Wrong Number

 A tinge of orange had spread across the sky and the sun cast long shadows. Everyday, the highest temperatures recorded in the city would reach new heights as if in an attempt to break yesterday's record. It was at this time of the day, the dusk, when all those mischievous little kids in the neighbourhood would escape their parents' captivation and run onto the vast open grounds, their playful screams and laughters filling the air of Mumbai. They would always plan their vacations beforehand and reserve majority time for play. Bhargav was no exception to this. Having helped mom in her daily chores today, he had won a ten rupee note as a prize amount from her. Besides being tall, smart, cute and a big boy - as he proudly called himself - Bhargav was a kindhearted 12-year-old kid. He never refused to help people in his leisure time, but he never compromised on his playtime either. Today, he was a bit upset for none of his friends had shown up on the ground and he found nothing interesting to do. He decided to check on his friends by himself. 

Bhargav grabbed the black telephone and hurriedly dialled a number. A couple of rings later, finally his call was received.

"Hello, where are you hiding, Tintin? I searched for you almost everywhere." Bhargav sounded impatient.
"Hello" answered a girl in a soft and thin voice. What was a girl doing at Tintin's place? He was the only child his parents had and he had never been around girls.
"Sorry, I guess this is a wrong number" said Bhargav and was about to cut the call when the girl again said,
"Hello, this is your friend's number itself. I'm his cousin."
"Oh, where is he, by the way?"
"Actually he is sleeping. Do you wish to keep any message for him?"
"No it's okay. Let him snore peacefully. Thank you."
Bhargav angrily banged the receiver of the phone. 'Does that monster really enjoy sleeping more than meeting me?' he thought. He decided to spend the evening all alone.

By the time he went down, night had begun to take over the reign. The sky lacked presence of the moon but several tiny dots decorated it. Bhargav saw his mother from a distance, seated with a bunch of aunties from the building. This group of gabbers was grandly referred to as Katta Gang by their respective hubbies. These women, all in their late thirties, could endlessly gossip about Mr. Kute's alcoholic son or make guesses about Mrs. Deshmukh's fitness fundas or curse the vendors who sold goods at expensive rates. As can be seen in any cosmopolitan city like Mumbai, these ladies would comfortably talk in Hindi for that one Mrs. Singh or Mrs. Sharma, when everybody else would belong to Joshi's or Bhagat's or Dikshit's households. Here, that one odd woman out was Mrs. Rajput, Tintin's dear mother.
"Deepa Aunty, haven't seen Tintin today, where is he?" Bhargav approached Mrs. Rajput when she was advising her niece to go find someone to play with.
"Beta, he isn't well today. Bukhaar aa gaya tha na. Go meet him at home if you want. He must be bored anyhow."
"Okay, aunty, thank you." he said but the words almost went unheard as Aunty became busy telling her mates how her son was down with fever the whole day.

"Hey Mr. Wrong Number!" he heard someone call out loud. He turned. A girl stood just behind him, waving a hand in excitement. Being a child still, Bhargav didn't care about her physical appearance. Instead, he chose to befriend her.
"Who, me?" he asked mischievously.
"Yes. You're going to meet Tanay na?"
"Yeah."
"I know I should have said this earlier. Hi! I am Nupur, Tanay's cousin."
"Oh the one on the phone? Hello."
"What should I call you, Mr. Wrong Number? "
"I guess Bhargav is better."
They shared a laugh, perfectly matching each other's rhythm and gave a high-five. Their eyes met for a second but they looked away instantly, their innocence causing the moment to pass unnoticed.
"Is Tint.. ugh, Tanay feeling better now? "
"Much better. Come let's go."
"Okay."

Tanay looked perfectly fine when Bhargav and Nupur reached home. He lived in a 3 BHK apartment. With little furniture the place looked spacious. Deepa Aunty's creative hand in designing had given their house a fancy look.
Tanay was searching for his drawing book that he thought he had lost in the heaps of cards, toys, books and clay when Bhargav called out to him.
"So you are enjoying your sick leave, Tintin?" asked Bhargav sarcastically.
"Hey when did you come, buddy?"
"Just now."
Bhargav hunted through his pocket and took out a fistful of candies that he had bought from today's prize amount.
"One more day of good deeds!" exclaimed Tanay. "Here Nupur, you'll like this one."
They ate their candies in silence. Tanay dutifully introduced his beloved cousin Nupur to his mischievous friend Bhargav and his kind friend Bhargav to his naughty cousin Nupur. Bhargav and Nupur gave a smile in acknowledgment. The trio spent great time together as they played hide and seek, listened to latest pops and ate snacks. Bhargav left at around 9, wholeheartedly waiting for tomorrow's evening.

