Residues

Chapter 1

I looked at the ocean in front of me and the thought that ran through my head was 'if I jump in it, people will rescue me, right? I mean there are literally thousands of people here. It is fucking Marine Drive.' So, I just turned around and walked.

I was supposed to meet the guy I chatted with on Tinder for the past one month. I did not want a Tinder account. I did not want to chat with guys. But that annoying girl who is in my office, who may be in anybody's office, made me open a Tinder account saying being single at thirty is so 'pathetic'. So, I had to navigate through some creeps and had finally ended up finding a guy with who I could communicate with. I was happy.

But God will not just let Ishi Nair to be happy, will she?? (Yeah, I believe God is female; and she is a bloody biatch.)

Turns out that guy is 45. In his Tinder profile, he was 31. And good looking. Well, his excuse was that he used his own picture. His own picture from fifteen years back. Not that I am an ageist, but 15 years and a beer gut and baldness without even being rich...

I feel pathetic now because, for a second, I was like I should maybe give it a chance. What if he is really nice? So, I talked to him for a while. He seemed nice and all... Until he asked me if I wanted to go to his house or a hotel.

I flung the empty paper cup of chat I was eating on the tetra-pod rocks along the beach, contributing my share to the excess waste on the beach. I was in no mood to think about swach barath and all that shit.

Ah...

So fucking tired of all this....

Lonely...

I was thinking that my life could not get any worse and nobody could be having a worse day when my mobile rang. It was Suhani. I was now thankful that I did not tell her anything about the Tinder guy. Good call, Ishi.

I took the call. "Hello"

And I heard a sniff. She was crying... "Ishi" She sobbed.

"Woah... Calm down. What happened?" I asked... She just kept crying. I was not in the mood for this, mentally exhausted myself.

"I broke up with Rihan." Suhani broke down.

"Yeah, like you guys do all the time," I said bored. "Like that time when he said he did not like your new haircut..." I knew my friends so well. They had been together for 13 years. They do not break up. I will eat my shoes if they actually break up.

"This is not like that." Suhani sobbed. Then she seemed to be forcing herself to not cry. "Ishi... can you.... Can you call Rihan? And go to him or something. I am so worried..."

Okay, now it sounds pretty serious.

"What happened?" I asked.

Suhani went silent. I waited. She was not saying anything. "Dude?" I asked.

"I... I cheated... on him..."

Did not make sense. Suhani and Rihan are inseparable. There is no room in between them for a third person. And Suhani will not cheat on him. He won't cheat on her either. So...

"Okay, Okay." I said, "now I get it. Just hand the phone to Rihan. I will tell him that this prank is not working. Who wrote the script? You or him?"

Suhani went silent again. "I don't fucking have time for pranks, Ishi" she practically screamed into the phone. "If you don't want to believe then don't believe... I will ask Vishwa to check on Rihan."

"Vishwa is in Delhi for business" I reminded her. "I'll... I'll call Rihan."

"Thank you. Please take care of him." She hung up.

I still did not believe in all this. This is surely some prank they are playing on me. But I will play along for now. I called Rihan. I am quite sure that he is sitting right beside Suhani and laughing. My fucked-up life cannot get any worse. So let me just get pranked by my best friends too...

Rihan did not pick up. Nice touch... Adds authenticity – I thought. I should compliment him on that.

So, I called again. This time he picked up. "Ishi. Eh... Sorry, this is not a good time to talk." And he sounded like he was crying. And things began to feel weird from thereon.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing. Can I call you back...?"

"Where are you?" I asked.

He went silent.

"Rihan..."

And then he told me the location.

Chapter 1.5

When the world ended, 

it was sudden and silent. 

Would it have been better if I knew it was coming?

What did the people of Hiroshima think just a second before the bomb hit them?