Maya’s return chapter 4

Maya’s return

“yes! Yes! Yes!” “What happened and why are you so happy?” “he gave it, a second chance. He is extremely pissed but he gave it.” “and you’re happy for that?” “he’ll come around. He can’t be pissed for long. At least not at me” “Oh believe me he can and is pissed at you, especially you more than me.” “How do you know that Abhi?” he drew in a deep breath and spoke in a heavy tone “I’m just using what he taught me. I’m stalking him, I’ve been doing that ever since that shit happened between you two.” “Why?” “I knew that this day would come someday. I knew that he could live without any friends, still can. I knew that you would need him back; eventually” “how come you know that?”“Another trick I picked from him; reading the human emotions” “and how come he knows that?” she questioned him “you develop a few skills when you have no social contact. It taught him. Loneliness taught him.” “Now you are starting to speak like him”

“So you’re going after him eh?” Maya’s mom popped her head in her room “Yeah mom! Just don’t let dad know about this. He will literary put him behind bars. He just hates him especially after that fight.” “I won’t. I like him, in spite of his reckless and ill mannered behavior” “Thanks mom. Uh! Mom can I shift to his high school? I know I cannot get him back from here.” “Anything for you dear!” she smiles and leaves the room.

“That was your mom??” Abhishek asked her with wide eye and a frog like voice “THAT was your mom???” “Yep.” “and she is letting you go after a boy who beat her husband to pulp?” “Yep.” “I don’t get your family at all.” “you don’t have to. Let’s just say that my mom kinda has a secret crush on Ravi. ;)” “Holy COW” “now shut up. I have to get registered at his school by tomorrow” “let’s go then.” “you wanna tag along?” “Look dude, no offence to your family’s economy but I don’t think that your moms gonna have the cash required for the registrations and advance payment right now and uh… the bank is pretty far away.” “and you have that amount?” “yeah, I got a job you dumbo.” “ok. Guess it’s admission fees for admission fees”

“hey moma were going out.” She shouts towards “k. just be home before dinner and hey Abhi-” “yes aunty” “don’t leave my daughter alone.” “OK aunty. You don’t have to say that.” ‘ok now the same bullshit is happening with me. What’s up with our fates any way’ and he starts to laugh. “stop laughing you moron. It ain’t funny.” “it’s not this. It’s my situation. Its somehow very similar to Ravi’s situation.” What do you mean by that?” “let’s get out shall we I will tell you on the way. And it’s a long way.” And so they get out. Abhishek tells her about what he heard on the phone and what he saw through his gadgets.

“and how did you heard that?” Maya asks Abhi after listening to the account of his observation. “I had placed a call bug on his phone. Although it’s not as high tech as the bugs he uses it is still useful compared to an radio frequency bug.” “And where do you get these?” “he has a lot of contact on the black market. He showed me some people. Must I add your questions have a lot of ‘And’s  p.s judging from your questions I say that you didn’t know that so I gonna shut up now.” He ended his long talk with this sentence. They were walking side by side and if a normal person was to look, they would definitely think that both of them were a couple. But they weren’t, best friends were all they were. He looks at her glowing face, sunny as the weather around them, fresh as the humid air signaling the arrival of monsoon. They had been together for like about 3years now(one year after Maya and Ravi first met) and yeah they had and still are best buddies. But today something happened. Something innocent inside him awoke at that moment.

They registered into the school and bought the books. The next day was her first day at LP high, the day that she would finally see Ravi after much awaited 3 months. As soon as she reached home she jumped with joy. She was so happy that she kissed Abhishek on the cheek “Oh thank you thank you thank you soooo much. Thanks for this Abhi.” He said nothing but just smiled. A child was being born inside of him, a child so innocent, so naive ,a child who doesn’t know the difference between friendship and love. After about half hour he left but Maya was so lost in her own happiness that she didn’t even notice.

He woke with sweat on his eyebrows and a wet vest. He woke up as a sudden shock overcame his body. he woke up in pain. That’s who he is, who he’s always been; a defected piece. He looks at his cell purely out of instinct, a message: don’t forget to pick me up. He looks at the time 5:15. Perfect. He goes to the bathroom and freshens up, puts on his black hood and walks out of the house with a cigarette on his lips. “hey aunty. A coffee please.”“Ravi, THROW THAT CIG out. Caffeine and nicotine is not a great combination.”  “it seems like you speak with experience!” she sighs “Yes.” He gives a look at her and with that look she pours him a hot cup of coffee. A few seconds after that she gives another look and calls her niece “Hey Aasha, your guy’s here” within literary seconds after the call she enters the café and pours herself a coffee, extra dark. She looks at his cup “you prefer extra dark coffee too?” this was her first sentence of the day. Not hi, or good morning but a question about coffee. “yeah. Why can’t I like it?” “no, it’s just odd that two people who’ve just met share such common preference.” “you haven’t known me and if you were to know me you would find me just like the coffee.” “then I will like it, all dark and bitter” “What the fu**?” ‘is she flirting with me?’ “Hey, control your mouth around my niece will you?” “Ok aunty. And the desks will be done today.” “No need. It’s already done and besides you’ve got your own shit to deal with.” “so shall we go?” Aasha asks with her usual sweet voice.” “Yeah. Let’s go” with these words they part the café together and walk slowly into the morning. The timing i.e. 5:30 am is perfect. The sun has just risen but the yellow light is not there yet, it’s just a light shade of grey but up in the sky the clouds are of bright orange and scarlet of color. The cool breeze makes this time Oh, so peaceful.

