“Itz raining…” came a shrill voice from drawing hall. That was my sister.

It was 7:00 AM…a pleasant Saturday early morning. Window panes were bearing tiny transparent pimples, which the rain droplets had caused. It was cool outside. It had just started drizzling. I was in my bed under the blanket, warm and cozy in half sleep. Eyes were refusing to let the light come in. People just don’t understand the bliss that lies behind the morning slumber. A sluggish state where you don’t know how to get up or you do not want the act of getting up to happen.

“Awesome Weather !!!!!!” My inner-self which is still awake said

“Yeah…..ahhhhhh (Yawn)” I yawned to acknowledge.

“Get up you lazy dog” again my inner-self

“Shut up” this is me..the real me

“ 😦 Go get lost…” (My inner-self has started using smileys..!!!!). I didn’t care. I just wanted to sleep in this kewl weather. Nothing else I wanted to do

Again I was asleep. I could hear the rain drops hitting the ground. “wwoooooooowww…what an awesome state of mind??…” My thoughts wandered. I was there in the bed fast asleep…I could feel the gravity of the sleep which was pulling me deep down in to some state of mind, which I couldn’t explain here. It was some subconscious vortex into which I’m being pulled into…I could feel the chemical reactions that were taking place in my stomach. That feeling gave me comfort. A comfort of sleeping. The state of eternal Bliss!!!

“Hey get up…Paper boy didn’t come today. Get The Hindu, Dinamalar, and one Deccan Chronicle. Get up….” My sis again.

Why do people read newspapers early morning. ? I was interrogating myself on peoples’ ignorance on morning sleep. How can they afford to sacrifice such a nice time? I remembered one proverb TIME IS PRECIOUS. Time will not wait for anybody, so why wasting it when it is available right now at your feet? So continue sleeping. I closed my eyes.

“Podi…adellaam Mudiyathu ” I said  (“Get lost….That’s not possible”)

“Hey get up Anna. See the weather. How cool it is. It will be like a morning walk. You would have never seen this. (Anna = Brother)

“Hey get up. Appa has gone to temple. You should only go now…” This is mom (Appa = Father)

“ It is just 7:30 ma….who will keep all shops open???” I fumbled. I couldn’t speak as my face was held deep inside the pillow. I hugged the pillow and tried to sleep again, just then the voice came again

“Go n see how many people are awake…how many people go for morning walk…see how many people have started working…How would you know when you don’t get up??…” That was my mom.

“cha…”

I got up with all my weight of laziness pulling me back again towards the bed. I stepped into the bathroom. The floor was cool as ice. I felt lazy to brush but I had to. So I reached for the brush in the stand, laid the toothpaste from start to end of the bristles. After 10 minutes I came out.

“Ma…Coffee..”

“coming….”

After the hot coffee, I set out my journey in the cool weather to get newspapers. I came out of the house. The stray dog was happily sleeping under the car shed. My inner conscience didn’t respond to my thought. I was jealous over the dog and its undisturbed sleep. I got down the road and started walking slowly. There was a slight drizzle and cool breeze. I could smell the fragrance of the wet mud and a nice smell of the Poori Masala which was being prepared in the Fast Food nearby hindering my olfactory sense. Steam was emanating from the Idly cooker that was kept in the FF Stall.

I was clad in my light, sandalwood tinted, 3/4^th Tracks and dark blue round neck t-shirt. I could see Goosebumps sprouting all over my skin coz of this chill Weather. My hands were chill and the Goosebumps were clearly visible as if somebody had planted something in my skin. I wiped the rain droplets that flowed down my hands. It had started raining! How can someone sell newspaper in this rain?. I’ve seen sellers spreading out all the newspaper on the platform and assemble each and every supplement together which are then distributed to many, to be sold out. I was searching for some place to protect myself getting drenched. And at last found one under a small petty shop. Time was melting like Ice. I waited for 15 mins. I wanted to leave and get back to my Bed. Some more people came running to protect themselves from the downpour. I was thinking about how can someone eat ice-cream when it rains. I heard some people like eating one. Trisha ate one in the movie Adhi. She came running in the rain fully drenched and ate a cup of ice-cream. Wandering Mind!

