The Affair - Part 2

15 days have passed since I became a part of this strange yet attractive world. It had not started off well though. When young boys would ping, me asking for my details, I would remember the faces of my sons and immediately log out. At the end of the first week, I was too embarrassed of myself  and decided to delete my profile permanently from this place where I did not belong. As I logged-in to delete my account, an offline message grabbed my attention.

 

" Hello Ms Payal. Glad to finally see someone of my generation with similar interests here. Totally new to this place so really nervous on what to type. Frankly, I have my doubts of being here. Hoping to know more about you."

-AD

 

I decide to hold on to my decision on deleting the account for a few more days.

 

And thus began a new phase in my life. Rather the return of the youthful days from long ago. It started with me replying to AD's offline messages. In a few days’ time we pre-decide on a fixed time and began to chat. We were chatting on the app messenger itself. It seemed safer that way., Hence disclosing our personal phone numbers wasn't required. Slowly as the days passed-by, we started sharing few of our personal details to each other. AD knew I am a teacher, not a professor. He knew my husband is a business man and I am a mother of grownup well settled kids. I knew he is a music teacher. His wife passed away recently. He has a grownup daughter who is settled in the same city.

 

It was amazingly surprising to know how similar our thoughts were. Our point of view on religion, politics, economics, our taste on music, books., or on any topic that just randomly cropped up while chatting blended very well. This made both of us very comfortable with each other and therefore chatting nonstop was a normal thing to do. I started looking forward to our daily chats.

AD became an invisible, fictitious, in-the-clouds character  for me whom I was slowly and unknowingly getting attracted to.

 

He deeply loved and missed his wife. He had been a doting husband taking care of his bedridden wife for 10 long years while she was suffering from paralysis along with memory loss before she passed away. This factor about him made me feel his pain and at the same time got me to respect him more.

 

For me this friendship acted as a stress buster, a distraction from the loneliness in my life. My personality was changing into a very happy and a contented person. My colleagues and students also started noticing the positivity in me. I re-started with my morning walks, eating healthy and most importantly, my arguments with Mr Iyer had reduced to negligible. I was too happy to bother about anything. I knew what I was into was not sensible but at the same time I wasn’t feeling guilty as I would say to myself ' it is only friendship.'

 

AD sang very well. At times he would send his recorded songs as attachments in his chats. And again, coincidentally they would be from my favourites list. This one night while I logged-in during our pre decided time, I found AD wasn't online. He had sent an offline message with an attachment instead.

 

"Hello Ms Payal,

I chose to be offline today. As I am not sure if I would be able to type this while chatting with you. 

Thank you for coming into my life. It's been more than 10 years now, since my wife fell sick followed by her death. I hadn't had a heart filled chat with anyone since then, until I got to know  you. For you my presence would be just of an acquaintance on a chat. But for me these chat sessions even on any random topic with you, these memories that I make, are my daily dose for happiness, that makes me look forward to live life for one more day. While I closed my eyes today thinking of you, this song came to my mind. Never found its wordings so meaningful and apt before. Hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I did singing.

Good night.

AD

 

I opened the attachment and played the song. As I heard ADs perfect voice singing the song, I could actually hear my heart beat. I have heard his recordings before but why was this strange feeling this time I wondered. The song was from the movie Doosra Aadmi, Starring Rishi Kapoor and Rakhi... "Kya Mausam Hai, Eh diwaane dil... Chal kahin door nikaljayen. Koi humdum hai, chahat ke kabil... Chal Kahin Door Nikaljayen…"

 

 

 

 

 

 

..... to be continued...

 

 

 

 

-Sharon Lasrado