COINCIDENCE

Sky had already turned orange when I stepped out from my place to cover the short distance till my college, my friend called me an hour before and asked to meet him there. Usually I prefer walking in the evenings rather than making use of the automobiles, neither I was running late, still I decided to catch a bus.  No sooner I reached the bus stop the bus arrived, I walked in. As regular evenings the buses were crowded a little bit. It didn’t bother me to complete my journey standing as it was a five minutes drive from the local bus stop to the one near my college.

Someone was standing behind me, someone I know but was unable to recognize as she was facing the opposite. “Where have I seen her? Do I know her?”  sets of questions started running into my mind, before I got any answers I got another question, “ticket?” asked the conductor, “Ek Ruia !” I uttered still in a confused state of mind. He handed me the ticket and I gave him six rupees in return. No sooner the stop arrived I moved backwards towards the entrance of the BEST bus, the unknown person I knew moved at the exit. Her face was still a mystery to me. The urge of getting glimpse of her started to raid over my thoughts. As soon as the driver hit brakes, there was a rush boarding the bus, however I managed to get off. My eyes were stuck on the exit of the bus.

“It’s her!” I was out of my senses. The girl I was searching for last couple of years was in front of me. I think she noticed me noticing her, so she turned around. She also looked surprised. “You look stunning!” I said in a tone that was not even heard by my own hears. Her brown eyes sparkled staring at me, the wind created by the moving vehicles blew her hairs in a wave, the feather soft skin glowing in the pale sunlight, the curve of her lips the only thing which could deal with the worst of my mood in just a fraction of second, she was absolute beauty, a jaw dropper.

“Hey can I ask you something?” questioned Namrata.

“Yeah sure, what’s it?” I said.

“I heard you like someone, is it true or just rumours?” she questioned again.

 I was totally baffled, how can I directly tell her that she was the one I liked, and also I can’t lie to her.

“Oh you really want to know that? I mean why do you want to know?” I said wanting to know her interest.

 “Like that only, say naa! Who’s she?”

I thought that it was the right time to express myself, but I was a bit nervous. I’ve been writing about her whenever I was doing nothing, written almost everything about her, from the day we met, our talks, the fun we had in tuition classes and lots more.

“Listen, you really want to know about her right?”

“Hmmm...”

“So here’s the deal, it will be only between you and me, no one else should get to know even an inch about it.”

“Promise only between you and me.”

“Alright then I will give you the diary in which I have written everything about her.”

“Wow, you wrote a diary? That’s cute!”

“But there is a twist in it.”

“What twist?”

“You have to recognize her yourself.”

“I know her?”

“Yea I think so.”

“Oh let’s see then.”

I handed her my diary.

“Listen don’t read it now, do it when you are home.” I said.

“Someone is being shy.” She said poking me.

My heart was pounding so hard the next day as she was finally going to know that she was the one I actually liked. There was a knock on the door in the evening, I went forward to unlatch it, “Oh hi.” I tried to be formal.  It was her Namrata. She usually came home calling me for classes whenever I was late, but this time it was a bit early, maybe a half an hour early. She was holding my diary. Without saying a word she handed over the diary, smiled and left. I was in a state of confusion, what does that means? A yes or a no. If yes, I would be on the seventh sky, but what if no?

I didn’t speak with her in the classes nether did she, but I was dying to have a word with her, wanted an answer. She packed her bag and left home, I thought that this was the right time to talk with her, so I made an excuse to the teacher that I left a book home and want to bring it, she agreed.

Namrata was on her way to the bus stop, I called her out, “Namrata” She turned around.

“I wanted to ask you about the diary, did you get about whom all of that was written?” I asked to confirm if she really knew that it was her.

“Wasn’t it about me?” a cross question to me.

“Umm yes, it was you.”

“Well pretty good writing I must say, but I am not the one you would be looking for.” She said.

“What do you mean?”

“You are a nice guy, but I can’t really think anything ahead friendship between us.”

“Why?” a common reaction to disapprovals.

“Coz I like someone else.”

The harsh tone shattered me, making me stand dumb. She had already left before I could speak something.

