"You like Chuck Palahniuk?"
She looked up. Brown eyes, long eyelashes.
“Ya. I’ve only read this one, and Snuff.”
He shook his head. “He’s insane.”
She smiled and noted his dark black eyes, with an iris that glittered like countless board pins.
“ I’m Fabian.”
“ I’m Neha.”
“Hi Neha. Sorry I can’t shake hands. Don’t want to end up dead”
Her eyes twinkled; he could tell she was smiling.
“It’s okay Fabian. You’re forgiven.”
“So what’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?”
He thought he heard her snort. He liked girls who didn’t try and muffle their amusement.
“Okay. Don’t tell me. Let me guess. You have fever, a cold, may be even a cough and a body ache.”
“Wow Fabian. What do you do? Read face masks for a living?”
He laughed.
“No, hang around government hospitals, hoping to meet girls with brown eyes and a hacking cough.”
Her eyes went from twinkling to guarded in a second.
“Sorry. Don’t panic. I’m just bored. And happy to have someone to talk to.”
The brown eyes went warm again.
It’s okay, she said
They both looked away.
This time she broke the silence. I like your eyes, she said.
He looked around in surprise.
I’m talking to you, she said.
“Oh me. Whew. I thought you were those kinds.”
“What are those kinds?”
“You know. The chicks who are into let’s draw the line at hello, what’s your name, where do you work.”
“What crap. There are no women like that.”
“Okay. I like your eyes too.”
She paused, the conversation had shifted.
“Isn’t this bizarre?”
What, he said.
“Having this conversation, here.”
This was his cue. His eyes looked shy for the first time. “We could have it somewhere else. You like Vishal Bhardwaj? Kaminey releases on Friday.”
She wanted to say yes. Instead she coughed. A long bout of short coughs.
He thumped her on the back. She drank some water from the Bisleri bottle she was carrying.
He wanted to ask her again. She wanted to say yes. But between the coughing and the drinking, her name got called.
“Neha Shrivastav”
She stood up frantically. The ward boy was scowling. Six hundred people had already landed up, and it was just eleven in the morning.
“Aye…madam…jaldi karah.”
She slipped her bag over her neck. Adjusted her mask, took a deep breath. And turned to him.
“I’ll see you in quarantine. Or I’ll see you at Globus, eight thirty, Friday.”
He smiled. “I’ll be there, wearing a mask!”
He thought he heard a snort as she walked towards the doctor’s chamber.
This is my version of Love in the Time of Swine Flu. Apologies to Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Love in the Time of Cholera.
29 comments:
Apologies accepted. Please take accolades in return. :-D
--Hyde
AGG... Fiction after agef... and you know what... The firft poft I read on your blog waf a ftory...
And that poft infpired me to write fiction... I dont know if I ever did thank you...
but I have to now... I waf fuffering from an acute lack of infpiration... till I read thif... thif poft was af awefone af alwayf... and I am infpired to write again...
Thank you... and loved thif poft... I wifh I had your imaginatafion
@hyde: thank you. big smile.
@bloggore: : )))i got it. you're doing the kaminey thing on me. wat fun. and thankf for all the nice thingf you faid!
hey gal,
got u thru as the mind meanders..(truckloads of appreciation for u on his blog.. ;-)) so thot of dropping by..and am so so so glad i did.. :-)
Its a sweet love story.. Juz imagine seeing someone wen u r at ur worst.. aha..!! ;-) *blush*
Im hard pressed for time :-( so cud manage to read only forevr in blue jeans n dis post.. will definitely come back to read more frm u..
Tk cr..
Cheers,
Sangitha S. ;-)
P.S. Im following u..hope u dnt mind.. ;-)
Funny it was !! Hehehehe.. I'm still smiling through :))) Good post :)
Nice setting :)
New here, following now :)
Oh, and I forgot to mention I'm currently reading 'Invisible Monsters'. A bit underwhelmed if you want my honest opinion. :|
i am a sucker for romance...don't care if its masked or not ; ) pun intended!! hahahah
So cute :D
nice take nice take :)
for the first time i see you writing on love :P and it was as always amazing
aaha, what a story. On swine flue. Humm.....great :D
Whoa...That was unexpected! I kept thinking they were at crosswords or something...Loved it! :)
I do follow your blog but stumbled onto this post courtesy Mr Mind.
Cheers
If you are planning to sell the rights of this story..talk to my agent..lets make this film. I love it.
agg, the comments on this post are a sign. read it. alternatively just take This is that's offer of the agent. really.
I wish i could draw, because your story is like well-written lyrics. they evoke strong visuals. but alas:)
keep them coming.
haha :D
we've all been going insane worrying about it and here you are, turning it into a piece of great writing!
@sangitha: thank you. yup, as the mind meanders and i are starting a mutual appreciation society. membership is still open : )))
@nu: thank you. (it rhymes!)
@arslan: thanks. try guts. here's the link. http://chuckpalahniuk.net/features/shorts/guts
and do not blame me if you feel violently sick after reading it : )
@small miracle: mask you pun all the time? : ) okay, i tried!
@divya: grazie.
@ani_aset: is that true? maybe. actually i always think i'd be damn sappy if i write about love. so i just avoid it. maybe i'll try some more of the love stuff now.
@natalie: thank you, thank you.
@choco: hey. strange, i was just at your blog before i came here. thanks. glad you liked it.
@this is that: okay, talking to agent Z. : ) dudess, you are my inspiration.
@disappearslikesmoke: my god. i'm being bombarded by signs over the last coupla days : ) for someone who doesn't notice anything, i'm being positively hit on the head by them.
@victoria: thank you. yeah, i just decided to give up on the worrying. no point. c'est la vie!
yes it sure is true..every word :)
Awesome! Meandering mind was right!
Great blog!
Loved this.....what a lovely way to deal with the fear that's doing the rounds...
Hugs
Corinne
Loved it :)
I always thought people used masquerades to initiate conversations like these. These folks have taken it literally I guess. Love at first snort. Nice.
Are you awesone or are you awesome? You are awesome!
GOsh, *wipes the tear off her cheek* This was delicious. I'd like some dessert now. :)
Top stuff.
Keep 'em begging for more!
nice...wonder if this is a good time to say that I struggled through The Diary and gave up on Love in the time of...
Awesome...Marquez would be impressed.
@nikky, corinne, shanu, slash, eveline, the knife, pinku: thank you. : ) for all the comments, and the nice stuff. and i'm so glad you guys liked the story.
@doing my thing: you made me snort with laughter! : ) kisses.
i agree with this is that...
this is that...what say? agent green glass this will make a lovely short film but has to be made now now now while its still the times of swine flu.
i agree with this is that...
this is that...what say? agent green glass this will make a lovely short film but has to be made now now now while its still the times of swine flu.
nice. very nice.
odd, the word verification is 'k nice'
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