Everyday from that evening onwards Tintin, Bhargav, Nupur and a few others from the building would indulge themselves into 3-4 hours of immense joy. Giving the afternoon sun a miss, the group would meet at someone's house. Their priorities of the day would be games, art and snacks. They would play and play till they got bored and then would shift to something less effortful. Their rooms would be a mess with all kinds of board games, playing cards, papers, colours, plates and spoons lying hither and thither in an unorganised way. The bedsheets would smell of chocolates, ice creams, various sauces and any experiments they made with food. Their laughs would hower in the house till night. Every night they would dream of what to do the next day. Nupur was loving all this and she wished to never go back home. Often, Nupur spoke her mind to Bhargav about this.

"I never want to go home, Bhargav." she once said. The trio was chilling on the terrace where Tanay and Bhargav hid everytime they played hide and seek. They were sitting on the top of a tank. Chips, cold drinks and chocolates were stored. Bhargav and Nupur were waiting for Tanay to finish his lunch, who was to join them soon. Bhargav had sensed Nupur's discomfort. It was then when she opened up.
"Why?" Bhargav asked.
"I enjoy a lot here. You are all so good. I'm very comfortable with all of you. There in Bandra I have no one to play with. People don't easily socialise there."
"It's just a matter of time, Nupur. Whenever you feel like you really want someone to play with, just come over. Half an hour and you'll be here." he said snapping his fingers.
"But then what if at any time it isn't possible for me to come here?"
"Give a call and cut it saying it was a wrong number. Tanay and I will be there within seconds." Bhargav exclaimed with extreme enthusiasm in his voice. They both giggled and their eyes met again, his full of mischief and her heavy with deep emotions.

A day or two later, towards the end of their vacations, Nupur left. Everything was back to normal. With school, homework, tuitions and playtime, their respective routines were going on as usual. It was the next year's summer that made a difference. Upon asking Tintin about his cousin, he had informed Bhargav that Nupur's family had shifted to Pune permanently, somewhere near Amanora. This news had somewhere affected Bhargav. He had hoped so hard to spend one more joyful vacation with his new friend, but alas, she wasn't coming. He felt something was amiss. He surely missed her a lot. Bhargav regularly got the latest updates about Nupur such as she was going on a vacation to Malaysia, she had got her leg fractured, she got A grade in intermediate examination for drawing, etc., all thanks to Tanay.

***

Years passed by. Bhargav, Nupur and Tanay grew up. Their heights grew with their growing ages. They were all matured now, physically and mentally. Tintin and Bhargav were best friends even now. And Bhargav missed Nupur even now. But still everything was normal. Bhargav always said so.

Finally the words that he had longed for since the last 5 years hit his ear one evening. He didn't hear them correctly at first, or atleast he thought so.
"Nupur is coming tomorrow for a 3-day stay. Let's rock this time, buddy." Tanay couldn't hide his excitement.
"What a news Tintin! We got to party hard rey!"
"Come over to my place after breakfast. Let's spend the day together."
"Wait for me."
The first thing Bhargav did after going home was carefully selecting the clothes he was going to wear tomorrow. Currently in his late teen years, Bhargav had become more aware and conscious about his looks. He had begun to spend more time infront of two things, firstly, the mirror and secondly, his mobile. They were his best buddies, of course, after Tintin. The next day he spent half an hour shaping his not-so-grown beard and settling his hair with the minimum quantity of gel he could use.

He was at Tintin's house 5 minutes later. She was there too. After a minute of awkward silence, finally Nupur spoke.
"Good to see you again, Bhargav. It's been such a long time."
"You spoke my mind out, Nupur. I feel so nice to have you back."
"You look so different, smart I mean."
He was glad. His efforts at dressing had proved to be successful. He indeed looked very different these years, especially after puberty. His chubby cheeks had disappeared but they didn't take off his cuteness. His light brown eyes still scanned everything naughtily. He was atleast 6 feet tall, his messy curly hair made him look even taller. He had managed to lose weight but was still fat.
"I wouldn't lie either, you really look beautiful."
These were the first compliments they had exchanged. And none of them lied. Nupur really had developed some gorgeous facial features. A long and sharp nose stood proudly between two deep-set brown eyes. Her lips wore a rare shade of pink, he wasn't sure whether it was her lipstick, but it appeared natural to him. Devoid of any makeup, her face bore a natural glow. And a cute smile put everything in place. Long strands of wavy black hair caressed her face from time to time and everytime she pushed them behind her ears, she appeared even more beautiful to Bhargav.
"Thank you" she said, followed by an embarrassing smile.
"Hey guys did you meet finally? Come on let's have a walk downstairs. What say?" Tintin surely couldn't hide his enthusiasm. Bhargav and Nupur nodded in response.

