Manisha Jangu

Fantasy Others

3  

Manisha Jangu

Fantasy Others

I Lost To "Just A Girl"

I Lost To "Just A Girl"

7 mins
322


The Ocean reflects the whole world, the only thing it failed to reveal is its own depth. She was also like one of those oceans. Her eyes were deep, and her heart was full of mystery. You can hardly listen to her talking about herself, about her dreams, her desires, what she likes and whatnot, what she wants to listen to, and when all she wanted just to talk non-stop, of course not about herself but about the world which is beyond words. Only at the time of storms, in the absence of the people, sitting beside some lonely shore, she becomes wild and free, neglecting everything. 


I can never forget those deep blue eyes, holding so many untold stories but still pretending like just born before a while. The first day when I saw her, she was sitting under the shade of a tree, all alone but still in peace. Neither she was waiting for anyone nor she seemed to be busy in any stuff. Looking at her from the past half an hour, the only thought which came across my mind is to swim across that ocean, she was holding in her eyes. And finally, I decided to go a little close to her, unaware of the tides, which are going to hit my life in an unexpected way. While moving towards her, I was looking for the words which can make my surf smoother. And finally standing in front of her, all I could ask for, was about a round of chess on the Board that I was holding for so long. 


“Do you know, how to play Chess?” Were my first words to her, instead of asking her name. I don’t know what I was thinking that time exactly or why I asked this only, or might I thought that just asking for her name will not give me enough time to look into in her eyes, as a round of chess will do...  


She heard my voice and looked towards me, at first she tried to recognize me and asking herself if she knew me or ever saw me before. And definitely she came up with the answer “NO” for what she was looking for, and I heard a “YES” which I was seeking. After a pause, she said, “YES, I do.” And before she can say anything else, I throw my next question at her. “Would you like to play a game with me, If you don’t mind.”  She takes another pause, and this time, the reply was a little more than what I was expecting. She said, “Yes, I will, but with my own rules If you don’t mind.”  


This was weird, every game has its own set of rules and so the game of Chess has, then what she meant by “her own rules”? This time I took a pause, and quite longer than her two pauses combined together. I don’t know what to say or ask, so many questions started spinning in my mind. But looking in her eyes, all I said was, “Ohk, then what are your rules for the game?” 


“Simple, just don’t talk about yourself or say anything about you.” She said. Now, this was much weird than her previous words, but this time I know exactly what I need to ask, "You mean we are not allowed to talk?" I asked without any pause this time. 


"No, we can talk, but can't share things about us to each other, which we don’t know, like what you like and whatnot. Agree?" She Replied. 


"And what If we did so?" I asked her.  


"The one who will break the rule, will lose his or her one important piece automatically, that's the rule, got it?" 


"Okay, fine, So, Shall we start?" 


"Yess, sure...Started from now onwards. What you will prefer Black or White?" 

She asked softly. 


And first time sitting in front of her, I smiled and said, "I will choose White one, they are my lucky charm.” 


“Okay, fine…but remember to remove one piece from it, since you have already broken the rule by saying that.” 


And we both giggled. 


The game started, for the first few minutes I was just focusing on the board and her moves and almost forgotten about my plan of diving in her eyes, which was my only motive to came to her. She was so quick in her moves that I hardly get time to look at her and not on the board. None of us is speaking anything, I because of fear of losing again, and she of course because of her choice. She was good in it, more than I thought, and I was struggling with every step, but still managing not to lose any piece. 


“I never saw you before here, you must be new in the society.” She finally breaks the silence after so long. I looked at her, and finally look into her eyes and out of excitement, I said. ‘YESS, I shifted here just one week ago.” And after listening to this, She rolled her eyes first towards me and then on my lucky charms. 


And I was stunned. “Shit, this is not done, it’s not fair,” I said with disappointment, and I was still looking in her eyes, hoping that she would say, she was just kidding. 


But she isn’t, she smiled at me, and picked my rook from the board and puts it outside. I did nothing, just smiled back at her, whispering, “okay, fine, but this would be last, I swear,” 


The game started once again, same silence and my same struggle, but this time something was really new, and it was a constant smile on her face, she was smiling without reason, or because of that rook I lost just before a while. In the struggle of saving my pieces from her quick moves, I was also struggling to look into her eyes, and this time her smile too, between the time she takes her next move. Each time I lose, she smiles more beautifully than before, but she didn’t forget to say “sorry”, with her soft tone, every time And at some point, I was in a dilemma of whether to lose by my own to listen to her voice, or to save my pieces so that I can stretch this game as long as I can, to look into her eyes.” Ahhh, this is so difficult to choose.

  

She keeps on asking things about me, in between the game, And I was a totally lost boy, either in her eyes or in the moves, forgetting about the rules of the game, keep on telling him about myself more and more, my name, my hobby, my favorite movie, my favorite sport and what not and I kept on losing again and again because of that stupid rule of her but listening from her “sorry" was a relief for me and maybe that's why each time she asks me something, I forget what I need not do. 


And when I ask her something, either her answers are so general or she refused to answer it, by looking at me and saying, “I know what I need to do."


When the pace of the game slowed down at a point, I can look into eyes for a more longer time, and when she was confused more than before, she took out a pen from a diary lying just beside her, and start rotating it over the fingers of her left hand. To my surprised, I didn’t notice that dairy before, in the last 20 minutes maybe because most of its part was under her left knee. She took her next step and I planned for mine. The game went on. This time the turn was mine, not about the move but to ask something. I decided to take my chance this time and see, will she make it through or not. 


“Do you write?” I asked. 


“People keep diaries to write only, I guess”. She replied without even looking at me. And I felt I lost again from her. But I didn’t give up easily. I further asked, “What you generally write about you?” I tried my best to ask this as normally as I can so that she doesn’t doubt upon me.  


The way she looked towards me this time, I thought that might she is going to lose this time, And finally, she replied, “About Me…., about you…., about this game….., about that rook of you…. And about everything I see, because this is what people do, they write about things they see, they imagine and what they feel, Isn’t it?”  

And while saying that, she took her next move, and one more piece from my side joined by more than half an army standing out of the board. And all she said. “Sorry”. 


I was confused, it felt like she told me a lot about her at that moment with her eyes, but nothing with her words. The things which I can see in her eyes, can’t be counted in the rules of the game, and if they would be, I have won much before. 


But the fact was she won from a boy, about whom she knows enough by now and I lost from “JUST A GIRL.” 


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