left with no option but to go crazy.

Yeah it was her, “Hello, Is this you? Are you Mad? You know right its 9pm & its midnight for my father. You are going to kill me too.” Firing a bullets of questions on me, “Hey, Are you really going to awake your father when he’s still asleep even with this agitating phone, Hunn..?”. “I’m Sorry, I was longing for your call since last 5 days, you know. Why didn’t you called me?” She said. “I wasn’t having enough money to recharge my mobile, my father was to credit it yesterday but he did it today just like yours”, I answered in taunting manner.

Even with 25 minutes of junk talk, I was unable to put my point; with my rapidly reducing mobile balance the time had now come to at least initiate the talk. It was never very easy to propose a girl even for a comic Romeo while I was a real-living character. The point which adds to this was I never ever had seen her after we were in love. “I would like to say you something today, promise me you won’t cry. Please Please”, While it was also in mind that I’m running low in balance. While she was in straits, I was under basket case. I thought nothing neither waited for approval but “I love You, I’m in Love with you” that’s what I fleeted. A big Pause adding to my phone bill alongwith my accelerating heartbeat made me little more anxious.  “Yes, but we shouldn’t go beyond our friendship, didn’t we promise that? “ was her most expected reply.