When I was about to leave. I saw her. I saw her, whom I haven’t seen before … She came running towards me, found one place to stand. She was standing next to me. She was partly drenched. She was wiping the droplets of water in her face. She looked Beautiful with that and I couldn’t stop seeing her. Her green color Patiala style chudidar was filling my eyes. My eyes were over flowing with the green color. I was thinking about some Go-Green Initiative. Is this the one?? She couldn’t control the curliness of her hair that fell on her eyes. She was holding it back frequently with her long thin fingers which were adorned with well kept tiny nails. Her duppatta was almost wet and I could notice that she was not comfortable with that. Anyways I couldn’t help her in that. She was already cute and this rain, this weather was making her cuter. She was in some hurry. She kept seeing her watch. I was thinking ….What the hell she is doing in this early rainy morning??

PING PONG. My Mobile Rang. It was a message alert. There was two option for me

1.Read and 2.Cancel.

I pressed Read Button.

The message read…

“Each day I meet
Someone New,
But Nvr find another
Person like u,
The world is full of people it true…
Yet no one ever equals U…
Gud Mrng :)”

 

People are too active to get up, so early in this Saturday morning and forward messages. Thanks to Technology. It has made people Active!!!!

“Hi….” Came the voice from behind. She was standing next to me.

“Hi …” I smiled. I didn’t want to leave!

“ Do you know where is the SBI ATM nearby??” She put her query innocently.

I was searching for words. I knew where it is. But my thoughts didn’t flow freely like Captain Cook Salt. I gained all my conscious. I came out of that lazy boy mind. I came out of the restless boy who lost his morning sleep. I delivered..

“Well..it’s in Big Street, near the School…You know that school rite?”. I  finished

“Yeah OK……I’ll see that. Thank You”

“No props…” I said. The rain had stopped. I started leaving. She started with me. We found that, both of us were heading towards the same street.

“Oh…you too going this way??” I asked her in an anticipation to continue the conversation

“Yeah, so u too?” she smiled and came forward.

“I’m Archana” She introduced herself. “We just came to this place last night…wanted to go for a morning stroll. But then it started raining..and I had to come under the shelter..hehe…”  She was smiling. I don’t know how girls smile so much! As she said this I was expected to introduce myself. So I told her my name.

“So where are you from?” I asked.

“I’m from Bangalore. I’m staying in my aunt’s house here in Chennai. Just came last night. I told you before….”

“Yeah fine….so what are you up to? College?”. I was unable to guess her age. I knew it’s ‘not so called a gud practice’ to ask a girl, her age. And don’t want to take any risks asking something which you ought not to! I previous had experiences guessing a girl’s age incorrectly. Thank god the consequence didn’t turn out worse.

“College is over & I’m waiting for my call letter from….” She mentioned a well known software firm.

“Oh cool…So enjoying your holidays I guess…”

“No yaar…It was fun initially but I got bored of killing time like hell…how long to wait? It’s been 4 months I’m whiling away time…” she exposed her cute frustration in her face.

The small wrinkle on her forehead, which was alive for a momentary period of time, added to her cuteness. The short-lived change, that brought an expression, that made the me blind, in spite of my perfect vision still under operation!!

“Oho..It will take time. They’ll call randomly…” I was telling her as if I decide the recruitment process of the firm in which she got placed.

“Hey…you didn’t tell me what are you doing??” she winked.

“you didn’t ask me!..” I replied. I was trying to get into my Humor Shoes but then didn’t want to spoil the image (!!???) which I had built for the past 10 minutes. The ATM was nearing.

“I’m a Software Engg” I said. She acknowledged.

“Anyways nice meeting you. It was good talking to you…” She ended. I was taken aback. I didn’t expect that this conversation will end so soon 😦. Are we going to leave without exchanging any Mobile no,  mail ID, Gtalk ID, ORKUT name…what is this? Is this what you expect after a long conversation. That too with a girl who u have been looking at admiring her green dress, nails, face with raindrops n all ??. I was thinking of ways to get some contact. But how?? I was thinking. Thinking hard on information retrieval. God Please help…

He helped me of course ! When she started leaving towards the ATM entry, My Mobile rang PING PONG. She turned back and smiled. I was cursing the one who is sending messages at this time. What else to do? It struck in my mind, in that Microsecond gap when I took the cell out from my pocket.. The processors inside me has started working fast. Grrrrr8 Idea. This will surely work. No time to waste, I acted fast. I was ready to take risk at the cost of my mobile.

“uuuuffffffff” I shouted and dropped my cell down!!!!! It landed with a THUD and dismantled itself on the floor. The back panel was lying near my feet. The Battery was thrown somewhere away. It wasn’t a Nokia model

“What happened?” she came back with some concern in her face which I noticed again.

