The interpretation

 

It was 7 pm in the evening when I reached home from office, dead tired after a long, hectic day and suddenly the phone bell rang. I went to pick up the phone with an anticipation of my fiancé’s call on my birthday today. My fiancé was working in Bangalore and we were getting married a month later. The wedding cards were already sent out to the guests. My expectations were soon shattered when I heard my Aunt’s voice on the other side. She had called to wish me happy birthday. I was literally in tears… thinking of why didn’t my fiancé call me on my big day? Suddenly I thought of my ‘wrong number friend’! Yes… I know that it seems to be a weird name but that’s what I used to call him when I met him five years back…. I was 18 years old then and in my 1st year of college. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and I wanted to speak to one of my college friends. I picked up the receiver and dialed the number. The bell rang and a deep, husky voice answered the phone. “Hello, Can I speak with Shalini?” I said with a slight hesitation. The voice answered “Wrong number!” and kept the phone down. I dialed the number again and got through my friend. But somewhere deep inside that voice kept on bothering me… I was somehow attracted to that voice and wished to speak that guy again. Suddenly, in a matter of a few seconds I picked up the receiver again and dialed all possible permutations and combinations of my friend’s number, in hope to get that number again. I tried once, twice…. so many times but the right number didn’t click. I was about to give up when suddenly, the same voice answered the phone… The same deep, husky voice…. The guy smiled and said “So, we meet again!” We talked for a good long 3 minutes that day. There was something that attracted me to him… something different and quite amazing! The next day we talked again, this time for half an hour! As months passed by we grew closer and developed a relationship which grew out of a part of him and a part of me. Everyday we’d talk for hours on the phone on our lives, films, music or even cricket… we could talk about anything under the sun! It was almost one and a half years now that I knew him and I must admit that I was falling in love with him. But somehow didn’t have the courage to convey my feelings to him. What if he said NO or what if he belonged to some other caste and my parents being conservative would never agree to our marriage! I was feeling restless and suffocated as he was the only boy whom I loved unconditionally from the bottom of my heart without actually seeing him in person or even knowing his name. One fine day, just a week before Valentine’s Day I called him up again and told him that I was leaving for Bangalore for my post-graduation. He gave me his Bangalore’s office number and asked me to call him up once I reached there. But I never called him up… don’t know why?    In the meanwhile, my parents fixed my match to an investment banker passed out of one of India’s top B-Schools and earning a handsome 7 figure salary package. I was still not too happy with the match but like an obedient daughter, I had no choice. My fiancé was an ambitious and a career-oriented guy. We were quite apart he being practical and calculative and I being sentimental and emotional. We got engaged but in our 5 month courtship I hardly got any calls or messages from him. I used to hardly meet him once in maybe 2 months and I could interpret him to be a very moody and highly ambitious person. He used to talk on and on discussing his office, job profile and future professional goals of which I had no clue since we both worked in different fields. However, he never interfered in my personal life and always gave me my space and freedom. It was my birthday today and I was expecting his phone call or maybe a small SMS, but all in vain. So, with a heavy heart I took out my phone diary and decided to call my ‘wrong number friend’. It had been 5 years since I had known him but the depth in his voice had not faded away. I said “Hello” and he without a second thought answered… “Hi Senorita! Wish you a very happy birthday!” Senorita… that’s what he used to call me as I was always very hesitant in disclosing my real name to him. We were talking like long lost friends, when suddenly he informed me that he was getting married… I was shocked! I had never expected this to come up, so after a while I told him that I had some work and would call him later. I thought that this was the end of it as now it didn’t make any sense to call him as he was getting married. I just took it as an unfulfilled dream… Days passed by and my wedding was soon round the corner, when one day my Mom called me up…. I was dumbfounded and couldn’t believe what I had heard just a few seconds back… The ground below had swept off my feet! My fiancé had met with a serious accident and died on the spot… I didn’t know what to do and whom to share my grief with. I thought of my wrong number friend but had no strength to speak to him. The next day I packed my bags and took the first flight to my hometown. I along with my parents went to his family’s place. The environment there was very sad and everyone was grief-stricken at such a tragic and unexpected death. I wanted to cry but was in a total state of shock… like any other girl I had built my own dream house after marriage and was very excited about my married life…. But that had all gone. I went to my fiancé’s room and looked around. There was an almirah right at the corner. I opened his almirah and saw 5 packets of gifts, neatly tied in a beautiful pink ribbon. They had ‘Happy Birthday’ written on them. There was also a small letter written in a beautiful handwriting…. It read… “I always wanted to tell you but was shy. I always wanted to share my true feelings but was scared at the thought of rejection. I always wanted to let you know that you meant the world to me but was hesitant. I always wanted to tell you how much I LOVE YOU. Many Many Happy Returns of the day! my dearest Senorita. Always yours – Wrong Number Friend”. God always gives us the right numbers, it is we who interpret it as wrong!