I felt kind of cheated. Not by her. But by my own thoughts, I had already started building up 2bhk apartments of imaginations where there had not even been a foundation.
I was stupid. Yes, I am. Being a romantic is a pain in your own ass, you know. You turn every incident, every statement, and gosh, even try to read the hidden meanings behind those smileys.
Why, you ask? Well, for starters, I tried to start off a conversation on Facebook instead of going to her and talking because, you know, I just couldn’t!
So, there I was, sending her a friend request on Facebook.
Oh, yes, I’ve grown quite addicted to this. Thanks to a bit of jealousy and the need to sharpen my digital stalking skills. With anticipation and worries, the night went on.
In the morning, got the notification that my request was accepted. Yes, I was happy and, more so, relieved. A smile flashed in between the lecture, to which the professor gave me a strange look. Thankfully, it just stopped at that. Yeah, the look from him, not my smile. From that, chatting with her became a regular affair.
Of course, those had to be initiated by yours truly. I was yet to talk in person, but there was no stopping me from this madness. And well, as it turns out, I wasn’t the only one after her. Not just via this stupid FB chat, but on many “platforms,” from restaurants to late-night walks to helping her in projects. Damn, and I was pinging her on Facebook!!
So when this castle that I had built started showing broken cracks, with the heartbreaking stories of her outings with others, and one in particular. I tried to promote myself from online chatter to the more real, offline world. But then, the way it all unfolded only made me shrink in with the fear of never getting to be with her. Thoughts of me not being of “her league” crept in, like a storm, all at once.
What happened, in hindsight, was pretty lame. But, that moment was earth-shattering where I felt I’d sink in that same ground I was standing on.
She swooped in to talk to one of the friends standing in the same group as me. I mustered up the courage to say a few words; after all, I was one of her friends too, even though it was just Facebook. But what I uttered, couldn’t travel the distance of 2 feet!! Maybe she didn’t hear, or perhaps she chose to ignore it. And I still repeated the same thing thrice, only to witness my words just fizzing off without getting to her ears.
Not that I never got to talk to her ever again. Staying in a residential college has its own perks: having to cross paths multiple times, and somehow during those “incidents,” we did get talking. But then did anything happen or build on post those? Nope, not with me, at least.
A few days later, she was with someone else. So, I became the guy who admired her while she walked around with someone else. Stalking her.
It wasn’t the end, though. I did get my second chance.
What happens next? Be there to find out soon. Also, do read the first two parts of the story.
As narrated by the Idiot, with minimum exaggerations and enhanced expressions. For further development, keep waiting.
