Aparna Mukhedkar Hyderabad, India
It was a dark moonless night. Ainee was reading a novel on her single bed with a shawl covering only her legs. Her eyes felt heavy and drunk with sleep, yet, she fought to stay awake to finish the chapter. She was reading Sidney Sheldon’s “The Other Side Of Midnight,” and after reading the rather graphic and racy scenes in the novel, her imagination was vivid and alive. She stirred from dozing off as she heard raspy, throaty sounds coming from the far corner of the room. On another cot lay a young woman whose back was turned to her.
It was her cousin Farni, who was in town for the state varsity volleyball tournament and was fast asleep. Her thin shawl covered only her torso revealing a slender waist and shapely arms with a black mole prominently visible on the lower side of her elbow. A soothsayer had once remarked how “lucky” she was to have a mole on that very spot of her body. “The elbow and the chin are the two best places,” he had declared with the characteristic finality of someone who possessed a mastery over the subject.
Ainee returned to her book and was again enthralled by the exploits of the characters. “I wish I could write like this,” she thought to herself. However, the words were starting to blur and sleep was slowly but certainly overwhelming her. Finally, she gave in. She snapped the book shut and switched off the bed side lamp. Somewhere in the large house, she heard the clock strike midnight. She caught the chimes at 6-7-8-9-10-11-12. She rolled over on her stomach and her eyes drooped to a close. Moments later, she heard a ringing in her ears. Then a whisper…. “Huh!” she blurted, her eyes still closed.
She was puzzled by the sounds in her ear and later realized it was the phone in the other room. “What the…who could be calling at this hour?” she cried, visibly irritated. She clambered out of bed, the white sheet still clinging to her right foot. She adjusted her night dress and tottered to the adjacent room which was the upstairs living room of their five bedroom mansion in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad.
At first, she was unable to locate the cordless phone. She started to fling the cushions on the sofa all over the place in sheer frustration at not finding the phone. She muttered a curse under her breath and directed her ire at Farni and her reckless habit at leaving the phone anywhere she pleased. “Bah! This girl…” she whimpered in exasperation. It was only the other day when Farni had first arrived that she had misplaced her hair brush that they later found in one of the kitchen cabinets. Then, suddenly, she spotted the phone on the window sill. She ran towards it and grabbed the receiver and hurriedly hissed a “Hello!”
“Er …Is Rajin there?” asked a male voice. “Who?”
“Rajin!”
“No! There is no one by that name here,” she barked with annoyance.
She pressed the tone button on the receiver really hard and gritted her teeth in irritation. “Bah! Bah! Bah! Waking me up from my sleep to ask me about …Rajin! Is that even a name?” she wondered aloud. As she was about to throw the receiver onto the sofa the phone rang again. “Oh! Gawd!” she exclaimed in anger and bellowed into the phone.
“Hello!”
“Yes…Is Rajin…?
Hello
“For the love of God! There is no one….this is a wrong number!” “What is this number?” the voice demanded in a gentle tone.
“Well! You called didn’t you? Should you not know what number you dialed….?” “I pressed redial.” he interrupted.
“Press “no-dial” and don’t call this number again. It’s past midnight and you are…” “I am looking for my friend.”
I am not your friend!” she snarled. “Besides, if you have a friend by that name how come you don’t know his real number?” Silence ensued for a moment.
“Hello! What happened? Cat got your tongue?” she mocked as the silence at the other end continued. “Do not call this number again or I will report you to the police!” she warned. As she was about to disconnect, the male voice pleaded with her not to hang up.
“Please let me say sorry. I know I should not have called you at this hour. But, it is such a great night. I was hoping that er…my friend… and I could spend the evening chatting. There is such a beautiful moon outside,” he went on before he was rudely interrupted.
“There is no moon today!” she roared in to the receiver. “Plus I thought you were looking for a Rajin?”
“I know and maybe you can help me. How long have you had this number? Maybe it’s an old number that…”
“No!” she said emphatically. “Do not think I don’t know the tricks you boys play. Trying to pretend you are looking for someone and then worm out all the information and try to harm young girls. I am on to you and if you continue to call, I will report you for harassment.”
Click.
