On the occasion of crossing one year of the community profile, we had hosted an in-server writing contest. The theme was the clash between genres, wherein Team Romance rightfully claimed the winner's place. However, we can't help but publish some of our favorite entries from each of the three rounds.

#####

ENTRY 1: Team Romance
(Entry for round 2)

Members of the team:
Reeya_Reader_Writer
kyaaraa13 &
112313parnika

PROMPT:
You get a text message from an unknown number, saying "Meet me outside, now."

ENTRY:

The clock struck nine in the morning. Closing her eyes, she tightened her grip on the railing of her balcony and inhaled the city air. Feeling the breeze on her pink cheeks, she slowly opened her eyes and let a tear escape down her beautiful, brown orbs. The millennium city of Gurugram, always bustling with life, today seemed to carry a dampness in its air, a dampness which resonated with the emptiness in her heart. By the grace of modern architecture and technology, this city stands tall with it's skyscrapers, attracting people from all walks of life. Gazing down from her apartment on the fourteenth floor of the new DLF buildings, she let out a sigh. This city encapsulated a lot of memories for her, memories that were still afresh. She felt a void, a void that was not easy to fill. Even so the recent past of her life was not very pleasant, the past two years had turned her life upside down.

"Bastard! May he rot in hell.” As all the memories of the last two years came rushing back to her, inciting a raging fury and a sense of betrayal, she wiped her tears off and stomped hard on the railing.

"Meet me outside. Now." Her phone beeped with a message from an unknown number. She glanced at her daughter, who was sleeping peacefully, living in her dreamland, a smile gracing her round face. Planting a kiss on her forehead, she silently slipped out, tiptoeing to the living room.
As she re-read the message, her heart sank. Sank with the possibility of hearing the unwanted. Sank with the fact that her life might soon take a different turn, if her fears turned out to be true. The fear of uncertainty creeped up in her. Her heart pounded heavily against her chest and she could hear her heartbeat getting faster with every passing second.

"You already know the truth." She felt a voice within her reprimanding her. " You are the damned owner of your life. Don't let a motherfucking asshole stomp it under his feet." Chided the same voice. As she felt herself caught in a tussle between her heart and brain, her phone beeped again with a message from the same number.

"I cannot wait for long. Come soon and bring my payment with you." Grabbing some thousands of rupees with her, she quickly left her house to meet the person.

"You were right. Your husband is cheating on you. The girl is his colleague. Here are the pictures. " He said, handing over her couple of pictures.

"Your work is done. Nobody should know that we ever contacted each other. Here is the payment for your work. Take it and forget that you ever met me. Never turn your back. Remember, one wrong step against me and I will make your life a living hell." With a slight bow of his head, he received the cash from her and left while she was left standing there all alone. With slow yet determined steps, she walked towards her flat and once inside her house, she leaned her back against the door and looked at the pictures. All her fears and insecurities came true when she saw him with another woman. A stream of fresh tears cascaded down her eyes and with a thud, she sat down on the floor. Drawing her knees closer to her chest, she felt as if her world came crashing down. The dimly lit room added to her grief. Only the silence of the night was able to hear the chaos in her. The night became a witness to her vulnerability.

Her trance was broken by her four years old daughter tugging at her dress. Standing near her mother, the little girl barely reached till the length of her mother's knees. Sighing she bent down on her knees and plastering a smile on her face, she took her daughter's hands in hers.

"When did my baby wake up. Hunh?"

"Mama sad why?" The little girl asked, her eyes carrying a world of curiosity in them.

"Mama's baby slept for too long today. And I was waiting for you to wake up." She lied and continued, "Baby, mama has to attend to some important work, so you will be living at Aunty Maria's house with other children today. Promise mama that you will be a good kid." She forwarded her palm to her daughter as a way of asking her for a promise. The little girl kept her finger on her chin, pretending to think something and suddenly her face lit up, as if an idea struck her.

"First mama promise that you will buy me two chocolate ice creams."  She chuckled at the kid's innocence and nodded her head. The girl forwarded her little finger and continued, "Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise!" She intertwined her little fingers with her daughter's and pulled her into a warm hug, her thoughts racing back to the day when he proposed to her.

**

The rain was pattering heavily and slid down the window panes. Aroma of the wet sand filled the air and it diffused with the smell of the food being cooked in the kitchen.

"What on earth are you cooking?" She came from behind, startling him. Even before he could reply, she took the food on her finger and tasted it.

