TRRRRRRRRINGGGGG!
TRRRRRRRRINGGGGG
TRRRRRRRRINGGGGG!
Blared the alarm from the phone.
This alarm, just an hour before midnight, was a reminder for her that she should get to bed and end the day.
It was at that time that she heard a faint sound that seemed like it was the main door knob opening.
She wanted to go out to the living room and check if anyone had come into the house, but she was way too lazy to get out of her cosy bed. The next day was going to be a special one and she didn’t want to trouble herself.
She was supposed to be alone for the month as her flatmates had gone to their respective homes.
She went back to reading her book “All the light we cannot see”, a war novel about a blind French girl and a German boy who try to survive the devastation of World War II.
A little while after that, she saw a blinking light from under the door, it wasn’t natural but that didn’t seem to push her to get out of bed.
She tried to put the distractions aside and went back to reading about how, during the war, despite the situations or circumstances that were in front of them, people tended to be very understanding and find ways to help each other.
She hears one more sound and is pissed with what’s happening outside her room, she texts on the flat’s Whatsapp group asking if anyone is home to which the others reply negatively.
She wanted to get back to her book, but the sudden thought of not having anyone around her got to her head and she started sobbing.
Being alone and lonely is different but when they both hit you at the same time, it is a combination that you’d never want to encounter. The deafening silence in the home until then and the sudden distractions with the sound, the light and the flow of thoughts that push into longing for someone or someone’s touch.
She couldn’t take it all. She pulled out her diary and journaled her feelings about the lonely feeling, the situations that brought her to the present juncture, the future, the plans, the schedules and the unending yearning to be with someone just to feel normal again.
She was lost in her thoughts when she saw a couple more flashes of light from under the door, she was convinced that the house was getting robbed or maybe someone sneaked inside the house.
She set aside her diary, pulled out her pepper spray from the bag and got out of bed. She went to the door trying to listen to any noises on the other side of the door.
She heard whispers of a few people talking among themselves about knocking on the door.
A knock on the door with a familiar voice calling out. Suddenly, all surrounding sounds drowned out making the heartbeat louder.
She froze when she heard the second knock.
Firmly holding on to the doorknob, she slowly pulled down the latch without making any sound.
She took a deep breath. A drop of sweat trickled down her forehead over her cheek.
She turned the knob and slowly opened the door…
TRRRRRRRINNGGGG TRINNNNNNGGGGGGGG - The phone rang.
The moment she opened the door “ SUURRPPRRISSEEE SOBHITA!”, a group of around eight people shouted.
In a state of shock, fear and ecstasy, she sprayed the pepper spray right into the eyes of her best friend Sesh.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOOOO!”
She broke down into tears looking at all the people around her and hugging every person who was there to be with her at that moment.
She apologised to Sesh and sat down “Thank you all, I’m blessed to have you all here with me now. You don’t…… and sobbed again clutching Sesh.
She couldn’t explain what it meant to her when just a few moments ago, the thought of missing people around her sent her into crying to suddenly having the best of her friends around in such a short time was magical and she couldn’t control her emotions.
She wasn’t feeling lonely anymore, not at least that moment when she was with all her friends.
Maybe there is a light that brings us all out of darkness and maybe that light is our friends, family or partners and if there’s no one, just like the blind French girl, maybe there’s a German boy out there waiting to help us out of the wreckage of a life that we are going through.
Credits
This contribution is edited by R. S. Chintalapati & Tarun Chintam.
Product
This flash fiction is also available in a paperback & ebook.
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