“Nothing….I dropped my cell..ptch” I said sadly bending down to reach my Mobile’s different parts! I was sad & Happy. Sad for my mobile’s present condition. Happy on my victory of her getting back to me. I picked up the parts & was assembling. Things were wet.

“Is that fine?” She looked at my dilapidated (!!??) mobile.

“I should check” I said. I switched it on and asked her “Hey can I use your cell. Just wanna check, calling my mobile.”

“Sure” She handed over her mobile to me and I started keying in my mobile number in the pressing her mobile’s rubber key pad and pressed CALL.

My Mobile rang. The screen was blinking with some unknown number calling message. “Its working. Fine” I said. “Well that’s my Number you wanted to know” came the voice . I lifted my face up in astonishment.

When I lifted my face I couldn’t see her. She was not there. She has gone. I saw my other hand. It was empty. Where did her mobile go? I couldn’t understand what was happening. I saw the sky. The atmosphere was clear. No rain. No Wet Roads. I was lying  in a bed in a corner of an empty dark room. I could see the tiny dust particles rising in the Beam of Sunlight, which is entering the room through the exhaust fan vent. I was bewildered on the events happening. What has happened? Where is the ATM? Where am I? What am I doing in this dark, dusty, abandoned, cobwebbed room. Each of my hands and legs were tied to the poles near the bed. I tried to shout. But I was unable to. My volume was totally lowered. I was shouting, but it appeared as if I was whispering to myself. No point in shouting now. I turned, twisted, strained to relieve myself from this torture. I  could see something written on my hand. I twisted it and the words read…..I WANNA PLAY A GAME ! ARE YOU READY? LET THE GAME BEGIN !!!! I was horrified. I remember watching the horror movie S.A.W, sometime before in my system. Now I had to free myself from this trap. I didn’t know what to do!!! I looked down on the floor…..

Three papers were lying untouched.

THE HINDU

DINAMALAR

DECCAN CHRONICLE

“I don’t want to play this game” I shouted. My heartbeat was at its peak.

I could feel some sharp instrument doing something in my hand. I closed my eyes &  shouted again “I don’t want to play this game”

“Who asked you to play a game, early in this morning? Get up you ‘loose’ (loosu = mad). See the time its 7:40 now” came the voice from behind.

I opened my eyes. Blinked twice, thrice. I could see my sister standing beside me and waking me up. I was at home in the same Bed, warm & cozy with my naughty sister disturbing as usual. Thank God!!!!. I’m not playing any game now. I’m not tied to any Pole. I’m not in any old, dusty, abandoned, cobwebbed room. I got up and sat straight. My heart was still beating heavily. I saw my computer table. Two New DVDs of ‘S.A.W’ movie were lying on the table My sister was looking at me like some comedy happening in front of her. I saw my hand. Something was written in it. My eyes opened wide. I read thru the lines It read.

LOOSU GET UP…LOOSU GET UP

My sister has scribbled it. I smiled. I looked out of the window pane. It was slightly drizzling. But the nightmare has driven all my sleepiness in air. I had watched the movie last night till 12:00. That’s the effect. I got down the bed and proceeded towards the bathroom with my toothbrush. Mom gave a cup of Coffee. I was sipping it slowly thinking about the dream I had just few minutes before. My sister came near me with her cup of coffee and asked

“What game were you talking about when I was scribbling in your hand Anna?”

“I didn’t talk anything about any game?. Gone mad uh?” I said

“No Anna. You were blabbering when you are asleep” she was giggling. I realized that, I was shouting really. I was somniloquing (Talking when sleeping)

“Oh you are asking about that? Actually, you see……in my dream, I wanted to play NFS, but my friend was asking me to play Age of Empires. I was telling him I don’t want to play that game. OK…OK go and get me my wallet and umbrella. I’ll go and get the newspapers.” I said and started my morning walk.

I was still thinking about…..what’s her name?…errr…the girl in..whats the color of her dress??…blue?…no no it must be red I suppose. I was walking alone in the streets. Nobody was awake. I could see the stray dog awake under the car shed. I could smell the fragrance of the wet mud and the nice smell of the Poori Masala which was being prepared in the Fast Food nearby….

PING PONG. Message Alert !!! I took my cell out and opened the unread message. It read….

“Each day I meet

Someone New,

But Nvr find another

Person like u,

The world is full of people it true…

Yet no one ever equals U…

Gud Mrng :)”

The Message seemedso familiar!!!