The Link- 20- The One With The Dinner

“How are you?” Nidhin asked Abhigyan, as he sensed that Kriti was not in a position to talk as yet.

“I…i…am… fine… please be seated.” Abhigyan was offended by Kriti’s non-  answering behaviour and on that Nidhin’s intervention.

“So… umm… you have read my posts??” He asked Nidhin.

“Ya.. some of them..” Nidhin answered in a sulking voice.

“Which one do you like the most… i mean of all you have read… which one is your favourite?”

(Why are all these writers so concerned about the ‘favourite’) Nidhin thought. He was scanning some topics to talk about and avoid the current discussion, when Kriti said,

“I liked that ‘In Conversations With Abhigyan’… where you tried to talk to yourself… and where you tried to actually understand yourself.”

“Hmm… thanks..” Abhigyan said with a little smile.

“I am sorry… maybe I was rude back then… when I didn’t answered… but you see I was kind of shocked or maybe awestruck…” Kriti explained.

“It’s okay… what would you have?” He asked both of them.

They placed their orders and the waiter informed that it would take 10-15 minutes to come. Now, all the three were thinking about the things they can talk.

“How was your day?” Kriti tried to break the ice.

“Oh… don’t ask… office and then the boss… but you know what, since the day Nidhin called and asked to meet.. I have been really happy… I mean you yourself are a writer  must be knowing that feeling, that joy, when someone compliments your work and wants to see you when they are in your town.”

Kriti gave a confused look. She had no idea what it feels to be a writer… but she could not show that emotion right now.

“Ya… I kind of do…” She just stretched that answer in these words.

“By the way… you have come to Bangalore for some work… what is it about?”

“Umm… we are here to work on a project… we have to make a project and for that we need to do empirical study.. so for that purpose… tell us more about yourself.. what do you do… and you know…” Nidhin tried to divert the discussion and bring in Abhigyan as the topic of discussion.

“Oh.. great… see this is the most difficult question… who am I… when someone asks this… it’s like… Oh My God… who am I… what should i tell and what not…”

“You are right… this is the most difficult question but for some, to answer this question is very important… sometimes this question brings someone to unknown places… sometimes this question forces a person to meet new people… sometimes it’s not about introspection… sometimes for some people, the answer to this question becomes the aim of life..” Kriti said.

“Waah… and now I can relate you to the Kriti whose writings I have read…” Abhigyan said smiling.

“You do?” Kriti asked excitedly.

“Umm…ya…” Abhigyan felt something wrong with the girl’s behaviour.

The food came by that time.

“So… who all is in your family?” Nidhin again tried to start a conversation.

“Oh… I have my family base in Uttar Pradesh… I am here just because of work… Back there I have mom. dad, one younger brother… what about you?”

“Oh… I am the only son of my parents… I had a sister… but she met with an accident when she was 5. So…”

“Oh… I am sorr..”

“You had a sister and you never told me?” Kriti intervened.

“You know that…” Nidhin tried to pacify her.

“Maybe I know, but you know that I don’t remember.”

“There is nothing to tell…”

“Excuse me… but Kriti… you don’t remember… how would he know what you remember and what not?”

“Well… ” Kriti was in a fix. She could not express that she does not remember anything except him.

“Actually… I think we should now come to the basic point… Abhigyan…. I want you to listen to this very carefully… it’s not a joke… please…”

“Dude… you are scaring me…”

“Kriti had met with an accident a few months ago, and she lost her memory… amnesia they say it… she had forgotten her name, her identity… you see everything… except one…”

Abhigyan looked at Kriti. “Is there any truth in what he is saying?” he asked.

“There is no lie…”

“Ohkay… what’s that exception?”

“You…”

“Me??” You didn’t forgot me?? But there is nothing between us worth remembering…”

“Actually she remembers one image… the image of WordPress where you had commented.. so basically she does not even remember you… it’s just the image and in that image… you were involved.”

Abhigyan could not believe his ears. He bowed his head to think.

“Sir… you would like the desserts now or after sometime?” The waiter came to take the last order of the meal of the night.

The Link- 19- The One Where They Meet

“So… are you excited to meet him?” Kriti asked her mom and Nidhin, while they were waiting for the flight to fly, sitting inside the plane that was going to take them to Bangalore in almost one and a half hour.

Her mom just smiled at this question. Kriti had been asking this question since the previous night and had repeated it almost 5 times, the present day. Nidhin had stuffed his ears with the headphone and had started watching a movie coming on the plane’s personal screen. Not getting  the excited reaction from both, Kriti just sat quietly, searching for something to divert her mind from Abhigyan. She started reading a magazine.

The flight attendant came and gave the general information about the four emergency gates in the plane and also gave the specific instructions as to how and when they are to be used.

As the plane started moving on the runway, Kriti felt someone’s touch on her hand. She moved her neck to watch out. It was Nidhin’s hand… trembling with fear, his eyes were closed and he was breathing quite unusually. She laughed at this behaviour of Nidhin. She kept her other hand on his hand to support him. Nidhin opened his eyes and looked into Kriti’s.

“Are you okay?” Asked Kriti.

“Ha?” He asked in an addled tone.

“I… was asking… if you are okay..” Kriti repeated.

“Oh… I… I… yes… umm… okay… I am okay…”

“You sure?”

