Tanvi's POV:

15 minutes to go for the minute hand to reach 12 and for Rohan's birthday. Today, or have to say tonight, I am going to tell my real identity to him. Hope he won't be mad at me.

I don't know why, but he was suddenly behaving a bit too oddly. He started calling me 'Tan' , which he never did before. Previously, he used to call me Tan Theta or Ms. Vishnuvardhan. It feels weird as only Sam calls me Tan.

Talking about Sam, she is always busy. Of course, I can't blame her now as she is at her tournament, but she left me with a pool of confusion. I was only able to talk to her once, and that too for a moment or so, and I couldn't even ask her why she told me not to talk to him.

That statement by her made me feel like something was wrong, and I was yearning to know what it was.

Anyway, I continued talking to him. I have begun enjoying his company lately, especially since his farewell party. I mean I felt like something changed within him. Since that day, he started to talk a lot instead of listening to me. 

He didn't even mind losing the bet. He simply said, "I don't mind losing the bet. I already feel like I won something even more precious. I will wait for you."

That's it. That night I couldn't stop blushing. The whole day and night I kept jumping, dancing, and singing. That was when I decided to reveal myself to him. At first, I called him because I was scared he would break my heart, but now, I am sure he will never do that.

It's almost time for me to call him. Three minutes. Ok, it's time to call. 

So, I video called him. He never knew me because, in the past one month, I never updated my WhatsApp profile picture. Of course, even he never updated it. His DP always was always a quote about mother.

I made sure I looked good with light makeup even at midnight and wore a nice dress instead of my night suit. Hope he isn't celebrating his birthday with his friends. I did not wish for them to find out about us prematurely.

To my dismay, he didn't answer the call. He was not online. It was already 12, I wanted to be the first one to wish and surprise him, but I guess he was busy with something. He behaved very normally with me today when we chatted. I mean he didn't mention anything about his birthday, certainly even I didn't expect him to brag about it, but still, there should be some excitement, right?

I tried reaching him again, but he was not answering the call. I scoffed. Obviously, he is a famous person in our school, so he must be getting so many calls. 

12:10 am. 

I messaged him and wished him. Doesn't he have a moment of time for me? How mean! Or did he forget me?

Now I am angry, I thought of telling the truth to him, but he is not that fortunate enough to know me. I changed into my pyjamas and tied my loose hair. Yet, all the while, I expected a call from him. Idiot! I taunted him

I laid down on my bed to sleep. How much ever I wanted to slip into a slumber, my mind was not at all at ease. Many thoughts and questions kept swirling in my mind. Why did I have this weird feeling that something was about to go wrong? But I don't know what it is. With this the last thought, I drifted to a dream world.

                                                                                  ***

I don't know what time it is. My sleep was disturbed by a phone call. 

It's him. 

I slowly opened my eyes and stretched myself, yawning. All the while, the phone continued ringing, and I ignored him. He deserves it for not answering my call last night, I thought and let the phone ring for some more time. 

I went to bathroom, got freshened up to go to school. By the time I rechecked the phone, it had three missed calls, two missed video calls, and five messages. I smiled. It's enough now, let's wish him. Firstly, I checked the messages and by the time I read all of them, my blood drained from my face.

He mentioned, 

'Who said it's my birthday today?'

'Is that why you called me yesterday night?'

'It's not my birthday today.'

'Did you mistake it for someone else's birthday?'

'Are you there?'

What was he talking about? What did he mean by it not being birthday today? 

C'mon, it's his birthday today. He has mentioned the same date on his Instagram and Facebook too. Even though I am in an AC room, I started to sweat. What was happening? Why was he saying these things?

I immediately opened my Insta account and went to his profile. Many people were sending him wishes to his post, and he was thanking all of them. I just want to confirm something, which I wished would never come true. 

With shaky hands I typed 'Happy Birthday', and sent it to him.

I kept chanting he should reply me. If he does, then he will be a dead meat for making me this anxious. 

I kept waiting for his reply. Of course, he wouldn't know who I am as I never mentioned any of my social media account details to him, though we follow each other.

Before I could get a message back, I got a call from him. A satisfied smile appeared on my face. Guess he wanted to apologize now.

"Hello," he said. 

I was too happy to say anything now. I was just waiting for him to apologize for lying about his birthday, but he didn't saying anything.

"Tan, you there?" 

Before I could say anything, a message popped on my phone. It was from Rohan on Instagram. I immediately opened it and it said, 'Thankyou Tanvi. It had been a while since you messaged me. Hope we can catch up soon before I leave the school.'

"Isn't your birthday today?" I asked him very seriously. I felt like everything around me was vanishing, and I was left alone in an empty space.

"No. There are quite a few months left before my birthday," he said calmly. My throat went dry, and a huge lump formed in my throat, not letting any words come out. I stood there, frozen, not knowing what I should do and what I should ask.

"Tan, I guess you have mistaken me for someone else. Check it out again," he said calmly as though he knew what I was feeling currently. The words, 'mistaken me for someone' were struck in my mind. Did I really mistake him for someone else? Why was he accepting my wishes on Instagram, and why was he acting like a stranger over the phone?

I immediately disconnected the call without thinking twice. I was shivering, sweating, and my heart was throbbing at a furious pace, threatening to stop this very instant. Suddenly, my mom barged inside, and looking at my pale face, she asked me what happened. I was myself busy trying to understand what was happening. What should I tell her? 

I shook my head in response. "Nothing. Just feeling sick."

Then she advised me to stay at home, take care of myself, and call her if I need anything. I just nodded my head to everything she said, and soon my parents left.

Did I really mistake him for someone else? Is he not the same person? Am I speaking to a stranger? All these questions kept buzzing in my head. I immediately called a senior of mine, who is quite close to me, named Divya.

"Hello, Divya sister," I said in a worried tone.

"Hi, Tanvi. What happened? You sound a little off?" 

"Nothing. I just need a little help from you. Can I have your classmate Rohan's number?" I asked in a rush. Hope she won't question anything.

"Why? What happened? Even Samyuktha asked me for his number a few weeks ago" she said after a moment of silence. 

Another electric jolt. It felt like all the unsolved pieces of puzzle were coming together.

"Why did she asked for his number?" I asked her in a shaky voice. I could no longer control my emotions. Though I didn't know what exactly happened behind my back, but I still feel like I was betrayed in the worst way.

"Don't know. She didn't said anything, and I gave her the number. Wait, I will send you too," she said. I ended the call. Does Sam know that the person I am talking with is not Rohan? Is that why she asked me whether I am talking to him or not? And she lied to me? 

Then I received the contact from Divya, and the earth beneath my feet slipped away. Those were two different numbers. The one I have on phone was different from the one I received just now.

Blank.

That's what I am feeling now. Blank. What have I done? Why did this even happen? I don't know when I lost control over my tears, they kept flowing from my eyes.

How can I not know who he is. Then I remembered all our conversations. I remembered how different he sounded from what I know about him. How foolishly I brushed all my thoughts away without asking him anything. How can I be so stupid?

I held my head in my hands and tried processing everything that had happened. Only two things were roaming in my mind.

How can Sam do this to me? Never in my wild dreams did I expect my best friend to betray me. Why? Why?

Then my thoughts went to the person I kept talking to all these weeks. I didn't know anything about him other than the fact that his name is Rohan too.

How dependent I have become on him. We shared many sweets moments. After Sam, he became the closest person in my life, but as a person whom I assumed him to be, not as a person who he is.

How will he react when he learns the truth one day? What's there to question about it? He will loathe me. He will hate me and even curse me. He will accuse me of many things. What should I say to him when I don't even know who he is?

Who is he?

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