It was the first winter after our marriage. He
went to Bhatinda from Delhi by 9 PM Punjab Mail, which used to cross Bhatinda
at 5 AM morning. The same train in which Shahid Kapoor met Kareena in the movie
‘Jab We Met’. Usually, he used to call me up when he got down at the station.
That day, I woke up at 7 AM, though was not out
of bed. I looked at my mobile phone. No miss call. I called him up. He
disconnected my call. Again, I called up. He disconnected. I called up at least
5 / 6 times. Last few times, it kept ringing, but he didn’t pick up.
Suddenly, the movie JWM started haunting me. Deep
inside, the scenes of Aditya’s (Shahid) encountering Geet (Kareena) were
flashing in front of my eyes. But, I consoled myself, convincing my
sub-conscious mind that he already had met his Geet in November Rain of 2004.
Worry and wrath kept mounting. But, with “incredible”
patience, I stopped calling him. I was aware that the guy – Thomas, who used to
share the same office Guest House with him in Bhatinda, he had gone home for
few days.
At 8:30 AM, I could not control myself. I
called up Thomas to enquire if he had any contact number in which I could connect
with him. Thank God! Thomas picked up my phone and asked me not to worry. And
he promised me that he will call me back in a while.
Previous month, I went to Bhatinda to inspect his
Guest House and the neighbourhood, for few days. Thank God! No girl’s hostel
nearby!!! ;), got no suspicious stuff too. The Guest House – definitely, you
need brave hearts to stay there. Jungle in the front, back, both the sides. No
shops nearby. It was an industrial area. Hardly, you get to see any human being
in the evening. Silence reigned in the surroundings. It was a two stories house
with four bedrooms. I used to keep the TV volume high to break the silence,
though we were three people in the house including Thomas.
It was 9 AM. I kept waiting. No call from
Thomas. I had to get ready for office too. My worry and fury was continuously spiraling.
It was 9:45 AM. I just sat on my car for
office. Suddenly, my phone rang. An unknown number. My heart beat suddenly
reached peak. I picked up the call
quickly.
Thank God! It was his voice.
I quickly closed all car windows. I started my
session without wasting a single second…..”Bla! Bla! Bla!.....Bla!”. Screamed, shouted
my heart out…..
“Sorry! I lost my Mobile phone in the train. I
could not call you as there was no PCO open.” He gently replied.
“The gentleman who received my handset, he will
be returning to Delhi on Saturday and handover to me in the Bhatinda station.
Such a nice guy he is, isn’t it?
I know, you called up 20 times! The guy told
me.” He added.
“Then, why the hell he didn’t pick up my call
and convey the message? He can’t be a gentleman…..I don’t agree.” I asked him
with fury and frustration.
“…..hmmmm….Sorry Sweetheart! It’s a tough
question to answer.” He softly replied.
“No….Why? You’ll have to tell me…” I was stubborn.
“’Coz………’Coz….your number is saved as ----“Hitler
the Great” in my phone, and that’s why he got scared to pick up the call…”
Before, I say something, the call got
disconnected…….!!! Intentional or call really dropped…??? We are celebrating our 11 yrs anniversary
today! But, yet to get the real answer!!! :)
Happy Anniversary to us!!!!