“Absolutely…”

The flight had taken off and the plane was quite stable in the air. Nidhin made an eye contact with Kriti and brought her attention to their hands. Kriti quickly removed her hand from Nidhin’s and focused on the movie being  telecasted in the plane.

“I am sorry…” Nidhin said to control his stirness.

“It’s okay… are you afraid of height??” Kriti asked.

“No… you see… it’s the first time I am travelling by plane.”

“Ohkay… umm.. why?”

“Because my father’s income does not allowed me to…”

“But… for this flight you didn’t let me pay… why did you paid if…I mean…”

“First… I paid for my ticket because I do a side job after college and the savings were enough to buy the ticket, second, I didn’t wanted anyone.. to think that I am all at your expenses and third… it’s my first flight travel… let me enjoy it… so please shut up…”

“Oh…” Kriti just said this, but she kept looking at Nidhin.

After about 2 hours of an experience in the air vessel, they arrived at the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru. Nidhin called Abhigyan and asked him about his schedule. Abhigyan told him that he had asked for a leave and it was granted too, but at the last moment, his boss called him over to finish some urgent work, so he would not be able to meet at the planned time, but would meet him up for dinner.

Nidhin told about the change of plans to Kriti and his mom.

“How can he do that??” Kriti showed displeasure.

“Well he can..” Mrs. Roy tried to soothe her out.

“But when we were scheduled to meet for lunch… how can he convert it into dinner?? I mean how can he, so take us for granted… i mean..”

“You are right, Kriti…” Nidhin interrupted. “Let’s go back to Delhi..”

“Should we?” she changed her tone… “I mean how can we leave without meeting him… I mean…”

“Just shut up and head over to the hotel… I know you are not going anywhere without meeting that blogger.” Nidhin said casually.

“Hmm…” she sighed.

In the evening, Kriti called Nidhin in her room. She was confused about what she should dress in.

“See… ma is saying that this blue kurta and jeans would be quite subtle but I think that this black kurta and jeans would be better… what’s your opinion?”

Nidhin was quite in a fix, because Mrs. Roy was sitting next to Kriti and he knew that if he picks the blue one, Mrs. Roy would be extremely happy because it might be after a very long time that her daughter would be doing something that she likes. So he picked the blue one.

“See… i told you… why did you troubled Nidhin?” Mrs. Roy says.

“I just thought it better to take a second opinion…” Kriti said in a low voice.

“Aunty, I was thinking that since you are coming with us… you should sit at another table… I mean he should not know that we are three people… I mean see… he himself would be quite nervous and apprehensive to meet two strangers… and he might get more fearful to meet the girl’s mom… I mean it’s just a suggestion..”

“No… it’s okay… actually I was thinking the same that it might not be good to surprise him too much… I will stay away from him but close to you…” Mrs. Roy said, looking at Nidhin.

Nidhin called Abhigyan to confirm the meeting.

Nidhin reached at the restaurant with Kriti, 10 minutes late owing to the traffic.

Kriti saw a man, dressed in lime colored shirt and black trousers with black shoes. He was wearing a Polo watch in his right wrist. He had a sober hairstyle and his height was almost 5’6″. The table along which he was standing had white cloth spread over it and on the extreme right side of the table, a small bag was kept. They reached near the table.

“Hi… I am Nidhin… and she is your co- blogger… Kriti…” Nidhin introduced himself and his friend.

“Wow… Hi… I am Abhigyan… Hi Kriti… so nice to meet you…” He said.

Kriti didn’t said anything. She wanted to, but it seemed that words choked into her throat.

 

So… the story is getting complicated…

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Link-18- The One With The Excitement

“Nidhin do you realise that it’s only 2 days left… that I would meet him..” Kriti said enthusiastically.

“Ya… i know… the realisation is imposed on me by you after every 10 minutes.” Nidhin said in a low voice.

“I am sorry… but I can’t help it…” Kriti said joyously.

“Well… you would be happy to know that Abhigyan had called yesterday and he was asking for your number.”

“You gave it?”

“Of course not…”

“I mean why?? You should have given him my number..”

“And then he would have called and you might have spitted the truth and then maybe he would have cancelled the meeting at all…. or he might have called and tried to hit on you…. Kriti you don’t know that person… no one knows him… how could I have possibly given your number to an unknown person?”

“I had given you my number at a time when you were more stranger to me than Abhigyan is… and he was never a stranger… in fact he was the only person I knew… although remotely… but I knew… when I had forgotten even my name.”

“So… what do you want me to do? If I would have given your no. and he would have misused it or irritated you, then also you would have yelled at me… you want to talk to him… take his no.”

“Why are you yelling at me??? Who are you to yell at me…?

Nidhin stood quiet for a second and then said, “You are becoming the old Kriti…” He left that place after saying this.

Kriti didn’t knew why she said that to Nidhin. And why Nidhin said that to her. Who is the old Kriti that no one wants?  What kind of person was she, about whom no one even wants to talk…

She didn’t stayed any longer for the classes and straightaway went to her home.

Mrs. Roy was surprised to see the girl at that hour of the day. But, couldn’t ask Kriti anything as Kriti stormed into the house with visible anger on her face.

Mrs. Roy prepared some snacks and then went to her room.

“Are you upset?” She asked as she entered her room.

“Ya… kind of…i had a fight with Nidhin..”

“Why… i mean if I may ask”

“Just… i mean he said something and I said something that maybe I shouldn’t have…”

“So… you know that it’s your mistake?” She asked.

