The voice of the night

Do Not Disturb! Its 9 pm

I threw my jacket on the couch and laid down on my queen-sized bed. Today was bad- the worst day of the year. You ask why? Well, its not every day you flunk a science exam and then find out that your boyfriend was cheating on you. So, my day sucked, big time.

I grabbed hold of the butterscotch ice-cream bucket my sister had so thoughtfully placed on the side table and gulped down a scoop of it, unflattering image? I know.

My bedroom door squeaked open and my elder sister, Ira came inside. She soothingly placed her hands on my shoulder as she said, " Oh Kathy! Its okay, he's not worth it."

My eyes were now getting red and ichy, " You know, those emotional words are not working. That piece of shit cheated on me! I guess that's predictable but he cheated on me with my arch-enemy, THAT is what annoys me. I hate her!" I ended with a huff.

Ira sat there with her eyebrows raised and finally said, " Who knew that you are one for dramatics. Oh! and see the time already. Its nine, the time for the ' voice of the night' ", she tried to put on a sauve voice which just made me laugh.

She ran over and switched on the radio sitting on an oak table and placed herself gracefully on the couch. I again sprawled out on the bed, my attention was now completely on the radio, in which a slight tune was being played and then an angelic voice murmured.

" Hello my friends, its 9 by the clock and I, RJ 'V' , the heartbeats of millions of Indians is here with you as your voice of the night." Almost instantly that velvety voice soothed my tension and the migraine was now subsiding, was he a doctor too now?

"No matter where you are and what you are doing, if you are a tired husband back from work or a housewife still busy in the kitchen, even if you are a chef in a well-to-do restaurant or a cabbie sipping a ginger tea in some dhaba, if you are listening to me then you are my friend and lets start this 3 hour long journey together."

"Wow, that was some intro..." , my sister had started to say but I silenced her with a glare.

" So starting with our "Agony Aunt" column, a friend from Calicut has written to me. He says 'I'm a college going student and exceptionally well in my studies but some people always make me the butt of every joke, for them I'm the resident geek. I'm facing severe depression and have even planned to drop out of the college. I feel pathetic as I can't do anything to possibly stop them. My parents have asked me to continue my education as they feel that bullying is a very small issue and not worth my attention. Please tell me what should I do?"

He sighed softly and I shifted on my bed, anticipating his reply," Listen, my dear friend, bullying isn't a small issue but what matters is how we percieve things. You are right , you can not do anything to stop them but you can stop YOURSELF from even acknowledging them. Being bright in studies isn't bad but have you thought that the reason they bully you is because they are jealous of you? You're an insured financial stability and they are just, sorry to say, nothing! So, next time when they laugh at you don't feel sad, just feel pity FOR THEM!"

I laughed. This was his way - to show a situation in a new light. This was the thing I loved about him- well, one of the many things.

"So, our next mail is written by Ms. Honey from Gandhinagar. Oh ma'm! I hope you are as sweet as your name," he chuckled.

For the next 2 hours I was glued to my bed, even when my mother came upstairs to scold me as I had missed dinner, again and even when my sister tried to rob me off the butter scotch ice cream.

It was 11:45 when he said, " Its about time I bid you good-bye but before leaving I will read out the last two mails. One is written by Ms. Khushboo from Delhi, she says ' Mr. V I love your voice, and I'm dying to know your real name. You are the man of my dreams and...." His voice trailed off.

I snickered, yes, I knew this Khushboo character. She was my best friend and sadly, a pervert. I could imagine the mental onslaught of images the guy was going through.

He at last cleared his throat and said , " Ms. Khushboo your letter is very flattering and I hope to enjoy such love from all you listeners for years to come," he was diplomatic, nice! ," And as for what is this 'V' , madam I'll be any V you want me to be- Vivek, Vishal, Vinay, etc,etc," he chuckled, "Our last letter is very special because I usually save the best for the last. This letter is written also from Delhi, she has asked me not to name her but lets just call her 'K'. This is dedicated to every heart broken girl in the country!"

" That includes me", I said softly.

" You look too happy to be heart- broken, sweetheart. Has this guy given you laughing gas or what?" My sister interjected and I glared at her.

" Ms. K writes that she has been in a relationship with a class fellow for some months. She describes their relationship as comfortable and warm but also lacking a certain spark and hence, she thought that their break up was inevitable. Today, she found her boy friend cheating on her with her arch enemy and she is now beyond devastated. She hates the girl and wants revenge. What should she do?"

" Is it creepy that our situations are very similar?" I asked Ira.

"Not exactly. Many people are going through a bad break-up, it's just a co-incidence", she reasoned.

" You have my sympathies, K but while reading your mail, I couldn't help but wonder if your relationship was build on emotional attachment or plain convenience? You were anticipating a break up so why does it hurt you when the inevitabe came. Was it because he had betrayed your trust or because your ego couldn't accept a defeat of sorts from your arch enemy?Had the situation been different if he had cheated on you with anyone except your foe? It'll be more prudent to hate the guy instead of the other girl involved and nothing good can ever come out of revenge except maybe more embarrasment on your part. Its about time you sit down and have a serious talk with your self, ask ,"Did you ever truly loved him?" and I'm sure you'll find your pathway as you seem like an intelligent girl. I'm sure one day you will find your Mr. Perfect with the 'sparks' "

My cheeks were heating and I looked at the floor. How can the guy be so freaking right? I have a war to fight- against my ego.

My sister was smirking, " Its nice to know that someone can show you the rude reality so politely."

I rolled my eyes.

"So, that's all for tonight, my friends. I'll meet you again tomorrow as the voice of the night. I hope my words have helped you. Ciao!"

I yawned. My sister bid me goodnight and quitely creeped out of my room. I switched off the lights and settled myself beneath the blankets, brooding.

Mr. V , the man who appeared out of the blue a year ago and shelled out such perfect advices that he gained a lot of fan following. His voice is so velvety, so stable, so confident, so assuring, so perfect(!) that I find myself huddled close to the radio every night. Unlike other RJs , he never make public appearances. This mysterious presentation has only added to his fanfare. Many people assume that he is a filthy rich CEO who does RJing just for the fun of it, others think that he is an Adonis look a like who is a part time student, some have even called him a shiny blood-sucking vampire but I'm not sure to how much extent it is true. I just know this- hes a riddle, a riddle which I desperately want to solve.

Slowly I slipped into lalaland but a voice from the world of living still echoed in my ears, ' One day you'll find your Mr. Perfect.......'

Author's note:- heyo people! So how was the story??? Did you like it, did you hate it or did you just avoided it?? I want to know, so, comment! Did you like RJ V and his trouble shooting methods? There is also this nice star button you can on click if you liked the story so far ;) . tell me should I continue this story???