Shells and Pebbles

Shells and Pebbles

Jayant was a cool guy, a typical Punjabi guy fresh out from the farms of Punjab into this magical, ever so romantic place called Infosys Mysore. It was January when he joined Infosys through off campus recruitment that happened in Delhi. He was so happy to get a job in his dream company. Jayant was a happy go lucky kind of guy, who would do anything for his friends but here he was, all alone, as all of his friends had been recruited on campus and were working somewhere else, so he was all alone here but happily single as well.

One fine day, he went in to Global Education Center (GEC) and, where he was usually late in getting to GEC, today he arrived early. It was 8:30 in the morning and he could see only one girl other than him in the class. He quietly takes his seats and starts the system. After a few seconds he could hear someone crying and alas, as he looks towards her, he confirms that she was the one who was crying. Now Jayant was a strong guy, there was no doubt that he had many lady friends but to console someone who is crying was not something he knew how to do. He was just sitting there, looking at her and wondering what to do and realizing that was all that he was doing, but even though he could not help, he also could not just do nothing. Feeling guilty was just a part of it because he was also unable to approach her. Then, when after 5 minutes he decides to talk to her, he had waited too long as someone else enters the class and… ...silence... it is her friend, so he stops again and now he can see Deepti consoling Amrita 

Amrita and Deepti were great friends as well as roommates from the very first day at Mysore. Jayant had a secret crush on Deepti but had never been able to tell to her. Deepti used to sit right in front of Jayant so they used to talk a lot about studies and all and Jayant liked her a lot.

It was a Sunday morning when Jayant went in to GEC to study for the generic compri ,when he faced the same situation. Again it was Amrita who was crying, but this time Jayant goes to Amrita and asks: "What happened Amrita, is everything all right"...she tearfully replied that she was ok and he need not bother about it. Jayant asks her again and again until eventually she tells him that she already has a very low CGPA and if she does not get a B+ , she will be out of Infosys. Now, even though Jayant was good with studies, he was also facing a tough time. It was three days to go before compri and they decided to study together all night for these three days. This made a huge turnaround as Deepti also joined them and so Jayant could talk to her even more and more.

On compri day they all had breakfast together and went for the examination. After the exam they all were happy but afraid of the result too. They all knew they had been allotted the same stream as java and that was not easy either.

After a few days Deepti, Jayant and Amrita were like buddies and spent most of their time together. One weekend Amrita calls Jayant and says that she would like to go out and have fun, before the result is announced, as her boyfriend Shiva would be joining her that weekend. Shiva used to work for LNT, which was near Infosys Mysore. So they all decided to go to Wonderla – a water park near Bangalore. They had lots of fun there and enjoyed lots of rides. Jayant was happy as he was enjoying it with Deepti because Amrita was busy with Shiva. Jayant wanted to express his love to Deepti but the right opportunity had not come along. So he calls up his best friend Vipin who knew everything about him , and asks him whether it was the right time to propose to Deepti as they were alone there. Vipin told him to “Go ahead dear!! What are you waiting for?” After all the rides were done, Amrita and Shiva were getting very close in the cab, which was in the parking lot, so Jayant and Deepti decided to take a walk. Jayant decides the time has come and asks Deepti: "Are you single? You never told me." Deepti smiles and says "arrey yaar yes I am."' Jayant takes one step forward, holds Deepti's hand and just says, simply "Deepti I love you"…"come on stop it Jayant"..."stop joking yaar "...."No Deepti. I am serious. I really love you a lot...from the very first day...from the very first moment I saw you, I have fallen in love with you..." ...."are u really serious jayant"..."yes I am "...."I cannot tell you how much I love you and I want to marry you Deepti""..."things are not so easy Jayant, as they might look to be" and then Silence slumbered in its futile sleep...

II

And that was it. They all returned that night, and Jayant and Deepti were both expectedly quite. Much later that night Jayant called Deepti on her hostel extension at 12 midnight and told her to meet him just outside FC3. She agreed, arriving at 1am in the morning. Then Jayant started again. “Come-on Deepti, please don’t keep quiet!! Say something , I know you love me , I have seen it in your eyes, please even if it’s a NO, just tell me“…”Please Jayant, my life is already so complex, please don’t make it more complex. We are very good friends, let us be friends only.” Deepti replied in a sad tone and started crying. Jayant bent down on his knees, held her hands and just said “Tell me what it is Deepti, just tell me everything, I love you and it will surely help, I promise to relieve your tensions and believe me I love you, just trust me darling, I love you,” and then he kissed Deepti's hand.

