Take your pick
I am sure most of you must have read the short stories by jeffrey archer. In fact the main reason why i started writing short stories was because of his amazing writing skills given the length of the stories. One of his short stories had a given start and three different endings. It was left to the reader to decide which was the best ending. I am going to give a shot at something similar.
It seems quite ackward to sit in a busy restuarant n eat alone. But i have got used to it. Everyday i take this corner table for 2 and order the same dish. Infact the waiters kniw me well now. I just have to nod and the food is brought to my table. Do i miss company… No i dont i enjoy the food with no one to disturb me. Ya i do its so boring to eat alone i need someone to talk to.
hey what do i see, a guy eating alone like me. Should i go n join him. Let me go to the restroom and on the way back i will ask if i can join him.
i cant see his face from far away. Let me just walk towards him. Is it a … No it isnt.. Oh my god it is… It is a girl and a beautiful one… What do i do… What do i do…
Take 1:
“Hi i see you are eating alone. Mind if i join you?”
She hasnt replied. I think she is scared of crazy ppl coming upto her at restuarants.
” my name is vivek. I usually have dinner here alone. Saw u alone so thot u might need someone to talk to while you eat. Dont worry i wont eat you i m a vegeterian”
That was a lame and cocky joke. I cant believe she smiled. So i will have company for dinner after all.
“hi my name is rashmi. My roommates have gone out if town and i had no mode to cook so i came here to eat”
” good for me. When are you roommates coming back”
“why?”
” hopefully till they come back u wont hav mood to cook and meet me here.”
I never met her at the restaurant again.
“this place is far from my house. Had come here for some work. So is there are other place where you go alone ?”
That brought a smile to my place. ” i am going to this movie tomorrow at 7.
” oh k. May be you will find some company there too.”
Next day i waited outside the theatre till 7 30. I was feeling so lonely. Just as i was abt to leave i saw an auto stopping near the gate and rashmi coming out of it. I couldn’t help but smile.
” hey how did you know i wouldbe here!”
For the next one month i went to movies, restuarant and trips alone and luckily found rashmi to give me company.
it was getting serious and we used to spend the evenings together. I wanted to pop the question but i didnt know how to. Near the beach, in my house with roses everywhere, surprise visits oh i had lot of ideas. And then it happened. I told her we can go to the restuarant where we first met. We drove upto the place. The place seemed closed. I told her to check while i park the car. She entered the restuarant but it was dark. As soon as she entered the lights came on. The entire place was empty except me standing near the corner table with roses in my hand. She was shocked. She took the roses but didnt say anything. She was quiet the entire evening. Then she told me she wants to leave. Without asking her anything i dropped her home.
I cant believe i am back in the same restuarant. Same table, same dish and the same stupid empty chair.
” hi i see you eating alone. Mind if i join you?”
“sure. I hate eating alone. My name is vivek.”
“i m preeti. I hope you dont it the wrong way. I am not used to eating alone.”
“not at all. You dont have to worry about me drooling over you. Guess where i met my wife first time…”
Take 2:
“Hi my name is Vivek. I saw you eating alone thot u wud like some company.. “
She gave me a weird smile. Okay its becoming weird now. She hasn’t said anything for 5 mins. Wait her lips are moving.
“I m sorry but i like to eat alone. I hope you dont feel bad”
“What if i do?”
“Sorry” she said with a sorry smile.
I went back and ate my food quickly. I wanted to run out of the restuarant asap.
I went back and went to bed. The entire night i thought about her. She was really pretty i couldn’t get her out of my mind.
Next day all my friends were meeting up. I wanted to get her out of my mind so i decided to go meet my friends. It was nice catching up with whats going with others. But i kept looking around trying to find her.
“Rashmi! here!” shouted a girl behind me. I turned around and couldn’t believe my eyes. It was the girl from the restuarant. She came and sat near table behind me. I wanted to look at her so i turned my chair towards her. Okay i had to talk to her. Let me see if she remembers me.
” Hi do u remember me? We met in the restuarant yesterday. Dont worry i am not here to bother you again. “
” No thats okay. So u like eating out a lot huh.. Give me a minute…” she stood up and left. I waited for an hour but she never came back.
Was she trying to run away from me. I hoped i would never see her again. It was so embarassing. Next few days i was quite busy with my work. I had forgotten all about the fiasco. It was my colleagues bday so we decided to go for lunch close to office. As i entered the small fast food joint i was shocked to see her sitting near the window with a couple of her friends. Before i could realise i was standing next to her.
