Continued from Chapter 2 :
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Both of them were strangers to each other. Sid had quite an acquaintance with the last owner of the adjacent house who left the place around 6 months back, since then it was vacant as far as Sid knew. He wondered if she’s his new neighbor. He gave her a sleepy smile and was about to turn and go back inside when he heard her say something, which he wasn’t quite able to make out.
“Did you ask me something?” he asked turning back.
“No, nothing as such. I was just wondering. I have been living here for past one and half month and I don’t even know my neighbors.” She said with a touch of earnestness.
“Oh. Sorry. It was so bad of me. This loneliness makes you forget all curtsies of a gentleman. I am Sid. Will not bother you with my full name, which I myself am trying to forget these days.” He said with a smirk and sat down on the steps of his door with his chin on his knees.
It was an extraordinary day for both of them; they had someone to talk to. You may wonder how they can behave so at such an age, but believe me being alone is such a heartbreak you’ll die to come out of it.
“ and.. I am Shweta. You seem to be quite a jolly person. Would you like to have a cup of tea with me?” in the flow of exchange she have forgotten that it was just their first meeting, but now that she had said it, she let it go.
He thought “How she can ask something like this so candidly, is she also tired of her solitude?”
“It gives me great pleasure if I could have a cup of tea, without having to really make it myself. I hope you make it better than me.” He said after a little thought work putting all his effort to make the conversation more and more humorous to keep her interests intact. Now that he had someone to talk to, he didn’t want to lose the company.
“That you can decide for yourself. Wait here for a minute. I will be back soon.” With that she went inside and began to bring order in the house, after all he’s going to be the first guest in her new home.
Sid in the meantime, had also gone inside his house and began to bring himself in order. He splashed his face with a bucket full of water to get rid of every bit of lousiness and sleep. He shaved his face and after many days, count of which he himself was not aware, he combed his hair. When he came out he found her sitting on the same steps.
“You look quite a different person when you are .. ” she stopped herself not to embarrass him. She was really shocked at her own straightforward ways with Sid. She had already started to feel comfortable talking to him.
“Oh, is it so? In which way you..” now he stopped himself. Both were saying things quite frankly and feeling embarrassed later.
He smiled and, so as not to lose the conversation and her interest in it, said “So, are we still having the tea? I hope I haven’t done all these cleaning and shaving in vain.”
“No. No. it won’t go in vain. ” with that she got up and invited him in.
He found the environment in Shweta’s house quite lively compared to his own dwelling.
“Do you play Guitar?” he said quite excitedly after having the glimpse of guitar on the chair.
“Yes, I do to survive in this loneliness.”
He smiled and nodded to her as if to acknowledge that he too was the rider of the same boat of Solitude. “I survive by reading books. Do you read books?”
“Books, I want to read, but I don’t have the patience. I have read quite a few very long back. Don’t even remember their names now.”
“I have quite a good collection of them, if you like, I can lend you some.” Then, after a minute or two of silence which he spent in fighting with his mind on whether to ask or not, he asked her “Will you play a song for me? Only if you play it well.”
“Sure I will do. But I am not good at singing, I am warning you. In the meantime, you can have a look at my collection music, if you like. ”
Continued in comment section..
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Vikky Gural
