What was your name again?

The alarm clock’s deafening sound started my day off as usual. There was nothing to be happy about that day other than the omelette I was cooking, it smelled delicious. While gobbling my masterpiece breakfast made up of an omelette sandwich, milk and boiled vegetables; I heard a loud knock on my door. The procrastinating protagonist inside me kept me from responding and I acted as if no one was home, but then I heard a lot of people whispering among themselves. I couldn’t hear them clearly but they were talking about some accident so eventually I decided to open the door. There were about 8 of them standing there, all staring at me with an expression which made me feel like I have killed the Prime Minister. 

“What’s the uproar about?” I decided to ask. 

“Dude, how many times do we need to tell you to park your car in the garage and not on the road?”

“Well… I didn’t park it on the road particularly, I parked it beside the garage so that it isn’t an headache for anyone “

They all glared at me with the same expression again. 

“Did anyone get hurt?”

“Yes… a girl while she was parking her scooter, she lives to the next door of yours”

Huh? There was a girl next door and I never even saw her once? It was all strange to me when it got even stranger when I saw a girl crippling in the background behind the crowd formed here. As expected, she was the one who got hit and I had to say sorry to her. After all that formality l had to start writing. Yes, I am a writer and have to finish this last part of the draft before Sunday which was tomorrow. I had a habit of crossing deadlines, which I wanted to avoid this time but life isn’t so fair is it? Just when I started typing, I heard the calling bell on the door buzzing again and again until I opened the door. On the door was that girl, that crippling girl. 

“What do you want?” 

“Woahhh… that’s not a nice way to talk to someone whom can’t walk because of you, is it?”

Is she here to threaten me? I thought, but my doubts turned into paranoia when I saw a huge bag on her shoulders. She might have been going somewhere but she had her casual cloths on so what does it mean? 

“The doc said I can’t walk properly for at least 30 days so I have to take someone’s help in day-to-day activities…. At first, I thought I could do just fine but the pain is immense so I decided to live with you for a few days… “

“Wait… hang on a second who died and made you the queen here? Just go to a relative or friend who lives close by... “

“I don’t have anyone like that in this city”

“Look ma’am I am really sorry this happened but I can’t let you in like this… “

“You have a girlfriend?”

“Even if I don’t have one… you can’t barge in someone’s house… Look I will look after your medical expenses… So please leave… “

“Okay then I have to tell them… “

In the end of that argument, I was the one who lost. She came inside like a queen entering her kingdom after a long war. She looked around and said;

“Clean up… “

“Excuse me? “

“I said clean up, I can’t live in this messy room and where will you sleep?”

“I will sleep in this room and you will sleep in the Veranda… it’s my house, so I make the rules… “

In the end, I lost again. I had to wake her up every day, make her food, make her bed. Even though she could do just everything on her own with that leg, she forced them on me. I could have said no to her and faced whatever consequences came after, but I couldn’t afford to loose this room now. I just started my career of a writer a few months ago, making my debut by winning a writing competition. My first book was a hit and I didn’t have much problems financially, but as always… life isn’t so fair. My mom and dad got divorced, I was forced to choose between them and I chose to live alone instead. They both had affairs which led to this divorce. “They never thought about me?” I always wanted to know why they never cared about me? Mom used to visit until last week when she died from stroke. I wasn’t allowed to see her by her new boyfriend. I was devastated and it showed in my writing. In the present moment I was just afraid to type a single word in my computer, fearing that if I loose the readers too? They were the only family left, whom I could share my feelings through what I wrote but that fear was peeking through letters which flew through the keyboard, the fear that I might loose them too if I don’t write something good. 

“You look down… what happened?” 

“Nothing… “

“Com on tell me… you can’t complete your novel like this… can you?”

“How did you know?”

“I am seeing your face for the last one and a half week and I have observed what you do every day. You just use social media, look at memes, truly to write something get anxious again you look at memes and like this it’s time for dinner… you aren’t going anywhere with this.”

“I don’t want to hear that from a person who just sleeps and eas here…”

She chuckled and and so did I, out of frustration? I guess. 

