It was about 8pm. Chaitanya had returned from a tiring tour. He freshened up while his mother served him his dinner.
He had returned couple of days earlier so that he could rest for a day or so before the regular grind of routine began.
With nothing much to do, he picked up one of his favourite books and lazily lay on his bed. He had this habit of reading till sleep took over. He rarely watched movies and TV was meant only for live sporting action.
It was almost 9.30pm when his mobile rang. He looked at the incoming number. It was an unknown number. He wearily answered the call…
“Chaits?” an excited voice asked, he found it faintly familiar. ‘Chaits’ was his short name when he studied in college. He instantly knew that someone from his college group had called.
“Hi!” he replied with equally excited tone thinking that a reunion party could be a possibility.
“Chaits!” the voice was now more excited, “Guru here…”
Chaits sprang out of his bed.
“Guru? Where the hell are you?” he was now absolutely excited to hear the voice on the other side, “Bugger, it’s almost seven years that I’ve seen you. You vanished right after our graduation.”
“I’m in your town and want to desperately meet you.”
“Is anything wrong?”
“No … You idiot … I’m getting married and I can’t think of anyone else other than you to share this happy news. Meet me tomorrow.”
“When and where?”
“At our regular joint – Rustomjee’s – I’ll meet you at 3pm. Be there…” he said and hung up.
Chaits looked at his phone in disbelief. In this modern age of technology, this guy had vanished without any trace and now had popped out of nowhere.
They had been ‘Best Friends’ since school. They had taken admission in the same college. They had studied the same stream of engineering. They had shared a flat between them in distant city of Pune instead of staying at a hostel. They had known each other completely. After graduation, Guru had moved to Chennai and from there – all the communication had stopped. Yet, the excitement of meeting up was complete…
Chaits lay on his bed, his mind strolling down the various lanes of his memories. The days of their college life were the best moments they had shared together.
One by one, he started to remember his other friends, the college campus, the vibrant crowd, the crushes they had on various girls who studied in different streams – all in the same campus. His stroll down his memory lanes stopped when he remembered – Anjali…