“…and I'll think of some
way to get him back! After all, tomorrow is another day!”
She let out a silent, hollow laugh as she
went over those last lines of her favourite book again. She closed the book with
finality and then stared at the half torn cover page for a while. With the torn
half, Rhett Butler seemed to be wistfully pouting over the body of a headless
woman.
She smiled and put the book down, and a small gust of wind flipped it
open again. She placed her phone on the book to hold the pages in place.
“It’s
getting windy; I should probably get my jacket”
She got up but then sat down again.
“Or
maybe a little later.”
She looked at her phone again; he should
have called by now.
Oh C’mon! Maybe he got stuck somewhere. Again. Or maybe it
just slipped his mind to call. Again.
A chill ran down her spine as another gush
of wind came. She took a sip of the coffee from the mug, only to realize that it
had been sitting out way too long to be able to induce the slightest bit of
warmth in her. She sniffled as she
bundled her body together, wrapping her arms around her legs.
She realized it was a quiet evening when
she could hear the sound of a woman giggling with joy in the distance. Every
now and then she would also hear a man’s voice singing a tune that she couldn't really tell, but it would always raise the sound of the woman’s giggles a pitch
higher. She stressed her ears to be able to make out the song but she couldn't,
all she could hear clearly was the woman’s hearty laugh- a happy, contented
laugh. She placed her hands over her ears and closed her eyes.
Just call! Just this once!
The phone rang.
It was her mom.
She thought of just declining the call but
then chose to answer it quickly. “Yes ma,
I am almost done. Will be there in a bit. Love you” She disconnected and
stared at the screen of her phone again.
FINE! Don’t Call ! If you can do without me, then so can I!
Angrily, she swung around to get up, losing her
balance off the ledge of the terrace. In the next moment, with a harsh thud, she
landed head-first onto the hard concrete road below.
On the terrace the phone kept ringing.
Jaanu calling.