Next day surprisingly she got up earlier than me, she made the breakfast and even cleaned the room. “If you can do everything, why don’t you leave already?” I wanted to ask, but decided against it.

“Hey I can’t find my phone… have you seen it?”

“Yes… I have it and I won’t return it until you write at least five pages today…” She ordered me like a queen. I did what she asked but wasn’t getting a single idea of what to write. 

“What’s your genre?” she asked while filling her mouth with salad. 

“Fiction”

“Yeah, but which fiction? Science fiction? Romance? Fantasy? Crime thrillers?”

“Romance “

I was all drenched with the juice which came out of her mouth. 

“Whaa.. Whattt… you and romance… fff.. Hahaha.. “

“It’s not funny “was what I wanted to say but she was right, no one would expect such a dull, sluggish guy to write romance. I sighed and started writing something. 

“This won’t help... “

“What?”

“This… you can’t write a good romance in this atmosphere… “

“So should I go to Switzerland?”

“Your sense of humour sucks too… let’s go on an imaginary date… that might help you... “

“No way… with you?”

“Yess… wear something good and let’s go… “

However I tried to deny her offer, in the end she had her countermeasures ready so I had to go with it. 

“What about your leg?” 

“It can heal for one day, right?”

This girl…. She booked a cab and we were off, I had no idea where we were heading. I decided to keep quiet and just go along with her. We stopped in front of a mall. I couldn’t care less what the name of the mall was so I just barged inside. We visited the boys section. 

“Why are we here?”

“To buy a T shirt and a Jeans for you “

“No, I don’t need it…let’s go somewhere else “

“But… “ she made such an innocent face that I had to try them in the end, she actually had a pretty good sense of dressing. Then we booked movie tickets, which I didn’t want to see but she knew how to lure me so I went with it again and again I was surprised that it was actually a great movie. We were ordering our lunch when someone called out to me, it was my editor. 

“Dhruv what a surprise, you’re here? Damn… so this antisocial can socialise too? Who’s this your girlfriend? Let’s go over there you two… we’re discussing our next project there… “

“Yes, he’s my boyfriend and we’re in a date right now… so please if you can excuse us... “ she pulled me to another counter. 

“Damn… you saved me from that boring talk… thanks, I owe you one”

“As I am your girlfriend for today, I have to… “she said with an annoying grin. I smiled too, I didn’t know why she came to my house but in just one week and a half I changed quite a lot. I never cleaned my room, I never woke up early, I never ate anything other than eggs in the morning, I ate outside quite a lot. She had been helping me since she came into my room and was still helping me. I couldn’t help but wonder why was she doing all this? After completion of our date, we decided to return home. She told the cab driver to stop just 500 metres away from our house. 

“Why did we stop here?”

“Let’s walk a bit, the weather is good, isn’t it? Wind is blowing so I decided to walk a bit”

“You sure your doc told you to rest for a month?”

“One day won’t bite” she said with another annoying grin. 

“So, is your name Dhruv? “She asked without looking at me. 

“Nope, it’s just my pen name… and don’t ask my real name, because I know we will be seeing each other for one month but I don’t want to get into any trouble again so better be strangers” I meant it as a joke but she took it seriously. 

“Obviously we are strangers… because you aren’t the person, I know… the author who blew everyone away with his first novel, where is he? Where is the person who tweeted that he’s going to write the best romance novel one day? Where is the author I fell in love with?” I stood there silently after hearing all this and then broke out laughing and then crying at the same time. 

“Haa.. Hahaha… hahaha.. So that’s why came to my house huh? Out of sympathy for my pathetic situation? Do you even understand what pain is? My mom and dad always fought, never thought about me, never asked how I was, then one day they decided to finish their relationship without even letting me know. My mom died…. I don’t even know where my dad is…. Tell me how am I supposed to write? All you guys do is just read those pages and judge… Do you even have a single idea what goes on inside a writer’s mind? Huh? Tell me?...... Don’t worry I will become the best writer again, then you don’t have live again with me…. I will pack your bag and take it to your room; you don’t have to live with such a pathetic writer and human... “

I didn’t turn around to see her but I knew she was crying. I knew this was really harsh of me but she shouldn’t love a person like me who didn’t even have a certain future. She packed her bag herself and left. I couldn’t sleep that night, thinking how easily I let people leave me. “I don’t deserve them, I guess” I sighed and fell asleep tiring myself. 

