The hickey acquaintance

It was one of the mundane weekends. Piku was as usual on her bed, thoughts hovering in her idle mind about when to get rid of her laziness and finally jump out of bed. She was too introverted to hang out with friends or colleagues on weekends, but enjoyed spending a lot of "me time". She stayed with her dad, a retired strict army officer, who was someone who liked to stay undisturbed by others.

Piku woke up, preparing breakfast she thought to herself why is life so ordinary if someone is an introvert? She had her breakfast with her dad, chatting about lil daily household stuff. Suddenly her dad asked, "Piku, did you decide never to marry anyone? I'm just curious, do you prefer staying all by yourself?" Piku was someone who was straightforward throughout, never trying to be diplomatic, ever. A lil pause... like someone asked her a dreaded multi dollar question that came to her suddenly just as a bolt from the blue! 

"Baba, she continued, do you like staying alone without a companion ever since maa left us? Why did you really decide to stay with a stubborn kid like me, never thinking twice about your own happiness? "

Achha! So this is now self-answered!! "Piku, I know too well we are too different in our thought process though you are my daughter, but this sarcasm?! " And Major Dutta laughed out loud to himself... "Oh, Piku! I now know you actually are my alter ego!! My sarcasm somehow is inherently inside you my girl!! Come on, let's go for a lil outing today, what about revisiting Victoria Memorial once again?"

The dad-daughter duo had a very strange bond, though not too close in person, but yet very close in their thought patterns. "Baba, do you still hold a grudge against me for disobeying you and marrying Shlok who you said will never really be perfect for me, and you predicted so damn accurately too?" Baba listened, but didn't speak this time..." Piku, come there is your favourite ginger tea stall, let's sit and have a sip of it".... Piku nodded, she felt the guilt inside her making her all the more vulnerable than her father, she wanted to weep but couldn't. Baba, why, why, do you silently have to love this disobedient daughter of yours so so much??"... The question hit Piku inside, though she didn't utter a word. Sometimes it's the silence that speaks a thousand words even if you aren't conversing, indeed!!

Piku was way too silent in nature and, in fact, too economical with her words. She was working on her laptop, busy scribbling a blog, well, she was a blogger by profession. Suddenly her Google chatbox pinged... she didn't have many friends, in fact, a handful of her colleagues who usually pinged her only related to work. But this time it was different. The username was 'Dumb Ape'...it said, hi, care to chat if you are not disturbed?' Piku thought to herself who could this possibly be? Well, it definitely wasn't someone she knew. She texted her response, " Do we know each other?" 

The chat followed suit:

"I don't think we do, but I like your blogs".

"Oh, so you follow my blogs then?"

"No, I don't really follow your blogs Miss, but at times like reading them." 

"What makes you ping me, Dumb Ape?"

"Coz I'm Dumb! If that really answers your query!"  

Piku was alarmed this time. The person on the other side seemed quite strange but unique too.

Piku carried on, "So, what's your name, Dumb Ape?"

"You can call me Dabbu, though it's my nickname."

"What do I call you, Miss?"

"Call me Piku, that's my nickname too".

The conversation ended there.

Piku slept off thinking about this weird person. "Must be someone is just playing a prank", she thought to herself, "What if it's my past trying to come up with a new face to haunt me again??" Piku had a bitter divorce a few months back, it was the love of her life, well, that was what she imagined once, who later didn't think twice about shoving her off his life to get hitched to another lady!

"Piku, ai Piku, koi re, tui office jabi na aaj?"It was her dad calling out loud in the late morning to wake her up. Piku was sleeping late through the day! She saw the clock, it was very late, 11 am! She missed going to the office that day. Something felt uncomfortable, she came downstairs from her room, "Baba, I won't go to the office today, I don't like to, I need to take a break!" Baba silently patted her shoulder and left.

Piku started off with blogging yet again. And again! The chat popped up, it's Dump Ape yet again. 

"So, all good?"

Piku replied, "Guess so."

"Check out this song Piku...and there it is."

Dabbu shared a song link with her.. it was "Oh Sherrie... by Steve Perry...

The lyrics somehow caught her fancy:

"You should've been gone

Knowing how I made you feel

And I should've been gone

After your words of steel..."

"Did you hear the song, Piku?"

Piku wondered why this song suddenly?

But she kept her emotions at bay, and said "Yes, it was a good song".

" Why don't you send one of your favourite songs too so I can listen?"

Piku was taken aback, yet she sent a song close to her heart.. " Hello, by Lionel Richie.

"Ohh gal! This song is in my playlist and it is my all-time favourite too!!" Dabbu pinged from the other side. "We are so similar, I wish you were my classmate Piku!"

The chat continued between Dabbu and Piku. Almost every day, it grew to long conversations, even midnight chit chats...a bond of friendship was growing, out of nowhere....

"Piku, do you mind sharing your number? Of course, if you are comfortable! I promise I will only text you, but never call you".

Piku by this time was a lil more comfortable yet awkward. She shared her number that day. Dabbu texted her ... "Thank you Piku for showing trust in me."

This odd friendship continued until one evening Piku had this sudden realisation of falling for this person, whom she never once met in her life in person, not even talking to that person on call, but just had only texted each other. It was drizzling that evening while Piku was returning home from the office in a cab. It was a long hectic day at work. Her WhatsApp pinged suddenly...

"It's drizzling here Piku. And I so wish to get drenched you know?"

Piku texted back, " I never like opening my umbrella when it drizzles, it's soothing to get drenched in the rain."

"What if I say today I want to kiss you in the rain getting drenched, Piku?"

Piku was taken aback getting caught off guard! It was she who just thought she was falling for this guy!! Was this telepathy? Piku wondered.

A nervous yet happy Piku texted back, "Dabbu, I think I'm falling for you!"

There was an uncanny silence. No texts anymore. Piku wondered if was it her dream. Was it a scam? What was it? Her heart pounded heavily, "Why is Dabbu not texting me? What went wrong?"

Her phone blinked, this time it wasn't a text, it was Dabbu calling her! Piku never felt so nervous in her life, a mixed feeling of anxiety and excitement gripped her! She received the call...

"Hello"

"Piku, I don't know what's going on. But I want a friend, a friend I can share my life with... someone who will be my very own.. possibly I found it too in you.. I can't tell you how happy I was to know you love me, possibly, unexpectedly, but Piku, I'm married, and I'm happily married to the love of my life. "

Piku was calm... something inside her was going numb, yet there was emotions, there was love, a genuine friendship deep within. She knew she possibly found her missing piece, her soulmate in Dabbu, yet she knew she was in love with someone who honestly confessed he was happily married to someone he loved. Ain't honesty, the transparency enough to make someone love a person even more? Love is selfless, it's the desire to own someone that hurts. 

"How about a hickey, Dabbu?"

"Piku, for me it's kiss and never tell. I'm not a PDA person at all! But why suddenly this hickey thing, Piku?"

"Because it's more of a memento of passion for me, Dabbu... the mark of love!" 

The hickey thing discussion turned to a sudden hick-up now for Dabbu!! 

Only God wickedly smiled from above to see these weird lovebirds trying to find the missing piece of this puzzle, only to be more and more immersed in the maze!!!

The soulmates... it really was.....

A journey of Dabbu and Piku to be continued........