Chapter 4: "Message Sent"

He nodded.

We left that place and started walking home. Our homes were very near from college, so we preferred to go by foot.

"By the way, didn't you go to college?" I asked.

"No! My college is not yet started," he said.

"Okay!"

That was it. I didn't utter a single word after that. We were in a half way to the home. Someone broke the silence.

"Excuse me! What is the ti.." He asked.

"8 p.m." I said.

"Seriously, are you sure?" He asked and grinned.

I became a clown, and looked at Bhargav.

"Stop it! Overrated actor," He said and looked at his watch.

It showed 10:35 a.m.

The guy thanked us and left.

"What will her message at 8p.m.? And.. I couldn't stop this feeling," He mocked me.

I laughed by the way he said. It was in a cry-baby voice.

I questioned, "Did I talk like this?"

"But why 8 p.m." He was mocking me continuously.

"Enough! I can't stop laughing," I added.

The silence entered into the conversation again, and my thoughts went back to the 8 p.m.

"What happened, Raghav?" he asked.

"Nothing! Will meet later," I said.

"Ok, ping me."

I thumbed up, and we changed our ways. My home was opposite to the Marine Drive beach. The deep feelings I felt for her was right after I watching couples over here. I pinned my headphone, and started hearing a bollywood song.

"Aaj Dil Shayrana" by Arijit Singh.

The song she liked to hear. Long back, she said that she used to imagine me and her in this song.

I took my mobile, it was NOKIA N73 and looking at her photo. Only photo I had of her with her three friends, and she was the middle one. I wanted to talk her. So, I typed.

"Are you free?"

After few minutes, her message popped up.

It said, "No! Today I'm going out with friends. Don't call me. I will ping you."

There was a winked emoji at last that made me smile. I reached my house. As soon as I entered, I saw a lady's face. She was on the sofa talking with someone. I avoided them.

"I hate her!" I said myself.

While I was walking without looking them,

"Raghav! How was your first day?" He asked.

"Why do you care?" I was rude.

"Raghav! Tell him sorry!" She shouted.

I didn't respond. Though I never talked to her after my dad's death, she always tried talking to me. I have anger for her. She was my mom. The way she danced by their parents in the house was unbearable to my dad. They made my father breathless at some point, and he hanged himself to the death. I was mature enough to know that my dad is no more. I cried as well. After that, I spent my childhood under my Grandpa(Father's Dad). When I was in 10th class, Grandpa died due to heart stroke. Everybody forced me to stay with my mom. I denied at first, but I went because she was the only one left in my life. I didn't see my mom's family again. She tried to make things correctly after the back bone broke down utterly. Even though I never talked to her after we stayed together.

I went straight to my bedroom. it was on the first floor. I locked the door, and jumped on to the bed.

8 hours passed away,

I was doing nothing other than looking at my mobile for 8 p.m.. Bhargav called me twice but I didn't lift. He pinged me,

"Don't go to college tomorrow."

I ignored. Mom called me thousand times but I shut my ears. I heard their voices till 5 p.m.

My stomach was empty. I wanted to eat something. As I came near to the hall, I saw my mom crying on phone in her bedroom.

"Now, who is that?" I peaked from her door.

She was around the clock saying, "No! No! Don't tell anything to Raghav."

"Please, I'll tell him when he get matured enough."

That rose my anger up till the sun.

"I have to go to hospital tomorrow for check-up!"

"Bye!" She hanged the phone and turned towards me.

I rushed to the first floor, acted like I was coming down. I went straight to the kitchen and had something.

"Who cares about her anyway," I reminded myself.

I was on the sofa, eating cake. My mom words wasn't giving me a good vibe. While I hated her, I cared her. She got a call again and came out of her room.

"Raghav, I made cookies for you. That's in the kitchen. Eat that too," She said and went outside to talk.

I ignored.

I looked at the clock, it was beating at 7:30 p.m.

"Time is going fast for me."

"More thirty minutes left for my new life," I blushed.

For the time to pass, I opened my FACEBOOK for news feed. I saw some of my friends updated their relationship status. Even I wanted to change that status. There was a message(s), I received. It was obvious that it would be Prachi. As I clicked on messages, I saw Harini's message. I tapped in.

Harini Sharma:

Day before yesterday, you told me that you are going to give a good news. What is it?

She was my first crush in school. I never approached her because she had the cheeks to complain Principal that I stalked her.

"Wait! Harini you'll hear it," I said myself.

I logged out, and went back to the bed.

Time: 7:55 p.m.

"Come on! Come on! Prachi send the message," I said as I sat on the bed.

I kept my mobile in front of me and stared.

I looked at the time, it was 7:55 p.m.

"More 5 minutes!" I said myself.

"Please, toilet don't come at this time," I added.

That was my mistake. It asked me to let go. I told them to wait for just 5 minutes more, but they were knocking on the door. If I waited even for a second, it would rush out like anything. I saw the time, it was 7:56 p.m.

"What the hell! The time is not moving at all," I got irritated.

I dropped some pee drops, "Hell! Lets go to bathroom, first."

I left the mobile on bed, and went down to pee.

I got relief by letting them free.

"Ah!" I said.

I looked at the clock, It showed 7:59 p.m.

"Oh! God! I forgot about the time."

I rushed out to the bedroom.

"Raghav, go slowly!" mom yelled.

I jumped on to bed and looked at mobile.

"Message! Message!" I chanted.

The atmosphere around me changed. My concentration and determination didn't distract me. I could hear the clock's tick-tick sound in my room. I had a clock in my room as well. The time turned to 8 p.m.

I couldn't control myself and typed, "Hi! I love you so much. Do you love me?"

Message sent.