Saturday, November 21, 2015

Running Away ..

At times my mind goes blank..
My heart sinks into immense darkness..
A pang of guilt..
Me being the reason of your dis comfort..
I respect your choices..
You want your way..
But u got to listen to what I say..
All u hear is noise..
And u continue to go your way..
All you leave behind..
Is a broken me..
Who is stuck in between letting go..
Or give us a chance or two so..
Not sure if I can anymore..
Not sure I can understand myself some more..
Not sure i can repair my broken ego..
Not sure if you take things real slow..
I took the route to run away..
So u at least be happy n gay..
I have  forgotten to be myself around u..
Needing to process myself times not few..
I may run..but i want u to stop me..
And know my thoughts the way i see..
All I need is that twinkle in ur eye..
When u meet me..
That beautiful wide smile..
You give me..
That yearn to talk more often..
Laughs and jokes..gossip like old times..

I know I ask for too much..
Which u may do or not as such..
I maybe silent now..
Coz all I want is..
Is for you to get ready and come for me..

Till then..I just keep running away...

Sunday, July 12, 2015

The Message



I opened my eyes. My head was throbbing. My body was aching in pain. I made an effort to shift but failed. I found myself dripping in sweat. It was bloody hot and stinky. Slowly I started recognizing my surroundings. I was at the back of a Pajero. I realized I was in some sort of accident. I couldn’t think clearly. Everything appeared blurrish. I reached out my hand feeling the door .. I presumed. I pulled out the handle and off opened the door and I fell down, my face flat on to the sand. Ouch!

I pulled myself together and sat up. Wow! All I could see was stretches and stretches of sand and behind me the empty abandoned Pajero. What happened? Where were everyone? Why was I left here? God I needed answers.. And now I needed to get help.

I got up and chose a direction to walk. It was tough to walk in this sand. The sand was burning hot and the sun above was not at all helping. I needed water. Wait, the Pajero. I turned back and hurried to the vehicle. I strip searched the Pajero, no phone, no radio but found a small bottle of water. Lord , you helped me there. That got some strength in me. I got out and walked out, determined to find a way out.


I walked and walked ..at times sank in deep sand. My feet was so burnt that I lost my sensation. My heart was leaping that I thought I would vomit it out. My breathing was becoming irregular and I was nauseous. I needed serious help.

What a place..was this hell? Did I die? My mind raced through all the sins I had committed. From all the stories I heard heaven had angels for company and hell some devils. Here there was not a single soul around. Even the sight of a camel would’ve made me jump with joy. I found myself crying out loud. I was being punished by some inhumane idiot. Why Lord , why.

I heard a gentle whistling in my ears. I could feel a light breeze. Nothing cool about it though. It started getting stronger and stronger and grew into a full blown storm filled with sand. A sand storm, all what I needed now. I couldn’t move any further, it was so strong. My knees gave away and I knelt down. I couldn’t give up. That was not me. My head bent down, as if it was a becoming a burden to me. My eyes were trying to remain opened with all effort. And then.


Amidst the wind, I saw a silhouette. In the far distance. My energy levels which had gone down the drain, flew right back in and I screamed. ‘Hey!’

I got up forgetting my sorry state and ran to the person I saw. As I closed in nearer and nearer, I realized it was my college classmate,Shikha.Why was she here? All sorts of questions were racing through my mind. To hell with those, right now she was God sent and I needed her help. ‘Shikha!’ I screamed. ‘Shikha, stop.’ I never seemed to get her attention and I was nowhere getting closer to her. Strange. She was somehow faster than me. I screamed and screamed. Tears of desperation streaming down my face.


Suddenly she stopped. I halted. She turned and smiled. And started walking towards me. I thanked my luck and the Lord and wiped my tears. When I saw that!


A large ditch was right in front of here. The sands were swirling. I panicked. I yelled at her to move out. ‘Shikha stop, you will fall down.’ I quickened my pace to try to stop her. The ditch was getting bigger. Now what’s this? What’s happening to this place. A ditch appears from nowhere and this girl is acting stupid. Can’t she see this? I ran screaming like a maniac and there she was walking towards me smiling. No no Shikha, I can’t lose you, I need you to help me out. I was yelling,screaming, kicking out and this idiot was hell bent on falling. 

