She walked up and down waiting for his call. It being a Sunday. Once in a while. She’d relentlessly wait for every Sunday, to get those measly minutes to talk. When she could get to hear his voice!

It had been half a year since Saurabh shifted to a new city. Leaving Anamika behind in their very old city. She had by then begun to dislike it. With every passing month his calls kept reducing.

That was the last Sunday of the sixth month. He hadn’t even called her once! Her heart broke.

Anamika tried to cry herself to sleep that night. Waiting eagerly for that night to pass and get a gleam of the warm sun the next morning! The month of December was on it’s verge of end; and the night felt stretching like a chewing gum, stuck on the bottom of your slippers! Unwilling to get off! She twisted and turned in the uncomfortable train berth. She desperately tried to sleep on! It took two hours for the minute hand to shift from one to two!

She finally sat up and got off the berth. Sitting next to the window, taking in the gushing air, she tried hard to look into the darkness outside. All she could see were a few flickering lights at a distant corner of her vision. The train seemed to have been travelling around a deserted area, without any human intervention! Or these people were still in the ‘darker’ side of the country! She felt sorry for these people, for electricity had not reached them yet. Philanthropy surged within her, and her thoughts shifted from a guy miles away, to these less fortunates around.

Her anguish in being ignored and not loved back, was at bay. All of a sudden she felt resourceful! Thinking of ways and means to transform this nation! But she knew she had to start small. With herself!

It was 0200 hours, when her mobile beeped. She received a text message from one of her admirers;

“Hey gorgeous ‘nameless’ girl!”

It was an unknown number. But she knew exactly whom it came from. Her smile lit up the salty dry face! She felt shy. And wondered if she really was so gorgeous to be called so! She remembered the innumerable compliments on her eyes, and knew he wasn’t flattering. She knew she looked pretty. But somewhere deep within,  wanted to hear it from a particular person who refused to even talk to her!

She replied him back saying,

“*blushing*” and smiled at herself in teary eyes!

Anamika was a tough girl, with a soft heart. She always would trust people blindly; her strength as well as her weaknesses! She layed innocently like a blade, in the wrapper of shyness and ignorance. Her sharpness was not to be experienced until exposed! She chose to be one amongst the crowd, keenly listening to what the others had to say. But now, at that hour of the day she felt no one could hear the shrieks and shouts for her emotional battle for survival! She felt sick n queasy.

One last time, Anamika tried to call up Saurabh, but yet again his phone was switched off! She just wanted to know the answer to her eagerly awaited proposal. His silence confused her! It was over a month of this painful silence which was unbearable! She twitched and turned trying to sleep on the hard berth again. Remembering their first meet! At a public park. Amidst chaos!

She sent him a text message saying,

“It is high time to give me an answer!”

Within the next 10 minutes her mobile beeped. It was very much a known number now. Her hands trembled as she read Saurabh’s name flashing! Her heart skipped a couple of beats! She opened the message. Only to get a rejection. The gathered guts over six months were washed off in the pool of salt water pouring from her eyes. Her kohl left its place, and smeared across her face. 

An hour passed until she gained her composure back.

She never really imagined that the guy who begged her to meet, would run away when asked for an answer for a proposal! A coward in a brave suit! His mother, even after knowing the truth chose to hide it from Anamika.

Anamika sat there perplexed! How could he not answer her in time and tell her, he already loved someone else. He was already in a relationship! She felt helpless and betrayed for a few long moments.

The gloomy hours of the nights were eternal! She waited to witness a sunrise. A dawn to bring new joys. A morning to let go off the mourning! She felt as if the mental sickness has gripped her body, which by then had begun to ache. Her throat sore. And nose blocked! The very sign of her emotional breakdown.

She looked at her watch. It was half an hour before the sunrise. She kept staring outside hoping to see the light soon. She compared the time of the day with the time in her life. The dawn of putting behind yet another useless chapter. Live with crimson hued happiness forever. Smile brightly throughout the daylight of life!