Short Story: Is it Him?

“Hello”, she answered the call. There was no reply from the other side, she again asked, “Hello?” Still nothing, she disconnected the call and thought for a second, “Could it be Him?” She snapped out of her thought and bought herself to the reality. She started working on her new blog post that she was writing and threw the thought of the blank call from her mind. Her mobile rang again, she was frustrated, but saw her mother’s name and she calmed down, “Yes Ma?” She heard the sweet voice of her mother from the other side, “Happy Birthday” She thanked her mother and spoke to her a while and kept the phone. The day passed and she kept on receiving a few calls from her friends, colleagues and Facebook Friends.

It was evening and it was time for some cake cutting. Every year she bought a cup cake for herself and celebrated the birthday all by herself. She went to the nearest cake shop and bought the green color looking cupcake with one birthday candle. She left the shop and placed the order for dinner from her mobile app. She reached home before the food could arrive and she waited until the door bell rang. It was the food delivery. She took the food placed it on two plates and lit the candle and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to herself and took a bite of the cupcake and kept the rest on the other plate. She looked at the time and started eating the dinner sharp at 9 PM.

It was time for her to sleep, as she had to go to work, the next day. She looked at her living room and smiled and switched off the lights and went to sleep. Next day morning she woke up to someone ringing her door bell continuously. She slept in that day, again. It was her colleague from work who had come to pick her up. She informed her colleague that she would be late, and asked her to leave. Her colleague peeped into the house and saw two plates of empty food and said, “Ohhh! Had a great birthday, haan?” The colleague left. She closed the door and looked at the plates and was shocked. Who ate the other plate? She wondered.

She was freaked out of this rented apartment and considered it has some spirits in it. She decided to leave the place, leave the city and go back home for a while. She gave her resignation and went back to her hometown to be with her mother. She told her mother about the incident and her mother asked, “Did you keep the second plate for Him?” She nodded. Her mother was angry and kept on grumbling, “Told you so many times, just forget him and the incident. You keep on considering him as alive. It is time you know he is dead.” She was angry too on her mother, she told her mother not to consider him dead as for he; he was alive.

She went for a walk, leaving her mother in the house and sat on a bench in the garden near her house. She closed her eyes and wept. She wept like a baby and told herself that she would never ever fall in love again. She and he were meant to be together, but now as he is not there, she would be single always. Just then she found someone sitting next to her. It was Him. “How is it possible?” She asked herself. He smiled and said, “You loved me, a lot. I know, but do you think, I can come back? Do you think I will get a new body if you don’t release me? If you keep thinking of me, I will always be around, but is that making anyone happy? People will call you names and no one will believe that I am actually around, in your imagination.” She said, “Imagination? No you are there with me.” He smiled and said, “Do you really think, I can be alive after that crash?” She cried.

She realised, she has to let him go. She went back to the rented apartment in the city and opened his closet. She had arranged all his clothes and kept them all. She also kept his ashes in the closet, so that he is always with her. She cried and gave away every single thing that belonged to him. She flew all the way to Ganges and gave him his last tribute by letting his ashes go, in the Holy Water. She cried and went back to a normal life – Took up a better job and loved being alone.

Her new company hired a new CEO, who was almost her age and was pretty good looking. He reminded her of him. She smiled at him, but didn’t bring her dead lover in her thoughts. It was almost two years since she made room in her apartment and now it was time for her to move to her husband’s house. She got married to the CEO and on the night of the marriage, while they were having the wedding reception she got a call on her phone; she received it and said, “Hello” and no one ever answered.

This is a short story that came to my mind instantly when I read the word Hello here. Do read it and let me know if you’ll want to read more short stories…