He looks at her and he just finds her more beautiful than the day before. The grey shade on her brown leather jacket and black jeans, her fair skin, her round nose, her hazel eyes and her not so big lips was perfect. She looked like a dark angel sent straight for him. As they walk in silence, in the cool of the morning breeze Ravi notices a slight heaviness in her mood. “hey dude? What’s wrong?” she jerks as if she just came to life “It’s nothing. Just a bunch of flash backs and memories.” A calm toned voice “A walk down the memory lane is painful but sometimes the pleasure is in the pain itself” a rise in her voice “Where the hell did you came with that?” “let’s just say   I’ve<Air quote> ‘been there done that’<Air quote>” she looks at him with her cute watery eyes “my mom, she once brought me here and we followed this very same path. We actually came to visit aunt Yasmin but she wasn’t here and we returned back. This path, this quietness just brings back memories” “where is your mom anyway?” a pearl of teardrop falls from her eyes “She’s dead!”

Ravi looks at her with a sorry face “I’m sorry. Didn’t know that.” And pulls her near him she in turn rests her head on his soldiers and cries there. ‘what the hell is this feeling? Why am I leaning on him for support. I barely know this guy but It he just feels safe. ’They walk, with her head on his soldiers and his arm around hers and soon they reach their school. “There is someone waiting for you Ravi bhai” the guard says as soon as he sees him and then winks at him. Not caring about the look of the guard they walk to their classroom. “hey Aasha can I confess something?” “Yeah” her voice so low that one could barely hear it. He smiles and holds her face up in his palm “you look cute when you cry.” “shut up” “no seriously. I’ve never seen anyone look that cute when they cry.” She smiles, showing her glowing face with two sparkling across her cheeks. He wipes them up. “yeah but look better while smiling.” Before they enter the class Aasha asks him a question “Why are you doing this? I mean you barely even know me and yet you are supporting me like we’ve best friends forever” “that’s simple dumbo. I care too much, and Yasmin told me to do so. I guess that is among a few good things that I have” and he smiles and they both enter the class with smile on their faces.

“Ravi. Its Soo good see you after such a long time!” and a hand hugs him in the door way. “Maya? What the fu** are doing here?” “Maya? Love P.M” Aasha’s voice rose as she saw Maya. Maya looked at Aasha “Black Rose? What the heck are you doing here?” “Black rose?” Ravi let himself go of Maya’s unwanted embrace and looked sharply at Aasha. “Uh… yeah that’s my facebook name.” and she let out a wide grin. “Pardon the expression but the fuck kind of name is that?” “And look who’s talking” Maya said in a sarcastic voice “the one who’s Facebook name is Stoic Wraith” “thought that was your Pen name!” “Uhh, it’s my facebook name too” and he let out a grin as a reply to Aasha’s grin. “ok so you are the Maya who he’s pissed at?” “Guess so” and the girls grinned at each other. “just get a seat will ya.” “wait I’ve got something to ask ‘black rose’ first, how come you to know each other?” “Uh.. I’m his neighbor Duh!” he shakes his head and sits and Aasha follows him closely.

She sits right besides her. Aasha whispers to him “So what happened between you two?” “not the time, not the place. I will tell you but at home. She has sharp ears.” “I can’t wait for the day to end” “stop whispering morons.” “told you! hehe”

The day ended with Maya trying in vain to talk to Ravi and Ravi avoiding her as much as he could all the while both talking to Aasha. “Why are you avoiding me?” Maya finally said at the end of the class “Because I’m pissed, pissed at you. Abhi might have said this to you” she stood there with mouth open wide with surprise. “How did you-“ “I bugged him!” he interrupted her “what do you mean by bugged him?” “it didn’t took long for me to find out that he bugged my cell so I bugged his favorite t-shirt and some of his jeans.” “can’t you ever forgive me?” “maybe one day I will but till that day, try not to piss me off more will you?” she looked down and walked away. No doubt she was sad. On her way back she met Aasha who had gone to the washroom “Hey, can I have your number? It looks like I’ma need a girl friend. I have none.” “sure thing. Here 98******” she gave one of her sweet smiles and walked towards Ravi. “what happened?” “I told her the truth, about how I am currently feeling about her.” She shook her head with a smile “couldn’t you have lied?” “well she needed to hear that and I’ve never lied to her” just then his cell phone rings “yo, what’s the deal?” “it has arrived.” “took you long enough, it’ll  probably be half an hour for me to reach home, the windows open so throw it there. I’ll have mine sent to your account” “Done”

