My first attempt at Fiction......

Life Goes on….

It was 6.30 in the morning and the sun was already powerful, throwing streaks of light through the window and on to Karthik's bed. But that did not disturb Karthik much, who was still comfortably sleeping. But, not for long. The sudden ring from the mobile phone saw him wake up - rather slowly. 'Who the hell is calling at this hour', he spoke to himself - slowly, picked up the mobile and saw the display - 'Unknown Number' it read. He was puzzled...who'll it be - the client...any problem at their end...but they usually don’t call at this hour....or is it Ramesh...Praveen….Abishek....a lot of names crossed his mind in that fraction of a second before he actually pressed the 'Talk' button.

"Hello" his voice wasn't very clear as he was still half asleep.

There was no answer from the other side.

He cleared his throat and this time was load and clear - "Hello...”

"Karthik??"

He never expected a female voice from the other end.....

"Yeah...”

"Hey Dude, How are you doing"

“I...I.... am fine, May I know who's this?? " his mind was trying to guess....but wasn't able to bring out even a single name.....there was no way, Priya is going to call from an unknown number and that too at this hour.

A call from a girl is quite a rare incident for Karthik. He was a very reserved character right from his school days. And more so in college. He actually was a very energetic person from inside, but more an introvert. He did a lot of things, but alone. He was a very innovative person and was mostly harmless. The only places he was found in college, when not in class were the Labs, Library and at the maximum, Sports room, playing Table Tennis....not even college canteen!! He continued to be the same way even in office - a 'no-nonsense' guy! He was never a part of any of those spicy debates in office of who's going out with whom or who's going to get married next or who's broken up with whom. He was happy being silent rather than participating in these discussions. He sometimes even wondered why these guys were SO STUPID...but then, he never cared much, he thought it was not his job to correct people around...and always had his trade-mark smile in his face when ever he crossed anyone in the office....anyone...be it the manager or even the peon...

"Great to catch you up over the phone man. I am sure, you wouldn't have expected my call, but just thought of calling you up - wanna throw a guess"

She hadn't told her name as yet. 'What the heck, someone calling up from an unknown country and asking to guess the name...and that too at this hour'
......Priya...Kalpana....Mary...who'll it be and why would any of these call me??? anything important...the way she talks doesn't suggest anything important.....his mind was restless actually.....

"Nope. Would be very nice if you can DECLARE your name now" - he thought he was flat, actually he wasn't

"Hey what da…- I would have loved to have heard some weird name. Okay, this is Shruthi - able to get my image?? Do u remember me??"

That was a Shock for him. Shruthi.....his mind traveled back...it's been nearly a decade....

"Hey Shruthi.....Shruthi from St.Michael's eh??"

"Yeah...man, that’s good, you atleast remember me"

"Oohh my god, what a surprise!!, how can I ever forget you Shruthi"

He meant it...How can he ever forget her....he was literally shocked. His heart started working fast - is this called the adrenaline rush??

"Hmmm how are you da - long time....was wondering if I would ever meet you people again....??"

"Hey Shruthi, I am doing great, How are you?? Never expected a call from you...how did you get my number" He did not wait for answers, but just kept talking.

Shruthi and Karthik were class mates, partners in crime right from their KG's . They had fantastic times together. Actually both of them lived in a same colony like set-up, till Shruti's family moved to Singapore as her father had got a transfer from his company, when Shruthi had just finished class 10. They never met after that. Not even phone calls or mails - the last they spoke to each other was the final day of their class 10 board exams.

"I am doing great too da. Completed my masters in Information Science and working for a company here in New Jersey - how are uncle and aunty??"

Karthik still wasn't able to believe that he was talking to his school mate whom he had lost touch with, almost a decade back......

"They are doing fine too..." He spoke rather automatically, as his mind was fixed to the old days...he did not know what he was talking......but was answering her....

He suddenly realised that and came back to the real world - "Hey how did you get my number??" he repeated the question which she hadn't answered before.

"If you can't guess even this, I can't do anything!" she giggled - “Guess!!”

She was sarcastic to an extent - this was the way she had always been - bubbly and crispy. She answered questions by counter questions but almost always logical ones. 'She hadn't changed a bit' he thought to himself....

"Orkut??"

"Aahh there you go - you know it!" She was talking as if she was in touch with him all these days or rather she was acting that way.

"Hmmmm" he did not know what to talk.

"Are you also in Orkut, I never knew that" .... Again this was not what he was intending to talk...but he spoke from his mouth and not from his mind (which was busy thinking of the past, unconsciously)...

