Her Secret

“Love is not a thing but a feeling which finds you when you least expect it to happen. It’s easy to fall in love but hard to remain in it. As love, keep taking tests whenever you think it’s perfect.”

As the Hindi saying goes “yeh ishq nahi aasaan, bas itna samjh lijiye; k ek aag ka dariya hai, aur doob k jana hai!”

I kept thinking about this definition of love I heard during my recent trek and couldn’t get it out of my mind. I have been in relationships before, but thinking about them now, I realize that I never felt love in that serious way. I want to experience something like this too. I was lost in my thoughts when I got a slap on my back. I looked up, and my cousin was looking at me, pointing at his watch and telling me it was time for the training. I got up, and we left for our karate classes.

I moved to Pune for studies seven years ago and started working here. Now, this place is more like home. After two hours of training, I returned to my apartment instead of hanging with my cousin. So, I picked up my vehicle from his place and left for my society, which was 15 minutes away.

Every time I entered my studio apartment, I smiled, looking at how well my sister had transformed this empty studio apartment into a beautiful place to live in. In the entrance passage was a shoe rack on the left with a jade bowl on top of it. Though it was a décor piece, I used it as my key holder, so I dropped my keys there and removed my shoes. As I entered the apartment, I walked in and placed the food on the kitchen counter table in the left corner. I put my bag in the cupboard on the right hand next to the bathroom door. I took out my towel and went for a shower. Post shower, I dropped onto the bed on the right corner near the balcony opposite the entrance door and slept for some time.

Later, I made dinner for myself and sat on the swing on the balcony with the novel I left unfinished before leaving for the trek with my cousin. But I stopped reading it after a few chapters; it talked about the love I now craved to experience.

I never thought I would crave such love. I wanted to experience pure and beautiful love that would make me do anything for it. I was desperately waiting for such love, thinking hard about it and looking everywhere for it. I knew it was stupid of me, but I couldn’t get myself out of those words that an older man said weeks back during that trek. I only wanted to experience something I never had, and nothing was wrong with that. But as they say, love only finds you when you least expect them to show up. And with every passing time, my craving to find such love calmed down as I got busy with my work.

One Month Later…

I came back home late and was too exhausted to do anything. So, I selected a horror podcast to listen to while eating dinner and cleaning the house; I soon went into slumber. It was around 12:30 am when I heard a soft voice that sounded like someone was singing. I looked around, but there was no one. I thought I dreamt something, so I closed my eyes to go back to sleep. But then here it was, the voice of someone singing lightly. I got goosebumps all over because I slept after listening to a horror story, and here I was now, hearing voices. I looked around and realized it was coming from outside; for the first time, I was scared. I walked into my balcony, following the voice, and looked down.

The owner of the voice was sitting on the balcony below mine. She was average figured, with sharp features, fair-skinned, and hair tied in a loose bun; she was wearing a long blue t-shirt dress, and with her eyes closed, she was singing my favourite song, ‘Piya Basanti Re.’ She was mesmerizingly beautiful, so much so that I couldn’t even blink my eyes, thinking, what if she disappeared? I kept looking at her beautiful face and listening to her beautiful voice. What if she is a ghost?

I couldn’t conclude that this wasn’t a dream, and I finally had a neighbour below my flat. This building had diagonal balconies, making it easy to see and talk to each other. But in my case, the flat below mine has been empty for the past few months, and the family who lived above mine have been on a trip for the past two weeks. So when I saw her, firstly, I didn’t want this to be a dream; secondly, I didn’t want her to be a ghost; she was a mix of cuteness and beauty.

After some time, she stopped singing and was now looking at her phone. I mustered courage and decided to speak.

‘Hey!’ I called out finally.

She lifted her head, looked at me in horror, and rushed back into her room.