“Mayu.” A husky voice softly addresses me by my nickname and the time stops still.
Of course, there is no rush.
“Hi…” I reply, launching myself onto the sofa.
“Your home line was busy for quite some time,” he mentions.
“Yes…you know when two old girlfriends start discussing their kids’ future plans…”
“I see. So, I heard. It’s a yes from your side,” Raag says playfully.
“Rumor has it, the boy also agreed.”
He chuckles. “He must love the girl!”
“Well, he must be the real deal, I guess,” I reply, smiling.
“Are you sure of the deal, though? You don’t know anything about him,” Raag asks, and it sounds like a serious question.
“Are you sure of your gal?” I try and relax the air. Gal! Not sure where I picked that up from.
“I have never been surer in my life,” he replies confidently, and I smile shyly. “Mayu, you should have taken more time. Are you sure you are not rushing into this? You don’t have to say yes just because I told you how I feel. You can—”
I cut him mid-sentence before Mr. Right dives deep into the ocean of righteousness and worry, worry for the young girl that he loves. “Raag, I said yes, not just because I know how you feel. I said yes because we both feel the same way.” I pause. “And, specifically because how I feel.”
“Mayu, I don’t mean to upset you, but it is important for you to know more about me before you answer your parents. We both are well aware of the specifics of these arrangements. Once you say yes, the next thing we know is the whole world knows about it and you’ll be tied by all those social barriers restricting you from changing your mind. In case if you wanted to back off.”
“God! Raag. See…right there. You answered your own concerns. In all these years, nobody cared this much for me. Even my parents didn’t confirm these many times when I was choosing a career and a life partner.” I pause. “And there is this other thing.”
“Which is…?” He is intrigued.
“You are there in my every thought, in everything that I do. Really truly I wish, I wish to hug you and make myself believe that you are real. For now, this whole thing feels like a mirage. You seem like a mirage.” My voice breaks because of some unknown feelings that I am experiencing for the first time. Why does Raag find it so hard to believe that I love him?
“Hey…I am sorry. My intentions are not to doubt you.” He sounds worried. “Are you crying?”
“No…but I might!” I say while controlling the urge to cry.
“My apologies, ma’am.” Raag pauses, and weakly I laugh. “It’s just that this whole situation—you and me—it’s indeed too good to be true.”
“Yes, it is Mr. Purohit. But not because I said yes. It is because you did. I don’t know why a man as good as you are would love someone as crazy as I am.” I try and take enough oxygen in my lungs to help me stay calm.
“Oh…Mayu. You have no idea what you are! I tried to pour myself in work to avoid thinking about you for the last few days. I must confess, I failed. I regret the fact that I am not there right now. I wish I were.” Raag sounds thoughtful, and I can feel the passion in his voice. His words wake those sleeping butterflies in my belly, making me smile.
“Sorry, mister. You have to pay the price for not being here. For now, you wait.” I try to change the subject. “I would love to talk more and more; but unfortunately, I am super late for my college and the only time I have left is for labs.”
“Oh, I am sorry to keep you occupied…”
“You don’t have to be sorry. I love talking,” I murmur. “With you,” I add.
“I see.” Raag sounds amused. “I like that. When will you be back?”
“At 4:30 PM, and that’s if I don’t miss the 3:15 bus.”
“We need to do something about our communication channel. I will email you some details. Let’s see if that works out.”
“Okay…I have to get going,” I say, hurriedly. Then whisper, “Hey, listen!”
“Listening…” He sounds intrigued.
“I love you!” I say and hear those lovely chuckles in response.
“Hum…Mayu…Mayu.” Raag sighs and in a slightly louder and romantic tone, he says, “I wish I was there right now. I would kiss those rosy lips of yours!”
I think I have goosebumps all over my body. I take a deep, steadying breath to stop myself from visualizing a kiss. Since I am still new to this universe of romance, I do not try to reply something equally romantic. Instead, I respond meekly, “Bye now…”
“Bye, love!” He hangs up. Oh, I think I am flying.
*
At the college, after exactly one hour and fifteen minutes, I find myself sitting in front of a white desktop computer in a bright chilled computer lab. I think I am still stuck on the last sentence Raag said—“Bye, love.” I wish I recorded and could repeat again and again.
Like you need a recorder. Aren’t you repeating it in your head already?
The only thing that brings me back to reality is the old sock smell. Ag…boys! I wish they washed their socks, or they should only be allowed in with shoes on.
Almost twenty of us sit on benches arranged by each and every wall of the square room.
“What are you doing? We need to resolve these queries or Rawal’s assistant will be very angry,” Arjun, my lab partner, whispers in his sweet village accent. “No Rawal today? This day couldn’t get any better.”
I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Look at you! You are staring at the computer screen. At least, pretend to solve the queries,” he mutters, manically poking his fingers on the keyboard. He has no idea that not only am I staring at the screen, but also, I am daydreaming. Dreaming of Raag, my romantic melody. Music of my life.
Arjun frowns at me and quickly looks back at the desktop. “Mayuri! Queries!”
I roll my eyes at him. Lousily, I take the printed paper in my hand and reply, “Okay…okay…stop harassing the keyboard. It may die!”
I can’t help but notice Arjun’s socks. By the look of it, I could tell that once upon a time, they were white. His clothes, gray pants, and purple long-sleeved shirt are too big on his lanky figure, or maybe he never finds clothes his size. He sometimes reminds me of Bansi. Maybe studious people do not worry about food and clothes.
On the paper, I notice that he has already tick-marked three problems—that means he is done with those. God must be graceful to send Arjun as my lab partner. I mostly copy all my labs from his. Actually, half the class copies his assignments.
And that’s supposed to make you feel better?
After about ten minutes, I hand back the paper to Arjun and ask him to pass me the keyboard. He looks at the script on it, and his mouth pops open. “What?” he shouts, bewildered grabbing attention from two other students sitting at the nearby benches.
I frown, annoyed at him. “What?” I am equally bewildered. Since he is not harassing the keyboard but staring at the paper, I take the keyboard. Looking at a black shell on the desktop, I start typing the queries.