For a second I saw her and the next second I could see her outstretched hand popping out from the sand. My ears were tuned in to a faint sound of ringing which was getting louder and irritating. I jumped to the edge of the ditch and held out my hand. ‘Here hold my hand.’ But I couldn’t do anything, the sand was burying my only hope and I was drowning in the strange ringing sound. I was out of breath, voice..hope..life..


‘Nisha..wake up!its time to go’ I opened my eyes and woke up. I looked around. I was in my hostel room and my friends were getting ready. ‘Are you ok?’ my roommate Meena asked. ‘You are sweating like a pig.’ I looked down and touched myself. It was a dream. Damn right. It scared me like hell and why was Shikha in it yaar?


I dressed up , took my books and went down. I reached the front door and I noticed Shikha getting down from the hostel jeep along with the warden. I looked at her and nodded my head. She just quietly walked inside, avoiding my glance, with the warden tagging behind her. I confronted the warden and asked her what happened. She said ‘Shikha had a minor stroke last night . We took her to the emergency unit nearby and later down to the main hospital in the city. There they confirmed she has a rare disease which affects one in a 1000. The stroke was just a start. But the more permanent effect was she suffered a hearing loss on her left ear as of now. Going forward , she will turn completely deaf .Poor thing. God knows what plans he has in store for her.’The warden walked to her room shaking her head.


I sat down shocked. Shikha was in the dream for a reason. It was a message ..loud and simple and not very pleasant .. Something I will never forget for years to come..







Based on a true story..                                                               

Monday, July 6, 2015

Let it go..

My patience is tested forever..
I wait for the moment never to come..
I pine on my hopes..
Letting it fade every second of delay..
I smile my pain away..
I fold my fingers tight..
I sigh in exasperation..
I think of time wasted..
I get all sorts of assumptions..
For a moment my pain turns to anger..
I think of all what's to revenge..
To avenge my pain and humiliation..
I detail it out..
I think of my brilliancy..
Then pop comes the question..
Is it all worth?
the moment i lose it..
I think the easy way out..
I always love challenges..
So i say to myself..
Just Let it go..

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

We get the unexpected..

We get the unexpected..
At a time when u are in your crazy zone..
We get the unexpected..
When the coffee goes cold n we are still busy..
We get the unexpected..
When we go into the manager's cabin..
We get the unexpected..
We you cross all hurdles to reach ur goal..
We get the unexpected..
When we see the face of that amazing voice you heard on call..
We get the unexpected..
When you get the surprise ping of a long lost friend..
We get the unexpected..
When you simply open the door..
We get the unexpected ..
When you help a colleague in need..
We get the unexpected..
When you love your friend endlessly..with no expectations..
We get the unexpected..
When we decide to just let ourselves flow with life..

Friday, June 26, 2015

What's with me..

I stare into the far..
Thinking what's with me..
I think of a relapse..
But then will that work..
I think what's with me..
The sound of laughter..joy..
Or the sprays from a waterfall..
I think what's with me..
I crave for a birds soft cooing..
Yearn to be in the waves of the blue sea..
I think what's with me...
My mind has questions..
Which may not have answers..
I think what's with me..
My mind worries..plays games..
Creating unnecessary fears..senseless..baseless
I think..
I need peace..mostly with myself..
Should end the war..i wage with myself..

I think..not to think anymore..

Saturday, June 13, 2015

The Last Time We Met..

“Hey Neha!I was joking..Dun take me serious ok?You need rest..so tc!” I looked at this whatsapp message and smiled. This was from Divya..We just had our usual bout of banter before I retired into the night.Divya..is my BFF..no my sister..no..we have a complicated relationship.

