She

She used to stare at me every night from the ground, staying put under the Neem tree waiting for me, to look for her in the darkness.

Her face was covered by what resembled Anita’s pink scarf that I had borrowed last month.

I did not know where she lived I had neither seen her face nor met her ever.

One gloomy night, unable to fall asleep, I went to the window to see if she was there. She was coming swiftly towards me.

A click in my brain.

I turned around, picked up my phone, opened the gallery and looked at my best friend Anita’s photos. I craved to talk to her at that instant.

I dialed her mother’s number and asked if I could speak with Anita.

I heard her mother’s choked and grief-filled voice on the other end. She sobbed and said…

“She is no more.”