Nautical Miles - Away from Love

By Rohan Dwivedi

An incredible journey of the love, the life, the sacrifice, and the pride of a mariner before, during and after on board life through a story full of emotions, fun, entertainment, romance, suspense, intensity, problems, but most importantly a larger than life touching story depicting true love of Armaan and Malishka along with an appeal to all the national and international maritime authorities for a cause attached.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: Feb 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9781482859102

Rohan Dwivedi

Writing did not directly come to me. The art of observation and ability of deep thinking is one one side, but to pen down the observations and thoughts into words and make it the size of a book needs inspiration. I had been an average student throughout my school life and then I went for my mechanical engineering in one of the top engineering colleges of India where I had all the fun, made the best of friends and did everything apart from studies. Four years of college got over in no time and I then decided to join Merchant Navy which is where my journey began. It was one year of strict training I underwent in the middle of which an incident I have mentioned in the book occurred and gave me a glimpse of what I was getting into. The general perception of people on shore about a mariner’s life is money, and adventures of travelling all around the world and seeing different places. My training got over and I went on board on a chemical tanker, leaving my loved ones behind. I was then a part of the practical on board life. There was so much that I realised in those six months. When people talk about big money, I started thinking of what the money is for. Is it for working in the deafening noise and extreme temperatures? Is it for taking care of the complicated machinery, the type and number of which on board is more than what you would find in any other place? Is it for ensuring that the sea is not unnecessarily polluted by oil? Is it for working even more carefully in rough seas when the ship is rolling 20 degrees and you feel like vomiting when it pitches? Is it for handling the most dangerous and flammable cargo where one small mistake can lead to disasters? Is it for sailing unarmed and risking your life in the piracy prone areas? Is it for getting injured or breaking a leg having no professional doctor on board and still working for ten days because the nearest land is ten days away and there is no one else to do your job? Is it for fighting fire because you cannot call a fire brigade? Or is it for staying thousands of miles away from your loved ones who don’t even know how you are and where you are till the time you don’t call them because they cannot? I combined all these reasons and could not set a price for the work. I sailed for six months and could go out only four times and that too ended up being a shopping complex nearest to the port. All other things did not bother me because they are a part and parcel of the profession and nothing can be done about it. But I got stuck and started to think of reasons as to why the existing necessities are not being provided. I saw the reality of the on board life and compared it to the distance of the people on land from this reality. I felt as if I went a century or two back in time. I saw the lack of two-way communication there, the suffering of the people on board and their families back home, mine included. My inspiration was right there. I had a beautiful and touching story to tell and a cause attached and I could think of a better combination to start writing. It took me nine and a half months of being underground and not meeting people because I knew that no one would understand. But, this was one one thing I genuinely believed needed to be written about and that belief and inspiration drove me forward in those nine and a half months. All the observations and thoughts automatically started flowing in the form of words and I started loving it. I am blessed to have the best of parents who have always been there with me, supported me and taught me to take things on the chin rather than running away from them. I have the best of friends who have always been there for me even in the weirdest hour. It was my second last month on board that I decided to write a book on this life and told my third engineer about it. He was someone who treated me just like his younger brother and he never stopped believing in me. I hope that he doesn’t feel let down after reading it. I always knew that no one is including me would read a book on this life if I randomly write about it and raise a cause. But, I also knew that if I attach entertainment, love and emotions in the form of a story to it, it will reach out to people. All stories end with a full stop, but this is probably one of the rare ones which ends with a question mark. This is the most heart felt thing I have ever done. This is the most satisfying thing I have ever done. But, this is only as far as I could take it alone. I decided to write a story and bring it in front of the very same people we sail months for and let them decide and raise a voice too. I hope this is read by millions, it reaches out to billions and finally to the people concerned.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 by Rohan Dwivedi.

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-4828-5912-6

                Softcover       978-1-4828-5911-9

                eBook            978-1-4828-5910-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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CONTENTS

Chapter {1}

Chapter {2}

Chapter {3}

Chapter {4}

Chapter {5}

Chapter {6}

Chapter {7}

Chapter {8}

Chapter {9}

Chapter {10}

Chapter {11}

Chapter {12}

Chapter {13}

Chapter {14}

Chapter {15}

In the loving memory of my grandmother,

Mrs Shashi Prabha Dwivedi.