We started off as a Senior-Junior relationship in college, moving on to friends by the time she passed out. I still had two more years after that before I found my exit from college. She travelled off to Dubai to be with her parents and got herself a job. We kept in touch through the then trending gmail. I used to wait for my breaks during college to rush off to the computer lab to check my mails or rather to check if she had sent one. We rarely ever talked on phone but I couldn’t complain since ISD calls were actually quite expensive that time. We weren’t close back then. I was simply smitten by her talent and her fierce independence, something which was common in us. I didn’t know a thing about her other than what she showed and I never knew how much she knew about me. One thing was common and that was we enjoyed each other’s company and we wanted to retain that. And there was something in her which I missed the most in my life..the love and care of an elder sister.

She married Rahul, a handsome young software engineer when I was in my last year of Btech something which I was looking forward to since I could catch a glimpse of her and I was anxious to see my Jiju(not technically though). BUT, it was right when I had my 7th semester exams and that’s that, I couldn’t attend her biggest event in life. Life moved on, and I passed out with a job at Pune.She..at Bangalore. We messaged and emailed and rarely called. She was busy with her new life and me, caught up with the inhumane world of IT corporate and my then fiancĂ©e Shiv.

Shiv became the reason I met Divya after a gap of two years..at my marriage. Even though I met her amidst the rush of relatives clogging around us and the photographers, I could see she was really happy to see me and I…I was elated.. and that was the last to meet her for many years to come..
Marriage to Shiv brought me to Bangalore along with a new job. One thing which made me closer to meeting her. Even though we contacted each other somehow we had the excuse of never meeting.She was busy with Rahul’s and her Master study plans in Germany and I was busy with my job and my new found love of my life , Shiv.

Down the lane when I settled down with my life at Bangalore, I got a call one fine day from Divya saying she was leaving to Germany. I held the phone for a long time . Her words pricked right at me with the fact, I was never going to see her any time near future. I regretted every minute of not seeing her when we right next to each other at the same city and when she was leaving I was reeling in guilt and most of all , immense sadness.

Thanks to technology and with the android devices making a rave in the market with their wide set of apps for internet messaging and free calls , I kept in touch with Divya. We were in two different worlds altogether, she reliving her student life with Rahul and me turning into an absolute corporate material. We messaged each other almost every day , getting closer and closer. She became a part of my life and I saw in her an elder sister.

With the time difference of almost 4 hours., we hardly video called and rather made use of whatsapp to the fullest. Gradually whatsapping her made it part of routine and we shared a lot of views on many different matters, each learning a new thing from each other. I messaged her pics, videos of things connected to my life and she did the same too. We always made plans to meet but our life situations and this distance made it almost impractical.
In fact I had even reached Germany along with Shiv and was hoping to meet her this time. But, it turned out she was held up with her exams and couldn’t make it for me. Well I had my exams on her important day and she made it to mine. So I guess that called for a tit for tat from life itself. I left Germany heavy hearted.

Time flew down, Shiv and I relocated to the US. There we were gifted with Dhruv, our son . My job at the US required most of my time, with meetings and calls and ofcourse the time with Dhruv. I personally traced every life step of Dhruv and all that took a toll on me. I had no time for friends or any kind of entertainment. But my whatsapp messages to Divya never stopped. I looked forward to that time when I could finish all my work , sit down on the sofa with a hot cup of light green tea and type away my days history to Divya. She would send me pics of her daughter Maya. She is an angel and both their tactics and tantrums were hilarious. Maya is a photocopy of Divya and extremely talented just like her mother. I was never left out of her life and she would sweetly call me her chitta or little mother as we call in our mother tongue.
One thing remained..for years together..we had never met ..yet.
I had a passion for writing and I always wanted to release a book of my own. Divya used to tease me about me releasing a book and getting rich and famous..that I should write one and I used to never take that seriously. I used to write small stories and publish on my blog and Divya used to paint whenever she could and we reviewed each other’s work. Infact, I have even have some stories written with her painting as the cover and theme. We were hardcore critics LOL.