“Ya… it’s my mistake… ”

“Then… you should just say sorry…”

“I will… mom can I ask you something?”

“Ya… sure…”

“Who am I?”

“You.. you are Kriti Roy…”

“Don’t tell me what I already know… today when I said something to Nidhin he said I am becoming that old Kriti… why did he said that?? I want to know about that Kriti..”

“Its just that you were moody and arrogant… you had no respect for other’s feelings… you were blunt and outspoken and you hardly cared for anyone…”

“And why was I like that?? I mean there got to be a reason for me being such an ice..”

“Plus you were hideous… you never used to tell anyone what’s going on with your life… so.. I seriously do not know why you were so hard on things..”

“Hmm… I will find out… i will definitely…” She said.

“I hope the same… well have you talked to Nidhin about Bangalore… I mean he talked to Abhigyan?”

“Ya… he did… are you excited to meet Abhigyan?” She asked her mom.

“Of course I am…” Mrs. Roy said smiling.

“But it seems Nidhin is not… I mean he doesn’t seem hopeful about Abhigyan… It seems he has this feeling that Abhigyan is a wrong person.”

“He is just having doubts about the unknown… it’s normal… Nidhin is a very good friend… and his worry proves that fact… who is Abhigyan?? We barely know him and the people we don’t know should be carefully watched. Nidhin is doing that for you..” Mrs. Roy took Nidhin’s stand on the situation.

Just then, Kriti’s phone rang. It was Nidhin.

“Hello..” Kriti answered. Mrs. Roy stood up and walked away from the room.

“Ya… I am sorry for today..” Nidhin said from the other side.

“I am sorry… I shouldn’t have shouted…” Kriti apologized.

“Hmm… and I just want you to know that I will not interfere in your life like I had started doing lately..”

“No… I mean… You don’t interfere… you are just being careful for me… and I would like you to continue that…”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely…”

“Do you want his number?”

“Whose number?”

“No one’s..” At this… both of them had a laugh.

 

 

The Link – 17- The One With The Call

Previously on  The Link : After the accident, the only thing that Kriti remembers is an image,the most striking feature of which was Abhigyan. While, Kriti is trying to get back to the normal routine with her parents and one friend, Nidhin, a question always tickles her… who is Abhigyan? In search of this person, she accesses her WordPress account and finally gets the details of the man. What happens next? Let’s see…

 

---

 

“Hello?”

“Ya am I talking to Mr. Abhigyan Sharma?”

“Yes ma’am you are… May I know…”

The phone disconnected.

Kriti could not hold up the phone any longer. Nidhin was sitting beside her. She was calling Abhigyan from her college.

“Why did you hanged off?” Nidhin asked.

I don’t know… I just didn’t knew what to say… I was completely blank…”

“Call again..” He said.

“No…i can’t… i shouldn’t… I mean what would I say… should I tell him why I called? would he even listen or trust that… I mean that’s too dramatic… and I mean…

While Kriti was blabbering in confusion, Nidhin took her phone and redialed the number.

A heavy but mild and calm voice answered,

“Hello?”

“Ya.. is this Abhigyan?”

“Yes… but who are you?”

“Hi… I am Nidhin from Delhi… I have read your posts and I wanted to meet you..”

There was no reaction from the other side.

“Hello… hello?? Are you there??”

“Ya.. ya… I was just… I mean.. you found the posts so interesting? Which of the posts urged you to actually call?”

The phone was on speaker mode. Kriti could listen to each and every word that was being exchanged between the two…

Nidhin was in a fix. He had never read any of Abhigyan’s blog. He even didn’t knew what he writes about.

“Actually… it’s general.. I mean every post of yours is worth reading… Umm.. actually I am coming to Bangalore next week… and your profile says that you live there… so I was just wondering if we could catch up…”

“Ya… definitely… I would be so honoured… wow… I must tell you this is the happiest moment and that came from a stranger… really I am overwhelmed to know that a reader wants to meet…umm… are you also a blogger?”

“No… actually one of my friends is… and through her column.. i read yours… well she is also accompanying me to Bangalore..”

“Who is it?”

“Kriti Roy”

“Oh… Kriti… Kriti… she is a wonderful blogger… why didn’t she called?”

“Ya… she should have called… right?? Umm… umm…”

Nidhin was out of lies at this point but was thinking hard to get away.

“..Ya… actually its a surprise for her. We are coming to Bangalore for some professional work and I didn’t told her that I am fixing a meeting with you… I mean she would be surprised… I mean pleasantly surprised…”

“Oh… sounds great…please tell me the dates when you are coming… so that i can take a leave from office..”

“The dates are net yet final… I will confirm everything… very soon…”

“Ohkay… have a nice day… and again… it was really nice to talk to you… You made my day…”

The phone hung up.

“See… i fixed the meeting…” Nidhin said smiling.

“Umm… you just fixed the meeting… I guess we should have asked my parents about this…?”

“You are Kriti… Kriti never takes permission… once in the class you didn’t wanted to hear to lecture anymore… so you just stood up and went outside and when the professor asked what happened, you plainly told him that you were not interested to hear him.”

“I did that? I am that rude?”

“You have no idea girl…”

Hmm… but atleast i should tell them… and when are we going to Bangalore?”

“I don’t know everything…. it was just lie on lie piled up to get to the truth..”

“Will you please accompany me to home today and be there when I tell my parents about this?”

“Ohkay… Please ask your mom to make samosas for me… they are just awesome..”