CHAPTER {1}

I t was a Saturday morning when I woke up with the sound of my alarm clock at 6 a.m. I brushed, wore my PT uniform, and quickly rushed for the fall-in. Five rounds of running and forty-five minutes of exercise every morning, life had certainly become boring and monotonous. Nearly three months of my pre-sea training at the ‘Marine Engineering Institute’ were over and I had been behaving like a good, obedient boy in the eyes of wardens, teachers, and my colleagues. But the truth was that I was silently observing and trying to figure out the loopholes in the system. I knew the training would be tough, so I came into the training with two back-to-back broken relationships of decent magnitude. Obviously, the time before coming to Mumbai had been emotional, but I felt I did the right thing, even though it led to broken hearts.

The only holiday we used to get was a half day off on Sunday after morning fall-in. But, everyone needs holidays, right? There had not been a single morning fall-in on Sunday for the past three months, occasionally night fall-in used to be there. Even the wardens loved enjoying their Saturday nights and Sundays. So why can’t the cadets? The time had come to stop behaving like a good boy and start being what I truly was. This was the day I had decided to go out to my cousin’s place for a night out, my first night out of the training.

The whole day had to be spent in the campus following the normal training schedule. Engineering drawing was a subject which used to give me nightmares during my first year in the engineering college. It wasn’t just me, it was the most hated subject of at least 95 per cent of my batchmates, one subject whose class we prayed got cancelled next day. But, marine engineering drawing was worse, more so because we had to carry those huge drawing boards along with drafters and chart papers up to the sixth floor as cadets were not allowed to use lifts. People who were good at drawing used to be considered angels as they were in high demand of helping others during exams. Imagination in drawing was no way near to being my cup of tea. I cannot properly visualize the top view, side view, and front view of a hot girl, then what will I visualize of a bilge suction strainer or ten other drawings we had to draw? Whether it was my mechanical engineering college or marine engineering college, I spent those three hours of drawing class only passing my time, even which was really tough though. Taking rounds of the classroom, spending five minutes at each of my friends’ seats were means of survival. When the professor would become strict, I would go to the washroom twenty times during the class, play games on my cell phone hiding in the toilet, and bribe my friends to draw for me later.

The first three months had been tough; the first one was the toughest. Being disciplined, running so much, doing a lot of exercise, fifty floors up and down daily, workshops, lectures, neat and clean uniforms, army-cut hair were things I was doing for the first time in my life. Leading a disciplined life after being undisciplined throughout my earlier life was really tough. Also, I had a dormitory room shared by four people which had no mobile network of any company. Talking felt like travelling, life truly sucked. I needed to change my room, so I asked my dad to help me out in getting a single room. Yeah, that is exactly how I was. For any problem, he was the one I would go to first and he would always help me out. For my dad, being a master mariner himself, helping me out in getting a single room was a minor job.

It was my evening fall-in a couple of months earlier when I saw the deputy director standing there. All cadets and wardens were on their toes.

‘Good evening, sir,’ everyone said.

The deputy director went inside the warden’s chamber, and came out two minutes later. The warden came out of his chamber soon after him and called me.

‘The deputy director wants to talk to you, go and meet him outside the building,’ the warden said to me.

It was about my single room, I felt, and quickly ran to meet him. But, it scared me the moment he angrily looked at me.

‘You have a problem with staying in a sharing room?’ he rudely said.

All my happiness of getting a single room was gone and I silently looked down making an innocent face.

‘Yes, sir? What, sir, no, sir, up to you, sir,’ I stammered.

‘Why do you want a single room?’

‘Sir, actually there is no network in my room.’

‘Network?’ he shouted as if I asked for his position.

‘Emmm, yes, sir. Otherwise, I don’t have any problem.’

‘I know what is to be done and how it is to be done. It will be done, but you need to be patient,’ he said.

‘OK, sir.’

I was now in a situation where I had a single room, where if I would search each and every corner, there just might be a place which could have network. But the problem was, there wasn’t anyone to talk to.

Classes were over and it was time for sports. I played table tennis for about an hour, took a shower, packed my bag for the night out. I wore my uniform and went for the night fall-in. I had two options: first was that I could leave as soon as the fall-in was over before the warden left, and the second was to wait for the warden to leave and leave after him. There was no time for the latter. The fall-in was over; I picked up my bag which I had already kept in the canteen and ran.

