Remember, Remember....

Maya sat in the corner of the room as she eyed the handsome guy talking away to his friends. If it was not for him, she would have left the party long ago. Megh-Mory party, more famously referred to as Megh-Moron party is an annual event in the little town of Girth. It always comprised of the same set of guests every year- the 'boring boys' who sat at one corner and talked about every boring topic under the sun, the 'sarcastic sisters' whose aim and ambition lies in passing comments on each and every person in the room,  the 'ignorant idiots' , the ' flirty fools'  , the ' blabbering blabberers  ' ... what a boring party !!
                          " Everyone" came a loud voice from the far end of the room. Maya forced herself to look away from the handsome guy to find the source of the voice. " Everyone " he repeated again , a tall guy with a boyish grin,  "now that we are here, and now that we need to stay for another two hours to count this as a good party, why don't we turn on the music and show off our dance moves?" People were confused, some were downright shocked. Is he out of his mind?  Megh Moron party isn't supposed to be dance, music and fun. It is supposed to be boring, dull and more boring. However, some brave soul turned on the music; and a few more brave souls started dancing. Maya smiled. Maybe she can ask the handsome guy for a dance?

Maya dozed off in Prof. Coi class. Prof. Coi is a great man, so great that he can talk even on the most interesting topics in the most boring way. Some one nudged her. She woke up with a start. Porf. Coi was looking at her directly. He stared at her for a whole two minutes, and finally seem to decide that she was not worth his time. Maya looked around to thank the person who woke her up. It was the same tall guy from the party, again flashing his boyish grin. She mouthed him a silent thank you.

What a jerk Tim is! He again cancelled on their date. Why does she keep going back to people who hurt her the most? Maya sat at the bus stop, her eyes swelled up with tears and make up smudged all over her pretty face.
                                               " Are you ok?"
She turned around to see who it was. It is the same tall guy with the boyish grin, except now his grin is replaced with a frown. He looked at her inquiringly.
                                               " Yes I am fine" she replied in a croaky voice, though her eyes gave away the truth. He sat beside her and told a stupid joke. Yes, it was a stupid joke; but it made her smile. She forgot her pain for the moment.

It is Megh-Moron's party time again. Now that she broke up with Tim, Maya came to the party seeking some fun.What was she thinking?! Megh Moron party is not supposed to be fun! She really wished that the tall guy with the boyish grin would come this year too and surprise the people again.
Two people behind her were engaged in a deep conversation
                                               " Do you remember the guy who asked everyone to dance around last time?"
                                                " Yeah cool chap. What about him?"
                                                " He died yesterday"

Maya's entire body froze. She stood stand still. His boyish grin flashed before her eyes.. Her heart gave out a silent cry.

Many times in life, we come across people who make us laugh, help us, amaze us. Sometimes we go on to become great friends with them, sometimes we might not even get far enough to know their names. If ever, you want to tell them how different and special they are, do it today for who knows what tidings tomorrow might bring? 

In the memory of my friend Ashish who is no more among us.

My Fair Lady

                                 Maggie's phone beeped. Its a text from Steel,
                                               " Up for the night ?"

The text confused her a little. Steel never really texts her, and definitely not so late into the night. Steel is Lillian's fiance. To call him a friend would be an overstatement. He is just a person she come across some weekends, when she and  Lillian sit together to have a good beer and chat about every other nonsensical thing in the world. Today had been one such day.
                                  " What's happening tonight?" she texted back.
                                  " Anything can happen. All you need to do is ask" came a fast reply.

Maggie was a bit taken aback.
                                 " Did you text a wrong person? "

The reply was not so fast this time,
                                 " You are such a tease Maggie. With those words, and with those deep neck dresses. Maggie, just say it and I am all yours for the night, my hottie."

Maggie stared at the text. Disbelief, anger, numbness....
The more she absorbed the text, the more she felt grossed out. Steel, Lillian's fiance... Steel, a guy whom she never really noticed... Steel, who just texted her to have sex....
                                 " Are you kidding me? Are you totally out of your mind?"   Her whole body trembled. Trembled with anger at Steel, and ... deep neck dresses he said. She looked in the mirror. She stared at her dress.

                                 " Of course I was kidding. I can never look at you that way" came a reply. An other text followed immediately,
                                 " Let us not mention this to Lillian though. You know how she is. She can never understand jokes. "

She continued staring into the mirror.  She did not see a woman in a deep neck dress. Tease? Hottie?? Rather she saw a confident woman, a confident woman in a well fitted dress. She is not a rule-book-woman; those woman who dress conservatively, never speak out their mind and cannot protest against abuse. She is a woman who knows what she wants, speaks out her mind when needed and can definitely kick someone in their balls if they misbehave.

She closed her eyes. Lillian will probably be free tomorrow at 5......

                                       " Not a thing, to be possessed
                                         Nor a piece ,to be exploited
                                         For she has feelings, real and just;
                                         My fair lady, you deserve the best"

                                      " A bumpy hill, a barren desert,
                                        Life goes on swirling dirt
                                        A beautiful lake, a flowery road,
                                        Life goes on leading to the heavenly abode.."

Day 1
He is tired. He still has work to do before he sleeps. He glances at his watch. It is almost one in the night. He texts her  "Are you awake?" doubtful of a reply. However a reply comes soon " About to sleep". A faint smile appears on his face and he gets back to work.

Day 2
Peter chugged an entire beer. Emily is dancing all around the place. Jared is blasting on a peppy number. The party is great , the party is in full swing. He flicks through a photo album in his phone. Amidst all the photos of her, there is a photo of them- together. He glances at it for a while. Now he feels great, now he feels at place.

Day 3
Another hard night at work. It is six in the morning, by the time he is done. As his eyes droop down, he steadies himself. Maybe he should get some coffee. He is meeting her for breakfast at eight.

Day 4
A long long fight. Of course she is wrong. She does not make sense.... ever. He closes his eyes for a moment of peace. An image of her beautiful smile flashes by. He calls her....." Sorry, it is all my fault"

Day 5
She texts him
" I am so excited. Finally Jack and I will be in the same city. I missed him dearly"
An hour later, another text
" I am leaving for airport in thirty minutes. Will you be coming to give a send off?"
Now she calls. A few more times.
Finally, another text
" I really wanted to meet you before I left. I will miss you"

He closes his eyes, a silent tear flows down.



                                      " Life goes on, it always does
                                        Days of sunshine are plenty and abundant,
                                        But when I have to survive, when I have to fight,
                                        Your happiness will be my absolute delight"