Cigarette & Lighter

23rd October 2019

Rohan had a very usual day. He woke up, went to gym and to his work, came back late and grunted to another boring dinner. This was his schedule for a while and he didn’t enjoy it nor hated it. He was just there existing and waiting for that one moment in life that brings a disruption. Rohan finished his dinner, washed his plates, his eyes loitering around the cigarette packet lying at one corner of the kitchen. He reached out for a packet of cigarettes, his lighter and played with the lighter – igniting it on and off. Rohan went out of his room with the lighter and cigarette packet in his hand, felt the Mumbai wind as he opened the door, and walked outside. 

Walking through the corridor, Rohan sparked the lighter once again, this time his other hand reaching out for the cigarette only to find the box empty. Disappointment came on his face, at that moment he also questioned all the shit that has happened throughout the day. The disappointment of not reaching the office at the time, the traffic and the boring food. His cigarette was meant to bring a little bit of joy to his life. He walked through the corridor looking at the closed doors, also realizing how he hadn’t met anyone new in a while, and he was mostly alone in the city.  

Rohan noticed a dustbin in a corner and remembered he had to throw the cigarette packet so that it does not disappoint him again with false hopes. While walking towards the dustbin, Rohan realized there were footsteps coming through the staircase, his eyes instantly looked for someone. He saw a girl walking downstairs. She looked like she was going for a party, fully dressed in a shiny outfit, her makeup all perfect.

Rohan’s eyes followed as she came downstairs. Rohan noticed the girl taking out a cigarette and a lighter from her sling purse. She held the cigarette and tried to spark the lighter but it won’t work. She tried several times keeping the lighter near the cigarette to make it work, but the lighter would not work. Rohan noticed that their eyes met for a second, and then her attention went towards the lighter in Rohan’s hand which he was igniting on and off for no reason. Rohan realized his actions and stopped playing with the lighter. The girl came down to the corridor, went near the dustbin threw the lighter and stood near the railing of the balcony facing towards the open sky, and sighed in disappointment. She kept her sling purse on the balcony probably to keep the cigarette inside and then hurriedly left. 

Rohan stood there watching her move, his hands reached out halfway to give her the lighter, but he shied away by the time she had already left. Rohan stood there looking at the irony of the situation. He had a lighter but no cigarettes and the girl had a cigarette but not a working lighter. He moved ahead towards the place where the girl was standing. He kept his hands on the railing enacting breathing the air as the girl did. His hands noticed something kept on the railing, he looked down and found the cigarette that the girl couldn’t light.

Cornflakes and Milk

23rd November 2019

Palak woke up to her alarm at 6:30 in the morning. She was a person of routine and a multi-tasker. Waking up, she began her day by putting her coffee on the stove, while brushing and preparing for her workout. She finished everything on time and was now excited to get her favorite thing milk and cereals. She went out and checked her doorsteps to find the milk delivered and a smile popped out on her face. She smiled thinking how amazing it was when everything was in order. She poured her milk into a large bowl and reached out to the cereal packet in one of her drawers. It felt very light, annoyed she looked into it only to find it empty. Palak was flustered now. She realized it must be one of her friends who had come over for a sleepover and left an empty packet in the drawer. Never inviting her for another sleepover thought palak and smiled. 

Having no time left before she needs to get ready for her office, Palak wore her slippers and hurried out to get cornflakes. Palak passed through the lift cursing the authorities for not fixing the lift yet and walked downstairs. She was on the fifth floor and this itself felt like an additional workout now. She walked down to the nearby grocery store and brought her favorite Kellog’s Cornflakes for her breakfast. 

Walking upstairs to the third floor Palak noticed a guy standing on the balcony of the third floor wearing a grey T-shirt. It looked like he had just come upstairs and was talking on his phone. The guy turned around and looked at Palak. Palak felt that she had seen him somewhere, she looked at him and looked at a milk packet in his hand. She looked at her cornflakes and back again at the milk packet. Slightly awkward out she reached for the next set of stairs to reach her floor. 

Oh shit! She remembered he was the guy from the day she was attending her friend’s party at night. She was coming downstairs and this guy had a packet of cigarettes upside down, probably empty, and a lighter. Oh yes, a lighter that worked and hers that didn’t. She also left the cigarette in hurry at the balcony. She looked back while climbing the stairs, she noticed the guy was in his boxers and thought probably not an early morning person. The guy looked back and their eyes met, Palak was slightly embarrassed and she ran towards home. 

She kept the cornflakes packet in the kitchen and thought about both the incident. Last time I had a cigarette and he had the lighter, and now I had the cornflakes and he had the milk. What a coincidence she thought.

Bright and Dark

23rd December 2019

Rohan was hooked up to a book his friend had recommended – Of All the Bright Places. He had been reading this book for quite some time now and this weekend seemed like the perfect time to finish the book. This weekend after work, Rohan finished his dinner and made some coffee for himself. Rohan picked his book, his coffee mug, and a bottle and took them to the stairs. Whenever he had to finish a book he had a particular corner on the terrace where the light would be just right for him to read the book and not bother him throughout the night. He took to his spot and started reading the novel. 

