Memories to Grave

Chapter 4: The Girl and the Song (ii)

Continuation...

Raghu's POV:

We both stood in front of the radio broadcast station. As we entered, Vinod asked, "Whom should we ask? We don't know anyone here."

Excuse me, is RJ Krishna in the studio? We have something important to discuss with him. RJ Krishna? He hasn't arrived yet, I think. His show is at 5 pm. It's still 2:30 pm. You can confirm over there, she said, pointing us to a desk.

I walked straight to that desk and asked the receptionist sitting there.

RJ Krishna, hasn't come yet, she responded. When will he be here? I asked. His show is at 5 pm; he'll be here by then.

Well, we need the details of a girl who participated in the show 'Your Time' with RJ Krishna a few months ago."

"You don't know her?" she asked.

"No," I replied.

Actually, those details would be with the station manager or program director. But we don't give out details to strangers-it's against the rules.

"We're not strangers," Vinod said.

"Then, who are you?" she asked,
Vinod and I exchanged glances.

"We actually know RJ Krishna," Vinod lied to her. "He knows us."

"Do you have his phone number? Call him and confirm," she challenged.

"We don't have cell phones," Vinod added, lying again.

"Then wait until he arrives."

Not knowing what else to do, I said, We'll come back later, by the time he arrives,and we left the station.

We wandered around the streets until 5 pm and then returned to the broadcast station. We went straight to her again and asked, "Did RJ Krishna arrive?"

Yeah, but he's on air right now. You'll have to wait until the it ends, she said.

Another wait. "No, I can't, I'm leaving," Vinod said. I dragged him back. If you stay, I'll buy you biryani for dinner.

"Promise?"

"Yeah, promise."

The truth was, we had never met or seen RJ Krishna in person. We didn't even know what he looked like. After the show ended, he came into the lobby. Before we could approach him, the lady at the desk pointed us out to him, saying, "Krishna, someone's here waiting for you." He walked towards us and asked, "Are you waiting for me? Who are you?"

We both explained why we were there.
Like that lady said, we don't reveal anyone's details to strangers, he said.
But I'll help you since you said it's love.
Success! Our happiness knew no bounds. Vinod and I exchanged smiling glances.

But how can I trust you? What if you kidnap her or something?" he questioned.

I'll give you my details, my parents' details, my home address-whatever you need, I said, overwhelmed.
Okay, then. I believe you. Wait here; I'll get her details. He went into one of the offices and came back after about 20 minutes. He handed us a piece of paper with her details:

Full Name: Sravani Rallapudi
Phone number: 9845055xxx
Address: Ho No: 5-6-472, Kairathabad, Hyd.
And some other details.

We really owe you a lot. Thank you very much for doing us this favor, we both thanked him and left, collecting the details. We called that number immediately after stepping outside.

"The number you are calling is not available. Please check the number," said the automated message. My heart sank. "What happened?" Vinod asked, taking the phone and putting it to his ear. "Aap jis number par call kar rahe hain, vah uplabdh nahi hai. Kripya number check karein." Maybe she changed her number or lost it. But we still have the address, so there's still hope. Let's go check it out, Vinod said, starting the bike.

The good thing was that the house address was nearby. Finally, we reached the house and checked the number, 5-3-472. I noticed the gate was locked, but the house door wasn't. The lights were on.

"Ring the bell," Vinod suggested, still sitting on the motorcycle. I pressed it three or four times, and an old man, who seemed to be over 70, came out and asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm here for Sravani," I said.
"What? What are you saying?" he asked loudly. My poor heart started racing, hearing his loud voice.
"Maybe he has a hearing problem-say it louder, bro," Vinod urged. This time, I said it loudly, explaining that we came for Sravani.

"Sravani? No one by that name lives here. Go, go," he said, waving his hand as if shooing away flies and heading back inside. I wasn't sure if he understood what I was saying. I asked again, "I came for Sravani."

This is our house; only my wife and I live here. Our children and grandchildren, who live overseas, don't have anyone with that name. My heart shattered into pieces. I was so disappointed.

Just give up on her, dude. Seems like she provided the wrong details intentionally. The phone number is wrong, and even the address, Vinod suggested, seeing the disappointed look on my face. We both started heading back, giving up. But I won't give up. One way or another, I will definitely find her, I said to myself.

After 2 years, in 2012, Raghu went to meet Sravani.

Vishwa stopped reading the book and closed it for the day. What kind of story is this? Just listening to a song and going that far to meet her? Love really makes some people so crazy. Will love always be like this?he wondered to himself before going to sleep.

will be continued...
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