That day when they reached Kriti’s house.

“Mom… where is Dad? I want to talk to him..”

“Mrs. Roy looked at Nidhin in disbelief and asked, “She re- gained her memory?”

“No… why did you asked?” Nidhin questioned.

“She is talking like the old one… Well your dad is not here.. but what is it… you seem excited..?”

“Ya… I am going to meet Abhigyan..”

“When, where, how…?”

She told each and every detail of how Nidhin fixed up the meeting. Nidhin was munching samosas in the meantime.

“So you are going to Bangalore to meet him and he has no idea… why?… I mean he would be having a totally different idea of the meeting..?”

“Yeah… but I guess… this was a way to meet him… I mean if I would have told that some girl has lost her memory and only remembers him… he would have either gone for a hear attack or be confused… in either case he would have been gone… changed his number or something…” Nidhin tried to explain his deed.

“Hmm… so you two would be going? Next week?”

“Dad would be angry?”

“Why would he be… he wouldn’t even realize your absence if you don’t tell him.”

“Hmm… but you should come…”

“I will…” Mrs. Roy smiled. She made a call and ordered for three tickets to Bangalore being made available for friday night of the next week.

“I will do the other arrangements also… and Nidhin thank you for doing so much… but coming to Bangalore… are you sure? I mean… your parents… wouldn’t they say anything?”

“I don’t think… they should be having any problem… I mean.. I will ask them… but shouldn’t be a problem…I think i should leave now…” He left the house in a hurry then.

 

 

The Link-16- The One With Abhigyan

“You know what?? I read all my posts… from the first that I posted on March 23, 2013 to 27th November, 2013… the day that accident happened…” She was telling Nidhin every detail of what she explored on her blog, the next day.

“Hmm… and what about Abhigyan?? I mean this person …who is he??”

“Oh… well from all what I could gather, he is just a co- blogger… I mean I checked my mails… there was no correspondence between us there… I also checked that site… facebook… that you had told me… and I didn’t found that person there on my friends’ list.

“Ahaan… so you accessed facebook??”

“Ya… by the same method we accessed WordPress…”

“Found anything interesting on facebook??”

“Ya… people… whom I had met in college… they were there… there were so many groups I had joined…. facebook was more happening than Wordpess”

“It sure is…” Nidhin said with a sigh.

“So, what should I do next… I mean having explored these two sites also has not helped… i cannot recollect anything about past…”

“The thing is… whether you really want to know the past?”

“Sure I do… even more when these interesting things are coming up about me… I want to really know myself.”

“I don’t know… but I think there is only one person who can help…”

“And that is??”

“Abhigyan…”

“And why do you think so?”

“Because you believe it or not… he is the only link you had when you first woke up from your dizziness after accident…. i think it would be a bad idea to ignore him… we should get to him… and maybe knowing him would help you in knowing yourself… I mean that’s what I think….”

“Hmm… may be you are right… I will talk about this with dad… today…”

Nidhin smiled at  her.

That day, when Kriti reached her house, she went straight to her room and opened WordPress.

She went to her comments section and accessed Abhigyan’s wordpress site, the name of which was “gotaview’… She read The About page again which was as follows:

“Hi…I am here to make friends, relations that wouldn’t end and to talk about things that would matter. I am a Software Engineer currently working with Samsung in Bangalore. I love photography, travelling and reading… So, you can expect random photos, critical book reviews and instances of my travelling in this blog…

Hope you enjoy every time you visit this page… and hope that I have something or the other to offer to your intellect.. :)”

“Hmm… he sounds interesting…” Kriti thought.

Mr. Roy came home at 11 that night. Kriti was up, waiting for him as she had to discuss somethings with him. As soon as she heard his voice, she went downstairs and asked him if he was not too tired to talk.

“NO… I can talk… what do you need to talk about?”

“About Abhigyan…” she said in a sulking voice..

“What about him? I mean do you remember anything more than his name?”

“No…  and you know I surfed on my site and facebook and gmail and everywhere I found him it was somehow related to WordPress and you see there was no personal talk… I mean it seems everything we shared was on WordPress …publicly… so there was as such no interaction… ever… and his About page tells that he lives in Bangalore… so I am pretty sure that we might have not met as such… you see…”

While she was telling all this with sheer excitement she noticed a glee of tiredness and boredom on her father’s face.

“Dad… are you listening??”

“Ya..ya… i am just trying to figure out… what’s the purpose of this long speech..??”

“Well… the purpose of it was to contact Abhigyan… and tell him about what is happening with me..”

“But, that day you said that you might not need this person’s help.”

“But… now i think what’s the harm…”

“But… I am asking what’s the need?”

“I am not clear on that as such…”

“Okay… has he provided any contact no. there?”

“Ya… his mail id and phone number is also there..”

“Okay… we will call him tomorrow and talk talk to him..” He said smilingly and went to his room.

 

“Jaanlewa Jaanu”- 4

So, the jaanu is back…well from where?? She never went anywhere, just got dormanted for quite sometime. This time, we would be talking about LDRs (Long Distance Relationships).  Where you don’t get to see your mate, where you cannot often call him/her and where the other party get a chance to actually “party”.

So, in the current story, the boy has gone to the other State in connection with his  job, and the girl is left with his photos (on fb), his gifts (in the closet), his no. (in the phone) and his memories (guys… he is not dead).