Next morning, I was late, I started searching for her everywhere and then remembered last night. After getting fresh, I sat down to write and as surprising as it was; ideas just started flowing inside my head. I couldn’t stop typing and before I knew, I completed a chapter. After mailing the manuscript to the editor, I waited for his response and finally the wait was over. He said that the chapter looks great and the story should move ahead smoothly. I took a sigh of relief; it was all because of that girl. I decided to face her again after my book was completed and say her sorry properly. When I went out of the door, I saw that room’s door was locked. “She didn’t leave the apartment, right?” I wondered. 

A week passed and the door was still locked. I asked the neighbours and no one knew. One day I was coming back from the editor’s office when I heard;

“That girl left the apartment, right?”

“Seems like it… poor girl, she lost her mom and dad in an accident three weeks ago and now no one knows where she is? The world is pathetic as always… “

Hearing those words, I realized what a grave sin I have committed, When I entered the building, I saw a man sitting in front of my room’s door. The man I haven’t seen for more than five years now, my dad. 

“What are you doing here?”

He didn’t answer me, he just hugged me without saying anything. All these years I yearned for this moment, Dad hugging me… telling me that he’s proud of me. However, I hated him I couldn’t push him away. I hugged him tightly and started crying like a baby. 

“You’ve grown so big kiddo” he said while gulping in the tea I made for him. He looked around and was amazed how clean my room was, he called out to me and asked;

“So, you got a girlfriend? Kiddo?” 

“What the hell old man, the first thing you ask after all these years is this? Of course, I don’t have one though”

He laughed and said;

“Well, I was a mess before I met your mom you know? She changed me completely…...Things didn’t work out and… “

“And you both got a divorce, right? Are you sure you were in love?”

“Listen kiddo… Things don’t work out sometimes that doesn’t mean there wasn’t love… Coming to regrets… we both never regretted that we met each other, and we never regretted to have you, but once we had done what we did… we couldn’t face you….we were afraid that you hate us and won’t accept us…. Your mother and I decided to forget everything and be together again but then your mom died… “

I didn’t have any words, so I just stood there silently. 

Dad continued; “I had to come here so that you don’t make the same mistake “

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you had a fight with the girl you love right?”

“What? I don’t know what you’re saying “

“Okay…. Then who was that girl who called me and said that you need me right now? “

I realized a lot of things now but it was too late. 

“It’s not late my dude….. Her flight is going to leave in about two hours, if you take a cab you can reach there in one a half hour or even earlier…”

“What flight? And wait how do you even know about that?”

“Well this old man met your girl in the airport itself while coming here… now don’t waste your time and run… “

I didn’t know what he meant or what I was going to do, but I ran… I ran as if my life depended on it, booked a cab and finally reached the airport after an hour and forty minutes. I ran inside and asked the officials there about the flight and they said that it is going to fly in about 20 minutes. I ran through them, not caring about who was following me… I finally got what I was looking for, a mike;

“Umm… what was her name again?!... Forget it hey girl I am Dhruv… the guy whom you hate the most at this moment but I love you the most… I said so many unfair things without even thinking, but believe me I didn’t mean to hurt… I just wanted you to wait for me until I became successful… “ I was interrupted by someone, someone snatched the Mike from my hand and said; “Who said that I hate you? And you didn’t hurt me…”

“Then why did you leave?”

“Because you said so... “

“But why are you leaving from here?”

“I am not leaving, I just came here to drop my Niece… “

“What? “

“Yes… “

I couldn’t stop but laugh. She hugged me out of nowhere. 

“I love you”

“I love you too”

It’s been a month since I came to know her and I don’t even know her name yet, she doesn’t know my real name too… but who cares when you love each other. She turned my life upside down, no actually she set it right again. The messed up, lazy, unhappy writer becoming a human being again and being able to write again; sometimes all you need is person to force themselves to live with you change your life. 

We were both sitting beside each other on the Veranda looking at the night sky, we both asked at the same time;

“What was your name again?”