The phone went off line. Ainee waited there in the dark for a few seconds biting her lips. She was unsure whether he would call back or if she should even wait for a call back.
Ring ring. The phone vibrated in the palm of her hand. She debated for several minutes whether to pick up the phone. She let it ring and suddenly it stopped. “Hmm”! she mused. “Maybe my threats worked!” she thought and began to walk towards her bedroom when the phone rang again. This time she clicked the on button and spoke quickly.
“The authorities are tracing this call you know and very soon they will know who you are and arrest you and lock you up in prison.”
Silence.
Many moments passed. All she could hear was breathing at the other end. There was complete silence everywhere. A chill passed through her when she realized that she was standing in a cold living room with the drapes open and no lights in the house, except for those on the street that were streaming through the windows. It was eerily calm. She was alerted to the sounds of the night with the crickets running riot in the garden and the wind swishing the tall Ashoka trees against the porch. To top it all, she was spooked by the scratchy, static sound of the caller’s breathing. The hair on the nape of her neck stood up as her imagination began playing tricks on her. She walked slowly towards her room and as she approached it she broke out into a sprint as fast as she could, bolted the door and dove into her bed. She was panting for breath and still clutching the phone tightly. She threw a cursory glance at Farni who had not moved an inch. She was still sleeping in the very same position as she was. After a considerable amount of time passed and she was visibly
calm, Ainee slowly began to settle down. It seemed as though the caller sensed her growing comfort with continuing the interaction.
“Are you okay?” the voice asked in a tone of concern. “I hope I didn’t scare you?” “Why would I be scared of you? All I can hear is your voice and that doesn’t scare me,”
she lied. Her voice was quivering and yet she managed to keep up her composure.
“Listen to me…whoever you are. There is no point in calling here since your friend does not live at this number…”
“Who says my friend doesn’t live at this number? I just found a friend. Well! Hello, friend.”
“Oh! No no no no no! We are NOT friends! Far from it! Oh! Clever! Don’t play those games with me! I am not one of those hapless girls that falls for a cheapo that calls people up in the middle of the night to strike up a conversation with a total stranger.”
“But, isn’t that the point of life?” he implored urgently. “To be daring, taking risks and meeting new people during the course of your journey through life?”
“JOURNEY THROUGH LIFE, huh? Oh! I know your kind. First, tiptoe around and discuss generalites, then slowly wean your way in by finding out my name, where I live, what I wear and then suddenly you are at my door asking to see me to go on a date! I know your kind. I also know how to take care of people like you!”
“How?” he asked in his somber tone of voice.
She was shaken for a bit. She was not prepared to be challenged so boldly. Her mind raced really fast so she could offer a quick retort. Failing to find one, she chose to break the conversation yet again.
“You know what? There is no point in this! I will just call the police and report you for harassment. The laws in India are getting very strict nowadays and you can be locked up for years. Plus, my dad is a big shot. I am not going to tell you who he is so you cannot trace me,” she said very proud of her clever remarks.
“Why do you think I am calling with some sort of evil intention? For all you know I am a lonely young man who just needs some companionship tonight.”
“Well then find one of your own sort. Why are you wasting my time?”
“As I can see you are still holding on to this conversation as much as I am,” he said, quite pleased with his witty retort.
She was stung by that remark which completely threw her off balance. ‘He is right’, she thought with a grimace. ‘I have to get him off this phone whichever way I can,’ she thought. Despite the exigency of the situation rising with each moment, she tried to control herself and, in a calm, collected tone tried to shrug him off once again.
“Look whoever you are I am still talking to you because I am trying to persuade you not to call me again.”
“Well! Do you have a sister with whom I could speak? You know, just to pass the time till the morning.”
“Oh really! Now you want to speak to my sister? For your kind information, I don’t have one and if I did I would forbid her from talking to a complete stranger!”
“Why is it ok for you to talk to a ‘stranger’ but not for her? Isn’t that a double standard?” “I am older and more mature, that is why.”
“I thought you said you didn’t have a sister?”
I don’t. This is just…hypothetically speaking….” Hypothetically then…let’s see would she be fair…like you?”
“How do you know I am fair? Who is this? Is it Sanjay? Siddharth? Hey! Don’t play games. I am going to get the both of you if this is a prank of some sort.”
