Hotel Moon

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Calling 9335….

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After dialing it for the zillionth time & promising himself to stop trying finally after this attempt, he would once again break the promise….and this would continue till the phone would ring & picked up before the first tring of tring tring showing an equal desperation form the other side as well….

“Hello….”, said a sweet, worried and a little too high pitched voice conveying that she must be having an extra long nose that processes the voice for a bit longer period… “ what happened?....where were you?”, she continued.

“Easy my Lucknow express of 11’o clock”, yes….. That’s what he called her after his friend Vijay once referred to her by that name, lacking any information about this particular girl friend (not gf) of his. He wouldn’t share or talk anything about this girl with Vijay who had every little piece of information about him ranging from the fact that a girl used to beat him when he was in Ist standard to the day of his first night fall, for no particular reason.

“I was trying your number……only to hear the frustrating tone”, the sweet voice replied….

“I am supposed to call you… not you…it makes it even more difficult for the call to connect…..anyways…..its the same problem everyday…..only today it took me two rounds of hostel before the call was connected”, ….. Reliance……although the network was a nightmare for those using Unlimited 16 pack, he would still have to go for it being out of choice.

“So what did you had in dinner…. Raka ji”

“I had the same food…omelet…..why did you choose that name for me…..” he said irritated…..but the irritation would succumb to the fact that he actually liked talking to her.

“I like it……I like to call you by that name…” she said gaily.

“Isn’t that the name of a villain in some movie…….is that why you call me that?”

“Exactly”

“But why…..what did I do to earn that god forsaken name”

“You know what you did…..besides I don’t attach you with any wrong deeds…so don’t bother”

“Oh….I know…..once I stole your heart & never gave it back….although I was generous enough to give you mine in return”, he said after he thought he understood the reason…..and gave it a chance so boldly…..boldly because they are still just friends and that strange invisible wall was still there to abstain them from being too frank with each other. He never had to worry about anything while talking to her…..not even that invisible wall…..in fact that invisible wall has actually been invisible as far as she was concerned. He never had to try to explain his humor to her because she always understood it as naturally as if she was meant to.

“Hmmm….your heart is beating really hard right know Raka ji”, she said ……continuing what was started by him.

“I was wondering what the gf of Raka would be called then....” he said and resumed after a pause…”Sirka”.

“& how’s that”, she asked, confident that it was not just any word that came up in his mind……

“Ok…..Raka’s love would be same as Raka……so she could be called as She-Raka…..or Ciraka…….or Sirka…… that’s how…….vinegar in English ;)” he said & waited for her reaction.

“wow….too good Raka ji….. am glad to be Sirka”, she said……stating what has been a tacit understanding between the two of them for so long…..

“Is it……so you are my girl-friend then…..or better to say…..am I your boy-firend?” he said as if he already knew the answer and waited for her to say yes so that he could then go on to complete something that was more important than this confession…..

“Yes” she said with all the confidence……”Yes” she said not to him but to herself……as if this was the first time she had dared told her inner…..thinking …….& rudely logical part who would never let her accept the truth……truth that she liked this guy with all her heart…… that this was what she has wanted for so long……to give him that position in her life…….”yes” she said to her mind, winning over it not by citing a stronger logic….. but by merely keeping the logic aside for a while…..

“Remember Sirka ji….I once promised you that I will make you remove that pic of your’s on orkut in which you look sad & have tagged it humorously as ‘no boyfirend’…..will you now remove that pic from the album?”……that was not a question……it was an order….an order which a proud major gives after winning a battle asking to report his victory to head-office………..an order which a proud salesman gives asking for a higher target after he has finished his biggest target of that year……

“Why do you want to see me happy?.....why?” she asked ……moved by the fact that he wasn’t as excited by the confession as by the fact that he could make her happy….

“I like it…….I like to see you happy…….”he snapped it in exactly the same gaiety as her’s a little while ago……

“you rememb..”, she said & was interrupted…

“yes I remember that smiley with eyelashes on yahoo messenger that you use at such occasions”

“It’s so easy talking to you……you generally always know what’s on my mind”

“same here dearest….”, he said and both went silent….

“…..dil ne….dil ko pukaara…..” he started singing ….not being actually aware of it that his vocal chords were active and it wasn’t playing just in his mind.

“you sing that song everyday……why…..what’s so special about this song?”, she asked casually.

“Don’t know……whenever I notice this tree out of my room’s window…..drenched in the moon’s light….this is the song that comes to my mind…..that’s it!........hey can you see moon right now?”

“Well…..if I slide down a little & then tilt my head a bit towards left…..yes I can see it…….why?

“Do you see those spots on moon?”

“Yes…..why” she asked….anxious for the answer…

“When I was a child….my mom used to tell me that there’s an old woman with a spinning wheel sitting next to a tree right there on the moon…. & I would desperately search for that old woman….trying to connect the dots to make one out of them……and would finally get tired of it…….and go to sleep in her embrace”

“That’s wonderful….but why did she had to do that?”

“Because I won’t go to sleep easily…..I kept playing with her scarf ;)” he smiled and continued…”I told the same story to my friends while sitting at assi ghat two days back……. But they all started laughing at me……that was when I realized that there actually was no old woman on the moon L…….their moms never told them about any such woman on the moon”

“But there is ……”, she replied.

“hahahah……..”, he smiled….but the smile was not of mockery……nor derogatory in any sense whatsoever……it was a smile of realization that this girl wants to believe what he believed……that she was ready to believe anything if that helped…… in any sense…….to keep him happy…..and so he continued taking advantage of fragility of her mind at the moment……”yes of course she is there…… and if you walk about 7 to 8 miles east of that tree …..you would find a hotel…… my hotel…..and if you allow me …… you can be the only guest of its services……”

“Uh-huh? and what’s so special about this hotel”

“That it was built only for a single purpose….. to wait for you……to wait for the time when you would come to visit and never leave….. would you like to know what it is like from inside?”

“Yeah sure…..”, was all she could say…..

“It has everything in white….all the walls… the roofs…..the floor……… with the furniture, the fencings and the hanging lamps in steel silver color….. The roses in the glass vase seem a bit out of place there… as if the owner never wanted them as he hates plucking flowers, but had to keep them there in a hope that the visitor may like them”

“When can I come” she asked….her voice heavy this time.

“Not right now……I will have to do some cleaning first…….. Its all messed up……. I can come to pick you up tomorrow….what ride would like to have?”

“It’s amazing how you can always make me smile …..Whatever the situation may be ……..well an i10 would do for the time…….”

“Ohk….its done then…….but we can only meet there in our dreams”

“What’s the name of this Hotel?”

“…it’s…… Hotel Moon…”

“Nice name……” she said …being out of words as usual ….. “will have to go to sleep now…… I have to start the day early……..” she continued after a while…..being assured that he will still not let her disconnect the phone for a little while.

“Oh I hate this part…..when I have to say you good bye…… lets not say good bye ever again …….. I don’t like saying that to you…….I like saying hello…… I want more hellos…….”

“So do I dearest …..but I have to wake up early”

“Hmmm I have an idea….lets go to sleep and meet at Hotel Moon…..”

“You said you need to clean it first…. And that you would pick me up tomorrow……”

“It is tomorrow Sirka ji…….. look at your watch….its 12:03 AM”