- By Anuj Gupta (EM, LitSoc)
His eyes were wide open trying to pierce the darkness of the room to get a glimpse of her. But it was a no-win, same as sleep. After a few minutes of tossing and turning, he removed his right hand from the quilt, to reach for his phone. His face glimmered as he held the phone high with both his hands.
The world was asleep: both the online one, as he scrolled through his empty chat, and his real-world, sleeping on a small bed placed at a distance away from his. He turned the phone off, slid it back to its place, and pushed the hands back in the solace of the quilt. But his eyes were still open
She: I hope I have not spent the whole night without sleep and there's still time in the sun?
(Someone else was also awake)
He: It's 3. You still have time. Good Night
(Though he wanted her to be awake and talk)
She: You always sleep with this much darkness in your room?
He: Yes! I find it soothing. It's comfortable. It's peaceful. It never asks you for your identity like the light.
She: Unable to sleep in your own peaceful and comfortable space? Strange? No
(She said jokingly but her smile was invisible to him)
(He stayed silent)
She: Good Night
(A try to strike a conversation again)
He: Good Night
(Finding the conversation impossible, she chose to close his eyes)
(A sheer silence prevailed)
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He: Are you still up?
(He asked hesitatingly)
(She smiled in a tone very low to pierce the silence and again invisible in the darkness)
She: Let me sleep
(Her hand reached to cover her mouth and hide the laugh)
He: Okays
(Just after a few seconds, his hand shivered with a cold touch. It was she trying to find a soothing place for her in the quilt)
She: I think your bed is more comfortable and larger than mine.....
(She uttered pretending to be sad)
He: But this quilt is not
(Trying to sound uninterested in her)
She: No problem I will adjust
(She pulled more than half the part and covered her. But the win was not as easy as she thought. He tugged the quilt towards him to get his share back. After a few seconds of tugging and jostling, they find each other with a fair share of the cover, though the distance between them shortened a bit more. Their breath was the only one making noise. Both staring at the ceiling).
He: Comfortable! No? This place? This silence?
She: Soothing. Beautiful
He: But don't you dare try to steal my room. Tomorrow morning you are out
(He chuckled)
She: Sometimes it's not about the place but the person.
("Shut up! No! Not the right time", she said to herself as she realized what she said a second before)
He: It's better to fall for a place than for a person! I think. People change with time.
She: But so do places.
He: People hurt. Places don't
She: People Love. Places don't. Has your room ever proposed to you?
(He could hear her soft smile)
He: But it's good. That's the beauty of loving a place or a thing. There are no expectations.
She: So to escape from hurt, one should escape from love? Right?
He: Maybe
(He knew he wants to lose the argument)
She: Maybe not
He: But then how you choose whom to attach with and whom to not! Whom to trust and whom to not!
She: As if it's all maths? It just happens. Sometimes your heart wishes to stay, so you stay! Sometimes it signals you to leave and you leave. Not every time it wishes, it is correct. And not every time it warns, it is correct.
He: So, it's all random. You meet. You fall. You stay. Or maybe sometimes, You leave.
She: Not exactly random
He: Then?
She: It. It can't be explained. It just happens.
(Silence Prevailed)
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He: This place feels better with you
(He couldn't believe he gathered the strength to say that)
She: So, what do your maths say? Am I the one to stay with? Am I the one to trust?
He: As if it's all maths?
She: So, it's all random?
He: Not exactly random. It can't be explained.
She: Oh! I understand! I understand!
(Both Giggled)
(His fingers made themselves comfortable in hers)
(Both woke up to the morning alarm)
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He: Good Morning
She: Morning
He: I didn't know when I fall asleep yesternight
She: Maybe you found your comfort?
He: Maybe. Sometimes it's about the person