The sun too seemed happy today. It wasn't in a mood to show off its power. Everything around them seemed merry, calm and soothing. They walked in silence. Each one of them knew what was going on in the minds of the remaining two. They spoke a lot without words. After their stroll, when they were about to go home, they could see immense satisfaction on each other's faces and they felt contended, hopes gleaming in their eyes to meet soon tomorrow.

These days the way in which they spent time had changed. Unlike earlier times, they sat together with their mobiles in hand, playing online games, exploring new features or simply scrolling through Instagram. Their talks had become future oriented. Sharing of toys and chocolates had now given way to sharing secrets mostly related to crushes and relationships. The lyrics of most of Ed Sheeran's or Justin Bieber's songs were by heart and they sung any random line when no topic was going on, to which others would join happily. Career related thoughts had increased and they all dreamed big.

The next day just before noon, Bhargav called Tanay.
"Are you guys coming over to my place?"
"Actually I'm busy with some work and Nupur has gone for a walk. I guess I'll be able to meet you directly in the evening."
"Oh okay never mind." said Bhargav and he cut the call. He knew what to do next. In a great hurry, Bhargav walked out of the house and took quick steps towards the terrace. He opened the large metallic door. It creaked a bit. It was a warm afternoon. In that hot, scorching hour, breeze provided a little comfort. He turned left and looked upward and there she was. Sitting on top of the tank with her phone in hand, earphones plugged in. She shook her head sideways from time to time showing her agreement with the tune playing in her ears. Nupur wasn't aware of her surroundings. The irony of this busy city calming her amused him and instantly a smile appeared on his face.
"May I disturb you?" Bhargav asked, sounding sincere.
"Hey, yeah of course. Come up."
He climbed the short black staircase. Nupur gave him a hand offering help. He sat beside her, accepting it.
"Thank you. So, how's Pune?"
"Pune is good, better rather. Free from this traffic and noisy roads. But there is no feeling of belongingness. It just feels right here, in Mumbai."
"Glad to hear that."
"So, what are you doing these days?"
"Ah, engineering."
"That's nice."
"You?"
"Medical"
"Sounds cool"
"Bhargav, you missed me na?"
"As if you didn't."
"Of course I did. I am so glad to visit you all again."
"We are equally glad, Nupur. And now that you're in Pune..."
"Yeah I know what you want to say. No more wrong numbers, right?"
"Haha. Not exactly, but yeah, that."
A silence followed. Cool breeze swayed across their faces and the sun heated their heads. They observed everything quietly, the planes departing and landing, cars moving helter skelter - their shiny metallic tops glazing, the watchman of their building opening the gate to someone, they observed them all.
"Bhargav look there in that window." Nupur pointed out one.
"Tom & Jerry!!" exclaimed both of them in unison. Tom was running behind Jerry and unaware of the hurdles ahead, he tumbled onto the floor, his face the darkest of red. Bhargav and Nupur heartily laughed at the scene, nostalgia clearly visible on their faces.
"I miss being a child, Bhargav." she said innocently.
"Really?" asked Bhargav staring into her eyes mischievously. She laughed, he grinned. She took out her phone.
"Come on Bhargav, give me your number."
"My number or wrong number?" Bhargav commented sarcastically.
"Please stop irritating me yaar. Say."
They exchanged numbers. Bhargav marked her number as a favourite, making sure she didn't notice it. They stood up to leave. After completing the short bye bye routine, she walked towards the door. As Bhargav saw Nupur move farther, he knew love was coming.
On Nupur's side, she too had accepted that she had some feelings for Bhargav but preferred not to show them publicly. Nupur left a couple of days later and this time Bhargav had no complaints. He knew that with her mobile number in his contacts and their friendship on social media, he could contact her whenever he wanted. They talked a lot in the first 3 months. They would talk about their favourite movies, how both of them hated Physics, her increasing command over drawing, his good deeds, how they could prank Tintin, breakfast, lunch, dinner, they literally talked about everything. It all went smooth in the beginning. Bhargav felt that Nupur was really reciprocating his feelings. They chatted about different topics on different apps simultaneously. But this was just for 3 months. Later, the frequency dropped. Bhargav earlier thought it was because of her busy college schedule that she couldn't give him time. He remained patient. Only on the days, when he really missed her hard, he would call her. It depended on her mood whether to receive it or not, Bhargav still thought it was a matter of time. Their conversations wouldn't last long now.
"Hi," Bhargav would start the conversation obviously.
"Hello, Bhargav," she would reply half an hour later.
"How's you, Nupur?"
"I am good. How about you?"
"I am good too."
"That's great."
"Yeah."
The conversation would end here, abruptly. This went on for a few days. Of course, Tintin would bring up Nupur in their conversation to tell him that she had bought a labrador puppy or she had hurt herself while trekking or he was going to visit her this weekend. But that was it. Once, Bhargav was on the verge of expressing his discomfort to Tanay. They had met in the lobby of Bhargav's building. Bhargav had noticed that Tintin was behaving unusual that evening, he seemed lost. But Bhargav had no option. He was experiencing the same restlessness since weeks now.
"I want to talk to you, Tintin." Bhargav gathered courage.
"Hmmm."
"I wanted to say that Nupur..."
"Yeah, Nupur also couldn't adjust first but now she has adjusted quite well."
"What? Tintin?"
"Like Nupur I will also adjust one day. Don't worry, buddy."
"What are you saying?"
"We are shifting, Bhargav, to Navi Mumbai."
"Wha.. what?"
It was over. Bhargav just couldn't speak. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. He couldn't believe his ears. He couldn't believe Tintin. They hugged hard. Bhargav even saw a couple of tears roll down Tintin's face and felt his own eyes dampening too. They went home. Bhargav couldn't sleep that night. All his conversations with Nupur and Tanay flashed infront of his eyes. He remembered the times when Nupur didn't let him sleep because she wanted to tell him so many things and the next day he roamed in the house with large puffy eyes. Then he remembered his recent days when he had to post silly memes to Nupur just to keep their conversation going.