Since, the boy is out because of job issues, he knows that he may not be getting leisure time to talk to her at his pleasure. So, they decide a time… Every evening, 6 to 7. And here is how it happens…

The following conversation happened on fb chatbox…

Girl: Hi… jaanu…

Boy: (abe yaar ping kar diya) Oh… hi… how are you??”

Girl: I am fine… but what happened to you?? Why this “oh”??

Boy:(tune ping jo kiya) Nothing…. just tired…

Girl: Of??

Boy: (ye na sudhregi) Work… what did you think??

Girl: Nothing…. so you are in Calcutta… you saw Howrah?

Boy: (ye dekhne thode hi na aaya hun) Nope… not yet… ( isse pehle ye kuch aur pooche) How was your day?

Girl:It was fine… you know Priya’s boyfriend gifted her a necklace.

Boy: (there she goes again)… Oh… how was it?

Girl: (prettier than you giftted) … Nothing in front of what you gifted…

Boy: (Hmm… chalo is baar to bach gya)… how was your day at office?

Girl: Tum bhi kya roz ki baatein…you tell me…how is Kolkata?? I have heard bengal is famous for tant sarees…

Boy: (saali ne isilye ping kiya tha)… jaanu abhi to I am too busy…

Girl: (tu busy hi rahiyo zindagi bhar) hmm… I am missing your voice… phone karo na…(maybe phone pe bolne se zaada asar ho…)

Boy: (Zukerberg ne free ka network bnaya hai… par nahi… ye STD thukwaegi…) baby the place where I am residing is out of the main city… signal problem hoga…

Girl: (ye bhi bada dheeth hai) … Okay… so… are you missing me??

Boy: Ya… i am (this question and it feels like I am again in Delhi)

Girl: kitna??

Boy: (Ab koi fancy si line banaani padegi) Just 100 grams more of the amount that you are missing me…

Girl: Tumne khaana khaya??

Boy: (ise aaj itni chinta kyun ho rahi hai) haan baby kha liya.. tumne khaya?

Girl: Nahi na… I had to skip lunch today… i had to submit one file in the office and to complete that on time.. i had to work in lunch hour too..

Boy: to jaanu time pe kaam kar liya karo na…

Girl: ( bahut bol raha hai) hmm… actually I had that pooja in my house na… that’s why i was not able to follow up the deadline…

Boy: (bahaano ki kami nahi hai… par kaam nahi karegi) it’s okay …. i know office people are a headache..

Girl: (bus yehi sunna chahti thi…)  Hmm… accha… one warning… i have heard that bengali girls are very pretty… to thoda samhaal ke…

Boy: (kya keh dia… aisi info di hai… waah.. jiyo meri jaan) Arre jaanu… you don’t trust me??

Girl: (Na…) Haan… but then too… kisi ne tumhe fansa liya to…

Boy: (mujhe kaun fasayegi… par mera jaal fenkna to banta hai) na… na… have trust… and you also… keep distance from that Rohit…

Girl: (arre haan… abhi ye yahan nahi hai… to Rohit will be a good substitute)… ya… jaanu… you don’t trust me…??

Boy: (na) Haan… absolutely…

A ping on boy’s fb chat. It was some Megha.

Boy to Girl: Jaanu… important work… really got to go…

Girl: ( Abhi Rohit is online) haan okay jaanu…. I understand… take care… good night… bye…

Boy: (Badi jaldi samajh gayi) okay byei…

So, this is how the day’s conversation ended. And with this post, i got the idea of the next post of this series. I hope, you would be reading part- 5 soon… till then… happy days 🙂

 

 

The Link-15- The One With The Diary

“Oh… so… she doesn’t want to know about the guy?” Kriti’s mother was surprised.

“Ya… she is saying that she wants to look upon what she was upto on her blog and then care about other things..”

“Maybe she doesn’t want to share the things with us… maybe she is again turning to the girl who never spoke of things she was upto.”

“Even when she never used to tell you about her endevours… you always knew so don’t tell me that you will not know what she is up to.”

“I did that only once… and after that i lost her… so you don’t have to bring that up again and again… I never forget that”

“Well obviously… you shouldn’t…” Mr. Roy left the room.

But Mrs. Roy was left with past.

5 years ago :

Mrs. Roy was cleaning the room of Kriti. She opened her closet and found a red colored diary hidden under the last drawer of the almirah.

She drew out the diary from that place and opened it. The first page of the diary read “highly personal, you are not allowed to go beyond this page if you are not Kriti Roy”.

“What can be too personal… she tells me almost every thing…” Mrs. Roy thought.

She placed the diary under the covers from where she had discovered it. She went on to clean the other parts of the room.

But, the whole day, that diary seemed to bug her. “What is in that diary? Why does she need to write a diary? Is there anything that I should know?? But… she tells me everything… or maybe not… Is she doing something which is not worth telling me or worth concealing… She is only in 12th standard… i hope she is not getting into wrong things… but how would I know..”

The whole day these questions irritated her, surprised her. She decided to talk about the same to her daughter as soon as she returns from school and tuition class at around 5 p.m.

When Kriti entered the house, she shrilled for food. At the dining table, while she was eating the apple, Mrs. Roy came up to her and asked her about her day. Kriti started like a parrot right from the moment she reached school till she left her friend at her house in the nearby locality while returning from the tuition class.

Nothing seemed to be missing. The details she gave, nothing seemed to be hidden. But obviously, there was something hidden, that is why that diary exists and its existence was hidden.