“who was that?” “you wanna hear the truth?” “obviously yes!” “weed dealer.” “get outa town! Really?” “I admit that lying is my second nature but err… for some reason I can’t seem to lie to you” ‘and why the hell did I just reveal my weakness?” “I wanna watch!” “WHAT?” “I wanna watch you smoke weed. I haven’t really seen one do that.” “then be at my house by 5.” “ok sure thing”

They walk silently. Both had their own things to think of. While Ravi was thinking of this re-entry of Maya, Aasha was surprised at the discovery of his new side. Ravi was sad, his past had come back to him again. As they walk memories fly past before his eyes and before he could say a single word they had arrived at their home. “so see you later?” “yeah see you. Give me a call in about half an hour. I’ll come there and we will go to my house from there.” “don’t bother, I will come there. After all I wanna see how my guard dogs kennel looks like.” She said this with a wide grin on her face “you’re always welcome.” He replied not paying much attention to her.

He reaches home and takes a shot of “Ruslan Vodka” and then washes his face. he turns his laptop on and opens his facebook, one he hadn’t done for almost 5 months now. 35 inbox messages and 125 notifications and 2 friend requests. He looks through them with super speed (Most of the messages were from Maya, some were from Abhi and others were from a few of the people he dared to add as friends) and he opens his blog(which surprisingly has about 50 followers) and starts typing

“dear blog, #2186

Maya is back and she’s back with a mission to reclaim me back. It’s been 6 months now since that shit happened and yet the ghosts of the past follow me. My mind is blank. It’s no surprise that I’m still very angry at her but something inside me is craving to give her a chance to prove herself. That feeling of friendship doesn’t die just like that. She had once relayed a quote to me “life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain” well this is me trying to dance in the rain(I’m a sloppy dancer) so why is she trying to take me home, why is she telling me to wait?
     “you cannot outrun your past- prince of Persia” is it really true??? Life has taught me many lessons so maybe this time its teaching me one. she had helped me to run away from myself, taught me the feeling of belonging, the feeling of having a head to lean on. And then she abandoned me. Is it fair???  I don’t know but it sure as hell is painful. Hope to get over this pain as soon as possible”

Maya walks slowly to her home devastated at Ravi’sthis reaction. Her tears glistened in the sun as her hair swayed back and forth hiding her face. the half hour walked seemed to last forever now that she was as sad as hell. ‘he has changed, apparently a lot than I thought. How did he become so dark? So enraged? So ruthless? The Ravi I once knew is gone and all I now see is a dark him’. She reaches her room, goes inside and slams the door. “honey is everything okay??” “NO!” and the house goes quiet for a brief moment. She locks the door, buries her head on her pillow and cries.

“it is better now” she speaks to herself after half an hour. She picks up her phone and dials a number “sup dude?” “hey, come to my place ASAP.” “you crying?” “Fu**! How the hell did you know?” “your voice. It gets a little bit cranky when you cry. I’ll be there in 15minutes. Just don’t do anything stupid will ya?” “I won’t.” and Abhi hangs up.

He comes sooner than he had said “Maya it’s me open the damn door!” she opens it and hugs him as soon as he sees him. “calm down and tell me what happened?” “he was so mean. I thought that he was just upset but I saw a beast inside him today. He wasn’t himself. He was some dark version of himself. What happened in the past 6 months?” “as far as I know, he took the easy way out. We were his life and when we left him he had two options; forgive us and risk getting hurt again or live a life of solitude and go rouge again. He chose the second one. the way I see it its fair for him to be enraged. We did bad dude. We pushed him too hard” she just hugged him and he could feel tears on his soldiers. “You know what lets change the topic. He will come around eventually. You just gotta be patient!” “he bugged you!” “what?” “he bugged you. As a matter of fact this t-shirt that you are wearing is bugged too and your jeans could be bugged too” he looked at her in awe, not knowing what to do “That sonovabitch.”

Soon it was night and it was time for Abhi to leave “thanks for being there” and she gave him a kiss on the cheek. That innocent kid inside him awoke again, that feeling awoke again. ‘could I have??? No this can’t be!’

‘knock knock’ he opened his eyes and lazily walked to the door. “its 5” Aasha walked in his house. He followed her a few steps behind. “welcome to my dump!” “it is nice. It needs to be cleaned but it’s nice” “thanks for the compliment!” they sat down and Ravi took out a box containing some plastic packets. He took out one of the packets. It contained some dried grass like stuff. “so is this what you call weed?” “yes, this specific type is called the blue prince. Strong but short effect.” He then takes out another plastic packet from underneath his couch it still was the dried grass stuff but it was much rougher “now this one is the local marijuana. Its effect varies from person to person. I’m gonna mix these two weeds to make them strong and long lasting” and so he begins. He takes out a packet of cigarette from the side of the couch and empties the tobacco from the single cig. He then pours the local weed into the blue prince’s bag and shakes them and then fills them into the cigarette. All this time Aasha was looking at him with awe. ‘guess this is his dark side. This is the broken window.’ He lights his now customized stick of pot and takes a long puff. The room instantly smells funny. After that he cleans the mess and goes back to smoking weed. He takes long puffs and soon he finishes his stick. Meanwhile Aasha was looking at him, with her jaw wide open. After the pot he takes out a jumbo bottle of Ruslan vodka and pours himself one “you want one?” she nods. He goes to the kitchen after pouring two shots of vodka.

