Dear readers. Thanks for putting up with me. This chapter is a break away from the story, from the POV of the thinker, "The Known Stranger"Enjoy!
His eyes were blank, emotionless, and dark. He had been dumped, and now he could not bear to think about his future of loneliness and despair, or intense grief. Why? He thought.
"Love is an illusion, love is an illusion…." he mumbled.
But it didn't help.
He could always find love somewhere else….
No. it was her. It had to be.
But, aday of moping around had made him stronger.
Maybe I'll find love on the internet, he thought, and laughed to himself. Why not sign into an online dating service, just for fun?
The thought of getting over her made him hopeful. He picked himself up and moved on to his desktop, where his monitor screen welcomed him with an inviting white glow. This could be good for me, he thought, and smiled.
, , ….he signed into all of them. He then checked his email. Spam, spam, spam…..he went on the mission of deleting them all, when the one on the top caught his eye. "H20 Babe says hi"
"Wow!"
Receiving mails already? He thought. He had checked out her profile, and had begun chatting with her. They had hit it off right away. It went on so perfectly, that he had even deleted his account on all the dating sites. "She's the one" he thought. He had requested to meet her alone.
"No…I can't…" she typed
"Come on, it will be fun, wherever you want"
"No really…"
He had persuaded her with no success. He had decided to drop the issue. Whenever she was ready, he thought. It scared him that he knew nothing about her. She didn't even seem to show the same level of interest in him, the way he did in her. Her photograph was one of a water body, and apart from the few things she had told him, he knew nothing about her. Except, that he loved her, he loved a complete stranger.
She was exotic, mysterious, sensual and though he had met her virtually—the only real woman in his life. She was so close, yet so far. He often dreamt of her at night, even during the day. He'd stay at home a lot, always waiting for her emails. They connected so well on the mental level. They shared the same ideologies, read the same books, believed in the same moral codes, even the strange ones he thought only he could trust to be moral.
However, there were two things that constantly bothered him, clung to the back of his mind. Firstly, he had never seen how she looked. She was never ready to meet him, and reluctant to share any private information with him.
"You could be someone I meet everyday…" he had joked, on their online conversations, once. He didn't even have her phone number; she had refused even that request.
"If I give you my number, you'll know where I live. Then you might drop in sometime, and I'm not ready for that," she said.
This often made him frustrated, but he didn't want to force her. He dreaded losing her. She could, with one button, block him out of her life. I must know more, he decided, and swore he would find out more about her.
The second thing that bugged him was her lack of affection towards him. At first, he thought she was simply shy.
Why would she initiate a conversation with him, send him an email, if she wasn't interested? He wondered. But the way she spoke to him…was friendly. There was some flirtatious banter, but nothing more. She almost spoke to him as if he was a girlfriend. He had tried, on several occasions, to flirt with her. But it always blew up in his face.
Like one time, he saw her online. "Hey what's up?" he asked.
"Nothing, I just took a shower…drying my hair…" she said.
He smiled. He imagined her naked, wiping her hair. He had no idea how her hair or skin looked.
"And what are you wearing?" he teased
"Now why would you ask me something so stupid?" she replied, and logged off.
These incidents would worry him to no end. How could he possibly know what she thought of him?
One week later, he knew. He received an email from her.
Hi, it read.
I know I haven't been straight with you. I read your profile and found you interesting. That's why I emailed you, a whole month ago. In this month you have been my sole confidant, the one I tell everything to, almost my best friend. But I didn't tell you one thing, afraid I'd lose you as a friend. I haven't been completely honest with you…I have a boyfriend. We are getting married soon. I know this might come as a shock to you. I admit I led you on at several occasions, I sincerely apologize for that. It was just so flattering, the way you were always showering me with compliments, always being such a gentleman. My boyfriend lacks those qualities, he's always so straightforward and curt. I beg you to forgive me, for what I have said, and what I am about to say, as well. That is the reason I never asked for a photo, or any private details about you, and didn't tell you anything about me. I knew this day would come. Please don't try to find me, or track me down. I want to remember our friendship as it was. I have no idea who you are, neither do you. This is my last email to you….I will delete this email address after this, I am going to delete this e-mail address. Let's pretend this never happened.
Sorry.
He read the email over and over. He couldn't believe it. Rage welled up inside him. The thirst for revenge grew inside his heart. He was so angry….but he thought fast. He typed quickly, praying she hadn't deleted the user id yet. He hit Reply, and began to type.
Dear friend.
I am really disappointed that it had to end this way. I can't believe that you could do something like this to me. I will not go on. I understand now why you needed your privacy. I promise I won't try to track you down again. But I have been in love with you forever. Please, as my last request…send me your photo.
He pressed send and waited. She replied in fifteen minutes, one attachment, labeled 'me'. His fingers trembled as he opened the file.
She was beautiful—with dark skin, big blue eyes, long, thick curly hair hanging down in bunches, with pouty pink lips. Worse yet, he knew her…in fact; she had just invited him to her wedding.
Author's Note: How was it? Aren't you guys dying to know who this is? If you have an idea, tell me before you move on to the other chapter. C'mon, it's someone unexpected.