“Hello…”
The phone gets disconnected. Ashita redials the number. The cell rings.
“Hello Ashu, sorry dear signal problem…”
“Where are you right now?”
“I am leaving for home and was in elevator so your phone got disconnected….”
“… Come on girl, doubting me all the time is not good. We are getting married in a few days and you are being bossy before you have been it!” Satyarth laughs aloud.
“Don’t change the topic. Have you checked the time once?” Ashita asks in a resolute voice
Satyarth knew that Ashita is upset with him as he is very late for the dinner at Ashita’s house. One of Ashita’s uncles was visiting to wish them as he wouldn’t be coming for their marriage next month. And as usual Satyarth got busy in office with something important. The dinner escaped his mind totally.
“Yes, it is not that late. I will be there in half an hour and…”
Before he completes his sentence, Ashita: “…and we will bid adieu to each other!”
“Why? What about the dinner?”
“No one takes dinner at 11:00p.m”
“Hey baby, don’t be so tetchy. I am hungry. Have ma and papa left for home? I have several missed calls from papa also but I thought that I should talk to you first.”
“No need to play so winsome. They called you from here but you didn’t pick as you do most often so, they left for home and told me to inform you too.” Ashita informed despondently
She continuing, “I am really fed off with your habit of being late Satyarth. This is becoming your thing now.’
Satyarth interrupting “Do you want to say I am doing this intentionally? Come on, at least you need to understand that I can never do such thing just to hurt you.”
“I don’t know. I just know that today it was so important to be here in time. We are marrying the next month and I want you to be a part of everything that belongs to me. But your behavior has always let me down as if…..”
No ere she could complete her sentence, there is a screeching sound and she is unable to hear Satyarth’s voice. The phone is not disconnected yet.
Here, Satyarth is trying to step up from the rumble stripe. There is a young man of around thirty helping him to get up.
“Give me your hand.” The man says
“Oh, thank you man! What happened here?”
“Your bike slipped due to oil on the road.”
“Oh! One minute, where is my phone, my bike?”
“Your bike is right there but I don’t know about your phone.” The man says pointing towards the bike.
Satyarth feels relieved for not being hurt but the bike got little damaged due to skid.
“Hey, thank you very much brother. Let me find my phone now. Can you help me with it?”
The man also joins Satyarth in searching the cell.
“By the way I am Satyarth.”
“I am Manan.”
“Great. After getting my cell back I will drop you if you want as it is quite late now….” Satyarth wants to return the favor.
“Hello, hello….. Satyarth, are you there…?”
“…What is going on? Where are you?” Ashita keeps on asking
Satyarth hears the creaky sounds coming from the bushes on the side of the road and runs to grab his phone.
“Thank god, found it or Ashita-my fiancée would have killed me. This is her gift. I tell you these girls! She must be getting worried right now but let me show you, she is going to denounce me on this. By the way, what are you doing here so late?” Satyarth asks playfully.
“Waiting!” Manan says
Satyarth: “For what? I don’t get it. Anyway, what can we do now? My bike doesn’t seem to be in a good shape. Tell me, what to do now?”
Manan: “Waiting, until our turn comes!”
“What do you mean? Satyarth tries to take the phone to inform Ashita but he couldn’t!!
He turns towards Manan to ask something but pulls aback to see a man lying near his bike that he was unable to notice due to being busy in searching for his things.
He, coming closer to the man, should have felt a gush of chill by looking at the body, but couldn’t as that was Satyarth-himself, bereft of life instantly half an hour ago due to severe head injury!!