TESTED "POSITIVE"

Thinking about the incident, sleep evaded my eyes every night. Whenever my phone beeped, I wished it was her. But my expectation always ended in disappointment. Every time I close my eyes, that incident flashes. Unable to overcome her thought, I started binge watching Netflix every night. But all my efforts went in vain.

I don't know when I feel asleep but when I woke up, there was no power in the house and my phone was dead. Power cut was predominant during summer just like the monsoons with the rainfall. I plugged the charger to my phone and went to the living room to mark my presence before everyone in the house.

"Coffee or Tea?" Mum asked.

I denied her offer as it was quarter past twelve, time for lunch.

I found that dad was busy with cleaning the shelf during my lunch. So I didn't disturb him.

Out of the blue, a thunderous sound came from our quarantined street. Mum and I raced to the balcony to know what the sound was. We saw a mob of people protesting and throwing stones on an ambulance stopped near the street end. We stood there for half an hour without knowing the back story of the protest. It was then we heard it through our neighbor that the doctor who was hospitalized due to COVID -19 had died and people in the colony were not allowing the body to be buried in their crematorium, as it could lead to spread of the disease. On hearing this, I said to myself in anger how stupid the people were!

I heard my dad shouting my name from the living room. So, we both went inside. He showed me a box which was cloaked in dust and asked me to clean it. After cleaning, I found that it was the old chess board which dad and I used to play every day during my childhood. As I was confident about my winning streak against dad, I challenged him for a match. Certainly the chess board had created an enthusiasm in him as well. 

So, he gave his consent without wasting a second but on a bet that the loser must get the groceries for the household for the upcoming week.

Dad vs Me

We both started the game and Mum was assigned the dual role as the judge and the spectator. The game didn't last even for five minutes and dad check mated me within 5 steps. I was flabbergasted and still couldn't believe what happened five minutes ago. So, I asked him for a recap of the moves he had played. My mum laughed at me. But dad explained it calmly with a grin. Still unrecovered from the initial shock, my mum gave me another shock. She showed me a picture of young dad holding a trophy written "first place" in "state level chess tournament". I was taken aback for a moment. I realized that dad had been sacrificing his victory for me since my childhood. A drop of tear rolled down my eyes which went unnoticed as the power came. I thanked God for saving me from an embarrassing situation.

Since the power had been restored, TV started playing. I came to the conclusion that dad must had been watching the TV before the power cut. I came to this conclusion because of the fact that in most households it is always the Dad who watches news channels often.

The breaking news displayed in the TV caught my attention.

It read "Vizag Gas Outburst: over 1000 hospitalized and 10 dead."

Vizag Gas Outburst

On hearing the news, tears brimmed my eyes and was about to explode.

I rushed to my bedroom and searched for my phone. I dialed her number, again and again. But no response came from the other end. All my calls went in vain. The whole world shrank before me. Like a log of wood, I fell on my bed with tears flowing from my eyes. I recalled the incident that happened a day before the lock down.

A day before the lock down...

I was waiting for Mounika in our usual Domino's restaurant. It was the first time in three months we were meeting. The reason was that she was preparing for her CAT exams back in her hometown Vizag. She flew to Chennai to get her transfer certificate from our college and also to meet me. After a few minutes of waiting, she entered the restaurant. Her eyes were rummaging for me. Without much effort, she found me and waved her hand. I stood from my spot and waved her back. She looked perfect in her black denim and white graffiti tee. It was then I realized that she had shed weight during those three months. She politely apologized for being late and extended her hand. I shook her hand and gave a half hug. Finally, we settled down. After few formal greetings, we glanced the menu and ordered our dishes. Throughout the dinner, we gossiped a lot from the PM to the person beside our table. During our conversation she also mentioned that she would be flying back to Vizag the next day. By the time we finished the dinner, it was already late. So, I suggested to drop her to her apartment. To which, she consented with a smile. Throughout the journey, we recalled all our precious moments in the college. I dropped her and was about to bid goodbye to her. She said,

“I missed you in those three months and I don't wanna miss you for the rest of my life. So...?” She paused.

“Will you be with me always, as my love?” She proposed all of a sudden.

It came out of the blue and I was stunned.

Unable to answer her proposal, I vanished from the spot without biding her goodbye.

My phone rang and it pulled me back to the reality. I expected it to be from Mounika but it was from Mum. She reminded me to have dinner and then sleep. But I denied her.

No call or message from Mounika. There was no sign of her. Is she alive? A question popped up in my mind. I started praying to all the God that existed to save her for my sake. While praying, a tear rolled down from my eyes. I confessed to God that I wanted her to know that I love her. Thinking about her, another tear dropped down. My head was heavy with a pile of thoughts about her existence and my eyes were swollen. Exhausted mentally, I tried to sleep.

Today…

Just like every day, I woke up at the afternoon and went to the living room to mark my presence to everyone. My dad reminded me of the bet and asked me to get the groceries for the house. Caged inside the four walls with her memories, I badly needed some fresh air. So, I fetched the list, bag, face mask and the key to my bike and went outside. As I was approaching to the super market, my eyes caught attention of a familiar bike number “TN 08 1013”. I stopped my bike and parked it outside the shop. I saw a masked girl with familiar eyes coming out the Mi service center. I patted her shoulder. She turned around and removed her mask. The moment she uncovered the mask, my heart skipped a beat. It was “Mounika”. She was standing right before me. Was she real? Or just my daydream? Is she alive? Or just a ghost in the daytime? Several questions popped up in my mind. She pinched me and pulled me back to the reality.

"You said you will be flying back to Vizag the next day. What happened? How are you here? No phone call or message either. No sign of your existence. Why? What happened? Did I offend you that day?" I shot an array of my questions at her.

She made me calm by shutting my mouth with her hand and explained her part of the story.

"After you left, I was climbing the stairs to my apartment. Thinking about you, I lost my balance and my phone slipped through my hand and it broke. The next day, when we were all set to leave to the airport to fly back to Vizag, a group of corporation officials came to our house and informed us not to travel and instructed us to be in self quarantine for at least 14 days, since our maid had fell sick and was tested positive for COVID-19. So, we didn't fly to Vizag. Since my phone broke, I couldn’t text or call anyone. Owing to the lock down relaxations, today I came to give my mobile for repair. I missed you so much during the quarantine." She said.

"I thought I lost you, forever. I was worried about you all the time. I could never lose you again. I wanted you to know that I really need you by my side always. So..." I paused.

I saw the curiosity in her eyes growing word after word.

"Be with me always. Be my love, forever!" I confessed.

Forgetting the people and the concept of social distancing, she hugged me as tightly as she could until I was “lost” in her love and tested “positive” for love.

Tested "Positive"