MinSW
Member
since 06-14-2009
[First Post] 53
Sri Lanka
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0 posted 06-14-2009 09:53 AM
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“You have one new message”
The display read. He pressed ‘view’.
“Congrats! At last u hav found a gal. Gud. Next time tell me da taste of ur gal and I’ll send a wedding card dat both of u will lyk. tc. Frm???”
He smiled to himself. For a fair few months, he had been getting these anonymous text messages. The first one came a couple of days before his final exam. The message read,
“Hi! U kno me but I wont tell u who I am. Juz wanna wish u luk 4 ur exams and say dat u r da nicest guy I hav ever met. Pls don’t reply.”
He was surprised but decided to text back. He sent just one sentence; “Who a u?” the reply came sooner than he expected.
“I am a gal. pls don’t reply”
As strange as it was, he could not ponder about it. There was a chance that his friends from the university were doing this to make fun of him. He was the only one without a girl friend and was often mocked because of it. If by chance, it was they and if they think he took this seriously, he would never hear the end of it. He would die of embarrassment. Moreover, for another, the finals were only two days away. He would worry about his anonymous well-wisher later. He had things, which are more important on his mind.
The exams came and went. He thought he did them fairly well. But the tension had driven the text message out of his mind. This was the ultimate hurdle. If only he could get through this, he would be one-step closer to his goal.
As soon as the exams were over, he went home. The Sinhala and Hindu New Year was fast approaching. He celebrated it with all his heart. Ha had the usual quarrels with his sister, the usual dream times on bed. Then his phone went ‘beep’.
“Sathuta pirunu Kandula nivunu, wasanawantha aluth awuruddak wewa!”
He had been getting many wishes during the whole day. So, with no hesitation he replied.
“Kiri peni wapula subha aluth awruddakata onna ithin magenuth asiri!”
That was that until something strange happened.
He came home for Wesak and a small card awaited him. He could not think of anyone who would send him a card. Nevertheless, when he opened it, he got the surprise of his life-
It was from his anonymous well-wisher! He was too surprised for words. And in the message she had written, something caught his eye.
“I texted u on da New Year…”
So, it had been her then! Who could this be? Now, he was sure of one thing. It could not be any of his friends because they would not go as far as sending him a card to flatter him. And this could not be a joke. Why would someone go for all this trouble to get a laugh? This has to be serious and he had to find out who this is.
Time passed and he searched for his admirer in vain. He tried the number from which he received the messages but every time the phone was switched off.
He was approaching a milestone in his life. He would be 25 soon. A few days before his birthday he went home. A surprise was waiting him.
“Here, this came for you in the post. I opened it, hope you won’t mind.” His sister handed him an envelop. Inside from it fell a birthday card; hand made. He could guess whom it was from even before he opened it.
“It’s from that girl.” His sister said.
“Thanks.” He mumbled.
It was a rather different card. On the front cover were some flowers sewn on to a piece of rag. Yellow-colored flowers. He wondered if she knew he liked Ehela flowers best. Inside was a wish, also hand-written. It seemed as if the wish too was her creation.
“…Yet people like yourself, are rarely seen about….”
He was not familiar with the handwriting. He tried to remember if he had seen them anywhere, but could not remember.
On the day before his birthday, he was on his bed, half a-sleep. His phone indicated that there was a new text message.
“Happy 25th. I wanna b da first 2 wish u, so I send this 2day. May all ur dreams com true. Frm ???”
This was the final straw. He dialed the number. For the first time, the phone rang. He waited with baited breath, but the line was cut off. He tried again, but the phone was switched off.
The next morning, he woke up to another message.
“Ane pls don’t call or txt. Ammage phone eka. Frm???”
He decided not to try again. What if he put the girl in trouble?
The day after his birthday, he was on the bus when he received a ring-cut. He quickly looked at the phone. A missed call and a text were indicated from the same number. The message was from his well-wisher, though this time from a different number.
“Hi! It’s me. I might txt u later 2day. Did u get my card? Frm???”
As he was on the bus, he could not reply quickly. While he waited, another missed call was given. He took the phone out, ready to receive the next ring. As he expected, another ring was given. He practically pounced on the yes button. Whoever it was on the other end was either non-familiar with the use of a phone, or did not see that the phone was connected.
“He answered” a girl’s voice said.
“What? I told you not to call him. Idiot.” Another voice.
He waited patiently, to see if a name would be said. But then another girl’s voice said, “Here let me see. Oh god! This is still connected” and she must have disconnected because the line went dead.
He sent her a text reply the first opportunity he got.
“Yeah I got it. Who a u?”
He received an immediate reply.
“hw is it? Pls don’t ask hu I am, I won’t tell u.”
He decided if being nice could not get you anywhere, maybe this was the time to cheat.
“Lassani. Mama kemathy. But my girl kemathy ne kiwwa. I kno who u r. Ane ithin katha karannako”
But all he received for his ploy was this single sentence.
“I might txt u later 2day.”
And after that, later in the evening, he received a message asking him not to call that number because the phone did not belong to her. It also asked him to tell his girl not to worry.
And now this message. He really must do something to find out who this is. He really should…
*****
“I can’t tell him it is me who texts him I just can’t.” She sobbed. “You know what I do is not accepted by our culture. When a man takes the initiative, it is always bravery. But if a woman takes the initiative, it is always indecency.”
“Don’t be an idiot. Do you really think he would care? He is not like that. He will understand. It’s not like you are a married woman!!! You never even had a boyfriend!” Her friend replied.
“No. I will just stay like this. Let him marry someone he likes and live happily ever after. I just can’t live with his reaction if he got mad at me.” She buried her face in her friend’s lap and cried her heart out.
“It’s your decision,” Her friend softly mumbled.
*****
Exactly a week after his birthday, he was met with an accident. He got hurt a bit severely, that he had to be hospitalized, and remain in the hospital for three days. almost a week after he came home, he received a message.
"hey! I mite call u 2morrow mornin at about 7 am. Is it k?"
The girl does not know about my accident. He thought. He decided to tell her.
"I was met wit a small accident. Nw, I'm at home. Pls, cal me"
He was up early the next day. At 7.30 am, she called.
"What happened?", were her first words. He briefly explained how he fell into a gutter while walking.
"Where were you looking? You know, it's alright to dream. But when you are on the road, just watch where you go." she said in a bossy voice.
"I was watching." he said all defensively.
He thought it best to change the subject.
"So, you won't tell me who you are?"
"Make a guess." she said.
He said the name of the girl he thought she was.
"who is that?" she asked.
"Just one of my best students" he answered.
They continued their conversation. She put the phone down with the promise of calling again if she can. But she couldn't.
On an unforgettable day, she discovered that her affections are in vain. He has already found his destiny. She withdrew all her correspondence with him. Yet, he remained in her heart, and had a sacred place in it. She continued living for him and wishing for him.
*****
And then on his wedding day, a card arrived early in the morning. It too was hand-made. Inside was the smallest text she had ever written inside a card.
“I kept my promise; here’s your wedding card. But you never told me the taste of your girlfriend. I can only hope that she will like this. I will never message you again. But remember, I will always wish for your and your wife’s betterment. Frm???”
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