Siddharth

"You should hang up first." 

"No, you." 

"Baby, you!" 

"No, first you, honey!" 

And the laughter echoed, as if emerging from the depths of bones, breaking beneath the burden, like a celestial choir uniting to serenade a lullaby. It sounded so beautiful in my ears.

“What the hell? Am I the only one cringing here?” Ankit sat next to me and I could feel him staring at me like I was something worse than a creep. He made a ‘tsk’ sound with his tongue as he watched me grow two heads in shock.

I didn't feel the need to reply to that. 

"He lost his brain cells," Gourabh who was sitting on my right claimed, his eyes glued to his laptop as he turned his eyes up to look at the TV screen. "What is this B-rated film anyway?" 

"Right… I never heard about this." 

Until now, I was enjoying my little sweet melodrama rom-com but then these ignorant brats came in, ruining my evening plans. As if they were told to ruin my mood by an unknown x variable. 

"Let me have my moment. Do you want a beating?" I spoke out loud and I knew I screwed up when I looked at my right, towards Gourabh when I had to turn left. 

"What did you just say? Try it." I blinked at him like an idiot before I saw myself holding my hands up together in front of him. 

"I didn't mean that, you know." I could only give him a smile that must have been creepy as the word may demand.

"Is this B-rated film influencing you?" Ankit commented like he just wants someone to hear him and I threw a cushion right at him after successfully dodging my remote attack. 

“How is work going on?” Gourabh asked, smoothly changing the topic. 

“Well, it is good.” And I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. Like I just lost my screw and they surely took it for that. Quite literally.

"Hey, look for a screw fast. I think it must've fallen down." Gourabh urged Ankit to look under the couch for the fallen screw and then turned to me, "How are you smiling while talking about work?" 

They both laughed and clapped hands at the cost of my patience but I was very fine with it. The smile on my face didn't wear off. 

"Do whatever but I am enjoying my work." I jumped up from the sofa, striding back to my room, leaving them confused.

"Is something wrong with him?" I heard them murmur behind me. I slammed the door closed, and sat on my desk to get some work done because I was still questionable to my job in that position like the head.

Somehow, I wanted to work but not really. I wasn't doing anything but imagining it. My eyes fell on my phone and like my dumb self who checked my messages only two minutes ago, refreshed it, waiting for something to pop up.

Did I know what I needed to see? Maybe yes, maybe no. At least I want to say no but deep inside, I know what I am waiting for. Payal. But nothing came as expected.

Even her thoughts make me want to close my eyes and just dream because she is like a dream. It's like she is the dream. My dream. 

"Siddharth, get to work." I shook up from my world and reminded myself that if anything I must prove myself to be worth dreaming that dream. 

I called up the manager. "Hello, yes… Can you send the product sales document? Like I wanted to check them out. Yes, every detail… till now." 

"But sir, didn't you take them home already?" 

"Me?" I asked, doubting myself. 

"Yes sir, you told me that on your first day and I had to fetch it from the headquarters and I gave it to you today." My head spiralled and then buffered like my poor internet speed. And soon, I realized that it was Abhiraj. But why? 

"Oh, right! I did." I had to play along. Never mind my brain already asking questions as to why Abhiraj cared for that but well, I should first solve the problem at hand. "I forgot, sorry," I replied, meekly. 

"That's fine." He giggled as if to reduce the awkwardness. "Good night then." 

"Good night." I hung up and immediately was about to dial Abhiraj's number when I heard something bang against my window. 

My eyes fell on a silhouette falling on the closed window. It looked like a human. Soon, my throat went dry as my phone buzzed sending me springing up to my bed as I barely managed to hold back from screaming. 

I looked at my phone to see Abhiraj's name. I gulped the lump in my throat before finally getting the phone up to my ear. 

"Hey, why are you screaming, you fool?  Just open this window. I can't stand here anymore. Shit, there are mosquitoes!" 

I felt the pressure leave my soul when I rushed over to open the window, already with questions lingering on the tip of my tongue. I was only greeted by him folding a file of documents in his mouth like a pet dog. As if someone shoved it in his mouth and told him to deliver it. 

"What the hell! What are you doing here?" I was shocked to see his hands holding on the ladder, one of them busy with the phone as his teeth were sucking in the file. 

He pointed at the file as I took it out, still wondering what the hell was wrong with him. He was puffing in the air as he spoke, "These are the… sales files… the manager had given me." 

I sighed. "You could have entered from the main gate." 

"I can't." He kept his phone inside the pocket as he held the ladder once again. "Your mother might recognize me. Use your brain sometimes. It's not for show." 

I didn't think of it at all. "Shut up. Of course, I know… but she is not at home now." 

"Really? Ah… whatever. I just wanted to say I happened to check those files before handing it over to you but those files…," he paused as he bit his tongue before continuing, "They didn't feel quite right." 

My eyes hovered over the files. "What is it?"

"Just check them. I will leave before your brothers see me." He got down after giving his half-filled answers to all of my questions.

I got inside after closing the window just to stare at the file. What could be so wrong with it? 

★★★

Payal

"Did you pack everything?" My mother was asking my sister for the umpteenth time as my brother-in-law and I put the slippers and the rest of the stuff in a packet, stuffing it in those huge cardboard boxes before they leave for Kolkata tomorrow.

“Yes mom, I did," Anvita spoke monotonously. "Mom, I will call you again later." Her voice seemed as if it was coming from a bucket. She sneezed and coughed before helping us with packing the last boxes. 

"You really got a bad cold. I told you not to sneak and drink cold water from the fridge. Stop doing that. You are not a kid." Neeraj shook his head as he handed her a mask to put on. 

"Don't pretend as if you don't." She retorted.

Though I felt left out, yet I couldn't help but smile and giggle the whole time. And suddenly, I could feel my muscles shivering, and my cheeks hurting and there I heard my own laughter in the whole room, which was now filled with boxes.

I had no idea why or how or what exactly made me crazy in the real sense of the word. Momentarily, I felt out of it. Like I was experiencing something not real.

Something of another world. Something too starry for words.

I could see the stars in my eyes when I stared at him in awe. Like he was the main character of a book. For a moment, I was imagining myself as the average girl who falls in love. On my way from the office to here, I couldn't stop these thoughts. 

I walked through the same crowded streets, through the same alleyways and the same footpaths as if it wasn't a special day, as if I just hadn't discovered my first love when some of my friends were ahead with their long relationships or even married lives. 

No, it wasn't like I never liked anyone or had crushes on. I had. A lot of them, actually. But now it feels real. It was a real deal this time. 

"She went mad, right?" 

"Who knows?" I was out of my hysteria but the smile didn't leave me.

I heard them only to get back to my thought train. It was sometime earlier when I read about this article. '33 ways to see you are in love.' It's a good marketing technique to sell your tips; even I would have clicked on them. 

But can love even be defined by something particular?

"You look scary. Are you okay?" My brother-in-law confronted me.

I coughed and pulled on a more serious look. "I am done here." I quickly excused myself to go to the washroom after completing my task. 

Making sure I closed the door, I pulled out my phone and then I finally started contemplating, thinking and rethinking about what would sound cool. I told myself there is nothing to regret and just to let love do its magic.

After all that, all I could come up with was a 'Hey, What's up?" The next moment I regretted my choice. I want to undo it, please.

~•~

Did you ever feel the need to have an undo button in life?

Sorry for updating late because I was experimenting with my new story so I was busy with that and also I was preparing myself for my upcoming tests.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Please do vote, comment and share.