I came out and there was no taxi, which did not surprise me at all. I was in a situation where if I went back inside, I would get caught, and if I stood outside, I would still be caught anyway. So, what does one do in such a situation? I used all my remaining energy and ran 1.5 kilometres up to the Reay Road station in my uniform, broke the line, and got my ticket. I got down at Ghatkopar, took an auto, and reached Powai, where my cousin lived. It was the first time I saw what Mumbai looked like in the last three months and it was lovely. Actually, if you go out of any place where you have been staying day in and day out for so many days, any place would be good and this was the city of Mumbai.

Finally, I reached his place. My brother opened the door and was shocked seeing me in uniform.

‘Ha ha ha. Armaan, what the hell is this, man? This uniform is to show off or what?’ he said to me.

‘Oh, don’t ask me, man. This is what happens in desperation to run and fear of being caught running,’ I said.

‘I don’t get it. Desperation, fear, running, what have you done?’

‘Nothing, it’s just that I should not be here at this time. It’s not allowed.’

‘Why?’

‘Don’t ask me, ask them. It’s frustrating, man, following the same routine daily. Life has become boring. I wanted to enjoy since day one and it took me three months to gather guts and figure a way to get out of campus at night.’

It shocked him even more when I told him that the training was highly strict and very tough.

‘You look tired, man. I have whisky with me, but if you want, we can go out and enjoy,’ he said, looking at me with sympathy.

‘Whisky would be just fine, brother, but you’ll be making my pegs,’ I said, smiling, not willing to do any more work.

Soon it was time to get down to business, something I went there for. Pegs of whisky, great food, chatting with my cousin I so dearly loved, and all of this in an air-conditioned room, were things the training did not provide. I was really happy to see this change in my life; we drank along with the raindrops and sounds of thunder and lightning in Mumbai. A few pegs high, I started thinking of a change in my life to the extent that I could almost sense that something was about to happen. Just like this change after three months of boredom, I felt something else was about to change too. It was almost 4 a.m. and I was not in a position to think over it, so I fell asleep.

I woke up next afternoon having a hangover and thinking what to do now? Unseen mails, unread Facebook messages, far away from all social websites, I thought of checking them all out.

‘Dude, do you have Wi-Fi?’ I asked my half-asleep brother.

‘Of course, man, who doesn’t have it?’ he said to me.

‘You’re asking me this.’

He laughed and said, ‘Sorry, brother, I didn’t mean to touch upon your weakness.’

‘I really appreciate that.’

In this day and age, it was a really stupid question to ask but this is what happens when you are too used to circumstances where necessities become facilities and facilities, if at all, become luxuries. I opened my Facebook account and the first thing I saw was a ten-day-old message.

‘Are you coming for convocation?’

I had almost forgotten about my engineering college convocation. I was still half asleep, having a hangover, but this message fully woke me up, brought a smile on my sad face, and took me back into my engineering college days.

Malishka it was, one year junior to me, BIT Mesra.

CHAPTER {2}

I t was my final year in college, my final fest in college. I and my friend Putty were already a couple of pegs down and I was least interested in going for the fest. Guys never need a reason to enjoy; a bottle of alcohol is always good enough. But, Putty’s girlfriend Pragya was performing in the fest. It took him paying for my share of the booze and food in order to take me to the fest and see his girlfriend perform.

‘Dude, is it that necessary to go?’ I asked him, making the most bored and annoyed face I could make even after taking the bribe.

‘What do you want, Armaan? She’ll kill me if I don’t reach there on time. Please, dude, let’s go,’ Putty said to me.

‘I love to see the desperation and fear on your face, man.’

‘You’re lucky that you don’t have a girlfriend in college who makes you do things I have to do.’

‘Do you feel the same way while making out in the lonely streets close to the outer canteen, or carrying a bag at 5 a.m., only to bluff the guard in the institute building when your intentions are nowhere close to studying together?’ I laughed and said, teasing him.

‘Hey, fuck you, man, now come along. Maybe you too might have a good time there.’

I slowly walked to the place, hearing all the abusive words from Putty, who wanted to rush to the place. We just about reached the place on time and Putty started recording a video of the dance performance as a proof of his presence while I noticed something else.

I saw a beautiful girl dancing even more beautifully. It was a group performance, the same performance Putty took me for, but my eyes were fixed on this girl performing so gracefully in the centre. I did not hear what song it was; her movements kept my focus on her.

