THE TRIP

“Too pretty to be real!!”

Heard someone say this to me about something. The streets and the structures near the beach reminded me of that sentence. Pondy!!. A stressbuster for someone living in a town nearby boasting of a temple as its only major attraction. A bike, a good company and just enough money for the petrol and yes, we have a weekend plan.

So it was this weekend where every other hosteller packed up their bags and went home. It was only me and my roommate, John. John was a fellow single homie and luckily, he loved bikes and bike rides. A perfect companion.

So, we started off and reached pondy in an hour or so. We headed for the beach and suddenly the bike came to a halt. The buildings.. their colours.. So inviting that we stopped to capture a selfie. John and I had contrasting interests on selfies, more because he knew how to smile for a photo. So, I stood by the bike, with my ears plugged with earphones and my eyes scanning the street.

‘Too pretty to be real!!’.

Yes. The sentence popped up again. This time on seeing a pretty girl walk up to me. Maybe it was the magic of the music in my ears. I unplugged my earphones quickly but the bgm kept on playing. I played the casual look. She walked up to me and asked something in hindi.

‘Cellphone’ was the only word I could decipher. I hesitated and said, “Sorry.. I dont know hindi”.

She then said, “Oh sorry! You seemed like a person who would speak hindi”. Perplexed by her logic, I stood there with a wide grin.

“Okay.. Could I borrow your cellphone for a bit?..”, she asked. I gave her my mobile. There was this playful nudge from John.

I wondered. Why would she ask me?. Yes.. There were no girls on the street. But, as I looked across the street, there was this handsome looking guy whom I would really ask if I were a girl. And there was John. I still wonder how he is single. Great looking and certainly better than this nasty looking and bad-haired me.

That was some animated conversation she had on the phone with lots of hindi. Suddenly, an image of ‘2 states’ popped up in my head. Really not sure why. Yes, she was cute and lively and would certainly justify Alia. But then, there was Arjun Kapoor. The similarity, sadly, ends with the name.

‘Okay.. bye bye’, she said and my thoughts were cut short. She then handed over the phone and thanked me. “My phone is with my friend. Her boyfriend showed up and she left, promised to return after an hour and it has been 2 hours”. I nodded, acknowledging that I heard her. Then, there was this silence. She then slowly waved goodbye and started walking.

“Where are you going?”. These were John’s words. “To the beach. She told me she would be there”, she replied and walked.

After she left, John threw a very wide smile at me.”The boys need to know this”, he said and started making fun of me. I wanted to go to the beach. But I did not want her to think I was stalking her. So we headed for lunch. After a good, sumptuous meal, we felt tired. John insisted we go the beach and rest for some time. That was what I wanted too. But I was too hesitant. I insisted we go for a movie. He agreed.

The movie added to our weariness. We left the movie midway. It was dark outside. A slight avidity peeped through me and I suggested we go the beach. We reached the beach. I told myself that she was gone. We strolled along the rocks discussing the politics in our class and how we hated a particular guy. We looked around, and saw everyone in couples holding hands. Feeling uneasy and solicitous, we decided to leave.

“Look!! She is still here..”, exclaimed John. Oh God.. no. She was sitting on a bench, all alone with a worried face. I wanted to go there but I stood there like a mannequin. She suddenly turned towards us and a slight beam appeared on her face. She started walking towards us. Her face had become dull. “Hi..”, she said.

“Your friend has not turned up yet?”, I asked.

“No. She is in the bus stand. She asked me to come there”, she said.

“So.. why are you still here?”, asked John.

She hesitated a bit, cleared her throat, and said,”I have no money”.

“Why didnt you tell your friend that?”, I asked.

“I told her but she is in no position to help me. She was caught red handed by her dad and she is with him right now in the bus stand”, she said. I dont know why. But I laughed at this one.

Then I suddenly realised something. We had empty purses. ‘What if she asks money?.’

She looked at us. I smiled sheepishly at her.

“Sorry!! We have no money to give you”, I accepted. She said,”Oh.. fine.. chuck it”.

“No problem miss!! My friend will drop you at the bus stand”, said John.

“Whaatttt??”, we both exclaimed. “No.. No..”, I said.

She stood there, silent. I looked at John. He was all smiles. I cursed him, or atleast acted like I was cursing him. She cleared her throat. I looked up at her. She carried this innocent look that said she was okay with me dropping her off but was reluctant to ask the same.

I didnt know what to do. Then, suddenly, she started walking towards the bike and stood next to it. I turned towards John and asked him to drop her off. ‘Dont act too smart’, he said and pushed me forward. I then started the bike. She sat behind me. I had this feeling. Like this would be THE moment in my life. I felt sorry for John. For leaving him behind like this. ‘But he was the one who asked for this’, I consoled myself and headed forward.

She was silent throughout. And I was not like expecting her to talk anything. Every once in a while, I would look at the mirror to see if she is visible, like they show in movies. Movies are totally fake, I realised.But I had this principle in my life. That I would allow only my mother and my wife to ride with me in the pillion of my bike. That was when I realised that this was John’s bike and need not feel guilty.

“You are from Chennai?”, atlast she started. “Yes, but right now staying in hostel”, I replied.

That was all. I could see the bus stand. I dropped her off. When she left, she smiled and waved me goodbye. She thanked me atleast a dozen times. She got on the bus and went away. It suddenly hit me that I forgot to ask her name.

So strange an incident. ‘No one would believe this’ was exaclty what John told me on our way back to the hostel. I put on my earphones. I knew for sure that Hindi songs would rule my playlist for atleast a week.

The place, for sure, had given me memories. Looking back, I realised these were unbelievable sequences but those with no future whatsoever. As long as moments like these exist, our life rides on smoothly.

After all, love is too pretty to be real!!