Few Things Left Unsaid (30 page)

1 message received.

Oh. I am sorry. I think I messaged on a wrong number. Thanks a lot. You saved my job.Mr. Suresh is an important client. I am working for a call centre in Malad. Sorry again

I thought I could take help from her. My school friend wanted a job. Maybe she could be the appropriate person whom I could consult. I thought of continuing the conversation.

I replied.

Its ok. No problem. My name is Aditya. I am doing engineering from Euro college. Electronics engineering. I am also involved in part time
earning through which I earn a decent amount for my myself. It’s technical  work.

1 message received.

Cool. It’s nice to hear you are doing creative work with engineering. Even I have been working in this call centre for the last 6 months. Day shifts.

I replied again.

Ok fine. Nice to talk to you.If I have any work I will call you or message you. Save my number. Take care. Have a nice day.

I called her later.She did not attend the call. I thought I was disturbing her. I waited for her response. After a day I got a reply from her.

Sorry. I was  busy with parents. If you want to call then call tommorow night. Same time. Take care. Bye.

I called her the day after. My mom and dad were sleeping. I was in my bedroom. She picked up the call.we greeted each other normally. She was speaking in a low voice. Just hissing sound. I could not hear her voice properly. But I was able to hear what she was saying.

“Why are u speaking like this. So softly.” I asked.

“My parents don’t allow me to talk at night. That’s why.” she said.

“Still you are talking to me. Strange.”

“Shut up. So which year are you in?” she asked.

“It’s a long story. Actually I had a drop after 2nd year and I did not tell my parents about it. They think I am in 3rd year.I don’t have guts to tell them” I said

“It’s bad. You are hurting them. Don’t do this. They trust you so much and you are misleading them. Tell them the truth. I will help you if you want..”

“How can you help me?” I asked

She suggested me to message my mom and dad if I couldn’t speak to them on the phone or face to face. She also told me that she would send an emotional message to me and I should forward that message to them.

The next morning I saw my cell. I had not got any message from her. I messaged her that I had not received any message from her. She replied in few minutes. It was a message in 6 parts. A long message.

Sorry mom.  Sorry dad. I  don’t know how you will react after reading this message. But your son has fooled you. Yes mom , I am fooling you. I am fooling myself. I am Sorry. I have given you too much pain. Now I feel your pain. I wanted to tell you from a long time but couldn’t. I wanted to tell you both that I was not in 3rd year. I had to drop a year. Please don’t be angry. I did not have the guts to tell you. I tried but couldn’t. Sorry mom. Sorry dad. I care for you both. I know my act is one big mistake but for Heaven sake!! I love you!! And I am  here to change!  So let’s talk let’s hug.Let me show you  that I am truly sorry.I always blow your trust, I don't even understand Why did I do it!!!Please forgive me. I will study hard and clear all my subjects. Trust me.Give me one chance to prove myself. I will do whatever you say. Can you accept me as a child after hearing all this?

I went out with Sameer. I decided to send this message in the afternoon. I did not say anything about Harsha to Sameer. He would have killed me. We watched a movie and I messaged my mom after the movie.

My mom started calling me continuously. I did not pick the call. I was afraid. They would be angry. I had commited a blunder. I was ashamed of myself. I had fooled my parents for almost 7 months. No son could have done what I did. I started crying. Sameer was consoling me. I received a message from mom.

Come home. Don’t worry. We are always with you.Love you.

I started crying badly. I thought they would hit me. At least shout at me. But they didn’t say a word. This made me feel more guilty. They tried so hard to make me strong and capable but I never listened to them.

They gave me whatever I wanted. Still I broke all the rules and their trust, the more they tried to bring out the best in me, the more I tried to ignore them.

“You have the best parents in the whole world Aadi. They didn’t even shout at you. Lets go home. I will come with you. Don’t worry now and wipe your tears. Listen to whatever they say. Don’t argue with them even if Riya is discussed .” Sameer said to me while returning home.

We reached home. Mom and dad were sitting on the couch. I think they had a big discussion before I entered the house. I sat near my dad. Sameer looked at me. He seemed to be afraid. This made me more nervous. I was waiting for them to start the conversation. But they didn’t, finally I did.

“Sorry dad, sorry mom. I mean it. I won’t do this again”

“How many kt have you got? Is there any problem in the college. Be frank and tell us today.” Dad said.

“Dad, actually I tried my level best to clear the subjects. I mean minimum subjects which would make me eligible for promotion to 3rd year. But I got internal kt. Viva and termwork. So I was not eligible. I tried telling you both many times but didn’t have the courage to do it. I am sorry.” I replied with tears in my eyes.

“It’s ok. But now what have you decided? Do you want to continue with engineering or not? Do you want to change your stream? Are you capable of completing?” Dad asked me.

“Of course he is capable. He had scored good marks in hsc and also in 1st semester. The main reason is different. I had warned him” mom shouted.