"Just joined today....and searched for you name and got the whole history" she continued fluently. She was happy and it showed.

"How can you be so open man in an open to public forum. You have given every tiny information of you and with your phone number and address....how can you do that da....I can't even imagine me doing that"

Karthik was so much occupied in thought that he actually wasn't listening to her...

"I am sorry, what did you say, the phone line is not clear...."

"Nothing important. I feel so happy da.....technology is doing wonders."

"Yeah" he replied...

Shruthi and Karthik had a very special relationship. As kids, they fought a lot, obviously Shruthi won most of them. Karthik had an edge when it came to studies and being a 'good kid'. Both of them were popular in their own ways in school. Shruti grew up to be a beautiful little girl that most of the guys in school were behind her and were jealous of Karthik, as he always had a chance of being very close to her.

"Why are you very silent Karthik, you don’t seem to have changed much, but you have grown up da, had me guessing if I was seeing the right person when I was going through your album at Orkut"

"Yeah, it’s been a decade yaar. I am sure you'll look a lot different too"
"Yeah, you are right”

"How are your mom and dad??"

"They are fine. Spoke to mom just after seeing your profile. She was very happy, I told her that I've got your contact number and am going to call you - the first person who had the guts to give me a love letter”, she laughed…

Karthik did not know what to say.

"Hmmmm"

He did not expect her to start with this topic now. It happened when they were in class ten. From class seven or eight, the distance between them actually increased, they weren't as close as they were before...they thought they had grown up and thought grown up guy and a girl are not supposed to be this close. It was this distance that made Karthik feel closer to her. When looked from outside, Shruthi looked like an angel to him and behaved that way too. Karthik started admiring her.....

Just a few months before tenth exams, karthik decided to express his LOVE to her. The feeling that he had nurtured for nearly two years now. His decision was purely because he was completely disturbed....he wasn't able to identify why, but of late he started to lose concentration on other things and she mattered more to him.
He started dreaming about his married life - filmi style. For the first time he slipped a bit and did not perform up to his standards in the revision tests. Shruthi did not realise that it was because of her and she herself went to him and enquired about what happened to him - Karthik not doing well in the exam became the hot topic in the class. He was completely clueless himself. He was worried.....

It was a rainy evening and the whole school was enjoying the rain. The last hour was History and the history teacher was talking about the Second World War and stuff. Karthik was dreaming. He had decided to open the topic with Shruthi today. He even had a letter written. He was silently watching the school play ground getting drenched by the rain from his place...in spite of teacher teaching about Hitler and the Second World War - this wasn't normal. The bell rang and suddenly with a loud noise of cheer the corridors were filled with students eagerly leaving to their home......The rain had just stopped...and the climate was perfect and the slight drizzling topped it of.

"Karthik, what happened, dreaming eh??"

Shruthi interrupted the thought flow of Karthik. He just realised that they were the only ones left in the class.

"Shruthi, I need to talk to you" he saw straight into her eyes. He was determined.

"Oh...sure. What's the matter, anything important?“ She sat over the desk next to him

He looked up at her - "Shruti, I love you, would like to marry you when we grow up, will you be there for me?"

She was shocked. She knew this was going to come some day, but she did not expect this so soon and definitely not this plain and flat. He opened his bag, took out the letter that he had drafted for her and handed it over to her.

"I've written all that I wanted to talk, in this. I want you to read this, think and reply"

She silently took that letter in hand and read that. It was a very plain letter - there was nothing poetic in that.

She was confused. She took her bag and walked out, he followed her. They did not talk a word.

The climate was soothing. They were walking next to each other, rolling their cycle instead of riding it. They did not talk a word till they reached their respective houses.

Shruthi liked karthik very much, but she was not for this proposal, she did not know what will happen next. She was afraid of her father and her relatives and she was more analytical in this issue than emotional. She did not know what to do....what to tell this guy next door, who was always there for her.....and only now she understood the reason for Karthik not performing well in the exams. She did not realize that she was crying now.....tears ran down her cheek....

"You know karthik, my mom was also very happy for you. She said, she knew you would do excellently well in your life and to see you in such a good position so early in life...she was as excited as me"

Karthik's mind was oscillating between the past and present. "Oohh...Thank you.” He just realised that and came back to the present.

“So Orkut has given every detail of me - never thought of this before, maybe I'll need to take out a few information from that...." He tried his maximum to present himself as if he was normal.....

