She looks at her cell phone once again with a dilemma.
‘Should I call him back?’
A thought throbs her hard, so hard. She is not in a position to decide anything.
She quips with herself, ‘Why shouldn’t I? Let me just give a call…. What if he didn’t pick it up?... What if he picks up?.... What shall I say? After all these incidents, is it good to make an effort from my side?’
She is drowned in an ocean of thoughts. She looks at her cell phone again and dials the number back. Her heart is beating quite fast as if it is going to win a marathon. She tries to disconnect the line. Oops! the line has already snapped.
***
It has already been eight months since she had talked with him last. For 240 days now, she hasn’t talked to him. There were days when she used to know everything about him. What he wore, if he had had his lunch or not, she was informed every second.
It’s different now. She can’t believe that it has been 20736000 seconds. She never stops counting the seconds. Yet, she does not call him and ask his whereabouts anymore.
Actually, it was not her who started it all; it was him. The first call! Oh, it all started with that….
She soars into her fairy past.
***
“Hi, I am Akash. Is this Junu?”
These were the first words he uttered. She still remembers the day.
“No, I am not. Wrong number.”
This is what she had said and hung up. In no minute, her cell phone had blinked with the same number again. With some harshness on her tone, she had answered, “Don’t you have manners?”
There was a polite reply, “Sorry Ma’am. Are you Upekshya? Actually, I made a mistake. You had given us your number for the lucky draw. You had visited our shop last month during our sale. You have won a gift hamper .”
She called her month-old memory. Yes, that the guy was telling the truth. She had visited his boutique and had bought a dress.
“Oh! Sorry for those harsh words. Yeah, I am Upekshya.”
“Congratulations, Ma’am! When are you coming to collect your hampers?”
“Shall I come today?”
“Yeah, sure.”
A faint upward curve appeared on her lips. This was the first time she had had some luck in a lucky draw. Before that, she never believed in such kinds of stuff. She was eager to see her gifts. So, she rushed towards the boutique which was a one-hour walk from her residence.
Akash Boutique!
She read the board from the roadside and peeped in from the glass. Akash was busy with his other clients. She looked at him, feeling sour for her unkind pitch earlier. She was staring when suddenly their eyes met. Akash waved at her and called her in.
“May I help you?”
“Oh! Actually, I am Upekshya..Um. Gift hamper winner….You had called me in the morning.”
“Oh! Hi…Sorry for the confusion. Welcome to my boutique once again…. Do you have time?... Actually, your gift is that you can choose any dress as you wish. So I guess you may need some time to choose something beautiful.”
Upekshya nodded with a big smile on her face. Akash helped her choose the most beautiful outfit for her. It was a beautiful floral Maxi dress. It was white with some big and beautiful orange flowers embroidered on it. She tried it and stood in front of the mirror. She agreed on his choice.
This wasn’t the end. The visits frequented. The ‘wrong number’ had by then come to the top of the contact list in her cell phone.
***
Upekshya comes out from her nostalgic world. The red traffic light had forced the bus to stop. She looks at her cell phone and sees that her call has not been answered yet. Somewhere deep inside, she knows her call is not going to be answered.
Beep! There is a message.
The message, from the same number. Immediately she opens her inbox. The text reads: “Please look at the number before calling. I am not the person you are calling to.”
Upekshya takes a deep breath and answers, “Sorry. It was a call by mistake. Wrong Number.”
She looks out and sees the light turning green. Her bus resumes its journey.
