The Heart Break Kid (working title)

Chapter 1

The road was long. The sun beating down on the concrete didn't help matters. Beads of sweat trickled down his brow even as he watched the cars, buses and other vehicles speed past.

He was walking alone in his own thoughts... Dangerous ones as he contemplated whether to take it or leave it... Revenge that is. But it was all complicated. It wasn't ideally revenge in the first place. He was ready to face the consequences of his actions be it death. But then another thought stuck him so what if he was ready to part with the world any day. Would the other person be ready? Wouldn't that person want more out of life than he ever did? He could still feel the Adam’s apple of his friend bobbing up and down when he had thoughts of crushing it. He was that close when he decided against it. All because they were pulling each other’s legs and the guy had commented on something that he didn’t like. But it was all forgotten and they were still good friends. This was more done in zest and only he knew how close he had been to crushing his friend’s windpipe. We all have the Hulk buried deep down under somewhere and every now and then he just surfaces to tell you that he still exists.

This had always been his Achilles heel. Too much thought into things. He had always been a good boy since childhood so much so that everybody liked him much. But what's it to be liked when u ain't loved?

He decided that like all good things, this too needs to come to an end. He decided to be bad. But try as he may, he couldn't come to terms with being bad.

He knew that there were people who knew what he was talking about and questions would be asked. Did he care???

But this was not the time to think of these things. The states that he was in, a supposed annual ritual which he carried out required him to curb any thoughts of lust, anger, and emotion and only entertain thoughts of God. He had last done this 3 years back, but this time it was different, He wasn’t able to concentrate and his mind kept pulling him in different directions all the time. It was then with great difficulty that he cleared his mind of all scandalous thoughts and deeds to ensure a monk like stability before forgetting about all those thoughts. However the purpose of his visit was clear – He wanted to stand before the all-knowing one asking questions as to why his prayers of the last time went unanswered. As a matter of fact all his prayers had vanished in thin air by the time of this visit. He was losing faith by the day, by the hour. A devote was turning into an atheist. 

His life was like an open book which could easily be pieced together if one met his friends, colleagues and family. There were no skeletons hidden in the closet or any enemies lurking in the shadows. If at all he had one, then he was the one whom he met every day of his living life. Just when he would be getting dressed to go to office and stand in front of the mirror, his worst enemy would show a glimpse of himself before merging in the shadows…A tall guy with a slight paunch hidden well underneath his shirt and balding head wearing the exact clothing as he was and breathing the same air that he breathed, He knew exactly the one hurdle to his dreams – himself.

Chapter 2

The campaign was all wrong. From the very beginning he could feel that the approach to the campaign was incorrect and every time he tried to right it, it became even more muddled. He had no one to blame but himself since he was making all the decisions.  Part of the decision making also hinged on the fact that he was not getting any younger. Now closer to the wrong end of the thirties, there was pressure from all sides on him to get married and settle down. His parents had been searching for a bride since the past 6 years. He lost his father in the middle but that did not slow down the process. And now after 6 years and having met 2-3 girls there was nothing to show for the efforts. Deep down, he knew that this would never work. No matter how much others would try, it is difficult for something to happen if the person does not put his heart and soul into it. In this case, he had already lost it to someone else. So there was no question of any other. But if anything came along, he would surely shoulder the responsibility. He was never the kind to shy away from responsibilities. If anything, he was always game to take on responsibilities and perform to the best of his abilities.

It was the same attitude and approach that he adopted in his work. Always game to take on more work, he would relish the fact that he was the last to leave the office and would want to immerse himself in work. It was his getaway and a perfect one at that. He never cared about timings, holidays or anything else. Nothing deterred him from reaching his office in time be it floods or curfews or any bandhs. He liked to be in the thick of action and endure the pressure that came out of adhering to strict deadlines and involved a high degree of skill and accuracy. However, at this moment, after nearly 13 years, he was at cross roads. All this while, when he worked, he never cared about his remuneration nor his standing in his job. But now things had changed and he felt short-changed. The world had flown past him and he seemed to be stuck in a time warp. All his close friends the ones from school, college, his colleagues, everyone was well settled and doing well. Though he felt good that they were all living good lives, this was his moment of reckoning whence he found out that he earned nearly half of what she earned. This would surely be a hindrance if at all it ever came to the crunch and he wanted to change all that. Any window of opportunity that he may get, he wanted to capitalise….