Train Encounter
Chapter-9
"Face behind the voice"
Shalini inched near the door. The swarming crowd that has just popped in made her approach a little slow!! She gave out a desperate "Excuse Me!" every now and then...At last her eye got the glimpse which se was craving for more than a month now!!
Shalini got a shock!! Shock of a lifetime. She stood there for more than a minute, just thinking the fact and then recollected herself finally and uttered,
"A second more and I would have caught you with your orange t-shirt in s2...How could you do this to me??"
"Shalini, believe me, I had no intentions to hurt you... I was just...”
"Hurt? Do you have any idea what your joke has done to my life??"
"It never was a joke Shalini.Not the day I 1st called you up, not now..."
"What the hell do you think of yourself Arun!! Now where is that person whom you fixed up to call me?"
"It was me Shalini!! I called you up all these days. I arranged all these things just in order to be with you!!"
"Do I look such a fool to you Arun? Am I such a stupid girl that I won’t be able to recognize your voice over the phone? Why are you lying to me Arun? Tell me the truth." Shalini's voice was rising by steps, a few curious onlookers were peeping from their seats.
"Shalini.....come dow...”
"Don’t you two know that it is dangerous to stand beside the gate in a running train?"
Both Arun & Shalini were interrupted by a railway guard who was on his regular stroll.
Arun came forward and said
"Sorry sir!! We'll be heading towards our seats right away."
"You better be..."
"Shalini can we just go to our seats and talk there? I will explain you every detail" said Arun.
Back in their seat, Shalini looked very hostile to Arun. Arun had his last chance to prove his innocence.
"Shalini, please listen to me once... I will explain the whole thing to you.
It all started when I went to home this May. It was an unplanned visit to collect some of my necessary papers which were to be attested in my presence. So I thought to give you a surprise. I was in Kolkata when you called me up one day, unaware of the fact that I was in the state. It doesn't matter since my cell phone was in roaming. You let me know about your ticket to Mumbai, remember now?In that instant I got an idea! So I ran to the nearest train station and booked my ticket for the same day...today, luckily I got the seat next to you, but the main problem was how to disguise myself near you, since I was very much sure that you would recognize my voice over the phone. I got a new sim card, and my friend Vikas came to my rescue.
Vikas gave me this software, which can change voice over a digital line, so I simply hooked up my cell phone to my laptop and called you up that day..."
Arun popped up his laptop and gave Shalini a live demonstration how he had actually done that.
Shalini was speechless when she realized that the person she had fantasized for so long was nothing but a few audio frequencies off Arun's voice!!
"And then I kept on calling you under the hood this voice, connected to your home line. That was easy, because I knew the address of the server. Mended your files, shared your ambitions...let you dream"
"But WHY?? Why did you do this?" Shalini was still in a state of confusion.
"Because I Love You!! And I've always tried to express my feelings near you and failed!! Just because you are the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me!! And I never wanted to lose you...I always had this fear that I will lose you, so I hesitated to say something which was not normal, feelings that I've always kept buried inside me which were to be said to you someday...This voice helped me to share those feelings to you....I have done things that I could've never done being Arun!! I shared your deepest desirers, dedicated your favorite song, chatted long over telephone, learnt your weaknesses, asked for your love!! And all these with no risk of losing you!! Please forgive me if I have hurt you...."
Arun fell silent.After few silent minutes, Shalini raised up her head... her eyes were wet....
"Arun, you made a mistake! Do you know? I wasn't sure of my feelings towards the person who was calling me all these days. I was confused about what I would tell him when I will meet him here. But when I found out that the person I was thinking about does not exist at all, then I realized that I have started loving him!!The way he shared his feelings, the way he made me feel special, the way he said that I am the only person about whom he cares.... It’s true that he intruded into my life, and you let him do that... and every time he came closer to me, he took your thought far away. And now I feel like I can’t stay without him!! But you killed him by telling me that it was you!! I hate you Arun, I hate you....." Shalini broke out in tears.
Arun too was in a gloomy mood, he was not in a state to speak, he took Shalini's hand and whispered softly "I'm Sorry!! I didn't mean to hurt you!! Tell me how can I make it back?"
"I want him back...I want him...I love him..." Shalini's tears were stirring all the fellow passengers.
"Hadn't I told you that I'll be with you wherever you go? Then why are you crying!!" the voice fell on Shalini's ears.
Shalini looked up to see Arun, still holding her hands and looking into her eyes with deepest of love in his eyes...Shalini Tightly grab Arun, she's not going to leave him anymore....Shalini caught a faint sound coming from somewhere, a track she had loved so long...
"I've found a reason for me,
To change who I used to be,
A reason to start over new,
And the reason is you.
I've found a reason to show,
A side of me you didn't know,
A reason for all that I do,
And the reason is you...."