She looked at me and said “Are u following me?”
Everyone kept looking at me. I was so embarrassed. I was just hoping the roof would fall over.
“Girls this is friend Vivek”
I was shocked she remembered my name. I wanted to talk to her but i had come with my office friends. I couldnt just forget about them. Though they are not like my best friends. No its rude. So i told her i had to go and that we could catch up sometime. She didnt say anything. So i went back to my table. All through out the lunch i kept looking at her. She didnt look back even once. All my feelings for her were back. I decided to talk to her after everybody had left.
Finally my friends started walking out of the restaurant. I turned to walk towards her table but she was gone. I didn’t know what to do. So i walked out of the restaurant.
After reaching office i kept thinking of how to contact her. I just knew her first name. The only thing i could do was to go the 3 places i met her and hope she is there too. There has to be some reason why i see her everywhere i go. Okay i will go to the restaurant tonight where i first met her.
I entered the restaurant and carefully looked at each table. Unfortunately she was not to be seen anywhere. Okay let me have my dinner and hope she shows up. I sat at my favorite table in the corner. Before i could say anything the waiter asked if i would have the usual. I was not interested in the food. I was just waiting for Rashmi.
The food was on the table. Without looking at the food much i started eating. The food was so good that i forgot about her for sometime. And then everything came back to me.
“Hey Chef someone wants to compliment your cooking.”
“Finally!”
“Hi Rashmi.”
“Hello Sir. So i was told you liked my dish.”
“I always liked your cooking. Even when you were 7 and had just started cooking. But i never knew you would become a chef in a big restaurant. I am sorry I didn’t recognize you. I knew there was a reason why we met everywhere, why i liked that dish so much.”
“But you took a lot of time Sir. I thought for a while that you don’t remember your friend. You have always been slow. Never knew how to cease the moment.”
“But i will not be slow this time. Rashmi I could never find a friend like you. Will you be my friend forever and to make sure you don’t leave me this time will you marry me?”
“Why do you think i followed you everywhere!”
“So does this mean i can have that dish for free at home.”
No matter how much i begged her, Rashmi never made that dish at home.
100 Bucks
This is one of the first stories i wrote. The story is about Naveen and his life in 2 parts. Part1 is about his school days.
Hi my name is Naveen and i am 16 years old. I have always been the best student in class. Best in studies and awesome in sports. My friends just love me. People are dying to be my friends. I am every teacher’s pet. Life can’t get better than this.
I entered the class and instead of getting a cheer from my classmates i got nothing. I looked around the class to find everyone crowded around a desk in the corner of the class. I couldn’t see who everyone was talking to. When the teacher came in everyone returned to their respective desks. I could see a fair guy with short hair and dark eyes sitting in the corner desk. The teacher looked at him and called him to tue front to introduce himself. His name was Pradeep and his father just got transferred from jabalpur. For the next 15 mins he spoke about jabalpur and his journey from there. Everyone was listening very intensely and he spoke pretty well. But for me he was just a big show off. After the introduction we went back to our science lesson. The tea cher asked a question and as usual i was the first to raise my hand. I was about to stand up to answer when the teacher called his name. His answer was correct but i wasn’t impressed. Then the teacher looked at me and said that now i have someone to compete with in class. I didnt like that a bit. But boy was she right.
Not only did he compete with me, he faired better than me in everything. He was scoring better than me. He slowly becoming the teacher’s pet. And i was loosing my popularity. All my friends were more interested in hanging out with him. The worst part was that he was a very nice person. He was never proud of his achievements. But i just hated that guy. But there was one thing he could never beat me in.
The annual school debate competition was going to start next week. I had won the competition for the past 4 years. I never expected pradeep to compete in this competition because he was very soft spoken. When i went to enroll for the competition i wrote down my name in the enrollment list. Guess whose name was written before mine.
It was the first day of debate. I was waiting for neha to come and wish me luck. Oh i didn’t tell you about neha. She was this girl i liked since god knows when. I think she liked me too. But i could never tell her how i feel about her. When i was with her i used to forget everything else. She used to get the best out of me. When i saw her coming towards me i started smiling. She shook hands with me. I kept smiling and i am sure i was freaking her out. She told me she would be back in 5 mins. Then she went to pradeep and wished him good luck. I decided to ignore this.