“Why do you think it is someone fooling you? I was only speaking, er…hypothetically of your sister…”
“The one I don’t have? Great!”
“Does she go to a college? I presume you are receiving an education?”
“If you think I am going to disclose the name of my college, you think wrong!” she said sharply and pulled her knees closer to her body.
“No, that will not be necessary. We are simply trying to caricature a sister that you don’t possess and having some fun with that….”
“This is not fun! It is a complete waste of my time. I could be sleeping or reading my
book.
“What are you reading?”
She paused for a moment before replying. “John Grisham’s “Runaway Jury,” she lied. She did not want anyone to know that she was reading a trashy novel. No – not even this stranger at the other end.
“You must read “Anil’s Ghost” by Michael Ondaatje.” “Who?”
“The author who wrote “The English Patient”. It was made into a movie which won many Oscars. Did you see it?
“Aaargh!” she cried with a shrill disdain. “I hated every bit of that movie. It was dull, boring, crappy and a waste of my time and money.”
“You seem to waste a lot of time from what you are telling me.”
“I do not! With the exception of that horrid movie and ….of course this totally nonsensical conversation I am having with someone whose name I don’t even know.”
“Would you like to know my name?” he asked his voice as even and mellow as it had been from the beginning. For the first time she noted the smooth texture and the sonorous pitch of his voice. He sounded like he was some sort of divine, mystical
being that was imparting some other worldly knowledge and wisdom to his human subjects. “What’s next? You will want to know my name, address, telephone number…oh but that
you already have….then how many brothers and sisters I have, what my father does and my mother and what the name of my dog is and what car I drive and what is its color?”
“Well! It’s alright if you don’t disclose your name if you don’t wish to. However, permit me to introduce myself to you. My name is Ananda.”
“Ananda! Hmmmm! I know there is a resort up in the Himalayas called Ananda.” “Well! I was apparently conceived there and so my parents named me after the place
where they seemed to have had the best time of their lives.”
“Abject? Hmmm! What a curious word to use with the word happiness. They are totally opposite words, the antithesis of the other.”
“The essence of life! There can be no happiness without misery and sorrow and vice
versa.”
“I can’t believe I am discussing the truths about “life” in the middle of the night,” she exclaimed her voice ringing with irony.
He laughed. It was a wholesome, complete, genuine laugh, one that came from the bottom of his diaphragm.
“When do you normally talk about life and its beautiful offerings?” he asked. “Whenever I think life is good,” she shot back.
“Isn’t it always?”
“No! Not really!” she stated in a matter-of-fact tone. “Sometimes it sucks! Earlier you asked me why I was still continuing this conversation with you….it’s because…I am bored. I am miserable and alone and just…I just want to scream. Let me tell you about what goes on in junior colleges these days. It’s totally depressing and utterly pathetic! Like yesterday at my college….oh…no…I don’t know you….why am I even talking to you? I am going to keep this phone down…right now….do you hear me? Keep the phone down.”
“Why? We have been making such headway in getting to know each other!” His voice continued in its even tone. He revealed no emotions or feelings. He only expressed joy as if that were the only emotion he knew.
“No we haven’t!” she snapped. I have not told you anything about me. And, I won’t either. So I think you are wasting your time getting to know me.”
“Hardly. I think I know a lot more about you now than I did when I first called.” She heard the clock chime once again and she heard only one ring.
“My God! I have been talking for over an hour with you. I don’t even know what I have been saying.”
“Sometimes saying little says everything,” he claimed in his merry tone. “Huh! I don’t understand.”
“You will. Think back on everything you said to me. In fact, you said very little, yet I feel I know quite a bit about you.”
“I feel like we’ve been going round in circles talking about the same things or nothing at all really,” she said feeling quite pleased with her remark.
“Exactly! It’s nothing at all. Life is about everything and about nothing. So enjoy both while you can,” he noted in a philosophical tone.
She thought for a minute. Then she asked in all seriousness: “How did you get this number?”
“Truthfully, I just dialed a number and it happened to be yours.” “Is this a nightly exercise for you?”
“I like to know people and find out about their lives.”
“That did not answer my question!” she challenged raising her voice a bit.
