And Then He Simply Forgot

She was lively, talkative and a gem of a person. At the same time, she was also very shy when she was with people who were just acquaintances or whom she just knew off hand. It was that same quality of hers which led her to not actually knowing and meeting him for their childhood, adolescence and past the prescribed age of adulthood. She knew he existed, he knew she existed through a common friend, but the two never had a rendezvous. He was moody, unpredictable, practical and sometimes abrupt and unreadable. Finally it was due to accident that they both met.

The common link between the two, Rohit, was undergoing a very bad phase in his life. So it happened that Ashlesha and Mayank, both very close to Rohit landed at Rohit's place at the same time one day. Rohit introduced them to each other and it was a spontaneous reaction from Ashlesha that she said to Mayank that yes, she had heard a lot about Mayank from Rohit. Mayank mumbled something which resembled a hi.

Ashlesha was going to be in town at stay at Rohit's for some days, she wasnt a resident of that town. Mayank stayed nearby so he was used to dropping in frequently at Rohit's. That day, Rohit was not at home. Ashlesha was sitting there, wondering what to do. She looked at Mayank and sensed that he was getting bored. Ashlesha offered to give him company to go out for a drive if he wished to. They went for a drive and Mayank was a good driver. What followed was a chat between the two ranging from Rohit to their likes and dislikes and it felt as if there was no time and space existent. The drive culminated into dinner and then Rohit dropped Ashlesha home. Ashlesha kept thinking long till midnight about the incessant banter they both indulged in earlier that evening.

Just then, she got a text. It was from Mayank. It read " I hope I didnt bore you to death with my blabbering". Ashlesha smiled to herself and replied to the text saying "No not at all. Good night".
Time flew as it had never did before and Ashlesha had to go back home. Till then she was in constant touch with Mayank and even after she was back home in another town, the calls continued. Infact, the duration of the calls started increasing remarkably. Ashlesha found herself restless whenever Mayank did not call. It was great when he used to call. Staying awake late in the night had become a ritual.
This went on for quite a few months. Mayank meanwhile got a new job and so did Ashlesha.

Mayank called and told Ashlesha that he would be visiting her town for work and wanted to meet her as well. Ashlesha was already excited about Mayank's arrival. Soon, he came down. The two spent the day going around, shopping and eating out. The other day, they just lounged in at Ashlesha's place and didnt go out at all. Then came a moment of weakness after knowing each other for quite sometime for both of them, but they soon got a hold of themselves and carried on as they were.

Finally, it was time for Mayank to go, about which Ashlesha was not very willing. Nevertheless, he promised to be in touch. By this time, Ashlesha was totally involved in Mayank and she didnt know how. He left and she sat there thinking about him.

Later, the calls from Mayank somehow started becoming scanty and then they stopped completely. The pretext probably was his being very busy with his work. Ashlesha tried to hang on the thin rope of hope that he might call, but he never did. Her texts asking how was he or how was life were returned with dry replies. It seemed to her that it was a different Mayank all together. She could not decipher why.

And one fine day, the calls totally stopped. He simply forget her. Ashlesha was clueless about the reason for the stopped communication. The thought that what apparently led him to stop being in touch with her sometimes crops up in her mind, even though she has moved on in life.

Every story does not have a happy ending. May be its just one of them.