Love that was never mine

The name he gave

DIRA

I am unable to fall asleep even at one in the morning. I'm hungry now because I slept through the nighttime. I'm by myself, and I've got a yearning for something hot. Exams have brought me here, while my family is on holiday. My tummy suddenly growled while I was lost in thinking. I have to cook something right now or I would starve to death because I have skipped dinner. After these new year celebrations, I've been working extremely hard for the past few days to get back on track. I forced myself to ignore all of those tiresome ideas and walked to the kitchen, where I cooked in quiet because my mind was racing in an unwelcome way. I can't be spending my time playing for amusement with a total stranger. I have to finish my homework, get ready for my tests, and film a few more poetry videos, so I don't have much time.

I brought the glass of cold coffee and the dish of noodles to bed with me. I'm watching a Netflix series as I can't sleep and I don't want to study right now. Since it's just 1:30 and my break ends at seven in the morning, I don't care about the schedule; I'm tired.It's cold outside, so I choose a series to watch while curled up in a blanket.

The sun was high in the sky when I opened my eyes, and the cool wind and comforting warmth of the sun made the weather ideal for a pleasant stroll in the garden. I'm not sure when the time passed and when I went to sleep. My laptop is still running, and there's still food from last night on the table and in the blanket. As I went across the table to turn on my phone, I saw that it was a text from him. The text wasn't quite visible in the notification, so I entered the conversation to read it in its entirety.

Stranger:- I believe I have guessed your name; it is Divya, and it begins with "D".

My gut twitched with something. The joy inside of me grew as I realised that he had been thinking about my name all this time. Why was he thinking about my name? Isn't he busy with his own tasks? I'll show him what he signed up for; why is he paying so much attention and refusing at the same time? He seems disturbed. I bit my cheek in response.

Me: Ah, good try, but that is not my name... Next time, try harder.

I was about to turn off my phone when the three dots flashed in the chat: HE IS TYPING. Was he waiting for my response? Why does he always respond right away? Is he attempting to trick me? Is he in despair? He does not appear so... I was in a whirlwind of questions in my thoughts when he finally sent the text, and my phone exploded in my grasp.

Stranger: C'mon, at least give me your name; how should I address you?

A smirk appeared on my face, and I realised that it was bothering him. Does he want to talk to me? It seems like he wants to talk. What's new? Men are all the same, wanting to make me fantasise about all those romantic moments in my books with him—looser! Everyone wants to talk till you give them all excess! I will not give him any crap. I don't give a damn; I'm not even giving him my name.

Me:- I told you to call me D, and if you don't want to call me D, call me whatever you want since I'm not telling you my name.

My thoughts and feelings are unknown to me. While I'm usually a serious person, I've only had positive, three-hour conversations with this one guy. What's causing me to resist? How come I'm acting so rudely? Why is this happening? He doesn't seem like a weirdo, and this isn't me. This will be amusing regardless of the situation. I'm sure I'll make a great friend in this person. I want to irritate him even more because I enjoy how much I annoy him.

Stranger: Fine, then! I'll call you Dorothy; it's a wonderful name... and it comes from the last novel I read, which also begins with your initial letter.