“No! It isn’t. I just happened to dial and you just happened to come on and I did not want to lose the opportunity to know you…..”
“Well! Sorry to disappoint you but I don’t think you will EVER know anything about me.” she said her lips pursed as she defiantly shrugged her drooping shoulders.
“Hmmm!” he said without saying exactly how he felt.
“Are you not in the least bit curious about me?” he asked as he felt her shifting positions. He waited for an answer. There was a chilly silence at the other end.
“Hello!” he said his voice cracking a tad. “Are you comfortable yet?” “NO!” she fired back angrily.
“No….what? No, I am not comfortable yet or no I am not interested in knowing…” Both!” she said sharply.
“Well then in that case let’s talk about you. Let’s start with your name.”
“How about we don’t talk at all?” she said harshly and banged the phone down.
She cradled the receiver in her hands knowing that he would call back. She scowled and murmured a curse under her breath and crawled out of bed to fetch some water when the phone rang again. She clicked the on button and immediately disconnected the phone. She stood transfixed to her spot, fuming. She looked at the phone receiver which had not rung for some time. She clicked the on button to make sure the phone was working and was relieved to hear the dial tone. After a full five minutes had passed, she began to wonder if he would call back. ‘Perhaps I should have got his number and harassed the daylights out of him,’ she thought defiantly. She kept staring at the phone which was still quiet. She sat there in the dark, her
impatience level rising by the moment. Her brows darkened and her eyes roamed rapidly about the room when saw Farni who was still asleep in the very same
position. “Bah! Like he thinks I have all night for this…” she cried with vehemence when the phone went ‘ring- ring’.
“What?” she asked irritably.
“Why? Why? Why…you ask? Why”? her voice boomed with outrage.
Yes. Can you tell me? I don’t understand.” he asked sounding confused yet maintaining the calm tone of his voice. “
“Well! Let’s see…you call me – a perfect stranger in the middle of the night and elicit all sorts of personal information out of me and make me feel very uncomfortable about those questions and you ask why?”
“I have not asked you anything that you did not want to already tell me.” “Like what?
“Like how old you are…that you don’t have a sister and you go to a college to get an education, you are fearless, your father is an important man and you also like to talk with people to socialize….”
She went silent. She felt like she was hit by a truck full of bricks. ‘Gosh! He knows way too much about me already. I HAVE to get him off the phone. Find some excuse before he finds out who I am,’ she thought with considerable alarm as she felt that creepy tinge of fear enveloping her. She blinked her eyes several times as she broke out of her reverie and in a cool, collected voice continued the conversation by posing a direct question.
“You are very social and I bet you have a charming smile.” That softened her a bit.
Hello
“Ya…people do tell me that. Although, I do need to go to a dentist more often. Do you like dentists?” She walked over to the mirror and opened her mouth to reveal her smashing white teeth and firm gums and waited for Ananda to reply
“Mmmm.” He exclaimed ponderously. “I don’t know if I like them in general. But, the one I go to, Dr. Mody…I like him a lot. He does make me feel very comfortable and his procedures are less painful, mercifully.”
“Dr. Mody? You mean Russell Mody? My dad goes to him too. His daughter Shahnaz and I are very good friends. In fact, we went to the same school – ya….Grammar school in Abid’s. She now goes to Vanita and I go to St Fr….” she spoke excitedly before she bit her lip knowing she had led on a lot more information about her than she had liked. However, Ananda seemed to continue to talk of the Mody’s.
“Really?” You know Shahnaz? What a small world.”
“Isn’t it?” she said. “Have you seen her? She is gorgeous. She has such a great smile and her teeth are always sparkling. I suppose her dad takes care of that for her.” They both laughed. For the first time, they had both felt mirthful. “You know when we were in school, people thought we were twins. We looked pretty alike in those days, but, we look different now. She is much plumper and I have lost so much weight, all that puppy fat, all GONE! Thank the good Lord and my efforts at the gym, of course!”
There was a pause in the conversation. He could feel her becoming cold and frigid again. He was sure that the next thing out of her mouth was going to be something that was going to cut the conversation short. But, he was surprised by her amiable demeanor. In fact, it was her turn to pose a question.