First couple of rounds were really easy. I won with high margins. My last debate was with pradeep. The topic was easy and we both did pretty well. I was expecting to win the debate. When the results came i have to say i was quite surprised. For the first time in the competition there was a tie. The judges could not decide who was better. The top 4 scorer went to the next round. Out of that 2 would proceed to the finals. No marks for guessing who went to the finals. I wanted to win this competition and i could have done anything to make that happen. This was the only thing that could prove that i was better than him. So i went up to him and tried to make him a little nervous i told him that i bet 100 bucks that i would win and while he hands me that 100 bucks he has to write “Naveen is a winner” on it. It was my turn first and gave my best shot. When pradeep came to the stage he was welcomed by a round of appluades. After he started talking no one moved a muscle. By the time he finished the judges had already decided the winner. After the competition i went upto him handed the 100 bucks with the dreadful words on it. But the worst was yet to come. Neha ran to pradeep and hugged him. I had lost everything. I never spoke to neha after that. I heard she got married to pradeep later.
The second part of the story continues from when naveen is 27.
Now I am a Manager at the country’s largest bank. My parents are forcing me to get married soon. I like this girl in office and we have been dating for quite a while now. Everyday i walk from my house to the office. Its a 2 km walk. I like the atmosphere in the morning. Everyone is so lively. Everyone but this small house and its occupant. The house is so dirty that even dogs don’t go towards it. I dont think it was ever cleaned or repainted. Everyday when i cross this house i see an old man with uncombed hair and a dirty beard sitting on a chair outside the house. Once in a while i look into his eyes and i get a feeling that he is trying to talk to me. After I reach office, i forget all about the old guy and start my normal work. In the evening i take shruti out for dinner and then drop her home. I have been following this routine for the past 4 years.
That day also I thought would be like any other day but I was wrong. I woke up late so I was running late to work. I walked a little fast and decided not look around but walk straight to office. As i was crossing the old house i looked at the chair outside. To my surprise the chair was empty. I got really curious. I wanted to go check inside the house but i was getting late. So i continued to office. The whole day i kept thinking of the old man. Shruti had sone work in the evening so i decided to walk back home. On the way back i was hoping to see my friend sitting outside. But the chair was still empty. I decided to keep walking but some force made me turn towards the old shack. I kept walking towards the door. As i went closer i saw a group of people standing in a circle inside the house. I joined the group and tried to find out what everyone was looking at. In the centre my friend was lying down motionless. People were trying to decide what to do with the body. After standing in the crowd for 10 mins i decided to turn around and walk out. As i was about to do that, i saw something peculiar. My friend was holding something tightly in his fists. Before i realised it i was already trying to get the thing out of his hand. It was a crumpled paper. I opened the note and read what was written on it.
“Pradeep Naveen is a winner”
A Short Story
I dont believe in miracles or life changing incidents. I believe in hard work. I have been very successful in everything i have worked for. So why should i change my beliefs. So what are we talking about here. I have no complaints in life. So am i happy in life? Now thats a totally different story.
i am a blah blah in a blah blah company and earn big bucks. Still single but voted as the most eligible bachelor in the country. Just didnt have the time for girls. My life is very monotonous. So i am looking forward for my trip to blah next week. Right now i am trying to make a list of people i know in blah. Guess what there is a girl in that list. I will call her a couple of days after i reach blah. Calling on the first day would look a little desperate. Come on guys when it comes to girls i am a little nervous. And not much exciting is happening in my life. So lets see how things go.
My flight is at 7. So i left at 4 and was at the airport by 5. But guess what the flight is cancelled. Infact the aiport is closed. The reason is unknown. So the only way i can reach blah is by train. You got to be kidding me. I have never travelled in a train. I always had enough money to travel by plane. But i have to be in blah by tomorrow evening. I have a meeting day after. So i am scared.
The train is full. I have a lower berth. The train is clean. But i am not going to the toilet. I have heard horrible stories about the train toilets. Considering its a 18 hours journey, i think i can manage. There is a couple sitting in frint of me. I dont think there was a single conversation where they didnt argue. But for a guy who is has not been in a relationship, it was music to my ears. They were quite comfortable unlike me. I didnt know anyone and didnt know what to do. What was taking the stewardess so much time.
I had heard of beggers in train. This guy with a shabby shirt and couple of suitcases. Nah beggers dont carry suitcases. So the guy came and sat next to me after placing his luggage below the seat.
