The dots blinked for a couple more seconds before his face showed up on the screen. He was rolling his fingers through his hair, giving it one final touch. She could see the efforts he had undertaken to make himself look presentable. Contrary to that, the tiny window in the bottom right of the screen showed her with ruffled up hair and big round spectacles, not a tinge of worry of how she looked. And the stark contrast made her wonder why he would go through all that trouble in the first place?

He waved at her as he realized the call was connected. She waved back, equally excited. They had known each other for almost half a year now. He was the first ever person who made her feel comfortable in this online world of chatting. Initially, it was just a formal conversation like she had with many other, but after all these time, they both knew they had advanced to something called friends. For a girl who had always run away from having elongated chats with strangers, this was definitely a very big thing. Today, they were finally watching each other for the first time.

"Hi."

"Hey..."

It was their usual way of starting their chats and somehow they didn't find any reason to do it differently today. That look of excitement was evident on both the faces, as they tried to express themselves more and more. The conversation progressed slowly and steadily, soon turning into more informal and general topics. Every now and then he was saying something to make her laugh and it was having its desired effect. She was smiling all through.

However, some five minutes into the call and she suddenly started to feel the weight of his gaze. It must have been there right from the start, but the initial surge of excitement shrouded it before. Now, as the normalcy returned in her features, she started to feel those eyes. They weren't just watching her, they were analyzing her. His smile changed into a frown momentarily. The reason revealed itself right away.

"You're fat," he stated.

As if in a reflex, her eyes moved down her body to scan the potato-like figure. Yes, she was fat. And there was no reason she should be ashamed of that. Then why was his statement making her feel guilty of it?

"So?" she asked in a shock.

"Nothing much, its just that you're not the way I imagined you to be," he shrugged saying those final words.

Having a perception is an integral part of being a human. It helps people make an initial assessment about everything which is really important. Many times our perception about things is true and many times it's not. It's just a part of the game. Then why do people allow their perception to turn into judgments? Why do people start to imagine the things they dont know? She had to know the answer to that.

"Why would you imagine me in the first place?"

"You're taking it the wrong way."

"Then show me the right way." A hint of anger crept in her voice.

"Chill yaar, its normal. People always imagine the things they dont know."

She knew that.

"Yes, but not everyone looks so disappointed to find reality being unlike their imagination."

He ended up apologizing and their call wound up soon after that. She had always expected for this moment to be special, something to cherish in their relationship. Little did she know that it would become special for some wrong reasons.

Over the night and all through the next day she kept thinking about the incident. He wasn't all that wrong. Having an imagination is definitely not something out of normal. Did she overreact then? Or did he really was disappointed that she was fat? Was it why he hadnt messaged her in the entire day?

All of a sudden, their relationship was filled with number of unanswered questions.

She may not have been the one to start the mess, but she decided to take the initiative to clear it.

She left a casual Hi along with a good night wish just like she has been doing for a couple of months now. He was online, but he didn't reply. He did reply the next morning, but by then, it was too late. His silence had been noted. And this time, her perception about him wasn't wrong at all.

Slowly and steadily their conversations started to dwindle before eventually coming to a halt. Somehow, her not being the way he imagined her to be was enough to wipe out the six months of cheerful relationship that they shared. The same boy who used to chat with her into midnights didnt even spared a glance at her message now. The first person who made her feel comfortable in the online world also turned out to be the one to end her trust on it. Before anyone else could pierce her emotions again, she gradually erased her online presence, never to return to this world again!

***

I'd like to know your views on this topic.

What do you think about this online world and the people in it.