 Out of the blue, I started writing, when Dhruv had started going to school. It took years, but I did complete one and sent off to my friend who worked in a publishing house. They liked it immensely and decided to roll it off.  I had kept this as a secret from Divya and wanted to surprise her with my first copy.
I received the first copy , in which I wrote a message and couriered it off to Divya..

March 6, is my mother’s birthday and I wanted my book to hit the stands on that day. I flew in Shiv’s and my parents for the grand book launch. A small party was organized by Shiv along with the press conference. A premier launch of the books was done beforehand itself and I had received good reviews from the critics. Now I was ready to bring it out to the audience. I was nervous and excited.
Something or rather someone was amiss in this excitement. Divya. She would’ve been the happiest. But as I said, it wasn’t possible. Her being here..but I wished some miracle could happen. And it did..


Among the people lined up for the book signing, I saw a girl dressed in a pink frock , neat and spotless. She caught my eyes . She had her head turned sideways but seeing that girl, my heart raced off again and I was having this electric feeling going on inside. I knew her..she looked very familiar.. Maya. No cant be.No no..Maybe she looked like her..then she turned and she smiled and said..Chitta..I got up from my chair and ran to her. I hugged her tightly as if she was my own little daughter. Shiv came to my side smiling along with Rahul. I hugged Rahul too, God knew what I was thinking..AWKWARD..but I was crazy..excited..happy..because finally she came..to meet .We could meet.
I searched the entire hall and there she stood staring at a huge banner of the book cover. I quietly went and stood next to her. ‘Hmm..’ she murmured. ‘You released a book with my painting as your cover.’ I looked at her. ‘So?’ I asked smiling. She outstretched her palms and said ‘My credits please.’ We cracked up laughing. At that moment I realized, I was standing with someone whom I was seeing after long long years and yet I felt as though it was just the day before we had parted. I thought I had a 100 things to say to her when we met, but apparently we knew each other so well that there was nothing to say. I hugged her tightly for a long time. For me , just that faint green screen of whatsapp was not enough. I wanted her with me , by my side , as my buddy and sister throughout my life.

That was not possible and after a week they flew back. But that week was the most incredible week I had in my life. Maya and Rahul bonded well so did Rahul and Shiv. I was stuck to Dhivs as a leech never letting her out of my sight. Maya was an incredible girl very matured for her age and we had our moments too.

The last day was a heavy day for me and Dhruv , both not wanting our friends to go. I asked Divya, ‘Why did you come down now?’ She smiled and said ‘You sent me the first copy of that book even before you send one to your mother. In that note you wished my presence. You published my work without my consent. And I missed you long enough. Are these reasons enough? Or u need me to lie more?’

So that was that and we continued with our life again..only difference I had a three book deal also , with the first one being a hit. With my biggest critic Divya..its a piece of cake . Is it?hmm..satisfying her would be more challenging than a 1000 readers..



I typed just a ‘Gn’ and pressed the send button on my whatsapp to Divya…



Saturday, December 20, 2014

That night....

