chapter-1

love was never found because,

it was never lost in the first place.

CHAPTER--1

I Smiled, she smiled back.

I hate cats, those hairy little monsters always bugged me, pricked my nerve every time they jump over my neighbour's wall, play with yarn or just sit there staring at me through my window.

I was an eight-year-old boy living in the very capital of a very versatile country called India.  My mother and I lived in a very small apartment with a room, a hall and a bathroom not bigger than many people’s closet. My father lived way south from us; he had his own job in Chennai and me, stuck with my mom in Delhi. Not that I loath to live with my mom, I just hated the place.

Delhi was too alien to me, people speak something which I totally don’t get and they don’t smile at you from time to time. My neighbourhood was the worst; I hated every darn soul around me. It was like they were designed to be hated. My neighbour next door particularly. She owned a cat and I don’t like cats, especially not that one.

Her name was rosy, she was an Anglo-Indian, her husband was an ex-navy officer and she fell in love with his manliness which I find hard to believe. Probably he tricked her, did some magic tricks which only us, Indian’s know.

“Packed your bags?” my mom shut the hall door

“I did” I smiled at her.

“its good to see you smile from time to time” she hugged me.

“That’s because am going to see daddy, I miss him a lot, I miss Chennai and its food and its people” I sighed

“I do too but don’t get too attached, we will be leaving to Karnataka soon, and mommy has to do her job” she kissed me on my cheeks.

“I hate your job, will I be like this too? When I get old?” I turned my face away, I have to spend half my years roaming from one state to another, my mom’s job was kind of complicated and over demanding.

“Everyone does, I just hope you don’t”

I did not know what to say, I probably did not understand the essence of that statement at that point in time. I turned my face away and looked through the window.

My neighbour was playing with her cat, that old women had nothing else to do probably. I saw Mr Thomas, the old lady’s husband sitting in their yard and reading his daily. I always wanted to play in a yard, I liked open places, you don’t feel trapped, and you can run wild, run free.

A car pulled in and I saw Thomas light up for the very first time in years, he was suddenly full of life, he usually moves like a dead person unwillingly dragged by a trolley but this time it was life like. He got up from his rocking chair and walked in a very unsteady yet precise way towards their big gate.

“grandpa!!” a young about my age girl rushed out of the car, her hair was gold with a pale skin, I could easily figure out that she was a foreigner. She carried a small pink suitcase with her, it was very small to hold any of her daily supplies but I guessed that she just carried it around for no particular reason.

She wore a blue frock with matched her cute little face with a pinkish touch, her cheeks were red and her lips were pink. Her eyes, the colour of the sky, I wanted to look up close, so I climbed down my house and went to the backside of our common corridor which gave a better view of their house.

The crowd was gone, everyone probably went back into their big house, my face fell, I looked up the sky and thanked the lord for nothing and turned around to go back to my house but then I had a gushy feeling, a rush, a warm breeze, I turned around and found the little girl chasing a ball, I did not stop staring until she looked up at me and waved her hand, I immediately turned my face away and ran out of that dumpy corridor. I don’t know why I did that, I wanted to talk to that girl but was not able to, probably I have a crush I thought but am just eight, people don’t have crushes at eight, do they?.

“Raj?” my mother yelled.

“Coming!” I yelled back, most of our conversations start with a yell.

“Get your bags, our train leaves in an hour and I do not intend to miss that.” she said stuffing her bag with cloths and rags.

I took my two bags and ran down the stairs; I hit the long pavement on the road. My mother was doing her last checks on the house.

I waited outside, I couldn’t help but notice, the girl I saw in rosy’s yard was playing fetch with the all-time annoying cat.

“Fetch is for dogs! She is crazy!” I thought but did not stop staring.

She found me starting again but this time she did not raise her hands, but instead she shoos the cat away and ran towards me, I felt my heart beating faster by the second, it was like it is about to fall out of its socket.

“Hey!” she said, with a big smile.

“Oh.. Hi..” I nervously smiled.

“You live around here?” she asked with an accent.

“Not anymore” I tried to make it sound American but it really did not.

“Moving eh?” she asked as if she knew me for ages.

“ya, back to my hometown, am from south India so ya.. Where are you from? You don’t seem Indian”

“I get that a lot, am half Indian, my grandfather is Indian. I suppose you know him?”

“yes, Mr Thomas”

“my grandmother is from Australia... you know...” she gave out a big smile, I liked that, I like it when women smile, some people call it a trap but it’s just an ingenuousness art.

“Oh, so you live in Australia?”

“Yes! It’s a cool place. Am here for my vacation” she looked into my eyes as if she is telling me a big secret.

“I see, nice to meet you” I extended my hands

“you seem nice” she giggled and shook it.

“People mostly don’t talk that much in here but at my place, even strangers become family at times”

“You feel the same!?” she snapped.

“You do too!?” I joined her with a fake surprise.

“So you leaving now?” she looked at my bags. I had a travel bag and a big sack like thing near me.  

“Yup, mom’s upstairs, she is checking if she left something behind”

“That’s cool.” she said, I hoped that she would say goodbye and end this but some part of me wished for the contrary, paradox it is.

“So what’s up?” I tried the classic icebreaker.

“Ah nothing much... just playing with my cat. I love cats, what about you? Do you like cats?”

“I love them too!” I lied my a*s off.

“Raj! Taxi is here!” my mother yelled as she climbed down the stairs.

“I think I have to go." I said looking at her light blue eyes and pinkish face.

“raj, cool name, see you around” she waved.  

“what’s your name?” I asked picking up my bag.

“Linda, Linda Thomson” she smiled.

“nice name” I smiled. She smiled back.

Author's Note

there might be some dumb typos and mechanics. bare with it. you guys keep me running and I thank you all from bottom of my heart. open for any sort of criticism