The next day, after Kriti left for school, Mrs. Roy went to her room and took out that diary. She ignored the warning written on the first page.

She flipped through the pages. She read the previous day’s page.

17 August, 2009

“Today, I would have to tell you a lie, because this thing I cannot share even with you… I know you are my best friend, but there are things that have to be personal. Not because I don’t trust you that you would spread my secrets, but just that maybe you wouldn’t be my friend after knowing my secrets. So, the lie is that the day was good. That I attended all the classes and that I laughed a lot today. The lie is that I have many friends besides you and my life is going great and it cannot get better…”

Mrs. Roy was amazed to read that. What is going on in her life?

“I would definitely talk to her today..” She said to himself.

At the dinner table that night, Mrs. Roy had cooked Kriti’s favorite food and after many days, Mr. Roy was also there on the table.

Mrs. Roy started the conversation

“So… how was your day?” She asked Kriti.

“It was fine..” Kriti said without looking at her mother.

“Kriti, you can tell me the truth… I am not your diary..”

“Diary??” Kriti looked up with amazement.. “Which diary??”

“The same one which is being kept in the lower closet of your almirah.”
“You checked my almirah..?”

“That’s not the issue…”

“Yes… it is…” Kriti interrupted Mrs. Roy.

“What diary… what are you two talking about?” Mr. Roy jumped into the conversation.

“Dad.. I will tell you… I write diary and is there anything wrong in that??”

“I guess no..” Mr. Roy was startled at such prompt question.

“But you wrote that you lied to the diary and then you said that you are happy which means that the truth is that you are not… and i just want to know why…” Mrs. Roy tried to soothe down Kriti.

“Mom… I am glad that I lied… second… no one reads some other person’s diary, third, you are never gonna find out the truth… and I promise you that” She left the dining table and almost ran towards her room and locked it.

The couple was amazed at whatever happened. Mr. Roy asked his wife the whole story which she told him.

“You shouldn’t have done that.”He said after listening.

“But, I am her mother… I was just concerned..”

“She is not a two year old… she is a grown up  girl… she understands everything… and she has a right to personal life… you intruded in it and that is why she was so angry…”

“So, you think that it was my fault..”

“Your fault is that you are too concerned… for me, for her… give her some space”
“To concern… that’s my job…”

“It’s not your job… you have assumed it yourself…”

“Okay… tell me are you not keen to know why she wrote that stuff in her diary??”

“NO… one because she is not keen to discuss that matter with us… why… maybe because it doesn’t concern us or maybe she thinks that we can’t help… in both the cases i respect her decision… Meena… I want her to take her own decisions…”

“Even if they are wrong??”

“You can’t tell if the decisions are wrong… no one can… except time…”

And after that day, Mrs. Roy had shunned herself out from everybody’s life. Her husband is coming late, she never asks why… her daughter has a secret life… she never asks why… But today she was feeling that she should have known… now when her daughter asks her about her life… she has nothing to tell… maybe her husband is right.. Kriti will find it out herself.

The Link-14- The One Where She Meets Herself

On the right side of the Reader Page was the notification icon, which was blinking in orange colour.

She remembers the image that she remembered from her past. Some part of the image that she remembered and some part of the image that was before her were similar. She clicked on the orange blinking notification icon. There were 8 bloggers who had liked the post “I AM NOT THAT” and 2 had commented.

The first comment was from a guy named Jeremy “I think the problem and the issue you have raised in this story is really a big one but a very small one to identify… so congratulations on your keen observations… Good day”

The second comment was from howdoyoudo and it said “Nice post”

She clicked on the link to that post.

The whole post was before her. She read the whole of it and wondered if she was the one who wrote that all. In the end she found that actually 11 people had liked the post and three had commented. And the first one to comment was not Jeremy, but Abhigyan.

“Abhigyan…” she shrieked out. Her mother came running to the room.

Nidhin who was sitting beside her the whole time, moved away as soon as he realised that Abhigyan has been traced, at least to some extent.

“Where is he? Who is he?” Her mom asked.

“I have only seen his name here… I have found that image that I remembered… I … I have got it… I have unveiled the mystery… now I know from where do i remember that image…” she was talking and blabbering as she could no find the way to express the emotions that were quarreling amongst themselves in her mind.

“So… what is this?” She asked.

“you.. you… know i write… I write stuff… I don’t exactly know what and why… but I just read something that I had written… and you know… I liked it… i liked reading it… and see Abhigyan has commented…” she was still blabbering.

Her mother got quite tensed about her behavior. She called her husband and told about it to him.

“Okay… I am coming” he said and put off the phone.

He reached his home after about half an hour.

“Where is she??”

“In her room… she has gone crazy… I mean she is over excited about the fact that she has got the guy… I don’t know… she has never behaved like that…”

“Hmm… let me see…”

He went to Kriti’s room. Nidhin was still there, but sitting quietly in the corner.

Mr. Roy saw him and asked him in gesticulation about the situation.

Nidhin just shrugged his shoulders indicating that he does not know anything.

Mr. Roy saw his child totally absorbed in the laptop, she even didn’t realised that someone has entered into her room and someone else was sitting there for almost an hour.

“So, i heard that you find the guy?”

“Which guy??”

At this counter question, both the men were surprised.

“The man you have been talking about since the time you woke up…” said Nidhin.