I did not say anything. I was at fault. I kept quiet. Riya was not the reason for my dropping a year. Beer was the main reason. I became complacent. I could not tell my mom about this. Rather I chose to keep quiet.

“Yes dad. I will. Give me one more chance. I will do it. I promise.” I went closer to dad.

“It’s ok. See to it you complete your degree. We don’t force you to work after that but you should have a degree at least.” Dad said.

I went to my room. I was relaxed. I messaged Harsha that everything was fine. She replied that she was happy to hear that.

I felt a new life in me after chatting with her. I was feeling fresh.  Whatever she did for me made me think over it again. Maybe I should take a chance. Maybe I should give another opportunity to my life. I could take the risk of falling in love again. She had one  quality of Riya for sure. Helping others.

But I never saw her. I never heard her voice. It was once again going too fast. I should stop my heart before it is too late. But on the other hand I wanted to enjoy this. This time was it lust or love? I couldn’t answer this time. Whatever it was, it made me fresh. I felt like living once again. This time with Harsha. A girl from a call centre. Must be a good looking girl. Call centres in Malad have nice looking girls.

I was falling in love once again. A girl whom I had never seen , never heard her voice properly and still she was doing so much for me. She was like Riya. I should not compare her with anyone but some qualities were similar. I think I should give myself another chance. Would Harsha be my 2nd love?

Or was I attracted to her just because she had a few qualities similar to Riya. Caring, understanding , helpful….

God knows. But I wanted to move on… Harsha  A SECOND CHANCE…

I called her at night. I was getting attracted towards her. I didn’t hear her voice clearly.But whatever I heard was sweet. Moreover she helped me in my biggest problem of telling my parents. I told her I was attracted to her.

“Don’t tell me. You seem to be a flirt. You should concentrate on your studies. And you must be having a girlfriend” she said in her hissing voice.

“No, I don’t have a girlfriend. It is also a long story. She betrayed me. I really loved her. Talking about studies I don’t care a damn. I just want to enter 3rd year. I am earning part time.So who cares.” I tried to ignore the topic of Riya.

I did not dare to ask her where she lived. She might think I was getting involved with her. It’ silly. Still I tried to be innocent. The boy next door.

“What happened to your girlfriend.” She asked.

“She went off with someone else. Actually it’s not her fault. I tried to stop her from going with him. He was not the right guy for her. I really cared for her.”

“What do you mean by the right kind of guy? What made you think so?” she asked again.

“He was my friend. I mean I met him through her. But then we became friends and he had a master plan in his mind of which I was unaware of. Later he revealed in front of me and fooled my little bachha. But it’s over now. You don’t worry.” I tried to flirt with her. Emotional blackmail.

“You still love her?” she was going on with her questions.

It brought some weird thoughts to my mind. I thought she knew me. She was asking me so many questions that made me wonder.

“It does not matter whether  I love her or not. What matters is that she does not love me anymore.” I answered smartly.

“Who told you this?” again a question which meant nothing to her.

“Why are you asking me all these questions. Do you know her? Or did we know each other before these calls? I thought something was cooking.

“What’s wrong?” I was surprised with her asking so many questions.

“Nothing dear. I asked you out of curiosity. If you don’t like I won’t ask. Fine.”

Now this is too fast. Too early to call anyone dear. My 2nd relationship was also moving too fast.

“Can we meet tomorrow. I am free anyways. I can drop you to your office. I have purchased a new bike. What say?” I wanted to see her. I wanted to confirm that she was not known to me.

“I will tell you tomorrow morning. Is it fine?”

I accepted. I received a message in the morning to pick her up from near Eastern express highway. I got ready and went on my new bike. I was keen to meet her. I was in a good mood as I left my house that day,looking for a good time and to see her for the first time. As I cruised down the road with the wind blowing through my hair, smiling at nothing at all... I gave a thought. Would she be like my Riya? Or even better. Then I thought no one could be better than her. I started imagining what she would be like from her voice. She might be so sweet and inncocent.

But no one could replace Riya.

I reached the destination. My eyes searched for a pretty face all around. I didn’t see any. I could have waited there for a lifetime if it were for Riya. But it was Harsha.

I called her. She did not pick the call. I messaged her. She did not reply to my message. I was waiting for her for the last 1 hour. I received a message.

I was just testing you. If you will really come or not. Thanks for coming dear. I know you want to see me. I have mailed you my pics. You can take a look. Bye. I will call you tonight.

This made me angry. I did not shout at her though. I did not want to spoil her day by fighting with her. I controlled myself. I used to get angry and spoil Riya’s day. I didn’t want to repeat that mistake. I replied to her sweetly.

It’s ok dear. If anyone needs help I always help them. If you want me to drop you till office I will. No bad intentions. I never understood this when I was with Riya. Particularly around the last phase of our relationship. I don’t want to hurt any one now. Take care. Have a nice day. I will check your pictures.