Nithya

Nithya closed the book she was reading, kept it on her table, put her reading glasses inside their box, and moved to her bed when she got the text "Hi dear! How are you?".

The text came from an unknown number. "Could this be my longtime friend whom I lost touch with? Must be one of my school friends! It has been so long!"

"I am fine! What took you so long, my dear, to know that a friend exists in this remote space and has been waiting for long to get in touch with you?", she replied.

"I am sorry! You must have mistaken me. I am Ajay, and I am not the friend you were expecting to get in touch with."

She read the last reply twice to make head or tail out of it. He is undoubtedly not her friend, for his number is not in her contact list. So what does he want from me? When her thoughts reached a dead end, she asked him, "Who are you?"

"I am Ajay. Am working for a construction company as a design engineer. And I am currently located in Singapore." After a few minutes pause, she got another text saying, "Can I know about you?"

"I don't remember if I know you! How did you get my cell phone number?" she asked him.

"One of my friends gave me your number and asked me to talk to you. Is it okay if I call you now?" he asked.

"Who could he be? Why does he want to talk to me? And who was this friend who gave my number to him? Does his friend know me?" Before asking any of these questions, her cell phone alerted her of an incoming call from an unknown number. After letting it ring half a dozen times, she took the call.

"Hi! Who is this?" was all she could manage to ask him.

"Hello again! This is Ajay! May I know your name, please?" replied the voice.

"You don't even know my name! What do you want to talk to me about?"

After a momentary pause, he replied, "I know I am not your friend. But can't I become one now?"

After much contemplation, she said, "Nithya."

"Sweet name! By the way, I am 26. May I know how old you are?"

Age? What next? Size? Well, it sounds fun. Let me see how far he can get.

"23"

"23? Strange coincidence! I guessed you would be 23!"

"Oh, really? How come?"

"From your voice. It sounds like a 23-year-old."

She giggled for a while. "What else can you guess from my voice?"

"I guess you don't have a boyfriend?"

"What makes you think so?"

"Its a hunch. By the way, do you have a boyfriend?"

Do I have a boyfriend? What should I tell him? That I had one who passed away recently?

"Let's agree to a condition that I will not ask about your past, and you will respect the same?" she said.

After much thought, he replied, "Sure." She figured out that his "Sure" sounded like "What the hell."

"Well, we haven't seen each other. We do not know anything about our likes and dislikes, dreams and passions and so on. I know its too early and premature to ask this question. But I have a feeling that we are meant for each other. Do you feel the same way about me too?" he asked.

Is he proposing to me? Not so early! We don't even know what the other one looks like! When she was about to reply, she heard the doorknob click, and the door open, through it a girl in her early twenties entered.

"Grandma! Aren't you sleeping yet? Whom are you talking to, at this hour?"