WINDOW BINOCULARS

It was a cloudy day in December. From the clouds covering the sky, one can tell it would rain. This was winter rain nobody would have expected. Three people unbothered by this weather change were having their little conversation in the living room of their house. It was Haru Hellebore and her elder brother Nishar Hellebore who was as usual teasing Haru for her incompetence and her mother Siliya Hellebore was laughing by his side and Haru feeling annoyed, pouts. As her father was not at home due to some office work, they were free to do whatever they wanted. In the presence of their father, they act in a restricted manner although they were close with him too. But out of respect, they control themselves. They are comfortable around their mother as close friends. Nishar got a job in a bank and came to celebrate Christmas and Haru finished her college in April since then she was staying at home. They were so busy in their conversation they forgot that television was on for the last fifteen minutes and nobody was watching it. Haru switched off the television saying, “Nina is coming, she will be here in an hour.” Nina Tansy was Haru’s close friend from college.

To which her brother replied, “Your friends come and go, what’s even new in that.”

Haru rolled her eyes, “She’s coming for the first time.”

Hurry up mom, start baking, she loves cake made from your hands.

Then she looked at her brother with a stern face, “And you don’t make fun of me in front of her, I had a great reputation in my college.”

And no reputation at home, her brother laughed and went to meet his friends on his bike.

Haru started helping her mother. Hours passed but she never got a call from Nina so she decided to call her. When she called her, somebody else picked her phone, so she realized “Oh!! She lost her phone”, which explains Nina’s clumsy nature.

Hello!!

WHO IS THIS? WHO ARE YOU? THIS IS NINA’S PHONE. HOW DID YOU GET IT?, she asked in one breath.

I...I..I..am..Pooja..Pooja your classmate she replied, softly.

Haru spaced out. There were two Pooja in her batch, first Pooja Bell who she meets sometimes as they live in the same city and have common acquaintances. They greet each other and smile but never exchange numbers. And second Pooja, she was still thinking and the reply came from another side.

POOJA SALIX

Haru was shocked, she calmed herself and asked, HOW YOU GOT HER PHONE?

To which Pooja explained, “I got this phone on the platform at the railway station from where your friend might have lost it...

While she was completing her sentence Haru impatiently stopped her from speaking, “What do you mean by, might have lost???”

Pooja explained I haven’t seen her board the train we never met, I found this phone on the railway station and I was in a hurry getting late for the train so I didn’t get time to give it to the railway authorities then I decided to take it with me and see what happens. So I checked the call logs and the first number was yours…

Then was stopped by Haru, how do you know her phone’s password?

She did not have a password.

I think she did. I am a little confused. Did she stop using the password?

How did you know it was my number?

Pooja said in frustration, Explaining! Your number and other numbers were saved with their photos on it, so I recognized you in the first instance and decided to call and see I made the right decision. I THINK NINA WOULD HAVE REACHED HER HOUSE AND WOULD BE SAFE, you don’t need to worry.

After hearing that Haru was relaxed. She remembered Nina liked to always save phone numbers with pictures, thankfully which came of some use.

Pooja continued, I would be reaching the railway station in a few minutes. If you want, I can wait here and you could come and take her phone.

Oh! I don’t have any source to get there, my scooter is at the servicing center....wait I will ask my brother to drop me off.

Okay! But, can you drop me to my house? I left my scooter at the railway station, so can you drive me home? I have one big trolley so I won’t be able to...

Haru interrupts again, Okay.

Haru was an impatient girl but Pooja’s way of talking made her more impatient. She talked in a very soft and slow manner that made Haru irritated. She never liked these kinds of girls. Getting a call from Pooja Salix was a shock. She had some other kind of impression about her.

