The CNBC channel had organized an investor meeting for the 4th of January. Being an avid investor in the stocks Raj decided to attend the meeting. Destiny played its part he had a beautiful neighbour Aditi who was an avid investor in the stocks herself. They hit off instantly with the initial talks veering around stock markets and their portfolios.

The very next day, Aditi found a message from Raj, “the markets seem to be going up, which stock do you recommend.”

Aditi replied, “Infosys obviously.” And she rattled off the numbers of the stock, what with the PE ratio, the yearly sales figures, etc.

A few days lapsed and Aditi had a new message for Raj, ” I am planning to leave my job, and wasn’t sure with whom could I discuss it, do you have a minute”.

“I always have time for my friends. Tell me do you have a job in hand, or are you leaving without one?”

“I don’t have a job in hand, but my boss at office is a big jerk and I can’t stand him any more, I have to leave.”

“Correct me if I am wrong, but I think you have an EMI on your house? The one you had recently purchased?”

“Yes, I do have it, but I am sure I will land a job in a month’s time, so I am not worried about the EMI.”

“What if you don’t get a job in Mumbai, are you willing to relocate?”

“I have got a few interviews this week and something will turn out positive.”

Aditi felt lighter after discussing the matter with Raj and realized that all she needed was someone she could confide in and discuss her inner feelings with. She had already taken the decision, but talking to Raj convinced her that she had made the right decision.

On the other hand Raj was thinking to himself that he generally never talks like this with others, what is it that happens to him when he is talking to Aditi; he never involves himself so much in others life.

The day wasn’t complete either for Raj or Aditi until they had talked to each other.

Aditi would make it a point to discuss all her day’s happenings with Raj. She would tell him not only about the stocks she was interested in, but also about her problems at home, the never ending demands that her siblings were placing on her. He became her sounding board and she found herself going to him for any problem she was facing.

Raj too would discuss his dreams with Aditi, he was looking to get a green card for himself and settle down in the USA. He had big dreams of becoming a multi millionaire and was looking to getting married and settling down.

It had been over a year now and both had become thick friends. To any onlooker it appeared as if their relationship would last the normal ups and downs of life.

One of these days, Raj happened to have an argument with Aditi.

Raj said, “My colleague broke up with his girl friend of a year by a sms. A sms is all it took for him to break the relationship.”

Aditi appeared very relaxed and was not even a bit surprised about it.

“Don’t you think that what my friend did was wrong? Are relationships so fragile that a sms is all it takes to break it? How can someone break a relationship, when one has spend so much time together, discussing their dreams and problems, the sad and happy times with each other?”

“Why are you getting so emotionally involved in someone else’s life? You need to realize that life is like that people turn from strangers to friends and back to being enemy. These things happen in everyone’s life.”

“Can you do something like this? Can you see us being strangers Aditi?”

Now Aditi had not expected things to turn personal, she was enjoying Raj’s company and wanted the status quo to remain for as long as possible.

When she could no longer take in the emotional tirade of Raj, she said lackadaisically, “but natural the relationships these days are fragile. All it takes is a press of a delete key and someone is out of your life.”

Raj was shocked to hear Aditi talk like that, he ventured, “So you think that pressing a delete is all it will take for you to forget me?”

Aditi replied as a matter of fact, “Do you think that I am your friend, ours is just a casual relationship, the day I get bored, all I need to do is press a delete key and you are out of my life. In these days of messengers and walls, these virtual relationships don’t hold any importance. I think we are just screens in each other’s lives, and screens after all have no importance in the lives of human beings.” With that, she hit the delete key and that was the end of the virtual relationship that she shared with someone whose screen name was Raj and she was immersed in animated discussions with Rahul.

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About this Guest Writer – Pooja Shah, I am a chartered accountant and have been working as an IT Consultant for last few years, writing is my hobby and I like to write short stories.