‘I am glad I came along with you,’ I said to Putty.

‘What happened to you suddenly?’ he said.

‘Nothing, I am just looking at someone.’

‘Who is she?’

‘This beautiful girl dancing in the centre.’

‘She must be Pragya’s friend, I guess. So, does that mean I’ll get my money back for booze and food?’

‘All that means is that you concentrate on the recording because now I want to see it as much as you need to show Pragya.’

‘I still don’t get my money back?’

‘No, anything else?’

‘No.’

‘Looks don’t matter’, ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’, ‘It’s the inner beauty that matters’, these are all sayings and I don’t care what the sayings say because all these come later. The first attraction is always the physical attraction and when it is on both sides, it’s even better.

Putty took me backstage as he had to meet Pragya after the performance was over. I saw Pragya talking to the same girl I had my eyes on during the performance. I was even gladder on going backstage, and Putty became a blessing for me that day.

‘Guys, this is Malishka, and Malishka, this is my boyfriend Putty and this is Armaan,’ Pragya said.

Malishka and I looked at each other and casually smiled. After the hellos were over, Putty and Pragya suddenly left, probably to make out on the streets of the outer canteen, leaving me and Malishka alone. A weird situation, it was, but I started:

‘What do you do after a performance?’ I asked her.

‘I have a cup of coffee,’ she sweetly replied.

‘Hey, this was like a really random question. Both of them suddenly left and I had no idea what to say.’

‘I know, even I felt the same, so don’t worry.’

‘By the way, how is coffee after a couple of pegs?’

‘Relaxing, I am always a couple of pegs down before dancing.’

‘So?’

She smiled and said, ‘Hey, I can have coffee with you. How shy can you be in asking?’

We went out for a coffee. I just had to ask her a question.

‘Is it really so easy to take you out for a coffee?’

‘No, not at all, you should ask your batchmates about it.’

‘Ha ha ha, you’re showing off the demand for you?’

‘No, just clarifying. Why did you start a conversation with me? You tell me.’

‘See, it’s not often that I don’t lie but today I won’t, so,

a. We both were alone and it was an awkward situation.

b. I liked the dance but loved your performance.

c. This is the not-beating-around-the-bush reason: you are damn attractive.’

She looked at me and said, ‘Yes, right. So, you started because of this reason and I continued for the same reason.’

‘Well, that was very well said. I liked your answer.’

‘And I liked your honesty.’

I walked and talked her safely back to the girls’ hostel and as I was about to leave, she said, ‘I had a nice walk, Armaan, and just for your satisfaction, I don’t go out for a coffee or walk with anyone.’

I smiled, waved my hand, and said bye-bye.

I never expected her to answer so spontaneously; some of her replies stunned me. I never imagined that I would end up having a coffee with her and dropping her back to her hostel the very same day I saw her for the first time. I felt as if I was attracted towards her; maybe it was the walk or maybe it was the talk, I don’t know, but I did feel something different that day, probably for the first time ever.

I came back to my hostel, and as I was about to go to bed, I got a call from my girlfriend asking when I would be coming back and I told her that I would be back after final exams.

From the next day onwards, I and Malishka started chatting and occasionally talking on the phone. Things were going well and Malishka soon became a part of our group.

My dear friend Putty was very fond of making short films. The movie was about two people who are fixed for marriage by their parents and are having a short conversation before marriage. Our whole group was sitting in the outer canteen.

One of my friends in the group, nicknamed Teddy, had a completely disfigured body structure, with a massive head having long curly hair which increased his height by a couple of inches, tiny little hands (to the extent that if he had to put his hand in his pocket, he had to bend that side), tiny little feet having a shoe size of 3, huge tummy (where, if you throw a tennis ball, you would need good reflexes to catch the ball back).

He would, in 95 per cent of the cases, have nothing sensible to say, and even if he did, because of the description I gave, no one would take it seriously. We would just laugh it off. But that day, he had something to say and I of all people took it seriously.

‘Hey, we have two attractive people who are very good in drama,’ Teddy said to Putty.

Malishka was sitting right next to me, and of course, he was talking about both of us. Putty looked at both of us and finalized his main characters.

We had the script in our hands. But, just for fun, both of us thought of doing it our own way, without the script. I started:

‘What do you think about the word understanding?’ I asked Malishka.

‘Well, it’s something you should not expect when I am in a bad mood.’

‘OK, what if I am in a bad mood?’