“Oh… ya… I kind of traced him… not found him…”

“By this time you must have got his details through his blog…” Nidhin asked in a tone of displeasure.

“Um… well no…”

Why?” This was Mr. Roy.

“Umm… well I was just checking out about myself… I mean i finished reading the “About Me” and ‘Hello World” of myself and then I read these very early posts… “The Thing that Happened”, You know me better” … you know I am quite funny and humorous and quite depressed as well.. i mean all the shades in one post… seems like i am kind of incredible… and you one of the commenters even said that…and …” she stopped telling as she noticed a kind of amazement and distrust on her father’s face.

“Dad… what happened..?”

“No.. nothing… i am just wondering as to why wold you write in the first place?”

“Ummm…. In the About Me page I have said that I am starting this blog because writing gives me happiness and i feel contended.”

“ohkay…” he said gulping the word “whatever” in his mouth

“Umm… maybe I should leave now…” Nidhin said.

“Oh… ya… maybe you should… but… stay for some snacks na…” Kriti said.

“No… i will prefer that at my home… Byei… Bye sir…”

“Ya… if you wish the chauffeur will drop you at your place.” Mr. Roy extended a help.

“No thank you Sir… Bus stop isn’t too far from your home.” He left having said this.

“So… what do you plan to do now?”

“I am not really interested in Abhigyan yet… I mean I can know about myself from the world that I have created that maybe I wouldn’t need Abhigyan… you see… I have just started realising that he is just a very small part of the  virtual space I have created… so when i have access to the whole space… why should I be concerned in the bits of it…”

The Link- 13- The One Where She Accesses It

Previously on THE LINK: Kriti, a blogger from Delhi, lost her memory in an accident. The only thing she remembers is an image, where the only striking thing seems to be one name ‘Abhigyan’. She starts a journey within, where she encounters herself as a rudely introvert person. One college friend, Nidhin, is helping her to trace the past as close as possible and in this venture, he had successfully cracked the password of her laptop, and now was the turn for her gmail account.

——————————————————————————————

“So… he is going to hack it?” Kriti’s father asked in a casual tone.

“Yup…” said Kriti, munching the biryani at the dinning table.

“Well… I had also researched about WordPress in the office today… and it was quite strange.”

“What was strange about it…”

“I mean it’s a blogging platform…. where people write articles or share their photography work or cooking lessons…. you know… I mean you never told us something about anything like this…”

“Well…. I don’t know the reason…. but Nidhin knows a bit about it…. so I guess you must be knowing atleast something about it…”

“Well…. If you ask me… I just know that every time you would say that you are working on WordPress… you would be typing or smiling….”

“Ohkay…. so you never asked me what am i typing?”

“You never told…”

“What kind of person am I??”

“… ”

“Well… I hope Nidhin will crack your password tomorrow and we all would know what stuff you have over there…: Mr. Roy said to break the ice of silence.

The next day:

Nidin reached at the Roys’ Mansion at about 9 in the morning.

“why are you always late?” Kriti said in excitement.

“I am not late… but maybe you want me at your disposal at your call…” said Nidhin, sounding quite rude.

“So… you are him…. are you sure would be able to do it right?” Asked Mr. Roy.

“I will try my best, Sir…”

Kriti handed over her laptop to him. While he opened the site, the whole family was gazing at the laptop and at every key he was pressing, the watchful eyes of Roy family was doing its job.

Nidhin felt quite irritated by this.

“”If you don’t mind… can I do this work alone…?”

“oh … okay…. u need space… I understand…” Said Mr. Roy.

But Kriti and her mom were still there, gazing at every movement.

“Kriti… when I said alone… i meant it…”

“Oh… mom… please..” She said.

“Not only her, but you too…”
“But, that’s my laptop…. and you are already doing something which is called unauthorised, I can’t give you that much liberty…”

“Ohkay… the deal is… I don’t understand partial trust… either you have none or you have full… u decide…”

“okay… just get the damn thing opened…” she said while leaving the room

After an hour or so… Nidhin called her.

She picked up the call quickly.

“Yup?”

“Come fast… I have opened your email account.”

“oh… wow… ohkay…”

“She came after 5 minutes or so…

“So… wordpress?”

“No… just your mail id…”

He opened WordPress on the other tab. He clicked at the “forgot password” option. The site asked for the email id as earlier. Nidhin provided the same, and within fractions of second a mail on Kriti’s id popped. It was from WordPress, it stated that the password of her WordPress account was “solace”.

“Oh… that was easy? What did you do??” She asked Nidhin.

“It’s a secret, girl..” He said smiling.

“Whatever… so… its solace…. why?”

“How would I know?”

“Hmm… so what do you say? I should open the account?”

“Why?? You don’t want to?? I guess, this is the only thing you wanted to do, since you have woke up from the accident.”

“Ya… but now i feel it… I don’t know what awaits… I mean…

“Get over it…”

Hmm… she took a deep breath and slowly typed her password on the WordPress bar.

It took about 20 seconds to open the site. The first thing that opened was her “Reader” page.

V-Day… 9 to 9

13th February, 9p.m.

ऋषि घर लेट पहुँचा। उसने फ़ोन पर रेनू को पहले ही अपने देर से आने कि खबर दे दी थी। पर…
“आजकल तुम रोज़ाना ही लेट नहीं हो रहे?”
“आज ही तो लेट हुआ हूँ…”
“और पिछले हफ्ते भी तो 8 बज गए थे… जब तुम्हारा ऑफिस 5 बजे पूरा हो जाता है.… तो इतनी देर क्यूँ लग जाती है??”

