‘Last seen Sat 22:13’.
It seemed like mere words of solitude. For months, this is what led her, his last seen status. She always wished if it was online, so that it would just wipe out her years of lonely desperate life. It was a ray of hope to see him online. Her heart would plunge with enormous pleasure when the status changes from online to typing... Yes, somewhere deep inside her mind, she has found a companion. Is he her boyfriend? No! He can never be. But he means a lot to her. At least, those Whatsapp messages do.
She tried to recollect where it all began, that message from an unknown number. ‘Unknown once, but now...’ She smiled at her thought. She ignored such chats from random numbers. It wasn’t new. She neither replied nor complained. Instead she shrugged and reminded herself, ‘women working in large companies among different species of men are bound to face this. Ignorance would be the best practice’. But that message was different. From the usual, ‘Hey!’, ‘Wassup?’, ‘Yo man! Guess who I’m :P’, this one stood out. She read it several times that day. She read it when she travelled in the bus to office, during lunch hours to excuse herself from the bollywood gossips, between every sip of tea, which she took to get away from her tedious corporate work.... But every time while reading it, if she saw the last seen status ‘online’, she would fumble. That single message which was sent made her think, or rather think different. One evening, getting back after her work, she crashed on to her bed, smiled at the message and read it aloud, “The beauty of women lies in the way she can mesmerise a man’s heart! This art is not to be misinterpreted as the act of seduction....; says anonymous. Well, May I get to see this anonymous? I would thrash him down!” She laughed loudly reading it. She couldn’t remember when the last time she laughed this way was. And here, there’s a stranger who has put a smile on her face.
“Male chauvinists might not accept the inner beauty of a woman. So are you one?” Her fingers moved towards and away from the ‘send button’ several times. Will he think that she is a flirt or a stalker? Will he reply or just ignore? She thought over the million questions that popped in her mind no. of times before she finally decided to send it. The last seen suddenly switched to online. Her heart took somersaults inside when she saw it ‘typing..’
“If men can see only the act of seduction in the eyes of women, it’s just that he’s intelligent, and not a chauvinist. Wanna retaliate, feminist?” She smiled wide until her cheeks ached. Several more conversations followed. It became a part of her daily routine. Her routine mundane life found a new light. This hasn’t happened before. A stranger has shown her new perspectives of life. They talked about everything under the sun. She gave her views; sometimes he opposed, and sometimes seconded her opinions. They never exchanged anything personal, not even their names, who they are, and what they do. They were unknown to each other by faces too as both of them never revealed their display pictures. She feared if it would distort this new friendship. What if he doesn’t want her to be yet another woman in his life? She decided to continue as it is.
It was that day when she could sense some bitterness in the way he sent his messages. She had by then, graduated in the art of sensing his emotions over messages even without the use of emoticons. He sounded heart-broken, and sad. She wanted to know more, but decided not to picture her as a ‘quidnunc’ to him. But she knew something was wrong. She tried to understand the matter without really asking him, what it is. Her words of consolation and hope, made him better, she thought. She could sense that he was slowly recovering from desperation. That night, she slept peacefully. She dreamed of his beautiful face, his tall broad figure, smiling at her with eyes shining while she walked towards him with her glorious smile. She hasn’t seen him, but she could picture him from the conversations that they have made.
‘Last seen Sat 22:13’.
It’s been a week, since they have last messaged. Every day she woke up with a hope of receiving a message from him. The last one week has been nothing but some pages in her old routine life. She couldn’t concentrate on her work, she felt like running away from whoever approached her for some help, she was immersed in deep thoughts that she often forgot to get down at the right bus stop. She realised that her life is going to take a repeat of what it was before she received his first message. She yelped inside when she understood that even she is falling for the depression caused by virtual space. That thought hurt.
She got back home, picked her phone, and dialled his number. “Hey, all ok? Do you wanna meet?”, she panted and spat the words half sobbing, half excited.
“Hi... I think you are talking to the wrong person. I’ve been using this number since two days. Are you sure you want to talk to me?” said a fragile voice of a woman.
She cut the call, sat on her arm-chair, closed her eyes, and told herself, “Wake up! You were in a dream, it’s all over now”.