‘We’ll have rules which will be strictly followed.’

‘OK, and what do you think of love?’

‘You’ll see it the day I’ll feel it. What about you?’

‘It’s an unseen, unknown feeling as far as I am concerned, and again just as you said, you’ll see it the day I’ll feel it.’

I was a bit confused whether we were working on the movie or actually trying to know each other more. The talks were as if we were prepared for the next question and the answer would just come out.

Just after our short film was over, all of us decided to have some fun. Everyone felt some kind of chemistry between me and Malishka during the film.

Truth and dare, we all decided to play. The bottle was spun and it pointed towards me.

‘Truth or dare, what do you want, Armaan?’ Putty said.

‘Dare,’ I said.

‘I dare you to say the truth.’

‘What truth?’

‘I’ll take revenge, for all the troubles you have given me over the past few weeks. So, now that you have worked with Malishka, tell me what do you feel about your chemistry with her, and how you felt the very first time you saw her.’

Putty did strike at the right time, embarrassing me in front of everyone. ‘Dare,’ I had said in full confidence, but I could not utter a word that time. Malishka looked at me and smiled, seeing me embarrassed. The entire group started teasing me by making strange noises, just like friends always do. She then looked down, feeling embarrassed too.

‘Come on, Armaan, be a sport.’ Everyone said making noises.

‘Look at his face, he looks so lost. Malishka, you should dare him to tell the truth,’ Pragya said.

I felt both Putty and Pragya were taking full revenge. I and Malishka could not look at each other in embarrassment. But, I had to dare.

‘I was lost in her dance when I first saw her. I was lost in her beautiful eyes when I first met her. I liked her spontaneity when I first talked to her.’

Friends are meant to create awkward situations.

‘Ooooh, how did you feel hearing that, Malishka?’ Pragya said, teasing Malishka.

Malishka looked at me, I looked at her; we both smiled and looked down. She could not say a word.

‘You won’t be able to take much time because the bottle will stop sometime on you too,’ Pragya spoke again.

So much fun was being made highlighting both of us that a point came when our embarrassment disappeared. It was the second last round of truth and dare when the bottle stopped on Malishka.

‘Everyone has taken dare, Malishka. You should also take dare,’ Pragya said.

‘OK, I’ll take dare,’ Malishka said.

‘I’ll give you a deadly one, especially now that we are coming to an end. You have to propose to Armaan in your own way, you cannot use the dialogue of any movie.’

Acting was a cakewalk for her, I had already seen that, but I never knew that she could do it so spontaneously. I was again embarrassed but she wasn’t this time.

‘Can I have your hand, Armaan?’ she said to me, and the noises started.

‘Sshhhh, everyone. Let her do it,’ Pragya said.

I gave her my hand.

‘You know, it does not happen very often that a girl gets down on her knees for a guy. But, you are no other guy for me. I was attracted to you since the day we first met. Whether it was the coffee, the walk, or the talk, I don’t really know. All I know is that I started liking you from day one and now I feel for you. I love you, Armaan,’ she said, getting down on her knees.

None of the other people knew about our walk, so they all stood up and clapped at her performance. But, it was difficult for me to make out whether she acted or told me what she felt. I didn’t even dare ask her after all that I dared to say to her in front of everyone. Something between us changed that day; I wasn’t sure whether it was coincidental or real.

We were late in finishing off with our truth and dare and it was about to be end time at the girls’ hostel. We were all separated, and I and Malishka took a shortcut through the jungle where girls were not allowed. The security guard saw us and whistled.

I laughed and asked her, ‘Have you ever been in such a situation before?’

‘No, never. Hey, nothing will happen, right? I am too scared.’

‘Don’t worry, nothing will happen, trust me.’

‘OK, OK. But what do we do now?’

‘Just hold my hand and run. This guard will never be able to catch us even if he runs for his life.’

‘Ha ha ha. Are you sure?’ she said, looking at me with trust.

‘Positive,’ I softly said to her.

We held hands and ran through the jungle. Merely two minutes of running were over when she suddenly said, ‘Hey, I cannot run anymore, I am too tired,’ with the guard still following us.

‘So what do I do now? Pick you up and run?’ I said.

‘That will make the guard feel worse, right?’ she said and I smiled at the nonsense she spoke.

‘Hey! Why are you staring?’ she said.