She takes out her laptop and opens her blog and starts to type

“blog entry #1569

I just witnessed someone preparing and smoking a cocktail of different weed. The whole process took just about 15 minutes. I was shocked to see his this side (Ravi). A new character of my life Ravi. He is my neighbor next door and he just gives me all those mushy feelings. You know those first crush types but I don’t know why I feel these feelings. It’s only been 2 days after all. I don’t know him at all and I don’t know why am I even shocked. But something is amiss here.

I actually leaned on him for support today and he let me considering the fact that we just met yesterday morning. It feels like I can trust him completely and he trusts me completely. You meet thousands of people, and none of them really touch you. And then you meet one person, and your life is changed forever. Could he be that kind of person for me???? My head is full of questions and no answers. -_-“

And she closes her laptop.  After a while he comes back with two plates and two ‘on the rock’ glasses. “let’s drink today. It’s been a while since I had guest.” And he puts them down. In the plate was beautifully cooked omelets and some pan cake. He then went to the refrigerator and takes out a large bottle of Royal stag Rum along with some pickles. She quickly empties her vodka and settles down. “so what are we drinking to?” “Maya’s return!” “why??” “I actually don’t know. The weed must be getting to me.” They smiled, they drank till the bottle was empty. Ravi got asleep while talking so Aasha cleaned up the plates and left him, placing a pillow and a blanket sheet over him before leaving.

