Thursday, March 8, 2012

The Mistake


I sit in the backseat of the taxi; cradling her. Her body is cold and almost of devoid of life. I ask her to be silent, but she keeps groaning. Sometimes there are quick gasp that feels like beeps off an ECG machine.

I ask the driver to speed up. I need to get there before it is too late. I am worried; it is entirely my fault. If only I was not in a hurry to get back home for the long weekend and celebrate…I look at her. A bead of sweat breaks from my forehead. She is sleeping now. Not a sound; I resolve not to disturb her.

I sit back and try to drink in the beauty of the evening sun about to sink into the depths of the blue ocean. I am unable to enjoy the golden hue over the sky and the cool wind that is blowing through my hair. My mind is too flustered. I sit there like a mannequin; not moving not speaking. At some point, I could not even hear my breathing. The only thought that kept roaming was “it’s entirely your fault. All of this...”.I shake my head in resignation. I know it is.

She is not the prettiest thing you will see. She is not lean or suave. She is, well, the unassuming friend everyone has. Petite, average looks but highly efficient for her size. It brings a smile on my face to remember the numerous times she saved me from forgetting things. She reminds me of all my friends’ birthdays. I forget, but she remembers and cheerfully tells me to call them. Off the records let me confess she is the one who is manages all my appointments. I mean it, all of them. From buying grocery to paying phone bill, she handles it all. She was a gift from heavens to a miserable small memory enabled clumsy oaf of a mortal (read me).

Still I let her down. Inspite of all my misgivings she had stuck to me. Sometimes I completely forget her and go out on my own. She rarely complains. Nevertheless, what I did on Friday surpasses all the evil I had ever done to her. (Is it something I did or something I did not?).Now she lays still, cold and there is a pall of gloom behind which death lingers.

The cab stops with a jerk. We have arrived. There is still time I console myself. I rush to the lift lobby, pressing the floor buttons. (People keep doing that, on normal days much to my chagrin, pressing the lift buttons continuosly.Dumbheads; it is not going to make the life arrive faster! Duh!)The lobby is almost empty and the people stare at us in curiosity. I jump into the lift before the people come enquiring.

I fly out of the lift running toward the cupboards. My hands tremble as I pull out the key. I chance a glance at her, prostrated on the table. Silence engulfs us.

I rummage through the papers, mentally cursing for not keeping the cupboard tidy, and finally find the lifesaver. I plug in the charger for her and she coughs up to life. The battery shows a charging sign. She will live. I let out a sigh of relief. In gratitude she beeps meekly,”5 new messages”. 


P:S This is in loving memory of my Nokia Express Music,which was nabbed couple of weeks back.I still miss her.    

36 comments:

  1. :/ You had me holding my breath in worry. Damn you woman!

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  2. One drama queen to another - I had a hunch that it would be a phone or a PDA all along.

    Good one.

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    1. Thank you..It was kinda obvious from the fourth para..May be I'll edit it a bit...

      Drama queen.I'll remember that..

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    2. AS: Were you referring to me too in this comment? :/

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  3. Honestly.. I realized you were talking about a device right around the time does not sport sleek metal bands, and highly efficient for her size came in. Until that time, I actually thought it was a person. After this paragraph of sleek bands, efficiency, and 'birthdays', I guessed it. This was around the time I could see the 'trying to hide the giggles' kinda writing, even though you kept a straight face.

    It was like "I know I've been taken for a ride, but what the heck, I'm enjoying it" :). Brilliant.

    Err...one small typo there - I jump into the life before the people come enquiring.

    I understand your loss...old phones really create that emotional bonding that phones these days strangely, don't generate.

    Had fun reading this, BL. Sakkathagitthu ;-)

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  4. Any review from you is a good one for me.I'll be fixing the typo.Thank you.I had missed that one.

    "Sakkathagitthu.."~ I like that...Long time since I heard someone use kannada.

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    1. Hmmm..I see you fixed some more 'teeny-weeny' things around there :P

      I knew your Mysore connection (my home town, btw), hence the kannada :)

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  5. Interesting.... but, from the latter paras, i kinda figured you were going to reach the phone.... but it was a fun, well written read..

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    1. :-) Thank you thank you..I've space to learn...

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  6. Losing a phone is always painful. I can feel the pain coz I lost one of my dearest some 3 years back.
    And about the story, you kept me guessing until second last para. Good one :)

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    1. I know the feelings.I've never lost a phone.They are died of old age and extreme use.This was the first one I lost in the prime of it's youth.Sniff...

      Thank you Thank you..

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  7. Lovely post!! kept guessing almost till the end...it gave me an "Aha" moment! enjoyable!

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  8. YES I HATE YOU...
    I was waiting for a hard hitting love story. You wrote so beautifully but the ending made me go :/
    hehehe good one! Loved the narration!

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  9. Hey, you had my heart thumping! You will never know what all crossed my mind till you revived her.

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  10. Engrossing!i enjoyed the description of nature and created confusion of urgency.
    But thanks for realizing me your presence here as there are many more write ups to read and comment.

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    1. Thank you Arpana...Let me know your thoughts..

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  11. That was damn tricky.. great personification!!! :)

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  12. awesome post...
    though i put all my emotion reading the post but that was worthy..

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  13. oh no!
    simply loved the way you took us to the climax!

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  14. New angle of narration:) even though bread crumbs are present curiosity holds till the end. cells are sort of similar to human beings like 'their responsibilities increase with the duration of their existence same as human beings'.

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  15. New angle of narration:) even though bread crumbs are present curiosity holds till the end. cells are sort of similar to human beings like 'their responsibilities increase with the duration of their existence same as human beings'.

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    1. Thank you Vinayak..Good to know you enjoyed it :-)...
      Yeah,sometimes you mistake your phone for a pet and feel guilty about buying a new one also..

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  16. how we get attached to our 'things' sometimes!!

    http://sushmita-smile.blogspot.in/

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  17. A great many emotions put through..

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  18. the ending is one big twist!!. Well written.

    How did you determine your mobile is a "she" and not a "he"?

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