A distant Phone Call

It was one of those dull days, when you feel like not doing anything and chillaxing at home. One of those days when you start feeling low on recalling something, you feel lonely and you want a buddy to “talk” to, to share a few incidents, to pour your heart out.

So that evening mum all decked up for a party asked me “Why are you still lying on your bed girl?? Get up! It’s our family friend’s daughter’s engagement. They want you to remain present!”. “You can leave mamma.” I will be joining you and papa ‘after a while’ She closes the front door, exits the house and gets into the car with dad to leave. It was now when I could hear my loneliness clearer than ever. I climbed upstairs to the terrace along with my cell phone. The approach of King Winter was causing everything to grow dark. Thinking nothing, I decided to scroll down my list of contacts in the phone, wishing that atleast one would click with whom I could just crack & be myself. After sometime I realized I couldn’t call up most of my friends since some would have been busy with their girlfriends or boyfriends or their family, and some I had stopped talking to. “What a wastage of memory it is!” I thought.

I simply stood staring at the sky & not willing to budge. Suddenly my phone screeched loud. It was some unknown number flashing on the miniature screen. I picked up the call. “Yello beautiful, I want to do FRANDHSHIP with you..!!” It said.“What the crap” I said, “Who’s that”. The voice repeated, “Bhaktiii, I say please be my friend!” An irritated me asked the chap to hang up or else i’d box him hard for his guts!

Suddenly I hear a laugh, “Wait yaa girl..its me Chandni. Calling from nasik. How are you?! And between this one’s my new number yaa. Better jot it down!” She sounded super happy and made me chuckle too. For some reasons I kept smiling & felt ludicrously happy on hearing her voice.“Hi sweetie, M doing super great. How come you remembered me? Wassup” I said. “Sweets I just wanted to talk to you. I went for this movie you suggested – Golmaal and had an absolute fun. I love your taste when it comes to bollywood masala flicks" Unlike many of my friends who were just good at criticizing me, she was this one sweetheart who would shower compliments & show affection at times when I needed the most – accidently though!

I felt so damn energetic at the end of the conversation, was all charged up and ready to join in ma & paa at the engagement party. I felt really glad and special when she chose me off her contacts. I was jus left smiling at nothing, thinking how whimsical a man can be..sad at one moment, angry at next, and happy at the very next. I realized that nothing in the world lasts forever. Happiness may be transient, but so does sadness. I put on one of my favorite outfits & left for the function enthusiastically.

P.S. This article is dedicated to one of my closest friends with whom I share a strange yet a very great bond – Chandni Kriplani