More than month passed away but it was gone all mute between both of us, even our eyes never met. I was totally distracted from studies, making her talk to me again became the primary aim of my life. Even not much of the girls in the class talked to me, some did but it didn’t matter much.

“You proposed Namrata?” asked Shobita.

“Huh, from where in the world did you get to know?”

“Your sister told me that you like her, and yesterday Namrata herself told me.” Shobita was a good friend of my elder sister and I share every secret with Didi but not expect it to be known to all. There’s nothing in this Universe which can stop women keeping secrets, not the one of their own but others.

“What did she tell you?”

“Not too much, just that you have written a diary dedicated to her.”

“Yeah it’s true.”

“So what did she answer?”

“Didn’t she tell you? She already like someone, the one from her school, I stand nowhere.” My temper was reaching its peak at the moment, I tried controlling but it was rising, so I decided to leave before I develop a harsh tone.

 I was very angry with myself that evening, my raising temper came out of my wrist as I punched the wall so hard that it actually vibrated, “Ouch! That hurts.” I cried, “Why do people try silly things when they get hurt deep within? Cut themselves, get addicted to bad habits, leaving social life etc. Is it because it helps to forget it? But not in my case, it practically hurts me more, so why do all those silly things?” So I came up with a conclusion, “If you are unsuccessful in achieving something it’s not your fault or a reason of depression, just think you didn’t put all your efforts and try it achieving till you finally become successful.”

Everyone was busy studying; I had just finished my short notes. Again lost in fairyland, I started creating different sequences, topic remaining the same, “How to talk with Namrata?” sounds like some instruction manual. Sandesh which was three grades younger than me was making paper plane, it struck me with an idea.

“Oye give that plane to me.” I requested him.

“Why you want to redesign it?” he asked me.

“Just give it, don’t be so suspicious. I really need it, please.”

“Well alright, here you go.” He said handing me the paper model.

“I’m extremely sorry for whatever I have done, but it shouldn’t ruin our friendship.” I wrote it on the paper again made a plane model out of it and gave it to Sandesh.

 “What did you do?” questioned Sandesh.

“Nothing, just do me a favour, throw this at Namrata.”

“No I won’t, if I get caught I’ll be in a big trouble.”

“Believe me nothing will happen, things are just messed up between us, if anything happens I will take the blame on me.” I tried to ensure him safety.

Without saying a word he threw the piece of paper which went flying directly to Namrata. She was not ready for the surprise attack. She picked up the paper and started looking around, “hey, unfold it!” I signalled her to unfold it and read it. She did read it but didn’t look at us again, so I asked the teacher in a loud voice, “Teacher what is the noun form of REPLY?” stretching the word reply. “You are studying history and you are asking me the noun form of reply?” asked the teacher, “nothing like that only.” Namrata realized that I was waiting for a reply, so she took the same paper wrote something on it and threw it at me.

I opened it in a hurry, she wrote, “its ok with that, but I no more feel to speak to you as you will not be the same for me now; its better that we don’t speak and keep things as they are. I have already told you I like someone else. And also to mention it did not ruin our friendship; we are friends, but who just knew each other in the past, our present is different and our future will also be. Try not to communicate with me; it will be good for you as well as me.”

That’s it! It didn’t turn out the way I thought so. Before leaving the classroom she turned around looked at me, smiled and left before I could even react.

“What a girl every time she arrows me down, and there I am who remain dumbstruck.”

Before I could regain my senses she already turned around. The girl I’ve been searching from a couple of years was in front of me but, I couldn’t utter a word. The last time I had seen her was on my SSC result when I ran to the classes for showing my result to the teacher, after that I didn’t get a chance to see her, and when I got one I realised that I actually ruined it.

She turned around and walked away again this been the third time, even this time I stood frozen, hoping that I would get another chance to express.

“I have never cherished fullest form of love, but she did introduce me to the abbreviation of it.”

 “For someone who taught me a very valuable lesson in my life, without you I would have been the same so far. Thank you for showing you’re presence in my life even if you are absent.”

                                                                                                           

-ROHIT M. NIKAM