The Irony of Life(Chapter 1)

Silence of the night, along the road, on the pavement, a group of friends was sitting, drinking and gossiping. It was a weekend and they were out on a holiday, an outing of some sorts. 4 people all drunk, shouting and cursing their lives.

“My life is ruined, nothing to look forward to, I’m jobless, hopeless, dad wants me to join the office, I want to be a singer. He thinks it will ruin the reputation of the family business,” said one.

“My mother wants me to marry now, but right now I want to be independent, do what I want, enjoy my life, I’m too young man,” said the other.

“You are right, tell your mother that, Hemant. Hope she will understand.” said Shivani.

“No, she won’t understand,” said Hemant.

“Let it all go to hell, let us just, enjoy right now, life is too short, we should spend our life doing what we want.” said Nupur.

Somewhere down the road the other guy saw someone walking towards them, his vision was blurred because he was dizzy of all the alcohol he had consumed, in their own terms, and he was wasted.

“Who is that?” said he.

“Better listen to the girl, Hemant, your mother is one of the few people who will understand you, if you want happiness, you don’t need to look for long, just have a look around.” said the stranger.

“You know, my mother told me to be wary of strangers.” said Akshay.

“Your mother taught you well. Can I join you guys?” said the strange man.

“No way. We don’t even know who you are, never seen you before.” said Hemant.

“She knows me.”

“Who?”

“Shivani.”

“Shivani?????” said an aghast Hemant.

“Yes, he is Abhishek. He is my neighbour.”
“What is he doing here?” said Akshay.

“How should I know? ASK HIM!!!”

“Your mother asked me to take care of you, to follow you, to make sure, you don’t do anything stupid.” said Abhishek.

Everyone was so drunk that they couldn’t find words to react. Abhishek had to break the awkward silence.

“Now can I sit with you or not, I just want to join you guys. And….”

“And what?”

“And tell you a story.”

“Story?”

“Yes, something which might help you turn a new leaf, change your life, understand the importance of life and how short it is, to be lived properly and not to be wasted.”

“That’s what I just said, old man….copycat…huh!!!!”

“Will you shut up and let me speak?”

“Whatever, I bet you have also copied your so-called story from somewhere too..”

“Listen girl, you listen or not, it doesn’t matter to me, I’m here to perform my duty.”

“What duty? It was her mother who told you to do that, it shouldn’t matter to you what she does, you’re just a neighbor.”

“It is my duty, if I take it up, if I start something I finish it, I don’t care then, whether I have to do it or not, it’s just what has to be done and what should be done. Now you want to listen or not?”

“You won’t stop even if I tell you to so what’s the point?”

“14 years back, I was in a boarding school in Nainital…..”