Kia and I made a beeline for the cafeteria after our first day of classes. The cafeteria was chock-a-block with so many people that we needed to wait a long time to grab our orders.

We both sat at a table face-to-face, holding our burgers after we managed to pay for them. Our mouths were the ones putting so much effort into neutralizing the act of chewing and chit-chatting.

Straight away, a hand passed a piece of tissue paper towards me along the surface of our table. The alabaster-white tissue was written with the word 'Sorry!' I lifted my chin up to see whose hands had scrawled it.

"It was him. Yes! It was definitely him." I talked to myself.

The one who turned his face against me in the library, the one who hit me and hurtled even without uttering that missing 'y', the one whose face I pointed just a column of desks away from mine in my class.

"Why did he choose astrophysics for God's sake? Isn't there any other course for him? How am I going to digest him for three more years? Oh, jeez! Help me!" I screamed silently. 

"Am sorry." He said it in a monotonous tone. "Just am sorry?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "I am sorry!" He, this time insisted on the word "I."

Kia's eyes weren't blinking since she couldn't figure out anything going on and was totally out of the scene. I should've told her in the first place. But I didn't want to exaggerate by saying her all this nonsense.

As I turned my head towards him to clarify things, he was gone already. I couldn't catch how he darted this fast. I, in an urge, looked above to make sure he didn't fly away with a parachute or something.

"His parachute should strike in between some tree's branches, and he should struggle there for days with no way to flee or descend." I prayed to the Almighty like a half-witted girl.

"He didn't fly, you stupid girl. He hastened away the very moment you glanced at me and regretted not saying about this to me earlier." Kia said she swallowed the last bite of her no-longer-existing burger. "What?" I couldn't credit that she too intercepted my mind's voice.

"Am I such an open book?" I asked her in total confusion.

'Yes!' A message popped up on my mobile screen, and it was Jas's.

"How can even he detect my thoughts from thousands of miles away?" I was astonished.

"You should learn to stop depicting your feelings through your face. Just in case, if you're cursing me, I wouldn't get to know, right? A safer side for both of us." Kia said as she snatched my Frappuccino.

I couldn't resist calling Jas to settle my messy mind.

"Hey El! I thought of calling you already. I have something for you, and", I interrupted him, as I wanted to know how he sent that message at perfect timing.

"I'm afraid, Jas. I'm afraid that you might become a real wizard in the near future. If you keep on doing this, then I'll file a complaint against you that you're practicing some kind of wizard craft at your aunt's house. And don't regret it later, as I would do that only for your very own goodness. I'm sorry in advance." I released my held breath after showing my concern in such a long dialogue without a break.

"Are you nuts, El?" His words were sharp.

"Err, at times. And it's only because of you." I yelled at him for asking all the questions that I should actually be asking him.

"I think you should consult a doctor for schizophrenia as you have some memory issues." As he said that, I could sense the regret in his tone, even in this wireless communication.

"Well, I think I should've called the cops already." Though I meant it in a funnier way, I was pretty sure that my voice shouldn't embrace it.

"Dare you do it? And for your kind notice, it was you who sent me a message this morning asking if I got through any of the colleges. And I've been selected for Fordham University. So I replied to you with a yes!" His words burst out in a rhythmic flow.

"But wait! How did you know that I was about to ask about the last message you sent?"

"Excuse me?" His words brought my memory back on track.

"Nothing." I laughed with remorse for accusing him.

"You're such a mess." He was disgusted with my pea-sized brain and the lame thoughts it produces after consuming a whole popcorn-grilled chicken cheese burger with extra ketchup.

Parallelly, Kia gestured to make a move away from the cafeteria, as it was much more crowded and she couldn't catch her breath in between such a multitude. "I'll call you in a jiff." I hung up the phone and hurried away with her.

"Are you alright? You're sweating profusely." I handed her a tissue from my handbag. "I'm a bit claustrophobic, El." She said, as she wiped the sweat from her pinkish, pudgy face. Even though her foundation was washed away along with the sweat, her cheeks were rosy, and I couldn't stop myself from tweaking them.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't know about", she stopped me and said, "Nope. You shouldn't. I'm used to it, El. No worries." She sounded good, and I gawked at her optimistic attitude towards everything.

As we both walked towards the parking lot, Kia broke the silence that muffled us for a little while by asking, "Who was it, by the way?"

"Umm.. He is.. actually, to be honest, I don't even know his name. I first met him at SFPL. He was working there. He just behaved kind of rudely towards me. And from then on, we are under this obscure clash." I tried to keep it short and crisp.