"Yumm... cooking is yours to handle from now." Meanwhile, he was fiddling with the ring in his pocket, with thousands of thoughts clouding his brain "Will she say yes ? How do they say it in real life ? What should I say ? Does she feel the same way as me ? How should I even start.."

"You lost somewhere?" She clicked her fingers in front of him, snapping him back to reality.

"Umm, Paridhi...Pari..dhi." He hesitated.

"I know my name." She chuckled.

" I-I-I...w..a..n."

"I am not getting a word of whatever you are saying. Stop being a pain in ass and spill it."

"Only if you shut up and allow me to speak!" He reverted back. She bit her lips and stared at him. Inhaling a deep breath, he pulled out the ring from his pocket, held it in front of her and continued, "We have known each other since our college. You have always been here to support me. Be by my side when I was all alone.  When I was drowning in a sea of distress, you were the hand that pulled me out. I have annoyed you and I wanna annoy you till I take my last breath. Even though girls swoon over me, I LOVE YOU and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Be your back to lift you up when you fell down. Will you marry me?" Her eyes were brimming with tears and without a thought, she pulled him into a hug.

"How can someone say no to you!" She said, wiping off her tears. "I love you." She whispered, pulling back. Cupping her face, he kissed her forehead and slid the ring down her finger. Looking into her eyes, he saw the depth of her love for him. He glanced in her eyes and then at her lips. Taking the cue, she pulled him into a kiss, sealing their bond.

••••••

"Why on earth can't this car move further!"  Frustrated, she honked, signalling the car in front of her to move further. Trying to make  way through the busy and crowded streets of Gurgaon has never been easy. She honked again and let out a sigh as she realised that  the traffic signal had again turned to red.

"Only if the ass in front of my car pressed the accelerator harder, I wouldn't have been stuck in this traffic for the last 15 minutes." Cursing, she picked up her phone to tune into some soothing music, when her phone rang. Rolling her eyes and cursing under her breath, she received the call and even before she could utter a word, the voice at the other end screamed,

"I am already at the family court. I don't have the whole day. Had you informed me that you were gonna be late, I would have-" before he could complete his sentence, she reverted back,

"Would have what? Warmed the bed with that bitch of yours? And keep your voice low. I am not the one who would take shit from you." And with this, she cut the call, rested her head on the steering wheel while her mind went back to one of the days when they shared their lives.

**

"Oh good. How gracious of you to come back home so early" Sarcasm dripped from her voice.

"I had an important meeting to attend. And just for your information, one message was enough to tell me that you want me to come back home soon. Twenty messages didn't do any good."

"Nevermind." Replying, she got up from the couch and went towards their bedroom, while he stood in the living room, confusion written all over his face.

"So many messages asking me to come home soon and all she does is walk away from me. This woman will drive me crazy one day." He murmured and walked towards the table to get a sip of water. She returned back from the room with a small bag in her hand and handed it over to him.

"I want you to wear this t-shirt right now."

"Are you-?"

"GO. WEAR IT RIGHT NOW. " Anger laced her voice. He did as told and when he returned back from the bedroom, his eyes were overflowing with tears.

"Is this true? Am I going to be a father soon?" He asked between his tears. With blurry eyes, he looked at the t- shirt which said, "DAD, I AM ON MY WAY FROM MUMMY'S TUMMY" and more tears flowed down his eyes.

"Are you happy?" She asked. Her question sounded more like a confirmation.

"Happy?! I feel like the happiest person on earth right now. I will spoil my child till the lengths of the sky." Saying so, he picked her up in his arms and swirled her around before making her stand on the floor.

"Thank you for this gift." Drawing her into his arms, he stood there showering kisses on her.

•••••

"DIVORCED"

"The custody of the child will remain with the mother."

They both made their way out of the family court, towards their respective cars while thousands of thoughts hovered in their brain. It was hard for them to believe that they won't be sharing their lives from now on. He knew he had cheated on her, betrayed her love and his eyes provided a window to his guilty conscious self. He knew that it was in the spur of the moment that he gave in to the temptations of his colleague who tried to seduce him. She, on the other hand, was caught up in a debate within herself. In her mind, she knew that she took the right decision by divorcing him. However, her heart wasn't ready to accept the judgement. There won't be anyone to prepare coffee for her after a hard day at work, no one to lift up her mood, no one to share her joys and sorrows. He was the only one she had loved more than anything else. Their hearts wanted the same thing- to reunite with each other. However, a part of them knew that they took the right decision by separating.

Reaching their cars, they took a last look at each other and with a smile wished each other luck. Driving back to their places, they knew one thing with utmost surety - their divorced love is complete in a parallel universe.