“So what do you for a living? Or are you also not going to tell me because I didn’t tell
you?” Hello
“Well! That is being assumptive. I have nothing to hide, so I will tell you. I am an entrepreneur. I sell books. I have a quaint, old bookstore at the corner of Abid’s. Mostly old classics and I also restore old works of art. I also…”
“Isn’t that boring? I mean dealing in books? There are so many things you could be selling that helps make you a quick buck?”
“Ya. But, this is what I want to do. I have a neat book store and a lot of people visit and buy the books and I make a good income. I am happy. Why don’t you visit the store sometime? I think you will be quite surprised and impressed by what I have achieved.”
“Do you even have a college degree?” she asked skeptically. Her tone of voice was laced with a touch of arrogance and sounded as though she was talking to a person who was beneath her.
He laughed. He could sense the disappointment in her voice. He stayed calm and continued to talk in his even tone.
“Yes!” he replied confidently. “I have a double masters and a Ph.d. “ “In what?” she asked stunned with his academic credentials.
“In English, Psychology and my doctorate is in Philosophy, Eastern philosophy.”
“Wow!” she replied after a slight pause. “Here I am struggling with my B.A. and you have so many degrees! Are they all displayed in your shop?”
“Bookstore!” he corrected. “No. They are somewhere in the attic, I believe. My wife knows where they are. She normally takes care of all….”
“WIFE? WIFE! YOU ARE MARRIED?” she asked as her voice thundered with rage. “Yes. I have a one year old daughter, Purvi.”
“I CANNOT BELIEVE IT! HOW DARE YOU?
“I don’t understand!”
“You have the cheek…the gall to talk to me even though you have a wife and child?” she was irate, her anger just bubbling over uncontrollably. “How dare you cheat on her?”
“Cheat? I am only befriending you. I am not cheating….”
“Why did you not tell me that you were married?” she demanded.
“I do not believe that it was or is relevant to our conversation. When you picked up the phone, I sensed you were forlorn and depressed so I thought I would help you feel a bit better tonight,” he continued in an assuring tone, but, alas in vain –
Ainee was furious.
“Shut up! Shut up! Just shut up!” she yelled into the phone and continued hurling her accusations at him. “You deceived me, insulted me and have deeply offended me.”
“No! I did not!” he replied calmly. “I only want to become your friend. Do you not have friends that are married?”
“No! Not like this! You were trying to pick me up! You were trying to find more information on me so you could worm your way into my life and take me to bed. Is your wife in town?”
”No! She has gone to visit her mother with the baby.”
“HAH! SEE! You just proved my point. You are like all other men. You were trying to be all philosopher and intellectual and all the while you were trying to see if I would be more amenable to your advances. No! I will not bite and in fact I am going to put the phone down and call the phone company to trace this call and report you to the police. GOODBYE!”
“No! Wait! You have it all wrong! I don’t want you in the way you think. I was only attempting to get to know you so we could become friends and if you needed help getting over your depression or sadness, I could be there for you.”
“No Thank you! I can take care of myself and I am not interested in having deceiving friends like you. I have had enough…”
“No! Don’t put the phone down. If you do, I will still hang on all night long and not give up. Why don’t we just be open to each other and tell each other everything about ourselves so the air is clear and we can be friends.”
“I AM NOT INTERESTED!” she said and banged the phone down.
She was hopping mad! “Aarrgh!” she shrieked. She threw the phone on the floor and walked to the bathroom in a huff. She sat on the potty for several minutes literally pulling her
hair out. She cursed Ananda several times and Farni too while she was at it. She then walked to her bed and lay down staring into the darkness visibly shaken and angry. A half hour later, she slipped into deep slumber.
The following morning, she saw Farni had already awakened. She looked at the alarm clock which showed it was ten o’clock. She woke up yawning and moments later, her eyes fell on the phone that was lying on the floor. She looked at it quizzically and then recalled the events of the previous night. She remembered the last part of the conversation. Ananda had sworn he would not disconnect the line and would hold on. She looked at the phone several times, her lips pursed in annoyance. She bent forward and picked up the phone and was torn whether to switch the phone on and find out whether he was still holding on. While she was still debating it over in her head, her forefinger accidentally pushed the on button and she heard Ananda’s voice saying:
“Hello?”