I looked at my friend, Diya who was at the driver seat of her Mercedes, no sorry, her precious Merc. She was high and happy. We were returning from a small party including my close friends and me, thrown by Diya herself. Occasion- I had received my visa to US and I was to travel by the month end. I was the only one sober, others hooting and singing away. I was annoyed at Diya, for driving the car under the influence of alcohol and Diya was aware of it. She continued singing away which irritated me even more. I always stood by rules and Diya..well..never. She faced life as if there was no tomorrow. And me? Lived all my life following principles, rules and my mom’s dreams. Diya and I argued a lot on this. Diya..my chuddy buddy..since 5th grade. Only daughter of Mr. Natesh P ,a popular businessman in Bangalore, a simple , billionaire! So Diya had no qualms in spending any amount on herself and..me. I would never accept anything from her, my ego obviously, which she of course didn’t care about.
I was looking at the speedometer. It was a constant 130-140. I was getting tensed. I offered to drive a million times. Diya hated babysitting and was stubborn to give me the wheel. I turned away and looked outside. I thought about my struggle at the office to get my visa and the drama I had staged. Finally I did  it and I was happy. I whistled to myself, treating myself to be easy for once. It was dark outside and raining hard. I again looked at Diya and the speedometer. Somehow both of them were getting better at annoying me now and then. Diya looked at me and said: ‘Nisha, chill man! Loosen up for once!’ Suddenly Susan, my colleague, who was also in the car at the back, screamed ‘LOOK OUT!!’ We both looked ahead and amidst the rain I saw a faint figure on the road. I watched in horror as Diya slammed the brakes and the car skidded. ‘THUD’ came the sound as we hit that figure. The car swirled around and hit the divider and stopped. I jumped out of the car and ran out to check what we had hit. Just as I feared, we had hit a person, a woman. She was lying on the road, in a pool of blood, her back facing me. I felt a throbbing pain at the back of my head and my left arm was numb. But I managed to kneel down and just when I was about to touch her, Diya tugged at my arm “Nisha, Come on! Let’s go from here before any one sees us. Susan and Akki (Akriti , another friend who was with us) are hurt and we need to get ourselves to a hospital. We don’t need a case now, Dad will kill me!Lets go and ..’ she went on and on as she led me away from the scene. I barely heard what she had said. I was looking at that body on the road, my heart plunging into guilt and my ‘always right ‘ subconscious nudging me to take that woman to the hospital. By then people had begun gathering and we got into the car and scooted.
I woke up two days later at the hospital, feeling wobbly and woozy. I saw my parents looking anxiously at me along with my brother, Nihal. Diya was at the other end of my bed , her arm in a sling and a band on her head, probably from a head wound at the accident. Suddenly my thoughts went back to that night. ‘Diya, that girl..that girl..’ I started. Diya stopped me half way ‘Nisha, come on , you are stressed and you need rest ,so stop speaking and go to sleep.’ I felt she was right since I had already began feeling sleepy and dozed off slowly as I heard my mom asking Diya , ‘what girl, which girl’ ..
I woke up again, this time to see Diya only. I looked around and saw no one else. ‘I sent them home. They were here for two straight days and they needed to take a break. I told I will look after you.’ ‘hmm’ I murmured and sat up. I was kind of not wanting to sit alone with Diya. I was angry with her. ‘Listen, Nisha. I have no idea about that girl and neither am I interested. No one else knows about her except you and me. Let’s keep it mum. If this news leaks, media will link this to Dad and I don’t want that. ’ ‘What? You are talking about your Dad ? What about that girl? What if she is dead? Do you realize that we would be freaking murderers??’ I was hysterical. ‘Shushh…’ Diya hissed. ‘You will let the whole world know?’ ‘That’s it’ I said. ‘Get out!’ Diya was taken aback. ‘What?’ she asked , her voice barely audible. ‘Ya you heard me. Please go. I really need some time alone.’ Having said that I turned and shut my eyes down. I was so mad. Mad at her. I loved her all right, because despite all the spite , she had some humanity. And now? It’s vanished. No, I needed some time to clear my head. I heard my room door open and shut.
I got discharged from the hospital a week after. As soon as I reached home, I changed to some cleaner clothes and left home, amidst all the cacophony at home for me not being well and all. I took my scooty and raced to that exact, same spot, yes! Where I last saw her body. I stood there. It was midafternoon and the roads were filled with trucks and cars speeding down, since it was a highway. I looked around and I couldn’t see anybody I could recognize from that night. I returned home.
For the next three days, I kept returning back to the same spot. I stood at the same spot, stared and then came back. On the fourth day, I heard someone stand by me when I was at the spot. I looked up. A very pretty girl was standing by me, her left open, a yellow kurti and off white leggings. She had worn long earrings and her face was so perfect as if she was fresh out of a painting. ‘Listen’ she said. ‘What are you doing here every day? What’s so interesting that you see here on this spot?’ I got scared. But I regained my composure and said ‘That’s none of your business’ I said haughtily. She smiled. ‘Do you know, there are people who are regulars here, including me, and it’s pretty weird seeing you come here, stare at this spot and then go away. Some people are also saying , an accident had happened at this very same spot and a girl was almost killed. Do you have anything to do with that?’ ‘Almost? She didn't die?’ I asked, but almost too quickly. She said ‘haa.. So you do have something to do with it. Did your car hit her? Did you see which car at least?’ and she bombarded me with questions. I ran to my scooty , started it while she continued stalking me with her questions while I sped away.
I reached home and went up to my room. Her questions were pummeling my brains. I noticed I was sweating. ‘Nisha..NISHA!’ I turned to see my mom. She was holding a plate of some toast and milk. She looked worried. ‘What happened beta, tell me. You look flustered.’  I didn’t say anything.
For the next two days, I didn’t go to that spot thinking of someone else coming to bother me around. I started going to office and gradually things were getting ok for me. My day of travel was nearing. I wasn’t still talking to Diya and neither she was interested in calling me. Twice I picked up my phone to whatsapp Diya, but then thought otherwise.

