Chapter 3

Smoke was everywhere. Black and dark. Vinod couldn't see a thing. He couldn't even feel himself. It was like being in a pitch-black room, with no idea what lay ahead. So, he moved cautiously, slowly.

Vinod: Ramana! Ramana! Where are you? Answer me if you're there. I'm scared, man. Ramana, please talk to me!

The smoke began to clear. His curiosity, born from fear, surged, desperate to see what was around him this time. A new dread about what might happen next.

He found himself standing on a footpath beside a road. Rain was falling, and a strong wind blew. It wasn't a heavy downpour, just light sprinkles, and the sky was overcast. This place felt strangely familiar to Vinod. He looked around, hoping something would jog his memory. In the distance, he saw a stranger walking a dog. That sight triggered a memory. Vinod immediately looked straight ahead, opposite from where he stood. The fog had completely cleared. At a bus stop, a girl in a college uniform sat waiting for someone. It all clicked for Vinod. This was where he first met Pooja.

In the midst of his chaotic situations, Pooja appeared as a welcome relief. He immediately crossed the road and walked towards her. He reached the bus stop where Pooja was sitting.

Vinod's inner voice: She's so beautiful. How much I've missed. I suddenly realized how wrong I'd been.

Vinod stared at her, caught between shock and affection.

Vinod's inner voice: Oh no! Does she not know me? Do I have to start a conversation with her all over again?

He thought about going forward, introducing himself, and talking to her, but then he remembered his dream problem.

Vinod's inner voice: I don't want to tell her about my problem, bother her, and make her suffer by staying with me. Sometimes, you have to make hard decisions. It's all for her happiness.

Just as he turned to walk away,

Pooja: Hey! Where are you going?

Vinod: Do you... do you know me?

Pooja: Are you joking? I told you we'd meet here, didn't I? Did you forget?

Vinod (with a weird laugh, realizing he had completely forgotten): Ha ha... I thought I'd go grab something to eat.

Pooja: No need. Come sit here.

Vinod sat down a little distance from Pooja. He felt a bit weird. She was as beautiful and charming as he remembered, and Vinod found himself blushing.

Pooja: Why are you sitting so far away?

Vinod: Okay.

Vinod moved closer, a little more intimate, but there was still some space between them.

Pooja: I don't know what's wrong with you. You're acting very strange.

Vinod: It's nothing.

Pooja: Alright, then I'll come closer.

Pooja snuggled very close to Vinod, holding his elbow and leaning her shoulder against him. She was clearly very comfortable with him.

Pooja: Why were you so late?

Vinod: Traffic jam.

Pooja: Do you know how long I waited? This is my happiest moment. Every day, I wait to meet you.

Vinod: I know.

Pooja: How do you know?

Vinod: It's just... I know you so well.

Pooja: Hmm (a pretty smile). What about you then?

Vinod: What?

Pooja: What's your happiest moment?

Vinod fell deep in thought. The strange dreams he'd experienced flashed through his mind, one after another. His mind filled with a cacophony of noises.

Pooja: Vinod! Tell me. What's your happiest moment...?

Pooja calling him by his name after so long, made all the noises in his mind fall silent.

Pooja: Don't you have even one? Am I just fantasizing about you too much?

Vinod: Hmm (a small, happy smile). I really like it when you call me by my name. Actually, my name only sounds beautiful when you say it. I have small wishes like this: to sit with you, holding hands; to go for walks. Even with all the tensions of the day, the time I spend with you makes me forget everything. I don't wait to meet you, but I treasure every minute I spend with you. If I hadn't met you, I don't know if there would be any happiness in my life at all. But now that's not necessary. You're here, and that's enough.

Pooja was shocked. Happy tears welled in her eyes.

Pooja: I never expected so much love for me to be hidden inside you. Why do you keep it all to yourself? Talk to me openly like this sometimes. My love for you doubles.

Vinod: I didn't say these things to make your love for me double. I just said what I felt.

Pooja: I know, you crazy fool. You made me cry.

Pooja squeezed Vinod's elbow tightly and wiped her tears on his arm.

Vinod: Hey...!

Pooja (playfully): It's my property.

Vinod: Oh really? My hand, your property? (playfully)

Pooja: Yes. This is mine. You are my property.

Vinod: Now that's too much. Then what's mine?

Pooja cuddled him with lots of love. Vinod also smiled with inner joy and happiness.

Pooja: You can't get rid of me that easily.

Vinod: Haha (laughing) Okay, I understand.

Pooja: You can't go anywhere now. Hahaha (playful laugh)

Vinod: Okay, okay. That's enough, Pooja...

Suddenly, silence.

Now, he was in a different, unfamiliar room, a main hall. He looked around. He'd never seen this room before; everything felt new. He got up and looked out the window. He was in an apartment building. The place he was in also seemed very different, with tall buildings everywhere. He couldn't understand where he was. He checked the entire room to see if anyone else was there. No one. All the belongings in the room were his: his photos, his clothes, his things. Everything was his. Feeling confused, he turned on Google Maps on his phone to check his current location. Now he understood: he was abroad.

Vinod: I've come abroad. I don't understand how. I don't know what's happening to me. As long as I was with Pooja, I felt like I could get better if I stayed with her. But now... what is this? Still, this is what I wished for, isn't it? A lonely life for myself. Without bothering anyone, without disturbing anyone. Just to live my life and do my work. I should talk to Pooja once. I don't know how she is.

He checked Pooja's contact on his phone. Pooja had blocked Vinod. Curious about what had happened, he checked their messages.

Vinod's last message: Let's break up and move on.

Pooja missed calls: Missed call Missed call Missed call (11 times)

Vinod's last message: I'm moving to foreign. We'll meet again. You have been blocked.

Silence...

Vinod realized how harshly he had behaved when he saw his last messages. Tears streamed from his eyes. He felt incredibly guilty.

Vinod's inner voice: This is what I thought was reality. I never imagined a day like this would come. I don't know how I got here, or how I've lived all these days. But now, I don't know how to live.

He was hurt so badly. Silence for him.

Let's see what happens next.