Dinesh was sitting with his iPad in the coffee shop, trying
to complete the article he had to submit in the afternoon. But despite,
drinking two cups of hot coffee, he was unable
to concentrate on what he was writing. "Was it a writer's blog", he wondered.
Dinesh closed his eyes and tried to listen to the
conversations around him. This was a habit he had cultivated from childhood whenever he felt lonely or tired. He
had seen a group of girls walk in and from their chatter he knew they were
sitting right behind him. He could not see them and nor could they see him. Best
position for eves-dropping.
"Oh you remember the guy who sat next to me in school,
wasn't he a big show-off?" he heard a female voice from behind his chair.
The others in the group giggled. "Wonder what happened to him?" asked
another. "He belonged to the rich Jain family from Prithviraj road. Must
be driving around in a BMW or Mercedes with his trophy wife," exclaimed someone
in the group, sounding a bit jealous and irritated. " "Hey! don't make
fun of him. There was a terrible tragedy in their family? I don't remember exact
details, but it was all over the papers," interrupted a voice
sympathetically.
The voice was so familiar, the same softness and sweetness,
Could it be her? thought Dinesh excitedly. After school had got over, she had joined a medical
school in the South, while he had left for US for an under-grad program in
computer science.
"Vandy, I remember you had a crush on him", he
heard the irritated one say. "I think I did Anjali. But he belonged to
such an affluent family. There was no future in such a relationship,"
replied the same sweet voice.
"Vandy, you lost Arpan five years back. How long are you going
to grieve over him? You are still young, pretty and a good doctor. Isn't it
time to find a companion?"asked the girl addressed as Anjali. The other
voices agreed.
Dinesh, knew they did not remember his name, but he was boy they
were talking about. He suddenly remembered his sprawling house on Prithviraj
Road. It was in this house his father had shot himself dead. His father, a proud
man, had never revealed to his family about the business debts that he had
accumulated over the years, and was unable to repay. Fortunately, Dinesh had
finished college by then. He came back to take care of his mother, whom he sadly lost within a year of his
father's death. The one sister he had, was married to a doctor in US, and she was
busy with her own family.
After settling his father's debts there was little left for
him to do. He hated the corporate world that had taken away his father from him
so tragically. So when a job offer came from his friend's father to write a
column for his new publication, Times News. Dinesh gladly took the offer and
soon got involved full time.
He loved the freedom he enjoyed at Times News, Delhi office.
He built their development news section from the scratch and was now heading
it. The job entailed long trips into the interiors of the country, to report on
development issues, and many opportunities to attend international seminars and
symposiums.
However, he was experiencing a strange loneliness for quite
some time now. The work place seemed colorless, his one-room apartment seemed
dull and even the summer break he had taken to the Caribbean had not
rejuvenated him. In the last ten years, so much had happened. His best friend,
Aujun Patel had decided to settled down in California. Another friend, Arvind
had married his college sweet-heart and moved to Bangalore, where his parents
lived, and recently his office buddy Brijesh Kumar had joined the electronic
media.
The cafe where Dinesh was sitting had become quiet. He woke
up from his day dreaming and realized that the group of girls, sitting behind
him had already left. He could now only hear
a mother pacifying her child who was throwing a tantrum.
Dinesh felt irritated with himself, then thought, "Oh! I
lost one chance but surely there will be
many more", and pulling out his i-Pad, he went to Face Book, and searched
for Dr. Vandana, Delhi. The face, he hadn't seen since they had left high
school, popped up.
Looking at the pretty and smiling face on the screen, he knew
she was the one he was waiting for to complete his life. He had always liked
her but was too shy to tell her in school.
Dinesh felt rejuvenated, and scolding himself
for being lazy, he went back to finish his article. 
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