Where are You?

She tried calling him again. ‘The number you are trying to reach has been switched off’. This was probably the tenth time. It was already eleven in the night. It was her birthday and Raj had promised to pick her up at nine. She glanced at her watch again. What’s with him? He is always true to his word.

She decided to call his office. ‘Welcome to XYZ Company. Please dial the extension number or wait for the call to be picked up’. Now what in the world is his extension no.? She hung up.

She searched her ‘Contacts’ menu to see if she had any of his colleague’s number. Ah! Deepak. She had saved his number three months back when Raj called her from his cell since his battery was low.
‘Allo’, the voice on the other end bellowed after what seemed like ages. ‘Hi, uh, Deepak, this is Geeta, uh, Raj’s friend.’
‘Allo, Allo, I’m sorry I cannot hear. I’m on bike, traffic making lot of noise,’ Deepak’s voice was shrill and pierced her eardrums.
‘Do u know where Raj is?’ she screamed herself hoping to hell he’d comprehend.
‘Raj-aa? Don’t know madam. He left from office I think 8 o clock. Bye madam.’
Click.
She felt a tiny shiver run down her spine.
Suddenly the phone rang. Raj! She jumped to receive it. Prema Aunty calling flashed on her screen.
‘Hello Aunty’, she tried hard to sound pleased.
‘Wish you Happy B’day beti. I’m really really sorry, I just remembered. Hope I did not wake you up, child.’
‘No, no, aunty, it’s ok’.
‘So what did you do the whole day? Had fun? So you are 22 years old now, eh? So tell me….’ Prema aunty went on and on.
She wasn’t listening. Raj where are you? Are you alright? Oh God...She wanted to bang the phone down. And decided to do so.
‘Uh, Aunty, actually I was sleeping when you called. I have to reach office by seven tomorrow. Have to wake up by six. Shall I call you tomorrow?’
‘Sure, sure, beti. Good night’ Prema Aunty sounded like she was trying her best to hide her annoyance.
Click.

‘I don’t care, atleast not now’, she wondered what to do next. It was eleven ten. She tried calling Raj again. ‘The number you are…’
Click.

She instantly thought of Pooja. Pooja was her friend and her brother knew Raj. They could be of help. She dialed Pooja’s number. ‘The number you are trying to reach has been switched off’. Huh? She must have gone to bed.

Much as she hated to, considering the time, she dialed Pooja’s brother’s number. And she heard the phone ring.
Strangely, she also heard the phone ringing outside her main door. She hung up. The ringing outside also stopped. She was totally puzzled.
She ran to the door and peeped through the keyhole. She smiled. She opened the door. ‘SURPRISE!!!!!HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!’ about six of her close friends including Pooja and her brother barged in. They hugged her and presented her a big present neatly wrapped with a baby pink wrapper. Raj announced his arrival and gifted her a beautiful bouquet adorned with red roses.
‘Happy B’day, love’, he whispered.
Tears trickled down her cheeks. ‘I hate you,’ she whispered back and hugged him tightly.