"I am coming down to chennai in the first week of next month. Make sure you are present..."

“…………………….”

Karthik was eagerly waiting for a response from Shruthi. He was pretty early to school and was waiting for Shruthi's arrival...but she did not turn up. He was pretty sure till this time that she will accept him for what he was and he knew she loved him too. But now, his mind started wavering.....he did not know the reason behind her not coming to school....he became nervous and left the school during the lunch break saying he wasn't feeling well. He told his mother that he was not feeling well and went to bed. He wasn't able to sleep....his mind started to think of all the possibilities....but he wasn't sure of anything...will she reject me....his heart started pounding....he became restless...buried himself into the pillow and started crying.....he cried till the layers of his pillow became wet. There was no reason for him to cry but he felt like crying and crying did relieve his pain....he suddenly got up as if he had found out the solution and watched at the clock...it
was 4.15....he got up and washed his face, changed his clothes....he became brisk all of a sudden.

Karthik was waiting for the door to be opened - seconds felt like days...he was about to press the calling bell again when the door opened...

“Aunty is Shruthi here?” he enquired rather anxiously.

“Hello Karthik, How are you....come in...come in“ Shruthi’s mother welcomed him.

"Sit down, are you early from school today, its only 4.30"

"Yes Aunty, wasn't feeling well, also there was nothing much in school today."

"By the way, why didn’t Shruthi come to school today, is everything okay?"

"Yes. She wasn't feeling well in the morning, now she is okay. She is in her room....you may go and see her" she looked towards the room and waited for him to leave to the room.

"I know Shruthi, people around me are really good and I am one lucky chap except for a few things in life.....convey my regards to her" Karthik remembered her mother…she was a nice and a caring woman….

"Sure da. Its long time man....it all looks like it just happened a few days back...but already its nearly 10 years...10 long years....."

Karthik knocked at the door lightly and entered the room. There she was, sitting in her study desk and looking at the trees outside, through her window.

"Hi" she said in a low voice. "When did you come - didn’t you also go to school today??" she enquired.

"I did, but came back during the lunch break" He answered her but was looking for something else....

"Why didn’t you come to school today? I was expecting you...."

"................................."

"Have you thought of what I was talking about yesterday??"

"Yes, I did"

"Have you decided....." Karthik looked calm and composed but was more nervous than for his exams....

"......................."

"Shruthi...don’t you also...."

Shruthi was quick to interrupt...."I like you very much Karthik, I like you very much"

"........................does that mean..."

"It doesn't mean anything Karthik….”

“Aren't we too young to fall in love..."

Karthik was literally upset. He was expecting her to say just 3 words, but to see her saying something else....he was worried....

"Do you think we are too young? Its just 2 years in school and soon we'll be in college and then work....."

"....why cant we be together...I mean…..."

"There are so many things to be thought of, Karthik. See, I am worried about you. I want you do well in your studies….you not doing well in the test really disturbed me – I mean it....and I feel I am I am responsible for that....I don’t want to see my friend going down at this last and crucial moment"

"If that is the case....you just say you love me and I'll be back with what all I had - I am sure I can do excellently well....but now you seem to be more important to me...my mind is in an oscillation whether you'll be for me or not and that stops me from concentrating....."

"But Karthik....why am I so important to you......more important than your studies…."

She was skeptical about his reaction….but went ahead and completed what she wanted to ask..."is it....is it….because I am beautiful ??"

"Nonsense. Even our biology teacher is beautiful - did I go and tell her the same thing. Our class Kalpana is beautiful, did I go behind her and tell her that I loved her....you know me Shruthi, you know what I am going through….please don’t act as if you don’t"

"Believe me Shruthi...I just feel very happy when you are around, but, when I think that you'll become someone else's sometime....I don’t know, some sort of a disturbance creeps in....I become restless. It'll all be over if I know from you that you love me and you'll be mine - sometime"

"But did you think of your parents Karthik. How bad they'll feel. They believe in us, we should live up to their expectations..."

"................they'll understand Shruthi......" Karthik was now slowly staring to lose hope.

"So....what do you say...you don’t love me??"

"Come-on Karthik, I never said that. Give me one day’s time, tomorrow I'll let you know. I’ll think over again….but we need to wait Karthik...I still feel we are too young...."

Karthik got his confidence back. She hasn't decided as yet. Tomorrow she'll come up with a positive response.....he was convinced somehow….

"Thank you so much Shruthi, See you tomorrow, Take Care"

He got up and left the room...