7. Mystery Girl

“The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.”

-Oscar Wilde

"Hi Pratham"

This message was left on Pratham's chat for a long time. He left his Laptop unattended and meanwhile something that he was eagerly looking forward to had happened.

After a gap of an hour or so, Pratham went back to his laptop and was amazed to see a ping on his chat window. Aisha_Mumbai looked online, though idle.

He pinged back saying, "Hi. May I know who's this."

He was skeptical. He thought he wouldn't get a reply immediately. But there was barely a second's gap and he got a reply from Aisha and they got talking.

"Hi. I am Aisha. From Mumbai"

"Do I know you?", He asked.

He still had the initial chatting jitters, wondering who could the person be. Is the person genuine, and not a hacker etc - the similar apprehensions which people usually get while chatting .Pratham was aiming that the person on the other end should reveal that she is Jennifer.

"I guess no. But I wouldn't mind if we tried." ,she replied.

Pratham thought that it would take some time for him to make the other person reveal her identity, so he decided to carry on with the chat to find out whether the person was indeed Jennifer.He decided to be as honest as possible. It was the beginning of his fight against his weaknesses too.

Aisha: So What do you do?

Pratham: I am an investment banker. I work with a reputed bank in Mumbai. And you?

Aisha: I am a fashion designer and work for a leading designer brand.

Pratham: So..? You know, actually, I am not very good at all this.

Aisha : Good at what?

Pratham: This chatting business.

Aisha: Then how come you are online, that too on a proper chat application?

Pratham: I was looking for Jennifer.

Pratham intentionally mentioned the name expecting some reaction from the other end.

Aisha : Jennifer?

Pratham: Yes. We kinda had an affair around 7 years back.

Aisha: And you are looking for her now? Why?

Pratham: I have no clue.

Aisha: So are you married?

Pratham: Yes. You?

Aisha: No. What's with Jennifer then? You are married and probably happy, then why are you looking for this ex of yours?

Pratham: Yes, I am married, happy or not, I have no clue, I think I am looking for Jennifer so that I get a few of my questions answered.

Aisha: Aah. I see. So what was it like with Jennifer? Real close?

Pratham felt a bit uncomfortable, initially considering the topics into which Aisha was foraying. But he didn't really mind, because he was sure that this lady, if not Jennifer, was some random unknown lady and talking to her wouldn't make any difference anyway.

Pratham: Yes. We were in a relationship for about 5 years. Until I got married.

Aisha: And why did you get married to someone else then?

Pratham: Because I never knew I was in love with Jennifer.

Aisha: So are you still in love with Jennifer?

Pratham: I don't know.

Aisha: What do you know then?

Pratham: I know that I don't love my wife. I know that I don't love myself. But I know that Jenny keeps troubling me time and again. I left her at a very bad stage. I left her without answering her questions. And now..

Aisha: Now.. What?

Pratham: Nothing.. Now, Nothing. I think I'll catch you later Aisha. It was nice talking to you.

Aisha: Same here. See you around.

Pratham logged out of his chat window wondering what he had just revealed to a stranger.

He slipped into a memory, which stood so clear in his mind.


"What?", Jenny woke up startled as she found Pratham staring at her.

"Nothing. I am just watching you. Go back to sleep.", Pratham kept staring at her.

"And you'd keep looking at me like that? huh?", asked Jenny.

"I love doing that", Pratham sunk deeper into Jen's eyes.

"Are you that madly in love with me Pratham, hmm?", Jen asked.

"I don't know", Pratham whispered and they kissed.

Pratham relived the kiss again and it gave him jitters. The urge to get back to Jenny had became stronger...

to be contd..

Onto Chapter 8: Love Actually

Back to Chapter 6 : New and Old