The new girl chapter 3

The new girl
He woke up to the irritating sound of the alarm buzzing. As soon as he woke up he turned it off and checked the date. It was Sunday and it was 4 am “What the f***? I have to get ready for school” saying this he shakes his head. It seems like he is still hung-over, even after sleeping for an entire day. He walks towards his fridge, grabs some soda and drinks it, and then goes to bathroom to freshen up. At around 5am he shoots to the café next door “Don’t tell me that you slept the entire day yesterday!” comes the greeting “Uh…hello Yasmin aunty and yes I did.” “You are even more messed up than her.” “Thanks for the compliment... I’d like my coffee now” he replies the aunt with a fake smile. She turns on the coffee machine and walks in to get some more of the coffee “hey aunty, can you bring up a big box cigarette please, I’m all out!” “You ain’t gonna get one”. She returns after about 10 minutes with a long box of cigarette and a packet of coffee. He takes the box, pays her, drinks the now lukewarm coffee and leaves towards his home and there he smokes one cigarette. After about 10 minutes he leaves walking slowly and quietly. In the early mornings he is still a dark figure and he walks so gracefully that he almost seems like a shadow ghost, reappearing and disappearing into the very shadow itself.
He reaches his school about half an hour later and then greets the guard, then runs to his class. He turns on the light and begins to sketch. He sketches from the deepest, darkest corner of his heart and the outcome of it is a dark beast. The beast he so passionately calls “the wraith”. The body’s outline is humanly. It has a burned face with strands of skin still remaining at the cheeks so that it’s not completely bone. It still has eye which is dark blue in color. The body is just human, without the skin but it’s all black with dark mater seeping out like the vapor. It has a pant but it too is dark. Finishing his sketch he puts his earphone on and closes his eye
She wakes up to the sight of her aunt going out with a large box of cigarettes. “Hey aunty, what’s that for?” “It’s for a customer” and saying that she walks out to run the café. “Who the hell smokes that much cig?” mumbling that she walks to bathroom to freshen up. Then it suddenly occurs to her, today is her first day at the high school. She freshens up and then packs up her bag. “Hey aunty can you drop me to my high school today? I really don’t remember the way.” “It’s on the road straight ahead. If you still don’t see the school give me a call and if you meet Ravi tell him that I’m gonna need his help today. He’ll know what to do.” She makes an awkward face and replies “And who the hell is Ravi?” “From the sound of that you obviously haven’t met him. Um… if you go right now he is gonna be the only student there. He is wearing a dark purple hood and black jeans with black converse shoes today.” “OK. Bye aunty!” and with these words she leaves the house
She walks silently on her sneakers, in the dark of the dawn, slowly but methodically. It’s the way she has been walking ever since her mother died. From afar it looks like a shadow gracefully moving like a breeze. Soon she reaches the high school. “Hey Dai, is this LP high?” “Yes miss and judging from that it seems that you are new here. Am I right miss?” “Yes. Um… could you tell me where the room of ‘commerce first year’ is?” “It’s the one with the light on. It’s in the 1st floor first room to the right. Have a nice day miss.” “Why of course thank you dai” and she walks to the room pleased with the greeting of the guard. As soon as she enters the room she sees this cute guy with earphones on, resting his head on a bench behind, with a sketch of a hideous beast on a sketch book in front of him. ‘Wow! It’s hideous and scary but it’s awesome art and this guy drew that? Is he Ravi?’ looking closely she thinks about what her aunt said <. He is wearing a dark purple hood and black jeans with black converse shoes today> well it seems to be him. “UM… Ravi??”
Her sweet voice penetrates right through the loud music on his earphone. ‘I think I’ve heard this voice somewhere.’ He opens his one eye and right in front of him he sees a not so bad looking girl with leather jacket and dark pant in front of him. “Yes! But who the heck are you?” a brief silence for he didn’t knew what to say and she didn’t know how to reply “err… well that was rude. Sorry but who are you anyway?” “I’m Aasha, aunt Yasmin’s niece…” “Well that explains a lot of things. What does she want me to do now?” “She just said that she needs some help, and that you would understand what to do.” She replies his question in a submissive and super sweet voice. ‘Where have I heard this voice before?’ “Did she think that I’m a prophet or what?” he looks at the sketch and smiles after saying this out loud. “Uh… I don’t know.” And with these words she puts the bag down and sits. “Don’t...” “Don’t what?” “Don’t sit there, the, sorry for the words, bitches sit there.” “What do you mean?” she asks him feeling a little offended.  “The <air quote>bitches of this class sit there< air quote>”. She looks at him with a look of awe in her eyes ‘thought I was the only one who air quoted. He might not be so bad after all despite his rudeness’ “Oh then where can I sit? I mean is there any place free for me?” he sighs and after what seems like an hour of silence (actually it was just a few seconds) he speaks “there is but I don’t think that you’ll like the company.” And he points beside him. “Why are you so bad? I’ve liked your company so far. And why isn’t anyone sitting beside you?” “Same old story, know no one here, have no intention of knowing anyone here. Although the geeks have shown their <dramatic voice>oh so great pity<dramatic voice> on me I still don’t know anyone.” “You may not be so bad after all. And I have no choice either.” He nods in agreement and pulls his bag aside to let her sit. “Hey, what is that sketch anyway?” “Oh that piece of shit?”’Oops I let my mouth flow again’ “sorry for the language!” “No big deal.” “It’s just something I drew out of boredom” “it’s amazing. The beast is hideous but the art is amazing” “glad you like it” she noticed two small letters at the corner of the art O.F.
<BEEP> he picks up his cell “Oi Ravi has Aasha reached there?” “Yes Yasmin aunty and what did you think? That I was a prophet?” “UH she was talking about the desks that I had to move around. I texted you last night” “in case you have forgotten I was drunk slash asleep all day yesterday.” “Oh! Never mind. Make sure that she settles there well k? I trust you with her!” “Do you think I’m a guard dog or something?” “You be nice with her” “ok fine I will look after her”’ wonder why I just said that I barely even know her’ “bye Ravi” and she hangs up the phone. “What did she say?” Aasha was waiting for the answer with anticipation “that I’m gonna be your guard dog!” he replied in a sarcastic tone “and you agreed?” “Why wouldn’t I she has been more of a mother than my own mother.” Well with that said there was a silence among them. Neither one of them knew what to say. Both of them had found a friend but it was still too early for them to realize.
Time passed and soon it was time for the first period to begin. The nerds were the first to enter the class after them and as soon as they entered they greeted Ravin but failed to gather up enough courage to talk to Aasha. After they settled down Aasha finally laughed. A laughter broke, that was absent from her mouth for so long. “What’s the matter with them anyway?” “And that’s why they are called nerds. Ba Dum Tss” ‘Did I just laugh? Why am I feeling so at home with this stranger? Why is he so familiar?’ this question ran on her mind as she realized that she had just laughed after a long time. She didn’t realize this but she was looking at the board with numb expressions. Ravi was familiar to this feeling, to this look, it’s what got him bonded with Maya in the first place; his understanding of other peoples pain. “Hey what happened? Why these sudden moods swing?” “It’s nothing” and she fakes a smile “Don’t even dare!” “Dare what?” “Dare to fake a smile. I can see right through them.” surprised at his this ability she asks him “Are you and aunt Yasmin taking some sort of class? Cause she said the same thing to be yesterday morning” “It’s something we learn, out of pain, seeing others in pain and being in one. She won’t ever tell you but she’s been through a lot. I’ve seen it all.” “Wow you really are an observer aren’t you?” “Nah not much”
