Correct Number

It was January 21, 2012 I still remember. My declining health and those threatening statements of the doctors made my dad to get admitted in the hospital. I was lying on that bed and my brain was travelling in those never ending fields of darkness, yes, being there, constantly, on that bed had transcended my brain, it has pushed it away, and now it was attracting all those negative thoughts
, which had, then, started dominating my mind.

While being in those negativities, something brought my mind back to reality. It was my phone, which all of the sudden started vibrating and broke the series of my thoughts. I checked it. A call from some unknown number, it was 980629…. calling.

“Whose number is this?” I murmured, but it didn’t strike my mind. And finally I picked that call. But before I could have said something, the person from the other side started shouting, and I figured out that there was some girl who was there on the phone.

“You idiot.” She said.

“Sorry?” I responded.

“What sorry? You didn’t even realize that it’s my birthday today? How could you even forget that?”

“But who are you?” I asked with my voice brimmed with the confusion that was going on in my mind.

She paused for a second. “Aren’t you Ravi?”  She asked.

“No. You have dialed a wrong number.” I politely said.

“Ohh.” She disconnected the call.

Had I been in a healthy condition, then definitely I would have tried to talk or even flirt with that girl, I simply thought and winked. I, again, started thinking of myself and my fucked up life which was now under suffering due to some disease. I didn’t know when I slept and then I almost forgot about this incident when I woke up.

Some of my friends came to visit me in the hospital and I had some smile flashing on my face after a mind tiring day. They made me laugh and I was happy person then.

My friends left and again I wanted to sleep and forget that I was ill. Again, the phone vibrated and I seriously hated it that time. ‘Who would have called now’ I was simply guessing and as I took the phone in my hand it flashed 980629…. Damn! It was that same wrong number, again.

“Hii” She said as this time her tone sounded little low.

“Hey, I think you have again called on the same old wrong number.” I replied.

“No, it’s the correct number this time.” She said and made me confused as to what she meant by saying this.

“I didn’t get you? Do you know me?”

“No” She said. “But don’t you have manners, you got to know that it’s my birthday, still can’t you wish me?” She kind of yelled this time.

“Happy Birthday.” I said with all that confusion within me.

“Thanks.” She said, in a soothing voice.

“But why have you called me again?”

“Listen, actually last December I broke up with my boyfriend and he changed his number then. But one day he called me from some different number and I was trying to remember that number and I figured that out wrong and I connected you.” She said and she stopped suddenly. Silence. “10^th January my mom died.” She said and a great silence dominated.

All I could hear that time was a low sound of her crying…

“Hey are you okay?”

“Hmm.” A low simply sound from the depth of her throat came. “You know since morning I’ve been sitting in my room waiting that my mom will call me.”

And at the back of my mind I simply started thinking that I’m depressed just because of a disease, then what amount of pain and suffering she might be going through after this heavy loss of hers.

“What happened?” She asked.

“Nothing.” As I suddenly got out of my thinking zone. “Hey, be brave. You can’t change the reality, but you can be brave enough to fight with it.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“But tell me one thing, why are you sharing me all this.” I asked.

“Because you were the first guy who didn’t call or message me back after getting the number of a girl.” She said and laughed a bit.

That night our conversation went a little longer. I didn’t ask her for her name and neither did she ask for mine. But I knew I got a good friend and so did she.

I saved her number in the contact list of my phone by ‘Correct Number’.

We still talk to each other, not often, but at a regular time period. We are good friends who have some honest life conversations. And we always remember that one day when that one wrong number gave me one the most correct persons of my life.