I didnt want to talk to him. If i could just get my dinner, i would go sleep. I didnt find a button to call for assistance. The couple removed a big cylindrical steel box. It was made of smaller boxes which had rotis, subji, salad etc. I was looking at the food when the guy next to me spoke up.
” did you get food to eat from home?”. I didnt know what to say. So he poked me and repeated the same question.
“no i thought i would get something in the train”
“hmmm.. I think this is your first time in this train. The food in the train is really bad. But dont worry we can pick something up from the next station.”
I didnt say anything. Why is he being so friendly. What does he want from me.
The train stopped and a few people came in trying to sell some dishes. By the time i realized i was dragged out of the train onto the platform. He ordered a few items on the menu of a food stall. I was scared i would miss the train so I kept looking at the train. Guess what the train started moving and my friend was not bothered. Should i make a run for it. What will he think. But what if i miss the train. May be he knows what he is doing. And he surely did. Within the next 30 seconds he picked up the food, held my hand and dragged me into the train. This guy is crazy. What if i got injured, even died. But a part of me was saying this is the only excited thing that has happened to you since god knows when. Time to eat.
The food looked delicious. I was very hungry so i started eating and didnt talk much till i finished eating. I didn’t know how to thank him.
” The food was good. Which station did we buy the food from?” Okay that was dumb.
“The food in the train is never good. The platform stalls have fresh food. I didn’t see the name of the station.”
“I never got to say thank you. I would have never done that alone. Let me pay for the food. How much did u pay?”
“That’s okay. The food wasn’t that expensive.”
“But i insists..”
“Okay lets make a deal. If you can guess my profession by the time i get off at blah, you pay for the food”
What a weird guy. Not everyone is jobless like him. Anyways the food was not expensive. Let me just go to sleep. By the time i get up, we would have reached blah. So i tried sleeping for the next one hour. But the curiosity to know what this guy does kept me awake. I tried to listen to his conversations with other passengers.
“The Indian cricket team is doing well now. I think its the best team since the world cup winning team in 83′. I have followed Indian cricket closely. I know a few cricketers personally.” So he is definitely doing something in the field of cricket. Commentator, journalist etc.
“But there is no money in cricket unless you are a player. I was more interested in politics from the college days. I know very few people of my age think about going into politics, but you cannot clean the dirt in your house without getting dirty.” Oh a politician, god bless him. He thinks looking at his age i would never expect him to be a politician.
“I am definitely joining politics after 3 years. In fact all my college friends belong to the ‘youth of india’ party. 3 years because i need to finish all my current assignments before i resign from my job.” So close yet so far.
Now I knew I couldn’t sleep till i find out what he does. So i joined his conversation with the other passengers. I waited till the other had gone to sleep to introduce myself.
” Hi my name is Shivu. I am a .., sorry forgot our deal. So you must be really rich. Have you ever thought of donating money to the needy.?”
“Ya i sponsor the education of a few kids.” I said. And i started to think if he was a social worker.
“Don’t worry i am not a social worker. The question just comes to my mind when i see a rich guy. But I think you are doing a very good thing. My kids might need a sponsorship too. ha ha ha…”
I didn’t laugh. As i had guessed from his clothes that he was not from a wealthy background. But he was happy. What makes a person happy. When he has everything in life. But no one can have everything. But why is he happy, he doesn’t have anything.
The rest of the night he told me what he likes doing. He is into adventure sports, loves watching movies, likes playing guitar and traveling around the world. But what do you do for a living.
” How can you waste your life doing all this. What will happen after you are too old to do all these things. Thats why I work so hard now so that when i am old i have enough money to live comfortably.”
“What will you do with so much money when you get old. You can’t do anything. You won’t know how to spend the money. When I am old i can at least say i lived my life to the fullest. I fulfilled all my ambitions and now i can die poor but happy. peacefully!!!”
I didn’t know what to say. It was around 7 in the morning and we were about to reach. And then something happened, I got up and went to the toilet. My feet weren’t in my control anymore. By the time i came back, Shivu was nowhere to be seen. I didn’t look for him, I knew his work was done.
After a year i got into the same train. My shirt got stuck somewhere while boarding the train. When I tried to pull my shirt, it tore. I placed my luggage below the seat and sat next to this guy who looked really tensed. I looked at him and said.
” did you get food to eat from home?”. I knew he wouldn’t answer. So I poked him and repeated the same question.