“Look , I had a boyfriend NITIN during my time at college, he was my senior and we were very close. After finishing his college, NITIN joined WIPRO, Pune and she was in tears again. Jayant just hugged her, saying “Just tell me baby, what happened did he change a lot after that?”…”He is no more mine, he has found someone else for himself, our families knew everything about our relationship and they had no problem with us getting married, we were neighbors at Pune. We shared the same school as well, I have never imagined my life without him. But he threw me out of his life in just 6 months after joining Wipro.

...and then she went on describing how beautiful the days had been that she had with NITIN. It was 3am when she suddenly stopped and said “Look, my life has been terrible since NITIN left and I do not want anyone else to do the same so, please Jayant let’s be JUST friends, my mother will find a nice Marathi guy for me and I will get married to him, I do not want any more complications in my life Jayant…Please understand Jayant” and she was in tears once again. Jayant was shocked to hear the whole story and he said: “Look Deepti, I love you and that’s enough for me, I don’t care about your past but I can promise you that I will keep on loving you until my last breath. Please Deepti, don’t worry about anything else ,I will take care of everything dear. I will love you a lot but tell me, why did you both break off after a long close relationship?”

“I don’t know Jayant, he found someone as soon as he got into WIPRO. Whenever I used to call him he would say ‘Listen, I have some work to do’ and he always gave excuses. Then slowly he stopped attending my calls, not answering my messages and mails. I was an emotional fool who would wait for days for his replies. Four months ago I called him and asked: ‘... why are you doing this to me? Please tell me , I at least deserve an answer...please’. His reply: ‘Ok… I’ll tell you the truth today, I am going around with someone else here and I do not see any future for our relationship,’ and that was when I decided not to call him again. It has been four months and I have not yet forgotten him, I burst into tears even now when I think of him.” Jayant, without hesitation, replied: “Don’t worry Deepti, I will love you so much that you will forget him. Deepti do you accept my love, just say you love me…please say it…I will always keep you happy.”

It was 6am in the morning outside FC, when Deepti said: “Can you tell me, Jayant, why should I love you after just four months of breaking off with NITIN , why should I get involved in a relationship when I already have a terrible past , why should I get into all this again, I have been hurt a lot and I don’t want to get hurt again, and I know I cannot love anyone else again.” “What are you saying Deepti, just trust me.” “Look Jayant, I need some time“...They talked till 7:30am outside FC when they suddenly realized that it was time to go and get ready for the class.
One month passed by and Amrita got to know about the feelings Jayant had for Deepti. Jayant and Amrita shared everything about their love life, whenever they had time .And suddenly they had the COMPRI result out and ALAS, Amrita flunked whereas Deepti and Jayant passed with A grades. That same day she received a letter from HR telling her to leave Infosys within two days. This was the most terrible day in their life. Anyway, they sat together and decided to stay in touch with each other .On Amrita’s last day at Infosys Mysore they decided to go out for dinner. On their return a romantic drizzle was falling and Amrita and Shiva were engaged in their love talks while on their  walk back to the campus from the nearby dhabaa. Jayant and Deepti were also joking and were talking about their time spent together...

BAM....whoops...accident! A speeding bike knocked Deepti, who was walking on the wrong side of the road. The biker and Deepti were both dadly injured and were rushed to Apollo hospital. The biker had to have some stitches in his head and Deepti’s left leg was fractured. It was 1:00am when Amrita had to leave the hospital as she was to leave for KOLKATTA that morning and there was a tearfull farewell from Jayant and Deepti. Deepti was discharged from hospital the next day with crutches for one whole week.

It was a very difficult time for Deepti as she had to manage both her studies and her health. The whole class could see Jayant helping Deepti to walk, eat, study and do everything he could to help her. This made them very close and yes it was love but was never put into words by Deepti. Both finished the training and it was the day when the posting was to come. This was a tough day for both of them as Jayant got a posting at Bangalore and Deepti at Pune, they wanted to be together but it did not happen. Anyway, they had to part ways from Mysore and go to their respective posting stations. It was Jayant who was to go first to Bangalore and at reception it was a lip lock between Deepti and Jayant, which was to end soon as they parted their ways.

Jayant was doing well at Bangalore , and Deepti was very happy at her hometown Pune. They both purchased Tata indicom mobile’s to chat for a long time. They used to talk day and night .One fine day Jayant calls Deepti and says: “I have one news for you”, and Deepti also said the same thing. “Ok Jayant, you first, tell me what happened.” “Deepti I got the SPOT award.” “Ayah baby, I am so happy for you, you deserve it my hero.” “Now tell me what you have got for me Deepti.” “Jayant, I met NITIN today...”and then Silence slumbered in its futile sleep..............
III

“What the hell are you saying, how can you meet him ,have you forgotten all the pain he has caused you?” “…don’t be so mean Jayant, I loved him, anyway we met today at some restaurant…” “…oh, does that mean that the meeting was preplanned !!!!!!!!!!! and you did not even tell me anything!: “Yes, after coming here to Pune I called him once and from there the mails started, we never again talked on the phone but yes we mailed each other a lot “Now that is disgusting Deepti .” “Don’t worry Jayant I am not going back to him.”