A few months later when there wasn't a single message from Nupur inspite of his several texts, he decided he had had much. He decided that he wouldn't text her henceforth and try his best to forget her. Those days were very disturbing for him. Not that he ever expressed his feelings openly, but somewhere deep inside, he was hurt. He appeared to be normal but only he knew he wasn't. He thought that time heals everything. And it did. A couple of months later, he became stable. Exams, practicals and projects kept him busy. He still missed Nupur, but now the feeling had started to suppress.

A day before his semester exams, his phone rang. He saw that it came from an unknown number. He ignored. Nowadays, he had started focusing on studies. 5 minutes later, he saw an incoming call from the same number, so he picked up.
"Hello."
"Thank God you picked up the call. I'm going through a chemistry problem that I'm just not able to solve. Will you help me please?" said a girl. He felt like he had heard that voice earlier, maybe more than once.
"Who is speaking? Who do you want?"
"Arjun"
"There's no Arjun here."
"Oh sorry. That's a wrong number then." Bhargav recognised. A moment later, he finally spoke.
"What do you think you are doing? And whose number is this?"
No response.
"Nupur please speak up!!" Bhargav almost screamed.
"Bhargav please don't become furious. I know I've hurt you a lot."
"What do you want more now?"
"I am sorry, Bhargav."
"Don't you think you should be?"
"Please calm down."
"Are you done? Shall I hang up now?"
"I like you Bhargav."
"I don't."
"You did."
"How does that matter now?"
"This wouldn't have gone any further. Our backgrounds, our cultures, our priorities are very different, Bhargav. And you know it very well."
"Hmmm."
"I know I was wrong in breaking our contacts but I'm sorry I had to. Things would've become worse if they wouldn't have stopped. There would have been more adjustments than satisfaction. And I really don't think that love is justified without contentment. I love you Bhargav, I always will. But this just doesn't feel right. Think about it, Bhargav. I know you'll understand what I mean to say."
A minute of silence followed. Bhargav pondered over what she had just said. He had never seen it through this perspective. When he actually thought about this he realised, maybe somewhere, to some extent Nupur was right. Maybe he had overlooked these loopholes under the influence of love. But then what about love? His very first one? Was it wrong or were wrong the circumstances? He knew he had to make a decision. He knew he had to perform a 'good deed'.
He then gathered words and finally spoke.
"You're absolutely right, Nupur. Things had to stop. It's just that Tintin's leaving this place affected me more."
"I hope you are fine."
"I will always love you. You have given me so much in these years. I know I owe you a lot. I just have a small request, Nupur."
"Yes?"
"If we can't love each other, let's not remain friends and I hope you'll understand."
"Of course I do."
They hung up. This proved to be their last conversation ever. Bhargav had a good sleep that night.

Disha Thosar