‘The dilemma’

Only Sneha could tell me about that, but I was sure I was not going to ask her about that. I dialed her number; she picked the phone on the third ring.

“Aniket is free from the class now,” I said as soon as she picked the call.

“Okay, I’m coming,” she said and disconnected the call. She didn’t attempt to talk to me any further. It didn’t look like she had any interest in me at all, unlike her mischievous look, which was saying something else. I might get that in the wrong way, I thought. I was still thinking about her when the doorbell rang. I got up to open the door and Aniket started packing his bag. She was at the door, standing there, looking straight into my eyes in the same way she did before; the same spark was there in her eyes. It was like those eyes wanted to see directly through me. When I couldn’t withstand that stare anymore, I took my eyes off, but I knew she was still looking at me. By the time Aniket reached the door.

“Thank you,” he said while going out and joining her sister.

“No problem,” I answered. I was about to close the door when I heard her asking,” When can you again take Aniket’s class?”

“I don’t know, but I will let you know whenever it would be possible,” I thought for a moment and then replied.

“Okay, thanks,” she said and went away with Aniket. I again stood there, staring at her going. I found her somehow irresistible. There was this aura of her, which was quite captivating but rather unendurable. When she was out of my sight, I closed the door, came inside, and sat on the sofa. I saved her number on my phone and thought to text her, but it didn’t feel right to me. What if she thought I was wooing her? I didn’t want to put any wrong thoughts in her mind; after all, she was my neighbor. To my surprise, I almost forgot about the wrong number for that evening. That was quite strange as her thoughts were not easy to ignore in those days. I remained on the sofa until mom returned from the market. I checked the time; it was showing at half-past seven p.m.

“How was the class?” she asked while putting the grocery on the table.

“Fine, as usual,” I replied.

“Are you hungry?” she asked.

“Not much,” I said.

“Okay,” she said and went to the kitchen to prepare the dinner, and I came back into my room. There still were a couple of hours left for ‘her’ to call me, and I had to spend that in-between time somehow. I was thinking of my options to pass the time when my phone beeped. It was a text on Watsapp; it was Sneha’s text. I felt like my heart skipped a beat for a second. I didn’t anticipate her text at all, and it was not a simple greeting message; those words were surprising too.

“For how long you were going to make me wait for your text?” it was her message. She asked as if we knew each other quite well. I couldn’t think of any answer for some time.

“I am sorry, who is this?” I tried to pretend not to know her number.

Why couldn’t I think of a better line to start a conversation?

“Oh really, as if you haven’t saved my number yet,” she replied cleverly.

“No, I seriously doubt that I know you,” I continued pretending; I was so dim-witted.

“Then I guess I have sent a text to the wrong person,” she replied. I couldn’t understand if she genuinely mistook me for someone else, or she was merely baffling with me, but one thing came clear to me, I was defeated. I could either accept my defeat by telling her the truth or could say goodbye, which I didn’t want to do. The effect of those deep-set alluring eyes was still there, which was making me excited. I was feeling a strong urge to talk to her since I had seen those eyes. I wanted to know the truth behind that gaze, but at the same time, I didn’t want her to think that she thwarted my plan.

“I am only teasing. Of course, I know who you are,” I tried to act innocently.

“Why didn’t you text me first?” she asked.

“Why should I have to do that, the text?” I asked in return.

“Because you were also interested in me, I sensed that from the way you were looking at me when I was going away. I felt your eyes on me,” she texted. I was amazed by her boldness, and she was saying those words in a way that was not making me embarrassed. She used the word ‘also’ in her text. ‘I was also interested in her’; it means she is interested in me too but for how long? I thought. I wanted to talk to her on-call, but I didn’t for two reasons. First, I hadn’t had enough courage to make a call to her, and second, it was not appropriate to talk to her when there was already another girl in my life. Even though we were not in any love relationship, still, I didn’t want to betray her. So, I decided to do the opposite, not talking to Sneha on call.

“I think you took me in the wrong way. I had no such intentions that can make you feel or think in this way,” I tried to prove her wrong.

“You are lying; my perception couldn’t be wrong. Weren’t you staring at me when I was going away? And you did that twice. Didn't you?” she asked.

“Yes, I was staring at you, but my purpose was not wrong,” I tried to explain, but she was stubborn. She didn’t want to accept that I was not interested in her. I think she took that on her pride. After all, she was quite a beauty. Her body was slender yet not thin, her complexion was fair with magnificent bloom, and her waist-length hairs played a perfect role to enhance her attractiveness, and the most conspicuous part of her body was her eyes. She was well aware of her beauty. And that might be the reason it was quite difficult for her to admit that I had a lack of interest in her when she might be the fantasy of the boys of her entire college. I thought I made her a bit furious by not being fascinated with her, which made me smile.

“What was your purpose then?” she asked. I didn’t reply for some time, and that made her more impatient as she texted again in a few minutes,” Are you there?” Yes, I was there, but I didn’t want her to know that I was there.

“I am going to have my dinner,” I replied even when I was only going to stay in my bed. I was enjoying playing with her loftiness.

“Text me when you will be back. I want to talk to you about Aniket’s study,” her text came. That message of her almost made me laugh because I knew she was lying. Her intent was different, she wanted me to prove her right, and I was looking forward to shattering her snobbishness as much as possible. I pretended not to read her text and put my phone aside. Being playful with her was giving me a different kind of pleasure. I was still smiling when my mom called me downstairs for dinner. I took no time to go, as I was feeling quite hungry by then. I sat on the dining chair opposite my mom. I wanted to ask her about Sneha, but I was not sure where I should start the conversation.

“I didn’t know Aniket has a sister,” I tried to start a talk.

“You should indulge yourself more often in the society around us,” she replied and ended the conversation quite quickly. We finished the rest of our dinner in silence. I came back into my room as soon as I finished eating and picked my phone to text Sneha but then thought to do some more delay. I wanted her to wait. I checked the time; only one hour was left for the wrong number to call me. I wanted to talk to her on call, and at the same time, I wanted to continue my conversation with Sneha too, but I couldn’t do both at the same time. I had to choose. I was attracted to the beauty of Sneha, but I felt more close to the 'wrong number'. It was quite a dilemma for me to decide. After giving some thought, I had picked the wrong number and put my phone aside without texting Sneha. That was a decision I was going to regret afterward.