One day, while returning from office, I came down the same road where the accident had happened. I slowed down at the same spot and when I looked ahead I saw that girl again. It was as if she was expecting me. She came to me. ‘Hello. I scared you off last time. Let me not this time. Hi, I am Medha. What’s your name?’ I hesitated. Should I leave or stay? I switched off my engine, took a deep breath and said ‘Sorry for running off last time. My name is Nisha.’

We hit off good and from that day we met everyday for the next three days.  Infact, I liked her.She had a way of talking less and listening more. She was very patient unlike Diya and I was getting comfortable with her. One day we chatted about that night. I felt good talking to somebody about that night, to someone who would not judge me and just simply listen, I even talked about Diya shushing me. I really didn’t know why I was spilling all the beans to this person, one I didn’t know much, but somehow, I craved for some peace. Someone to tell me I didn't do anything wrong. I ranted and then kept quiet, waiting for Medha to tell something. ‘Did you visit her at the hospital?’ she asked. I shook my head. She said ‘Let’s go there.’ I denied. She insisted. I denied and left her.

Again the next day, she insisted. I denied again. The following day, I relented and together we went to the hospital. We checked for the accident victim at the reception and found she was at the ICU. We walked towards the ICU. I could see people seated outside the ICU. ‘ There she is. Anjali’s mom.’ Medha pointed out. I turned and asked. ‘Who is Anjali? Is that her name? And how do you know her mother?’ Medha said ‘Her pic was all over the paper!’ ‘Hmm, possible’ I said. I walked towards the mother and introduced myself as Anjali’s friend. Her mother gathered herself up. I looked at her sad, disheveled face probably from days of crying. She folder her hands to a Namaste and fresh tears rolled out.  ‘Since 15 days I am waiting for my daughter to wake up and call me.’  Apparently she was still in comma. Behind Anjali’s mother, I saw another pretty face of a nine year old. She was Aarti, Anjali’s little sister as introduced by her mother. I looked at the little one and smiled. I beckoned her to come and gave her a toffee I had with me. She gave me a small smile and took the toffee. Anjali’s father was out collecting money for his daughter’s operation, which was now a daunting task her entire family was facing. Anjali was unemployed and didn’t have a medical insurance. I was so over whelmed, that I started crying and hugging Anjali’s mom. Medha was standing there all this time, letting me do all the talking. After sometime, I turned around to go and I found Medha missing.Shit! I didn't have her number!

I got out of the hospital, took my scooty and drove straight home. I couldn't get Anjali’s mom’s face out of my mind. I had to do something. After all I was responsible for this. I made up mind, to go to Diya’s house, not to see Diya, but her father.


