I used to wait for hours on end, sometimes even days for that one little reply; either as a scrap on the wall of my social networking site. Not that I am desperate, but sometimes it so happens; that I cannot wait. I have to get the person to reply otherwise there is something seriously wrong. Maybe I am just assuming things. “But assuming is better than being carefree right?”

Well let me explain this in more of a fervent manner.

The last time, you saw me staggering about a certain girl. For some very weird reasoning, I forgot to ask for her name. With me, there remained no identification to her whereabouts, and as you know; it becomes quite easy to loose track of anybody. Especially within a big city where you come across people for a brief amount of time and as quaintly forget to take down even the necessary of details. Yes! The details become necessary once you try searching them from other alternative sources. So with the power of net, working in my favor, I decided to do a little search for her. But with no possession of name and or the detailing, that internet search was proved a little too frustrating for me.

In a rage of desperation I was about to smash the darn thing, when all of a sudden the phone rang with a buzzing melody. For some reason, I hate it when I am being called by an unidentifiable name. Instead, what I get is a flashing number that needs all the unnecessary guessing work. This kind of annoyance does get better of my, otherwise chirpy mood.

“Hello!” The voice on the other side was a moment of silence, before it queried.

“…May I speak with Arnish?” The voice waited for my reply.

“Uh! Yeah. Who is this?”  I wasn’t sure if I recognized the voice. It sounded familiar.

“Hey Arnish …Trusha here.” The voice was smiling enough.

I am bad with recollecting names, I do forget them easily. Maybe! That is why I don’t seem to care in asking for any ‘Stupid me.’

The guilt was on the rise, so I had to ask “Have we met?”

Ok! This is not what you ask when you are on a phone speaking to a known stranger. But if you are anywhere near the state of mind like mine, you will surely find yourself coming with such absurd feelings that give rise to such stupid queries. As it is, I was desperate to meet absolutely anybody. For the sheer luck I was now in a conversation with nice sounding stranger. Not bad for a quick start …if you ask me!

There was a brief laugh on the other side, “I doubt Arnish? …but it seems you recognized me, huh!” The curiously jumpy mind (to me) was now  racing frantically, stumbling,  into the ruins of the open desert. ‘I presumed it could be her but I kept holding on to my doubts.

So just for the sake of clearing those; “….bus number 43?”  I waited longingly for a hug in the reply. No! Actually for a joyous reply.

“Sorry!”  She rested my joy with a serious tone; “…Sorry I didn’t get you!”

‘She must have heard me vaguely’ I thought! So as to cover up the repetition; “We were waiting at the bus terminal the other week, you remember?”

“I am Trusha speaking …Hello’zz!”  She echoed that “hello’zz” which had an immediate wake-up effect on me. And surprisingly, it did! “What are you blabbering about the bus terminal and all?” She queried leaving me a little dumbstruck. Maybe I was confusing someone for somebody else. Realizing this, “Oh I thought…” I ceased myself with a lengthened pause “…never mind Trusha.”

“You still haven’t recognized me, have you? …I so doubt you man.”

Actually I didn’t but how did I say “No.”

“I guessed you would be the only one ! …but anyways, you too disappointed me!”

“No worries” I said with a lifeless reply.

“We were in the same class  ……Minnie if you remember? Any bells ringing , now …dude?”

All of a sudden, my voice was filled with joy on hearing the familiarity in her voice. The surprise must have reached to the other end of the phone “See! You do recognize me now…eh.”

“Oh hey’zz” That is my kind of way in trying to sound funny. In those oddest of conversation and places, when I literally fell short for further words, ‘which happens most of the time, by the way!’  I go on with asking too many, annoying, irrelevant questions.  “What ..how ..but ..umm! How did you get my number?” I asked. Before she could answer for anything, I posed another question at her, “Where are you?”

“I am in Mumbai currently…”

“Tushar gave you my number, right?”

“Uh maybe … well listen” I was listening alright “I am looking forward to meet you and please don’t say no!”

A sweet sounding voice pleading at me, must have been my lucky day. Gosh! I can never say ‘No’, to this. “I am free …do you have any plans already?” I asked putting to use my superior questioning abilities at work.

“Ha Ha” Was that a laugh? The accented style of her saying “like ..no!’ was funny enough. “How about tomorrow?” she wanted to make sure with that confirmed reply.

“Fine with me …just tell me, when and where?”

“Why don’t you suggest some place, Mister” She let out a loud sigh.  “Ok ..Palladium. As it is I am there tomorrow.”

“Ah! Sounds great dude, so palladium it is …tomorrow.”  The voice went silent for some time when suddenly, “at what time you will be reaching there Arnish?”

Like always I forget to mention the little but important things. “Be there at around 6!”

“I’ll be there by 5:59 ok.” She chuckled teasingly.

Like the base ball hitting the bat, it struck to me “And! One more thing Trisha…” I waited for the silence to fill in.

“Yeah Arnish?” she questioned back, with a lingering doubt.

“Trusha…Don’t keep me waiting.”

“Bye”

We both hung up. I was still staring at the slowly diminishing light on phone screen.

If you enjoyed reading this short fiction story then you will surely love to read Wait Part 1.

The Wait – Part 2 – short fiction story, 6.8 out of 10 based on 9 ratings