Citizen Gautam Naik shares his fiction.
My Phone rang on a chilly January
morning in office. And what happened next gave me the biggest of surprise in
life. I learnt lessons which I cannot forget rest of my life. The call was about Manish, my new neighbour
who lived next door.
I met Manish first time on the
same day he occupied house next door. It was a rainy night in June. I was
trying to get hold of TV Remote which was in the firm grip my wife. I hate
these soap operas. While my wife hates bombastic news anchors shouting at the
top of their voices and making life of other panellist miserable. She feels how
that can entertain anyone after a long
day in office? But then she doesn’t get my point. Who wants to cry over the
fate of a newly married lady in palatial house as shown in these soaps? Anyways
it’s an eternal dilemma across the families in India. Now both of us had a
competition from my eight years old daughter. She always wanted to see one of
those Japanese cartoons. But then time being you could scold her and ask her to
do her homework. Once she would be a teenager, and then god only knows what
would happen? Suddenly the bell rang. I
was wondering who it could be at that hour of the day. I opened the door.
I saw a tall guy with an athletic
build, dressed in three fourth jeans and T shirt. Did I know him?
He smiled and said “Hi, I am
Manish, Manish Brar. I have rented the flat next to yours.”
I said “Hello, nice to meet you”
and we shook hands.