‘Staring? No! I am just waiting for you to stop talking and start walking,’ I said and she looked at me, stunned.

Laughing all through the way, I dropped her at the PMC (Piya Milan Chowk), as it was called in college. Absolutely nothing happened in the jungle, yet I felt as if something happened to me, as if something happened to her as she was leaving. I could see it in those beautiful eyes. The PMC was the most popular place of our college. It was the meeting and separation point of all the couples in college. It was only the regulation of end time for girls in college that made me leave her that day. She didn’t want to go; I didn’t want her to go. We ran so short of time that we could not even say a bye to each other before leaving. It was a sad feeling to see her go that day, even though I knew I could see her the next day.

I came back to my hostel and again got a call from my girlfriend, making me feel guilty of what was happening between Malishka and me in college.

But, it did not stop easily: chatting for hours in the night when a flirty message was the reply to a flirty message of same intensity, walking after classes every day, lunches together. The time had come when either of us had to say something. Whenever I would feel for Malishka, I would get a call from my girlfriend, making me take a step back. So, there was something else I had to say to her. I told her that I had to tell her something important. Next day, sitting in the canteen, in a good mood she asked,

‘Yes, Mr Armaan, what is that important thing? I want to know.’

‘What’s your plan for the future?’ I asked her.

‘This was that important thing? A good placement and then MBA or IES, let’s see. Why?’

‘I am not sitting for placements because I want to join the merchant navy.’

‘Oh! That’s your dream?’

‘The dream is big money, this is just a source. But, I don’t know why dad always says there is a lot more to it. He says that there is a lot more to this profession than what I know. Well, but this is not what I had to say. Again, I won’t beat around the bush so here it is:

I broke up with my ex because I did not love her but she loved me. I have a girlfriend I do not love but she loves me. My ex keeps coming back and I try to make my present my ex but she too keeps coming back. Now, the question is what am I doing and the answer is I don’t know. There are times when I two-time, though I love neither, so that I don’t hurt them. On top of that, I feel for you in a way I haven’t felt before for anyone else. I like being with you but the moment I think of us, I get a phone call and I think otherwise. Basically, I am in a fucked-up situation, it’s complicated, and I don’t want to involve you in complications and spoil this thing between me and you. I know I need to get out of this mess and I need to figure out a way of doing it. I wanted to be honest with you, so I told you everything.’

She smiled and said, ‘Being with them, you won’t be able to stop yourself from hurting them for long either. I kinda have a thing for you too, a little more now after whatever you honestly said. You let me know whenever you get yourself out of this mess.’

She left but those words did have an impact on me. We still chatted and talked once in a while. I gave my final exams and went back home. I was now preparing for going into a new life, new institute which was a route to my future. I got into the Marine Engineering Institute. But, her last few words kept coming into my mind. I was getting into a life which was tough, which required strength, which required people who are able to face situations rather than running away from them like I was. So I met with my girlfriend and told her,

‘See, and you have to trust me on this. I have tried not to hurt you for the longest time. I have hurt myself doing the same. But now, a stage has been reached where staying with you, I might hurt you more. I am saying this even more now because college was different, but what I am entering into, I don’t even know what is in store. So you stay strong, I know you’ll do very well in life and get a guy far, far better than me.’

She felt bad and left.

I felt relaxed as if a huge burden was off my chest. Thankfully, I passed my psychometric test even after all the happenings around. Even after that, I never went back to Malishka, maybe because I felt that chapter was over, or maybe because I felt that college was over and God knows what will happen in the maritime training. I had a feeling of guilt too.

It had been nearly four months that I did not speak to her. I thought I lost the chance long back. But, ‘expect the unexpected’ is what they say and there it was.

CHAPTER {3}

R unning away from her was something I guess even the Almighty did not want. I saw her message, and the moment I saw it, the first question I wanted to ask her was, ‘Are you single?’ But, I didn’t want to be so direct even though I was extremely happy from inside. I thought of starting gently and replied:

‘Getting out of campus for me right now is next to impossible, coming to college for convocation is totally impossible.’

‘Oh, sad. I was expecting you,’ she replied within ten seconds. ‘Where are you?’

‘I am in Mumbai doing my pre-sea training.’

‘Great, finally you are where you always wanted to be.’

‘Yeah, and I am sorry, I saw your message today itself. You could have called me and asked directly.’

‘I tried but your number was switched off.’

‘Oh yeah,