**A novice’s attempt on sharing a story – part fiction, part fact, albeit exaggerated, but very close to the heart! If my mere attempt ends up doing injustice to ANYONE or my typos and mediocre vocab irritate the nerve cells, apologies extended in advance!

February, 1996
“burp_aloud@yahoo.com would like to add you to his/her yahoo messenger. Accept / Reject” was what popped up one cold winter night when she logged in to her yahoo messenger. She giggled at the ‘creativity’ of the yahoo id and for some unknown but undeniable reason she clicked ‘Accept’
“Hey Sheila!”
She, “Hey! Who’s this?”
“This is Burpy ”
She, “That I know, but how does Burpy know Sheila?”
“He just knows :D”
She, “???????????????”
………………………………………………..
“Buzz”
“Buzz”
“You there?”
“You backed out already? I heard U were a tough lady”
“OK! If truth is what it takes to keep u from blocking me, we share a common fren & NO, I did not ask her to hook me up with you. I saw you in her pictures and just wondered if we could talk sometimes”
She, “Fair enough”
Burpy, “So, k ma timro sathi banna sakchu?”
She, “:-s”
Burpy, “I don’t know if that’s a yes, but I m sure it’s not a NO”
She, “”
Burpy, “U took a while to reply to my fren’s request there”
She, “I don’t really use these messengers as much. It just so happened that I had to check my emails tonight, but I gtg now”
Burpy, “Will I see U tomorrow again?”
She, “IDK! Bye”
………………………………
Then, she heard her phone ring, caller – Unknown! “Yes??” she answered.  A familiar voice at the other end said, “Hey Babe!” It was her boyfriend! “Hajjjjur”…….
They were thousands of miles apart, yet he never failed to call her every week and every time he called, she still found the same affection he first bestowed to her 6 years ago. She well remembered the tears that trickled down his cheeks, besides his futile attempt to hide them behind his dark ray bans, when she left for the United States almost a year ago. She could still fathom his profound concern about her during their brief talk-times and feel his voice quiver every time they hung up. She always felt that he loved her way more than she actually did! She was blessed to have his angelic figure around her, until that night, which would change her life forever!

------------to be continued