“There’s more to you than that meets the eye” “what?” Ravi asks surprised at her this sudden outburst. She had been quiet for past two periods and throughout the lunch during which he sat alone and ate for she needed some time to think. “It’s a dialogue from the movie ‘Transformer’” “why this dialogue?” “It fits perfect for your character. You are more than what can be seen.” “Well I’ve got a saying of my own, think of it as a counter dialogue. ‘I’m not a graceful person. I am not a Sunday morning or Friday sunset. I’m a Tuesday 2am, I am gunshots muffed by a few city blocks; I am a broken window during February.’” “Wow! That is deep. Never took you for a deep guy to be honest.” “It hasn’t even been a day and you have…” “I do that a lot.” And she gave a wide grin. Then she let out a small laughter “what happened? Did I say something funny?” “No. it’s just… it’s only been a few hours and yet it feels like I know you better than I already do!” “And, excuse the expression, ‘the feeling is fucking mutual’ ”then both of then sat quiet for they had no more words to say. The next three hours went in silence. After the class one of the Nerd, Santosh calls him “Hey Ravi, what’s with the girl?” “There’s nothing. I just found out that she is my neighbor and rest, I was just following Yasmin’s command.” “Man she is cute. Do you think I have a chance with her?” Santosh, now was a typical nerd. He wore powered glasses, wore plain t-shirt, plain jeans and carried big bunch of books. If one were to remove his books and glass he was a fine guy. “UH… No! You could if you listen to what I say but I know you won’t do it. And I’ve said this many times to you guys, there’s more to life than books but you don’t listen to me.” “OK OK. You could’ve just said no. enough with your Baba Emotional lectures.” “Ok man I gotta go. See you ‘morrow!” “Yeah see you”
“what was that all about?” Aasha asks Ravin as soon as he returns back to her. “he wanted to see if he had a chance with you.” “And...?” “And what??“ “What did you say?” “That he didn’t!” a sign of relief was clearly visible of her face “But why?” “You’re not that DD type of girl, you know Date and Ditch” “well you got that right, better get going though don’t you think?” “Yeah! And extra classes don’t start till next Sunday so yeah let’s go.”
They walk back from the school slowly and quietly, enjoying the company of each other as much as they can. That however doesn’t lasts long as it is disturbed by a call ‘MAYA calling’. He picks up her call “What?” he shouts “What do you want?”
From the other side Maya replies “A second chance! Yaar why can’t you forgive me? Forgive us?” “What the fu** do you mean by us? Is that sonovabitch there too?” “Yes Abhi is here too.” “Give the damn phone to him!” “Ravi??” came the reply as Abhishek speaks. “Yaar why?”Ravi’s voice softens as he begs for an answer “because you were a Dumbass. Cause you held back. Every school has its own bullies but you, you held back when you could have retaliated, so we got used to it and unwittingly you became a part of our lives. You were one of us man.” this soft but strong reply from Abhi woke something inside of Ravi, something that he had buried a long time ago, Wrath. He was at times angry, yes but he was never wrathful “But I had enough. It’s better to be alone, than to have a Jackass for a friend. Give the phone to her” Maya from the other side quietly picks up the phone “If you are so sorry I’m gonna give a second chance to you, both of you. Don’t fail me.” And the wrathful Ravi pushes the phone back into his pocket as he shouts the last of his words.
Meanwhile Aasha was looking at his face all throughout the conversation and smiling. ’He looks like the type of person I could trust. He is damaged and may be able to understand what I’m going through. Funny, he reminds me a lot of Dad’ “what did I say something funny?” Ravi’s question breaks her stream of thought “No! Err… it’s actually the words you spoke-““what?” “Yeah, Even when you were so <Air quote> pissed off <Air quote> you were willing to give them a second chance. That is really something” he faked smiled back at her not so bad face. “Who were they anyway?” “No one that has anything to do with you.” A silence “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry into your private life.” “What the fu** yaar. Why am I even thinking about this?” “About what?” “About telling you all the shit in my life, why am I so desperate?” “So don’t. Don’t tell me now but you gotta tell it to someone. And I know that it’s strange but the feelings mutual.” A silence for a few seconds “Um… can I have your cell number?”Aasha breaks the silence “yeah sure its 98********(this was not the number that he uses as a Outcasted Phantom).”  “Ok, I will give you a miss call and then you can feat my number it on your cell. So see you later?” “Yeah sure!”
Ravi storms into his house with a throbbing heart full of pain and he takes a shot of vodka and walks all the way up to the steam room where he punches the hell out of punching bag and tires himself to sleep.
Meanwhile Aasha looks on from the window as he punches the bag. So involved in this activity was he that he forgot what they had talked about in the morning. “Hey Aasha, When is he gonna come?” “I don’t think that he will” she replies in a soft sad voice “What the hell do you mean by that?” “Look for yourself.” And she pointed out of the window, from where they could see Ravi punching the bag like his life depended on it. “What happened with him Aasha?” “He got a call, from someone named ‘Maya’ and think he got Very pissed after that” “Damn he is really hurting. I can’t see him like this. I’m going down. Uhh… come down when you’re done with your observation will ya?” “yeah sure” ‘it’s strange that I feel so cuddly just by seeing him. What is going on with me? May be its just because he reminds me a lot of dad’ she smiles and watches as he tires himself to sleep. After a while she walks downstairs and asks her aunt “Hey Yasmin aunty what happened with him? I’ve met a lot of people but have never seen anyone like him. He is somehow like glowing shadow.” “wow that’s some expression for someone you’ve just met. Are you attracted towards him?” she makes a poker face (-_-) and replies “just answer the question.” “why don’t you ask him yourself?” “I’m not sure if he will ever tell me. He said “I am not a Sunday morning or Friday sunset. I’m a Tuesday 2am, I am gunshots muffed by a few city blocks; I am a broken window during February.” When I said that he is more than that meets the eye.” “he said that?” Yasmin asked surprised “yeah why?” “he usually reserves the quotes of the ‘stoic wraith’ for special occasions. And apparently he saw a special occasion with you. Don’t worry dear he will definitely tell you.” “stoic wrath? What in the world is that?” “it’s what he calls himself, you know a pen name. he is really interested into arts and literature so he kina writes short stories and sketches usually just to express how he feels and to get the emotions out of his head” “it seems like you two are pretty close.” ‘stoic wraith?? A ghost?? That’s some alias.’ “yeah I guess so.” Yasmin said that just realizing that she may actually be right. That night Aasha sends a text not being able to held the urge
“hello stoic wraith<aunt Yasmin told me this>. :D hey I saw you punch that bag like your life depended on it. Looks like you could really use a friend. You said that you are Tuesday two am, a broken window in February, well I might just like them if you show me what it really is. Soo friends?? I could really use one. And Oi pick me up tomorrow before going to school hai, the road is really lonely alone”. And he replied
“I’ma kill Yasmin. Ok Friends, and ok I will pick you up. Now good night and sleep its already midnight”