Then there came a point in time when every other day Deepti was telling Jayant that she had met with Nitin. This used to upset Jayant a lot but he knew his love was true and nobody could take Deepti away from him. Suddenly one day he got an email from his DM that he has to go ONSITE. That was a great achievement and he was very happy. He had to leave within 15 days. He told Deepti and both were very happy, he also told Deepti that before leaving he wanted to meet her and would be coming to PUNE as he would be ONSITE for the next year.

It had been raining for more than a week, so much rain that it made every day seem restless and gloomy. She called and said she was coming up. They planned to meet at the railway station in the morning as in the evening he would leave for Chandigarh from the station to meet his parents. She arrived and was looking ever so beautiful, carrying her red umbrella. Her friend had dropped her off. It was raining and she was shivering. She looked weak and fragile in the harsh rain, not wearing enough to keep her warm. He hugged her and they went to the nearby cafe, Jayant was all excited and he was the only one who was talking. Deepti was just filling up with some words and they did not realize how fast the time passed. At 5pm Jayant left Deepti at the station as he boarded JHELUM EXPRESS and as soon as he got into the train he called her up and said: “Babes, I love you ,I guess you wanted to say something but you did not, tell me what was it.”

“Nothing Jayant, it’s just that I will miss you a lot!!!!” “And who was that who dropped you at the station?” “NITIN, NITIN came here to drop me, I have called him to pick me up as well, you don’t worry dear, I am fine.” “...Ok Deepti, take care, I’ll call you soon.”.
Time passed by and Jayant completed six months at ONSITE and obviously the calls and emails frequency with Deepti was at its lowest as he was too busy with work. But they were in contact and as soon as he completed the year, he came back and landed at Chandigarh to meet his parents first. Jayant’s dad was very excited and happy but as he was an Ex-Army man he never showed his love to a great extent. It was the night before Jayant had to leave for Bangalore when his dad asked: “Jayant, as you already know, we all want you to get married.” “So, ya , dad I know.” “If you have someone in mind, tell us, or else we will find someone ourselves,” he laughs. “Dad!” “Hey son, don’t be shy, just tell me if there is someone.” “Yeah Dad, I love someone and I am not sure if she loves me or not but…” Dad interrupts, “Hmm, now you have a love story as well. So, what’s cooking han? Don’t tell me you are going to bring a FIRANGEE* in our house.” “Nah dad , she’s a colleague, and I love her and I want to marry her.” “Well, then express your love and I have no restrictions on whatever you find for yourself.” They hugged each other and .Jayant left the next morning.

As soon as he landed at Bangalore he called Deepti and said: “Hey babes, I am coming to Pune to meet you next weekend  I can’t resist anymore! I missed you a lot.”...”Hey, Jayant, it would not be possible next weekend for me to meet you, I am a little busy.” “WHAT? Deepti, come on, what’s so urgent.” “Look Jayant, things are not the same, I am too busy with work here.” “Come on Deepti , I am coming next week…and that’s it!” “Look Jayant, I don’t want to meet you, I don’t love you, please don’t run after me Jayant.” “…what are you saying Deepti! is NITIN back in your life? Just tell me…Please, tell me.” “NO Jayant, he is a friend of mine now, but please forget me Jayant. I wanted to tell you long back that I don’t want to see you anymore.” “No Deepti, please don’t do this, listen, I want to meet you, I know you love me and I am coming to meet you. No one can stop me...Deepti, I am coming to PUNE this Saturday...okay?” “Jayant please don’t come.” “I am coming and you are coming to meet me that’s IT!” Deepti disconnected the call.

Jayant did not call her the whole week but kept on texting her on the phone and got the same reply and same answer the whole week. As soon as he landed at Pune he called Deepti and said: “Babes, I am at the station. Just come and meet me, I am waiting at the same café and I’m dying to meet you.” “Ok, I will be there in an hour.”