Chapter-9
"Face behind the voice"
Shalini inched near the door. The swarming crowd that has just popped in made her approach a little slow!! She gave out a desperate "Excuse Me!" every now and then...At last her eye got the glimpse which se was craving for more than a month now!!
Shalini got a shock!! Shock of a lifetime. She stood there for more than a minute, just thinking the fact and then recollected herself finally and uttered,
"A second more and I would have caught you with your orange t-shirt in s2...How could you do this to me??"
"Shalini, believe me, I had no intentions to hurt you... I was just...”
"Hurt? Do you have any idea what your joke has done to my life??"
"It never was a joke Shalini.Not the day I 1st called you up, not now..."
"What the hell do you think of yourself Arun!! Now where is that person whom you fixed up to call me?"
"It was me Shalini!! I called you up all these days. I arranged all these things just in order to be with you!!"
"Do I look such a fool to you Arun? Am I such a stupid girl that I won’t be able to recognize your voice over the phone? Why are you lying to me Arun? Tell me the truth." Shalini's voice was rising by steps, a few curious onlookers were peeping from their seats.
"Shalini.....come dow...”
"Don’t you two know that it is dangerous to stand beside the gate in a running train?"
Both Arun & Shalini were interrupted by a railway guard who was on his regular stroll.
Arun came forward and said
"Sorry sir!! We'll be heading towards our seats right away."
"You better be..."
"Shalini can we just go to our seats and talk there? I will explain you every detail" said Arun.
Back in their seat, Shalini looked very hostile to Arun. Arun had his last chance to prove his innocence.
"Shalini, please listen to me once... I will explain the whole thing to you.
It all started when I went to home this May. It was an unplanned visit to collect some of my necessary papers which were to be attested in my presence. So I thought to give you a surprise. I was in Kolkata when you called me up one day, unaware of the fact that I was in the state. It doesn't matter since my cell phone was in roaming. You let me know about your ticket to Mumbai, remember now?In that instant I got an idea! So I ran to the nearest train station and booked my ticket for the same day...today, luckily I got the seat next to you, but the main problem was how to disguise myself near you, since I was very much sure that you would recognize my voice over the phone. I got a new sim card, and my friend Vikas came to my rescue.
Vikas gave me this software, which can change voice over a digital line, so I simply hooked up my cell phone to my laptop and called you up that day..."
Arun popped up his laptop and gave Shalini a live demonstration how he had actually done that.
Shalini was speechless when she realized that the person she had fantasized for so long was nothing but a few audio frequencies off Arun's voice!!
"And then I kept on calling you under the hood this voice, connected to your home line. That was easy, because I knew the address of the server. Mended your files, shared your ambitions...let you dream"
"But WHY?? Why did you do this?" Shalini was still in a state of confusion.
"Because I Love You!! And I've always tried to express my feelings near you and failed!! Just because you are the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me!! And I never wanted to lose you...I always had this fear that I will lose you, so I hesitated to say something which was not normal, feelings that I've always kept buried inside me which were to be said to you someday...This voice helped me to share those feelings to you....I have done things that I could've never done being Arun!! I shared your deepest desirers, dedicated your favorite song, chatted long over telephone, learnt your weaknesses, asked for your love!! And all these with no risk of losing you!! Please forgive me if I have hurt you...."
Arun fell silent.After few silent minutes, Shalini raised up her head... her eyes were wet....
"Arun, you made a mistake! Do you know? I wasn't sure of my feelings towards the person who was calling me all these days. I was confused about what I would tell him when I will meet him here. But when I found out that the person I was thinking about does not exist at all, then I realized that I have started loving him!!The way he shared his feelings, the way he made me feel special, the way he said that I am the only person about whom he cares.... It’s true that he intruded into my life, and you let him do that... and every time he came closer to me, he took your thought far away. And now I feel like I can’t stay without him!! But you killed him by telling me that it was you!! I hate you Arun, I hate you....." Shalini broke out in tears.
Arun too was in a gloomy mood, he was not in a state to speak, he took Shalini's hand and whispered softly "I'm Sorry!! I didn't mean to hurt you!! Tell me how can I make it back?"
"I want him back...I want him...I love him..." Shalini's tears were stirring all the fellow passengers.
"Hadn't I told you that I'll be with you wherever you go? Then why are you crying!!" the voice fell on Shalini's ears.
Shalini looked up to see Arun, still holding her hands and looking into her eyes with deepest of love in his eyes...Shalini Tightly grab Arun, she's not going to leave him anymore....Shalini caught a faint sound coming from somewhere, a track she had loved so long...
"I've found a reason for me,
To change who I used to be,
A reason to start over new,
And the reason is you.
I've found a reason to show,
A side of me you didn't know,
A reason for all that I do,
And the reason is you...."
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