The guy in the hood chapter 2

The guy in the hood
“What the hell is happening with my life?” she questions herself as she looks outside the bus window. “Why am I like this? Maybe it has something to do with the death of my mom… or the way my dad lived. Why has he sent me here all of a sudden? Am I such a burden to him? He knows that he is the only one I have left; he knows the side effects of being alone, then why? Why is he doing this?” with these questions, doubt running on her mind she reaches her stop and gets off. From the window she sees a familiar face; aunt Yasmin. As soon as she gets out of the bus she greets her with a warm hug and a genuinely reassuring smile “look Aasha I know that you have a lot of question about your dad. In time I will answer all of those questions, but for now let’s get you settled.” “Okay. Let’s go then.” they get into another bus and get off at the out skirts of the city. She then shows Aasha her room as soon as they reach their home.
Aasha has a lot to adjust to. The first thing is of course living with an aunt whom she barely knows; the other thing is to adjust to the environment that she has just arrived in. After all, she is just a normal teenager with a bad past. Her mother passed away when she was about 10 years old. Her father never married again, for he loved his wife and their daughter. After her death he dove in the deep sea of alcohol and work. Aasha could do nothing but watch as her father cried in pain. She too felt the pain and cried; sometimes they cuddled and cried together, at other times they cried alone. As soon as she finished elementary school he sent her here. Leaving her elementary school and her community didn’t bother her for she had no close friends. The only thing that bothered her was how suddenly this happened.
For the next two days she locks herself in her room leaving only to go to toilet and eat. She spends the entire day listening to music. The third day she helps her aunt setup the café. That night she suddenly misses her parents a lot, more than before. So after Yasmin sleeps she goes to the café silently and makes herself a dark coffee, with equal amount of sugar and coffee powder and turns on soft music but the music only amplifies the pain of memories. Trying to be brave she holds on her tears but soon it gets too much for her and she bursts out crying. “Dad, it’s only been 3 days here and I already miss you.” She says these words as she looks on to their picture on her laptop. Tears just roll down her eyes and she sobs silently. After a while she hears a knock on the door. “Who the heck is knocking at this time of night?” her sadness suddenly turns into irritation. Grumbling these words she stands up and walks towards the door. Being cautious she opens the door slowly but sees no one. All that is there is a note saying “Hey! Welcome to LP. Sorry for eavesdropping but I kina heard your sobbing. Lighten up dude.–your neighbor, Outcasted Phantom”. “Outcasted phantom, what kind of name is that?” then she remembers that she too has a fake name, an alias, called ‘Obscure Hope’ meaning ‘hidden hope’. Since the death of her mother she has been seeking peace in words, so she writes poems under her alias. “Guess I ain’t the only one who has such a strange alias but who is…” It was just a note left by some stranger saying ‘chill up’. She smiles, a smile that has been hidden from her lips for a long time. The feeling that she wasn’t the only one with a weird alias was kind of a warm feeling somehow.
Gulping down her coffee in one giant gulp she sits down and browses up the web. Who wouldn’t do that if you have got free Wi-Fi with sufficient network? Throughout the night she watches the videos on how to cook different kinds of bakery items and how to maintain a café. At around 5am she goes inside to freshen up. She brushes her teeth and washes her face, which takes about 15 minutes and she rushes back to the café. When she reaches the café, the café is open and there is an empty cup. “Wow that was fast” she says as she looks at her aunt “well looks like we got our first customer” and she tries to put on a smile. Yasmin however replies with a sigh “stop trying to put up fake smiles in front of me. Your father couldn’t do it, your mother couldn’t do it and I’m sure as hell that you can’t do it.” “Tell me, why did he send me here?” that catches Yasmin by surprise but she pulls out all the courage that she has and says “because he didn’t want you to suffer along with him…because he couldn’t see you suffering”. A silence, and then Aasha questions her again “how well did you know them?” “Well, before I moved here we used to be 3 amigos. You were very young when I moved here I’m guessing about 4. Back then we were the typical hippies. They were in love of course but so was I but with another man. Your father was in every way like an elder brother to me.” She stopped as she saw the tears emerging in Aasha’s eye.
Aasha was somehow grateful for her aunt now. So they try bonding. She spends the entire day trying to teach Yasmin the art of baking. Soon the night arrives. They eat in silence and Yasmin was off to sleep. She does however tuck Aasha in before she goes to bed. Aasha gets out of the bed soon after that and follows the same routine as yesterday. One dark coffee and a lot of memories was enough to make her cry again. After a while she hears a knock. This time she slightly opens her window curtain. She sees a boy, at around her age, with a hood disappearing into the darkness. This street lamp was out. In the house in front of her, she sees a boy slowly walking in the house and eating something. “Is that the hooded guy?” thinking this she walks up to the door and opens it only to find another note. “Hey dude. It’s me again. You look like you could really use a friend. Call me at 98********. I just can’t hear you crying every night, it’s been two days straight, and at least try to sleep because I saw your shadow all night long.-your neighbor, Outcasted Phantom” “who the heck is this person?”
The routine was fixed. During day she taught her aunt how to bake and her aunt taught her how to manage the café and during night she would look at the videos of how to cook beautifully. Two weeks passes in this process. During these weeks she doesn’t bother ask any more questions about her dad. Throughout the week, all she thinks of is the guy in the hood and the note, so much that she even sees the guy. “Could he have left the note?” It’s possible. She finally decides to give that number a text. He sounds friendly enough and what the hell he, if that person is a male, hasn’t seen her yet. So she sends him a text “Hello Outcasted Phantom. It’s the girl from the café. You can call me ‘Obscure Hope’. Thanks for the notes. You made me realize that hope can come from anywhere.” His notes had somehow brought hope to her that she isn’t gonna be alone there “I first saw you about two weeks ago while you were going away from the café and all I saw was a guy with a hood. I saw you a few times after that, I think, and still all I saw was a guy with the hood. Seriously, though I still haven’t seen your face. I wanna get to know you but I’m afraid of knowing you as I’ve lost everyone I ever had. My mom died when I was 10 and my dad’s all messed up and I am here alone. Still don’t know why he sent me here though. Having an aunty doesn’t make it much easier. Physically yes but psychologically not much. I’m glad that I have such a good neighbor.” For some weird reason she actually trusts this person and she opens up her heart and pours it down in her text. The reply shocks her “uh… I think that’s me. We can just stay text friends. You don’t have to know me. And about your being alone situation, all I can say is that I’ve been there and felt that. To be honest I’m still trying to deal with all my messed up emotions. And I’m glad that you finally decided to reach me out. I was getting alone myself. :D. Good night. And at least try to sleep tonight. I know that you haven’t slept ever since you came here.” He seems sweet and seems to know what she is going through so she sends him another text “thanks for the concern. And good night to you too but from the sound of that it seems that you haven’t been sleeping either. Let’s sleep today eh?” he replies back “Okay then. Smell ya later.” “Smell ya. She feels happy for she has finally made a friend, even though he is faceless and voiceless, he is a friend. “SHIT! I’ve got to go to high school from Sunday and I’m already two weeks late.” She slaps her forehead in an expression called the ‘face palm’. The next day was a Saturday so she prepares for her first day as a fresher.