But that one hour never ended, Jayant called Deepti’s number several times but she did not pick up the call. Jayant was very tense and decided to go to Deepti’s home but did not know the address. He had NITIN’s number though. He called NITIN and said: “Hey Nitin, this is Jayant, Deepti’s friend. I have come here to meet her, but she is not picking up the phone, do you know where she is?” “OH, Jayant!. Where are you?” “I am at the station.” “I will come and pick you up in 15 minutes.” “…but where is Deepti?” “I will tell you…”

Nitin came and took Jayant to a nearby hospital where Deepti had been admitted. Jayant rushed into the room and hugged Deepti and cried: “Tell me what happened Deepti, they were all in tears when Deepti broke the silence and said: “…18 months ago, the doctor said I had cancer, but it was found early, so it was still curable. Thinking that it was okay, I started living my normal life again, and even forgot about the cancer. I didn't think about it again and did not go back to the doctor. Until a month ago... My stomach was hurting for two weeks straight, and the nightmare awakened me again. First I thought the pain would go away, but it grew stronger until it reached a point that I couldn't take it anymore. I went back to the doctor and he took an X-ray.

 The picture came out and there was a big black spot, which proved the truth that I did not want to believe. I was at the most glittering part of my life, but it was coming to an end. I wanted myself and the people around me to go through the least pain possible, so I decided to commit suicide. But I couldn't let people find out about my intentions, especially you, the person I love the most in this whole world, who still doesn't know about the truth.

“So I made up some stories and lied to you. It was a cruel thing to do, and it broke your heart, but it was the fastest way to wipe out three years of feelings. I didn't have much time, because I would soon start to lose hair and you would find out eventually. But now I'm close to succeeding, this drama will soon be over. Thirty minutes more and all this will come to an end, that was what I had in mind. and then…Silence slumbered in its futile sleep...

Deepti passed away the same day. Jayant was married through an arrangement the same year as did Nitin.






PS : Your comments are precious to me.

voices in the dark

It was dream come true for me, As I was still paying the EMI's It was the time when I moved into my dream home at Noida , It was My pride.I have heard That this township was made on the CEMETERY , But I did not care as we all knew It was rumors spread by the rival builder. Anyways the Flat was awesome and I had a great sense of achievement but the series of events that followed were shocking to say the least.

Ok. I know people do this sometime, some hide it and some forget about it,  but I'm really having pangs of conscience about this. Some of you may laugh because I’m probably freaking out over something most people would just shrug off or may decline to belief. Anyways I must Tell you that I have just recovered from something people call as stupidity. But I have  heard that during an episode of sleepwalking, sleepwalkers may perform activities as harmless as sitting up in bed, using the bathroom, taking a shower - or as dangerous as cooking a meal, driving a car, exhibiting violent gestures, or even committing homicide (sleepwalking murder).

But I don’t know It’s funny or not But It all started as I shifted to This new flat of mine .It was my paradise. I shifted to my flat on the evening of 18^Th Jan , yes It was My birthday . 2012.It all started on that night as after the house party when all left I was too tired , That night I fell asleep on the sofa, I had a dream, I guess It was a dream ,  I was floating above my body. The fear that I would fall was the first thing I remember feeling, and then just the sensation of floating, looking down at my body on the sofa, I believe I was floating around my home and then through the ceiling to the second floor. All at once thinking am I dying, I don't want to go yet! When I reached the second floor I remember saying, "what is that smell?" “Someone from behind just recited a verse from the bible as I looked backwards there was no one. I woke up and saw it was 3 am and have been freaked out ever since I Just had a foul smell at the backyard of my house. I never knew what it was. Till I discovered I peed in the backyard last night as I was too drunk.

It was Tuesday Night when I was sleeping and suddenly I heard a noise in the closet behind me, and looked up just in time to see a very slim man, slipping into the closet from the small open window in the room, he had a bow and an arrow with him. He saw me and froze. I put on my glasses, to better see him, and I froze. There was a snake around his neck. We were locked in a staring contest for a while, until I got up the courage to shout "Hey!" He didn’t move. How weird! Then I realized, I was only looking at a dress hanging in the closet, not a man at all. I realized it was again 3 in the night.

It was Wednesday I went to bed early that night, But I started reading as I always do. A little while after turning the light off, I heard what sounded like a riot. People were shouting and crying, I got up and jumped to the window to see if there was something, suddenly there was all silence. Suddenly I felt there was someone In the room with me. I heard the sound of the footsteps ,  As I listened they seemed to get louder. This frightened me from the word go, as there was carpet on the floor, and where the sound was coming from, I turned on the bedside light and the noise stopped. I looked out the bedroom window in case it was raining and I was hearing the drip of the rain on the ledge. It was drizzling. I thought I have had read too much of horror stories but I realized It was 3 am again.