Natesh uncle, Diya’s father was a reputed businessman. He was very temperamental and was known to be outspoken. Diya was outright scared of him, what with the military regime they follow at home. I rang the doorbell. The door was open by one of the 100 maids he had at his home. They recognized me quickly and informed Diya, who came sprinting down the stairs. ‘Hiya bestyy…I knew you would come looking for me..’ she said coming down. I avoided her and continued towards her Dad’s study room. It was a Sunday, and I knew her Dad would be at his study doing something or the other. Diya stopped me , but I just shoved her aside and continued. Suddenly I was pulled back by my hair by Diya and punched. I was furious and punched her back.’ You can’t go in there.’ She screamed. ‘I need to do this’ I insisted, trying to save myself from her powerful blows. The cat fight continued until uncle himself came out and took us both into his study room. ‘Now tell me , what’s going on with you two. You two are obviously not getting along well.’ I looked at Diya. ‘She wouldn't budge from there until I ask her to. You go ahead and tell me.’
I blurted out to uncle everything. He listened and remained silent. He looked at us both. ‘Thank you Nisha, for bringing this up to me. Now go home and don’t tell anyone else about this. I will see what can be done from my side.’ Rest assured, I went back home, bruised, by my best friend. I smiled, but I felt a lot lighter.

I went to the hospital the next day to see Anjali’s parents. They looked better and happier. I learnt from them that someone had come in and sponsored all of Anjali’s medical expenses. I was very happy. I told them about my travel to USA and sought their blessings. I went back to the spot to find Medha and tell her the news. But she was nowhere to be found. I went to the bus stop to ask about her but they said they knew no one like her. I was puzzled. Maybe she didn’t come here today.

I came back home. For the next couple of days I finished some of the pending work at office and closed my bank accounts here. I called up my relatives and told them of my departure. I still didn't call Diya. I wanted her to call me. Man , she had punched me hard that day. I can’t keep bearing her stubbornness to this extent. Why can’t she call me? I also wanted to meet Medha to thank her for taking me to the hospital and making things easier for me. But somehow she disappeared.

Wednesday morning, D-Day. All my stuff were packed. I loaded my bags and trunks into my Dad’s car. Nihal was my driver today. Just as I was about to get into the car I heard an ‘OYE!’ I looked up. Diya.

‘You would leave without calling me, you sucked up, bitch!’ she yelled. I smiled. My besty jumped towards me , hugged and cried. I knew she was crying out all the guilt and frustration that she had all this time, except for the fact I wasn't there to babysit her this time. I hugged her tight and gave a peck on her wet cheek. ‘I will call you every day from the US yaar. Chill man! Loosen up!’ and we both laughed . My mom closed the main door. I noticed the morning paper lying outside the door. I picked them up and was just about to put them through the window when I noticed a picture.
 Of Medha’s.
I opened the paper and read what was written above her photo.

‘ANJALI’S LIFE SAVED BY UNKNOWN BENEFACTOR. ANJALI UP AFTER THREE WEEK COMA.’

‘What??’ I shouted. ‘Diya, get into the car. Nihal, go to Fortis now.’ ‘Why? What’s happening Nisha?’ Asked Diya and Mom.

We raced to Fortis, thanks to my brother’s reckless driving and I ran to the ICU. Anjali’s mother was coming out of the ICU and stopped after seeing me. ‘Beta, you were supposed to travel today na?’ she asked. ‘Aunty, Can I see Anjali please?’ I pleaded. ‘Beta, only one visitor is allowed to visit the patient during the visiting hours and that's done. I don’t think they would allow anymore.’ I ran to the duty nurse standing by the ICU door side and begged her to send me inside. She didn't allow. Hearing the commotion, the duty Doctor came out. We tried to reason out with him. He looked at me and Diya. He took a long pause before he said ‘Listen lady, only one of you can see her through a glass just outside her bed. That’s all’ I accepted that and went inside.

Inside, I could hear the beeps of the machines at the bedsides in the ICU chamber and the same, strange hospital odor. I was escorted by the Doctor himself. We stopped by the glass near Anjali’s bedside. There she was. Anjali..no Medha.. the same pretty face... how was this possible? How did I meet her, if she was in here all this time? I looked at her long time. She was sleeping, peacefully. The Dr. beckoned me to come out and just when I turned to leave, Anjali opened her eyes.  I stopped. She turned her head towards me. We looked at each other and then….










She smiled…






                                                                                      - Please do not drink and drive.