once you looese somebody its never the same person who comes back(2016-01-16)

Well he, he always was a lost soul. Even among us he was always a lost guy. i once asked him why, the reason and he replied "like hell i know". time had taught me not to mess with his temper and i left the topic there. he lights up a cigeratte.
**********************************************************************************
more than a  year ago he had gone to some hike where he met a lost soul not unlike him.  they got along quie well for someone who just had just met. the girl Rusa had the same emptyness inside her. now why they had that emptyness inside them is totally another topic so i wont go there, the fact that they had that emptyness is all that matters here.   a month pased ahd their friendship only grew. a few months passed and it only grew. they had become close, very close. in fact so close that people mistook them for a couple. a few hugs anda few laughs. thats all they needed. they werent alone of course they had a third friend, Riza and a sister aasha. he had a soft side for aasha and riza. he liked them both. it was  a nice group.
everything has an end, this too had to end. some issues of anger on his side some issues of mistrust on her side, some insecurity on his side, some ignorance on her side. he had always made her the first priority, maybe  he wasnt her first prority, there was no one to blame. one small mistake and their friendship fell. he forgot his anger supressing pill and their friendship fell. a year and a half in the making and a few moments in  the breaking of what had become almost epic tale of friendship. he foul mouthed her, she ignored him.
he never wanted to leave her but with his growing issues and her growing ever more distant he chose solitude. a year passed in this way. they were in the same club so they had to face each other. what did they do? they ignored each other-point blank- of course but they  had to face each other some day. it hurts actually a lot ;being ignored point blank, but they  did it anyway.
Then disaster struck. Earthquake all over the country. he forgot the distance and called her up. may be she too had forgotten the distance.  what he wanted was he same her before  all the issues. a lot can happen in a year. she was i guess somehow thankfull that he hadn forgotten her but she sitll hadnt foegotten how they got seperated in the first place- his bad mouthing her. they got together but it wasnt the same, it will never be the same or so it seems
***********************************************************************
he finishes his cigeratte one last puff, his cell phone rings-RUSA CALLING. he throws his cigerate and rushes. maybe she still is his top priority after all....