Is being in love a selfish act? I love you. Does it not give more importance to 'I' and less importance to 'you'. Who is 'I'? Shekhar does not smoke weed. He does not inject stuff or gulp cough syrup. But these words came out of him from nowhere.
Megha was caught unawares. She kept her palm on his forehead, praying to all the mighty gods. Normal temperature. Abnormal thoughts.
____________
Shekhar saw this message from Arun on Megha's phone - "Hugs". The four letters triggered chemical reactions sufficient enough to convert an economics student like him to a library of philosophy. If the message was "kiss", he could have right away ended the relationship, switched of his cellphone, cursed all womenfolk, gone to his bedroom and cried. But this was a hug - neither here, nor there. Before they started seeing each other, Shekhar had sent a lot of hugs through the Short Messaging Service. Sometimes, in one message itself, he would put in a thousand hugs. Sometimes a million hugs. Economical.
In this journey from the economical to the philosophical, he had doubted many male friends of Megha's but Arun was the most threatening case. Good looks, height, "funny", magazine editor - many sms'es were wasted on him. Megha would send long messages praising him, to which Shekhar would reply, "WoW". He even saved a WoW message in his draft section so that he need not type it in every scene in which Arun was the hero.
Megha even asked him once whether he was fine with her talking to Arun. Shekhar's defence submarine launched immediate responses - "Come on, sweety. It is your wish. Your wish is my command. I think you should spend more time with creative people like him." That day, Shekhar mentally thanked his dad taking a flat in the ground floor. Would not encourage the only mode of suicide he was comfortable with.
So, after two months of activities, Shekhar had a nerve in his brain that was exclusively devoted to Arun.
________
Megha asked him to drink water. She said. "Can i tell you something?" Shekhar went on breakdown mode. His girlfriend of seven months is going to dump him. She took her cellphone from her bag and opened her inbox. She said, "See, that Arun sent me lewd messages. Can you please do something about it. Teach him a lesson." She hugged. Her hug felt like fresh air, steaming morning idli, suicide point in hill station - every place in the world that brings you closer to yourself.
God is with philosophers. I love him.
