Moments

It was a hard day I said to myself as I entered my room. I was pretty tired and reclined on the chair. Naturally, my eyes closed. My thoughts drifted and took me away to a far far land.

I was standing on the edge of a cliff. Pretty high. It was almost dusk. I could watch the sea below. The sea appeared blue and stretched far into the distance, as far as I could see. The sound of the waves breaking against the rocky bottom on the cliff was distinct. The sky was crimson, with a streak of bright white light. Little birds flying in the distance appeared as black spots in the canvas of the sky. They were perhaps returning to their nest to feed their young ones. A strong cool breeze was blowing on my face. I could feel the force of the wind as I stood there. I spread my arms to feel the wind, as if I was hugging it. I was lost in the moment. So calm, so peaceful, so beautiful !

And so contrary !

What if ?

Some day in my life...

8:00 PM :

As usual I went to the mess with my friends to have food. The food served at IIT is awful, to say the least. So, we decided to go over to the adjacent canteen instead. My dinner consisted of a plate of butter maggi, one plate of bread-butter and two cups of hot ginger tea. While having food our discussions ranged from the recently concluded GATE examination to the biggest psycho amongst our friends.

8:45 PM :

I returned to my room. The computer was running and there was this gtalk chat window suggesting that a friend had messaged me while I was away. She was already offline. So just messaged her back and closed the chat. I had some important graphs to show to my B.Tech project guide. I thought it would be a better idea to complete the graphs first. So started with it.

11.20 PM :

Finally all the graphs were done. Origin Pro 7.5 helped me a lot ! I checked the gtalk list again . However, there wasnt anyone online who I thought would be a good company at that time. I had already watched two movies today. So sleeping was the only option !

The next day.....

7.20 AM :

I opened my eyes with great reluctance. I was inside a soft blanket. And felt that my hands were wrapped around someone. I was shocked ! That person was looking at the other side. As I tried to get up from bed in a haste, I had a look at that person. To my utter astonishment, I saw a woman ! A light green gown. Black long hair. Black eyes. Around 23. She was beautiful. She looked happy as if she was smiling in her sleep. I was terribly scared ! I had totally no clue about anything. I stood there looking at her, still thinking what had happened. I remembered that I had slept in my hostel room !!!

Where am i ? was the question running all over my mind.Suddenly she woke up. Rubbing her sleepy eyes she got up and rested against the back of the bed.

Good morning honey ! she said.

I did not know how to respond. I even did not know her. I had never met her in my life. But she seemed to recognize me well ! I stood there blank faced. Out of no where the words Good morning came out of my mouth. She smiled at me and got up from bed and walked towards the large mirror to her right. While she watched herself in the mirror, she asked me to get ready for breakfast.

I had no option !

I immediately went to the bathroom and closed the door behind me. I was still trying to figure out the situation. From inside I could hear her quarreling with the mirror about her looks. Oh God ! these women !! was the thought that crossed my mind. But then Hey, who is this woman? I suddenly had this thought that, may be I was in a dream.

Pinched myself. Ouch !! It was real !

As I turned around, whoaaaa !!! Who is this ? I stared open-mouthed at the mirror. It was not me !!!! I examined the face closely. It was me, but I looked older!! And it was definitely not the same clothes I wore last night ! I started to panic now. What happened to me over a night ? How did I change so much ? How did I get to this place ? And who is this girl outside ?

Knock ! Knock !!! Open the door honey.

What should I do now ? What should I tell her ? Should I tell her that I do not even recognize her? How do I explain my situation to her ? Should I open the door or not ?

Yes, coming in a minute.

Be fast, you will get late for office was the reply.

Office !! God, what is happening here ? I did not know even what company I worked for.

8:25 AM :

I came out after sometime. There was no one in the room. I went to the wardrobe and picked some clothes. I was getting ready for office ! Suddenly I noticed something on a small rack on the wall. It was a photo frame.There I was, not alone though. She was there too. And we both were smiling. From what it seemed, she was my wife !!!

I could hear a mobile phone ringing at that instant. Looked around and found one lying besides the bed. Whose phone is it now ? I wondered it must be mine ! Picked it up.

My god! The mobile had the woman's picture as the wallpaper. And at the top-

08:25 AM 12-05-2012

I was in 2012 ! I could not believe my eyes. How could I be in 2012 ? It was only 2008 when I slept in my hostel room last night. I was in a trance. I was lost. The mobile was still ringing.

Are you there in the room ? The phone is ringing. Pick up the phone. I could hear my wife. That brought me back into the room.

Hello....

Hello Mr. Mishra, this is Saxena. I got to inform you about a sudden change in plan today. Instead of our office, we will be meeting the clients at their office. Be ready. I will come and pick you up in about 20-25 mins.

The mysterious Saxena hung up before I could ask him anything. I went out of the bedroom to find my wife at the dining table. She was preparing breakfast for her husband quite unaware of the fact that he had no clue when they got married ! Confused how to act in front of her, I put up a smiling face. As if she was the only one I ever knew since I was born on this planet.

Mr.Saxena arrived in 20 mins !

8:45 AM :

I said good bye to my wife and set off for the meeting with Mr. Saxena. While in the car Mr. Saxena said he wanted to discuss some issues about the meeting. I was still thinking about the 4 years that I lost in a night. Moreover, I did not have any inkling to what the meeting was about. I tried to avoid any discussion on it.

Oh Mr. Saxena I know you have worked hard on it. I am sure you have prepared quite well. Infact, I would also like to give you the opportunity to present this in front of our clients. Do not worry. I will be with you and back you up. But I am pretty sure, you would not need it.

There was a glow on this Saxena's face.

Really Mr. Mishra ?

Oh yes ! I am not kidding.

Thank god, I am saved. I thought to myself.

We reached the clients' office. Mr. Saxena took the lead in the presentation while I sat in the conference hall besides him, pretending to back him up. I was just praying for the meeting to end as soon as possible !

The meeting was a successful one. We clinched a good deal ! Mr. Saxena was ecstatic and thanked me for giving him that privilege. I humbly replied that he deserved it.

Mr.Mishra, lets take a break now. It was a good day ! I will drop you back at your home.
Yeah ! Thanks to you Mr. Saxena, we now have this contract !

Mr. Saxena dropped me at home.

4:10 PM :

My wife opened the door. I followed her to the living room.

So early today ?
Yeah the meeting wrapped up soon. Mr. Saxena was good ! ..............Can i get coffee ?
Oh sure, wait I will get it for you. Why dont you get fresh ? I will bring some snacks as well.
No, just get me coffee please.

4:25 PM :

She came back with 1 cup of coffee.

You not having ? I asked her.
No, I just had food sometime ago. Hey you have coffee, I was watching this nice culinary program. I will make you a special dish today !
Oh yeah, you watch !

I picked up the coffee mug and went to the window. The coffee had a nice aroma. She definitely likes to prepare good food - I wondered. And she loves me a lot too. As I looked out of the window and sipped the hot coffee, I tried to recollect the lost episodes of my life.

What about the last 4years ? What was I doing ? Why dont I remember anything about it ? I had no knowledge of anything that happened in those 4 years.

I had no clue about the last 4 years of my life !