The Thursday night when I was awake, I waited for the clock to strike 3 , I did not realize when I fell asleep But suddenly I opened my eyes It was 3 am again,  I heard a voice of a lady who, I think, was trying to lull her child to sleep. There was motherly passion in her voice. The voice was so clear and melodious that I still remembered some of the wordings. But who was she? I went to look for the matter to my balcony; I was shocked when I saw a smoke like thing coming out from one of the flats in the next building. I was shocked. I next thing I remember was I was on my bed and I was getting late for the office. As soon I got Ready I was shocked to see that my socks were torn .I am not sure that the cat next door was responsible for it or anything else.

These four nights gave me shivers down my spine , I could not help but I never returned to that flat from office on Friday I drove off straight to my village and told my grandfather all about the awful nights I have been having for the first week I spent in my new flat , The only thing he said That I had not performed the house warming ceremony and not followed the rituals and now I must regret my decision and should go the priest in the village temple .I went to him still thinking what all he could tell me , and he said that I was under the influence of a spirit. I thought he was a cheat. But I had a strange feeling deep inside.

Well I don’t know what made me call my friend, But I told him everything, he asked me to visit Mr Sharma, his Family doctor, When I returned back from the doctor I was surprised to know that I was suffering from what is known as Insomnia or Sleep Disturbances which may cause Hallucinations that are Frightening, severe Fatigue can also be associated with hallucinations which may be disturbing. I am not sure how many of us in this fast moving world are affected by this but I was pretty sure that I was going to change my eating habits. Yes I am an IT professional and I have a lot of things going on in my mind and sometimes I am torn inside. I have realized that I have not given time to myself or any recreational activity. How many of you do this cruelty to yourself.

PS: This is a Work of fiction and any resemblance to anyone is completely coincidental.

This post is part of the contest Ten words to a Story(or Poem).. on WriteUpCafe.com

Her New Mail Id

It was 19 Jan 2008 , Simran was about to leave for the day from office as it was her birthday tomorrow and soon she would start getting calls also it was her last working day at Infosys , as soon she would be getting married to Jayant in a month’s time who was the chosen one by her parents but both were seeing each other after they got engaged 6 months back. She was about to shoot the final mail bidding adieu to everyone, when she called her friend Rohit who was a colleague whom she met just 3 months ago, She told him to create an Email id at Gmail so that she can Transfer all the data to that mail from office and also she would mention everybody to be in touch with her on that new mail id only.

Rohit made the new id and informed her new username and password. Soon she mailed all the private stuff from her system and also mentioned that id in her last mail. She started from office at 10 Pm after attending the farewell cake cutting ceremony. As soon she got out from office she got a call from Jayant so instead of taking the bus she started walking towards her home as it was just 2km away from the company on foot as she usually used to do whenever she was on call.

Suddenly it was 2230 hours when Rohit’s call was on waiting, she did not picked it as she was still talking to jayant. After a few minute’s she got a message from Rohit saying that “he has seen all the images of her with her ex boy friend mailed to that new id and now he has changed the password of the email id and now she cannot do anything and if she wants those pictures back, he wants 100k rupees for that.”

She was shocked nearly to death as the fast moving bus passed by just a whisker away. She has no clue what to do next to go and celebrate her birthday or to tell everything to jayant or to start collecting 100k rupees.

=========================================================================================

2^nd and the last part

Walking on the road was she, alone in that crowed yet so lonely road in the killing noisy silence. It was 11 now jayant was calling her but she was not picking, She was still lost in thoughts what to do and what not to cursing her for trusting Rohit as well for saving old memories, suddenly she got another message from Rohit informing her that she has got just 3 hours for 100k.

After thinking for long she decided to give him the money. Rahul told her to come to majestic station to give her the money, both decided to meet at 3 am in the morning .Jayant kept on calling her but she did not picked any of the calls. She went to the ATM and took the money.

She was waiting for Rohit at the bus stop, suddenly from nowhere she was met by him, who came and pick up her, from the bus station. He took her to an under-construction building in Tilaknagar, where he told him to give the money and switch off the mobile phone. After getting the money he was now full of greed and lust as he told her that he liked her and wanted to have sex with her and started making sexual advancements and told her if she refrains or stops he would make the pictures public. She tried to stop him but she was afraid too. A loud noise of tearing cloth was heard.

She reached home 4 am and slept; Jayant came at 6 am in the morning and gave him a surprise birthday visit with a beautiful birthday cake.

And asked her why the phone was switched off.”It was out of battery” she explained. They both had coffee together which she made. At 7 am the newspaper came and jayant shouted “hey someone from your office got murdered last night”.

The newspaper read “A techie named Rohit was beaten to death by robbers and all his valuables were stole, Police have no clue about anything till now.”

=========================================================================================