It was during the annual exam of her ninth standard, they talked for the first time. Haru’s roll number was twenty seven and Pooja’s was twenty nine. In school during exams juniors used to sit with seniors. It was a physics exam and a few minutes were left for the exam to end when somebody pats Haru on the shoulder. It was her junior who pointed somewhere, juniors and seniors helped each other with cheating in school. She expected roll number twenty eight must be asking something but it was roll number twenty nine. Haru was surprised. She never once talked with Pooja in her school life. Pooja had her own group of friends who were arrogant, rich and Pooja never talked with anyone outside of her friend circle. So it was shocking, someone like her even asking Haru for help despite being in the group of intelligent people which added the shock to an infinite level. Apart from being over confident she also looked arrogant to Haru. So, she never desired to talk to her. After that class ninth cheating incident they never had a conversation with each other although they were in the same school for three more years. Life is full of surprises even now Haru doesn’t want to talk to her, she is doing this just for her friend Nina who would not be able to afford the loss of an expensive phone as she would get a one paragraph lecture from her parents.

Haru called Nishar and explained to him about the situation and asked him to take her to the railway station and again come to pick her up. To which he replied, I am not your driver, call your friends.

My friends are also not my drivers, come quickly!!

Nishar came reluctantly. Their house was adjacent to the mountains. While her brother was driving on the adjacent road she was taking pictures and enjoying the view. To which his brother reacted, I will throw your phone. She replied with her tongue stretched out.

Haru reached the railway station and saw Pooja in an instance. She could be visible in a crowd, that’s the aura she had. Haru was just getting off the bike and she got a call from an unknown number, she knew it was Nina. Haru picked the call while waving to her brother to get lost. The first thing she heard was, “HARUUUU...I LOST MY PHONE!” to which Haru replied, “I know” and asked “you reached home safe?”

Yes!! Annddd...

Nina was saying something but wasn’t able to complete it.

Nina, I will call you later. I am busy now bye!!! Haru replied walking fast towards Pooja.

Sorry I am late because my house is out of the city so it takes time to come here.

It’s okay, not your fault, anyways I am not helping you for free.

Haru gave her a blank expression.

You are dropping me home right? Pooja smiled.

Yes!! Of course! Haru gave her a fake smile. Haru hated this kind of conversation.

She saw Pooja’s scooter. It was bright red and from one of the most expensive companies which she could own but according to Haru buying something this expensive is useless when you can get cheaper with the same facilities. On their long journey everything looked familiar but later Haru realized it was the same road from which she came. Pooja’s house was only a few kilometers away from Haru’s which she never knew for years. “Good I never knew”, she thought. During the whole journey Haru was thinking, “She might have servants, drivers at home, no matter how busy her parents are, they could have sent someone to pick her up and drop her, why does she need to drive herself? Why bother somebody else?”, she kept it to herself and never asked any questions. Haru respects other’s privacy, she is not interested in other people’s business.

Their long journey ended. She already informed Nishar not to come to pick her up. After getting off the scooter Pooja thanked Haru handing her Nina’s phone to which Haru replied, “Thanks to you too.”, while also getting off the scooter and handing over the keys.

To Haru’s surprise Pooja refused to take the keys and said, No you can go home by my scooter.

Haru thought, “Sure the level of abundance is different, they don’t care about their property.” but replied, “No, my house is not far from here, I can walk and get some exercise.” and gave her a fake smile.

NO! You can take the scooter and then bring it back tomorrow, you can come with any of your girl-friends and then you can get back with them in their scooter. I won’t feel good if you walk back home alone and give Haru a soft smile.

Haru was taken aback. It felt strange. Haru cringed by her acting extra sweet. She didn’t feel like arguing and took the keys and rode towards her home never giving back a second glance.

“Why did she specified “girl-friends”? Her parents don’t approve of boyfriends, she laughed thinking the same.

When she reached home she was so tired and hungry, it was almost dark. Her mother went to sleep and her brother and his friends were having a night out on the occasion of their get together. Haru made coffee for herself and took a piece of cake and sat on the stairs from where she could view the sky. Small stars were covering the sky and clouds were moving apart. Then she thought, THERE WERE CLOUDS THE WHOLE DAY BUT IT NEVER RAINED.

But, one important thing she forgot, to call Nina back and there in the bedroom her phone was vibrating continuously but in silence.