At around 4:30 or 5 in the morning, when the cold morning winds hit him, Rohan was in his last 20 pages of the book and the natural morning light was just coming up. Rohan finished the book in another half an hour and thought about heading to sleep now. Rohan picked up his coffee mug and bottle and went towards the staircase. Infront of him someone entered the terrace. Rohan’s spirit lifted up as he saw a familiar face emerging from the staircase, he stopped suddenly. It was the same girl who had left her cigarette, and had the same brand of cornflakes as him. Their eyes met, Rohan’s eyes next eagerly fell on her book and the cover written over it – Dark Places. His smile almost went into a chuckle. He noticed the girl eyeing towards his book and he angled the book in a way she could read it. He looked at her face again and there were no emotions. He smiled and made way towards the staircase.

While making his way towards the room, Rohan was amused at the coincidences. Everytime he met this girl, there was something strange with the items they would carry with themselves. Today was another level, books with complementing names is an another level of coincidence, Rohan thought.

Batman and Superman

23rd February 2020

Palak wakes up in a grunt. She hasn’t been sleeping that well. Her messed up morning routine has something to do with her near perfect job which isn’t that anymore. Palak had been working as a civil engineer in a firm in Mumbai and she loved her job but since the last one and a half months everything was going wrong. She woke up to a flashback of events since then, how she was the kind of person who was very enthusiastic. Since the last year she had devoted everything to the job, her personal life revolved around her colleagues and work. One small incident at work had changed everything for her, her life around the office made it difficult for her to switch from there. Palak was affected by it, she couldn’t keep up herself well through these last few weeks. She would go to the office and stay cramped up at home. 

Palak’s life needed a jolt to make her remember her work was not everything, and that jolt was nearby, a month away. Palak remembered how she had been always in a bad mood, at office, even to the stranger who was showing off his book to her at the terrace. She knew that boy and she wanted to smile at him realizing how he had also figured out the coincidences happening between them. But she couldn’t and she felt guilty, waiting hoping she could meet him again. 

Palak got up and did the minimum before getting ready for her office. Dropping her usual efforts to dress smartly she put on her favourite Superman tshirt and comfort jeans. She almost stormed out her apartment, locking in anger not wanting to go to the office and just frustrated. She started moving downstairs and climbed down to the fourth and the third floor. She stopped at the third floor peeking to the corridor in her left in hopes of catching the lighter, milk and now book guy. To her surprise a door did open and there he was.

Palak did not anticipate actually meeting the guy. It was a childlike curiosity which had brought her to this floor. Palak took a look at that guy while he struggled to walk out of the door. The guy hadn’t seen her yet. His left hand was plastered and he was in pain, struggling to open the door. He noticed Palak and stared at her in confusion. Palak noticed his plaster, felt really bad, not just for his health but also for the last time. Her attention also went to his Batman vest with a black Batman sigil protruding out from it. She couldn’t control her smile at the coincidence. She noticed she had been staring at him for quite some few minutes now. She looked at his face and was embarrassed as he was also smiling looking at her.

She ran towards the stairs happy knowing he hadn’t taken their last meeting to heart. As the events of the morning unfolded, Palak went to her office in a brighter mood for the first time in the last few weeks.

Palak and Rohan

22 March 2020

The last few months had been good for Rohan, in his office he met a group of people whom he could finally call his first group of friends in his office. He was much happier than before. He was coming back to the apartment today after a great evening with his friends. Dressed up in his smart formals, he made his way back home.

Palak had finally made peace with her office life. It was not a miracle, she was a voracious reader and among the many books she had recently read, the book on finding inner peace helped her. She was much calmer than before, the situation at her work was no better but she was handling it well. Tonight she went to the beach, to spend some quality time with herself. While coming back she was happy, she felt free like a bird. 

Rohan made way to the ground floor of the apartment and found some commotion there. He looked around and found that the lift was repaired and had started working. Excited he thought to wait for a few minutes so that he could enjoy the lift alone. 

Palak made way to the apartment. She found her neighbour down there, who had become her recent friend and yoga partner. The neighbour excitedly told her about the lift and how it has started working.

Rohan managed to finally find a time when the commotion had dispersed and he could use the lift alone. He opened the lift door, went inside and marked the fifth floor hoping nobody comes in.

Palak saw someone entering the lift and hurried to press the open button of the lift hopping she could catch this ride. 

Rohan saw someone and his reflex went onto the door open button cursing himself since he wanted to travel alone. Palak entered the lift in her demeanor, looked at Rohan. Rohan noticed Palak, smiled, got embarrassed and stood in one corner of the lift. Palak stood right beside him and smiled. 

Both of them looked at each other trying to find something complementing like all this time. They looked through the color of their shoes, to watches and patterns but none of it made sense. Only to realize it wasn’t any item, or product this time that complimented each other but them.