Sing it.

present day los angeles.


"Call Baretto.Now."

"What for?"

"He didn't tell me."

"For the Anderson's project probably."

"Probably."
Probably not.

Baretto.
She loved his name.
Buurrretto.
So effortlessly powerful.Just like the guy.

She hated talking to him though.
Sometimes.
He wasn't the kind who would talk to you about the good times when you're low.
He was the kind who would make you feel even more like shit.
Remind you of the truth.
Even the parts that made you cringe.

And she didn't want to cringe just yet.
She was drained and hurting.
Hurting like shite at that.
And she hated talking on the phone anyway.

His callertune put her at ease though.
It always had.

"Say."

She hated when he did that too.
It was probably her slow reflexes but she expected everyone to say hello when they picked up her call.She always fumbled at this part.

"Jerry asked me to call you."

"Yeah.Anna told me you came back yesterday.So,how was curry land?"

"Same old Bombay,same old."
She smiled.

"Figured.I told Victor you'd be coming but he was out of town."

Ofcourse he was.

****
A memory:

'Nice.'

One word.
A one word reply to her 66 character mail.
She had written all about the weird girls at her hostel and this was all she got from him.
A nice.
She was angry.

She wanted him to know.

"Tell Victor I miss him."
Hah.
Got him.
Or did she?

Victor had always been the shy,loony,reserved guy.
Jay and Victor had been neighbours for as long as she had known them.

She had never really got along well with Vic but then who did?
She had tried.
And he knew that.



***

"Yeah."
Her voice wavered.
She hoped he wouldn't notice.

"So listen I thought I'd tell you,I met Samara some days back at the mall."

"Samara Saxena?"

"Yeah.Come here for some fashion major or something.She asked about you."

"About me? And what exactly did you say?"

"I told her you'd meet her tommorow at Faedo's.Around 8 in the evening."

"Whaa?"

"Have to go."

beepbeepbeep.
Gone.

Her jet lag vanished in less than a minute.
That feeling in her toes was back again.

She had fallen asleep on her laptop again.The newspapers crumbled under her thighs were getting unbearably itchy.She stashed them aside and got to work.
Samara Saxena.
Jay's baby sister.
7 years was a long time.
Things have changed,she thought.
Her mind wandered.
Why hadn't she called in seven years?
Not even when Jay died.









For the first time in three years,she prayed that tommorow would never arrive.
Her head felt heavy with all the memories.
She pulled up the cushions closer.And slept.






...to be continued.


p.s-This post is a continuation of the previous two 'She smiles' series.
Its there somewhere down this blog,July I think.