"And now he turns out to be our classmate too." She finished the sentence that I didn't want to phrase.

"So where do you live exactly?" I asked her as I opened the door of my black Toyota Corolla Altis. "2240, Virginia St., Berkeley. And you?"

"It's McAllister St., San Francisco. Do you want a ride home?" I lent her a helping hand. "Thanks, El." She said, pointing to her red sedan resting sumptuously two rows away.

"That's the one Joe has." I realized that the world is so small. "See you on the morrow." She waved her hands and headed towards her car.

I started the engine after it rested a while, and it roared as I maneuvered further. It was a freaky experience to ride in a vehicle other than my bicycle. But it would take half the day to reach UC Berkeley if I picked Blackbird.

The half-hour ride was smooth and swift with Bruno Mars's 'That's What I Like'.

I parked the sedan elegantly in my house's front yard. I was astounded as my mom arrived earlier at home. "So how was your interview at Zuckerberg SFGH, mom?" I flung my bag over the couch and leant against the wall facing her.

"I think the new place holds more luck." She hugged me, and I took it as a gesture of affirmation. I clasped her tightly in my arms. I don't know what magic she performs, but a single hug from Mom can do wonders in this world.

"Err, I forgot to say this. There was a letter for you in the mail box." She lifted her hand to give me an envelope that stated my name and this address.

OMG! One more letter from that mysterious man!

"And there was this boy who was standing near our front gate when I came home. He seemed to be suspicious. He covered his face with his hands and raced away the moment he saw me."

What! Why is everything happening as if we are confined to an infinite loop?

"Mm. I'll let you know if I get to see him again, mom." I snatched the letter from her and rushed upstairs to my room. I locked in, restively sat at the edge of my bed, and tore the envelope.

Ms. Elena Davis,

I'm sick of writing you so many letters already. I think I should do some part-time work to earn more money to buy bundles of papers and pens to write you letters ceaselessly.

You know what? Just send me some money along with your reply letter so that I won't dwell on my financial crisis for writing you.

Even in my dreams, you appear merely to warn me to write a letter. Please stop torturing me, even in my dreams.

But still, beyond all this, I couldn't resist writing you letters, El. Do you know why?

It's simply for that happy smile your face embraces while you read letters. One could do a part-time job for the rest of their lives just to earn that smile of yours in return.

That naive smile is what I'm missing right now.

Even now, I could see your cheerful face, though I'm far away from you.

I know how eagerly you wait for my letters. Don't say that you didn't wait this piece of paper.

There are times when I really want to hand this letter to you in person. Yet I couldn't. But I'll soon.

Save some laughter for that big day. And don't let this joy drain out of your face until.

And don't search for the "yours lovingly" part, since who writes you letters other than me?

Now, please spare me at least a week.

Happy now, huh?

And there the paper ended. This time he didn't even care to write that single 'E', as if it cost all the ink remaining in his pen. I turned the page to ascertain whether it held the writer's name, just in case. But it went in vain.

Promptly, my mobile delivered a beep sound. I knew it would be none other than Jas. While I unlocked it, my eyes widened as I saw a message from an unknown number.

In the hope that it might be E, I clicked it to view the full message.

I hope you received your letter, El.
Let me sleep peacefully for at least a week, Ms.

I froze for a moment, seeing that.

"When did I torture him to write me? Why is he dumping all the blame on me when I did nothing?" With much spin, I chose to reply to him after a long run.

Who are you, Mr.? Why don't you give me these pieces of paper in person? By the way, who in this world named you merely 'E'?

I didn't comprehend why I replied to him impudently, but in the heat of the moment, I did.

Though it had been almost an hour, there wasn't any reply. I tried sleeping for a while. But I couldn't even have my eyeballs moved away from the mobile screen. I was kicking my heels for that beep sound restlessly.

I couldn't wait any longer, so I clenched my mobile and dialed that number. The call was picked up in less than a minute.

I couldn't digest that finally the moment arrived where I could talk to someone who's behind all these games. I didn't know how to react or how to strike up the very first conversation with him. I closed my eyes rigidly and took a deep breath. My throat choked, and I swallowed my saliva to get rid of it.

"Hey!" I said, merely ingesting the last 'ey' sound within myself.

"Hey hello!" I received the greetings back, but it wasn't from the one I envisaged.

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Hurray amigos!!

Are you excited to find who wrote this letter? No worries.

Just hold on to next chapter! And there you'll find it out.

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