“कितनी बार बताना पड़ेगा कि मीटिंग नाम की भी कोई चीज़ होती है… अगर तुम्हें समझ नहीं आता तो मेरी गलती नहीं है…”
“हाँ … हाँ … सब गलती तो मेरी ही है… पता नहीं कैसे आदमी से बाँध दिया घरवालो ने… मेरी तो किस्मत ही फूटी हुई है…”
“तो तुमसे शादी कर के मेरी भी लाटरी नहीं खुल गयी … अब मुझे खाना मिलेगा भी  या ये सब सुन के ही पेट भरना होगा?”
रेनू खाने के बर्तन टेबल पे लायी और गुस्से में लगभग उन्हें पटकते हुए अपने कमरे में चली गयी.… “मेरी बला से…”

14 February, 8 a.m.

ऋषि ने पिछली रात ड्राइंग रूम के सोफे पर ही बिताई… वो सुबह जल्दी उठ गया था।
“आज जल्दी जाओगे?” रेनू ने पूछा।
ऋषि ने कोई जवाब नहीं दिया।
“पहले बता देते तो मैं खाने कि तैयारी कर देती … अब इतनी जल्दी …”
“मुझे नहीं खाना।”
इसके बाद रेनू ने कुछ नहीं बोला… ऋषि तैयार होकर, बिना कुछ खाये ऑफिस  चला गया।
14 February, 12 p.m.

“हुँह… न खाएं तो बला मेरी  से… यहाँ तो ऐसे- ऐसे नाटक कर रहे थे। और वहाँ कैंटीन से चाय समोसे उड़ा रहे होंगे … 5 साल हो गए शादी को… खूब अच्छे से जानती हूँ मैं … खाना लगाने में २ मिनट की  भी देर हो जाती है… तो इतनी चक- चक करते हैं.… और ये पूरे दिन भूखे रहेंगे… हुँह…  रामू …मेरे लिए खाना लगा दे… ”

14 February, 5:30 pm

“अभी तक आये क्यूँ नहीं… ह्म्म्म् …. जानबूझकर लेट आयेंगे …  ताकि मैं चिंता में घुल के मर जाऊं … 5 साल हो गए शादी को…  मैंने भी कच्ची गोलियां नहीं खेली …”

14 Feb, 6 p.m.

“अब तो वाकई में लेट हो गये… आज भी तो कोई मीटिंग नहीं है… लेकिन जब भी मीटिंग होती है… तो फोन कर के बता ही देते हैं.…  क्या करूँ… ”
रेनू ने फ़ोन ट्राई किया पर वो स्विचड  ऑफ था… “अब ऐसी भी क्या नाराज़गी  की फ़ोन ही बंद कर दिया …”

14 Feb, 7 pm

“हे भगवान, क्या करूँ… फ़ोन भी नहीं उठा रहे ….  कहीं…. एक्सीडेंट तो नहीं…”

14 Feb, 8 pm

“क्या करूँ …  पुलिस में फ़ोन करूँ क्या …. पर बताउंगी क्या ….  एक्सीडेंट?…  कितनी बार बोला है कि स्कूटर इतनी तेज़ मत चलाया करो… पर ये तो हवा में उड़ेंगे… मैंने तो स्कूटर के लिए ही मना किया था… पर गुप्ता ले रहा है तो ये भी लेंगे….  हूँ …”

14 Feb, 8:30 pm

“हे भगवान ….  इनको कुछ हो गया तो मेरा क्या होगा….  बैंक में २ लाख हैं…  और इनका इन्शुरन्स… ५ लाख…” फिर १ मिनट रुक के… “मेरी भी मत मारी गयी है… भगवान् करे मेरी उमर  भी इन्हे लग जाये …  पर …. अभी तक …”

14 Feb, 8:45pm

दरवाज़े की घंटी बजी…  रेनू ने दौड़ कर दरवाज़ा खोला… देखा ऋषि नहीं उसका दोस्त श्याम था….  वो कुछ बोले उससे पहले ही.…  “अच्छा हुआ आप आ गये भाईसाब… देखिये न आपके दोस्त कहाँ चले गए है …  फ़ोन भी नहीं…”
“अरे… भाभी… वो कहाँ जाएगा आपको छोड़  के… आज उसके दफ्तर गया था मैं.…  तो वहीँ  से मूवी का प्लान बन गया… फिर उसने कहा की खाना बाहर ही खाते हैं…. तो मुझे आपको लेने के लिए भेजा है….”
“पर फ़ोन क्यूँ बंद कर रखा है??”
“वो तो उसके फ़ोन की बैटरी ख़तम हो गयी …  और मैं अपने फ़ोन से ट्राई कर रहा था तो ‘एंगेज्ड’ आ रहा था… अब आप जल्दी से तैयार हो जाइये….”

14 Feb, 9 pm

रेनू श्याम को ड्राइंग रूम में बैठा के… अपने कमरे में गयी… “ये आदमी तो मेरी समझ से ही परे है… पता नहीं पापा ने इसमें क्या देखा…  5 साल हो गए शादी को पर गृहस्ती वाली कोई चीज़ ही नहीं है इस आदमी में… लेने भी दोस्त को भेजा है … ये नहीं की खुद आ जाते … घिस जो जाएंगे…”