Kabab ki Haddi

The Nightmare

THE NIGHTMARE

               Shruti returned home quite later than her usual time, fully exhausted. Opening the door, she switched on the lights, placing the bag on the couch. She went into the bathroom to get fresh. Sometimes she missed coming back to a home, where someone was already there waiting for her, asking her “How her day went?”

     As she was washing her face, she thought of calling up Mom, she was missing her and her food. But she dropped the idea as soon as it came into her mind. She hadn’t bothered to call the guy her Mom suggested. She hadn’t even checked him out on profile. It had just slipped out of her mind.

   She entered the kitchen, picked up a ready to eat. “Delicious Upma” it said on the cover. She kept the water for boiling. And went to switch on the radio, her companion for the night. Her favorite RJ, Rahul, was on; there was something in his voice that made her like him.

      “Kabhi kabhi Zingdagi mein ek aaisa mod ata hai, ek turning point, jiske baad aapki zindagi puri taraah change ho jati hai for good or bad. Lekin yeh ehsaas aapko tab nahi hota, jab aap yeh turn le rahe hote ho, par jab life ki film aapko flashback mein  le  jaati hai, tab you realize ki haan bhai – This was my turning point” he paused, then almost whispered, “ Kya aap ke life mein aya hai aaisa turning point? Call karke share kijiye….” And he went ahead and recited the easily recallable number.

      She smiled, the way he modulated his voice made even crap sound interesting. Her upma was ready; she took half of it on a plate and moved to her drawing room. Opening her laptop to check her mails.

“Yeh  Kahaan aa gaye hum, yuhi saath saath chalte….”  played in the background.

     She opened her Dad’s mail, and the list of profiles. Took a spoon full of upma and began reading. The guy in question was named Sameer, a businessman, ten figured annual income, currently in Dubai, a resident of pune, has a sister who is married and mother (housewife) and father (retired) who stayed with him. Short and sweet.

       ‘Looks good on paper at least’, she said to herself. Checked out his snapshot, he looked decent, it was clicked at some foreign locale in shorts and hat, she couldn’t figure out his face. But he seemed flamboyant. She hated flamboyance. He wanted “A sweet, simple, homely girl, who could cook, family oriented, respecting elders, who knows how to balance tradition as well as modern values. May or may not work.” Typical Indian male, she smiled ironically, they never change, no matter how much they travel.

       Her plate was empty. She went to get her refill. Coming back she decided, she had enough for the day, she’ll check the other guys later, as and when they meet. It’s easy to remember the stats that way. She switched off her radio and switched on her TV. It was time for her favorite sitcom.     

         After an hour or so, she was flipping channels, waiting for sleep to take over. She switched it off abruptly and went to the bedroom, taking her unfinished novel, the latest Michelle Connolly; she continued reading, till she was fast asleep.

             It was hazy yet clear, the ghosts of the past were just waiting for her. It all came back, the good days, the plan, it working out successfully, then the accusation, breaking up of friendships, too much of heartache and then the entry of love. She woke up with a start, all sweaty, not remembering where she was and what woke her up. She put on the fan and then heard the familiar “cuckoo calling” Her phone!!

         She got up, and went to her drawing room searching for it. She finally found it in her bag; she had discarded as soon as she entered. It was still ringing; looking at the number she knew who it was, “Hello”