I wrote this up back in Dec 2017. Thought I’d kick things off with this post so I can see how my writing stacks up in the future. Let’s hear me.

<Phone beeps>…. 

With his utmost force he opened his tired eye lids and had a glace of the ceiling fan rotating slowly and felt missing something. Barely moving left and right, he started searching for it. After getting a strike in mind, he put his hand under the cot and took the cotton pillow and continued his sleep hugging it tightly.

20 minutes past

<Phone alarms>…. Classic Nokia Alarm Tune started playing.

Neither thinking much nor opening his eyes, he grabbed his phone from the nearby table, almost like a reflex reaction and swiped the screen to mute the alarm. Still keeping the eyes closed, he put back the phone on the table. “doopff……” the phone feel down as he misplaced it on the table edge. Hearing the sound, his cheeks smirked with a silly smile. The silence of the street and the chill weather and slow breeze pampered him to a deep sound sleep.

After 15 minutes…

<Phone rings>…. A song from the movie “The sound of music” started playing.

“You are sixteen going on seventeen
Baby, it’s time to think
Better beware be canny and careful
Baby, you’re on the brink”

His mind jerked from the calm sleep as soon as the song reaches his subconscious.

The song was his super favorite which he memorised like a rhymes during his childhood and so he kept it as ringtone only for WhatsApp Calls.

Yeah! WhatsApp Calls were so special for him then.

His startled mind got further fiery active as he perceived that it is Whatsapp call and he rolled off from bed. Tangled with bed sheets around his legs, swiftly he crawled under the cot towards the direction from where the song was playing. He could see the partial green light from the phone screen. Yeah..It’s a Whatsapp call! Feeling his body cannot crawl under the cot any further, he stretched his hand straight with his pinky finger just a few inches away from the phone.

The ringtone was still playing the verses of the song –

“You need someone older and wiser
telling you what to do!
I am seventeen going on eighteen,
I’ll take care of you!
You are sixteen going……”

the call stopped. His heart skipped a beat.

Realising that, he pushed himself under the cot vigorously. One of the cot legs scratched his skin under the thumb finger in the left hand while his right hand got the phone.

No time to crawl back from inside he turned and lied back under the cot and opened the Whatsapp notification. “One Whatsapp Call”, it reads. Joyed with mouthful of smile and eager eyes he opened it to see who called.

Vivek – It read.

He swiped back and right to confirm it for three times at least.

Slowly his smile faded and eyes dulled and heard his serene inner voice saying “No. It’s not from her again.” Disappointed and saddened once again he threw the phone vigorously and continued to lie under the cot, surrounded by his office safety shoes, ground mats and some dusty old amazon courier boxes.

Forty minutes past. Still lying down under the bed like a fallen status in an old basement. Tears dripped out of his eyes to ears making it wet and chill.

He crawled back out from the cot and took the phone.

30^th Dec 8:30 pm the clock read. Turned back and front, checked all edges and sides for any damage. Just the tempered glass got crushed protecting the phone screen.

“woofff!!”, he exclaimed.

“Would have been better if HE created my heart with a tempered glass”, his lips murmured.

That was really not the right mood for his next big day.

-Rahul