Strangers, back then,
It began,
He texted her and she replied,
It was just work,
Oblivious of tomorrow,
That their fates may cross.

Months later, they stumbled onto each other,
By chance,
Their paths crossed,
Hi! He said, Oh hello! She replied,
They nodded and smiled,
Faces to the voices, they placed.

Days later, he contacted her,
Remember me??? His words read,
Introducing himself, he made a new start,
For his number, she had not saved,
And then he called her,
Can we be friends? He asked with an eager.

With a calm modulated voice,
He charmed his way into her life,
A surge of excitement,
Once in a lifetime kind of connection, they felt,
On a journey of friendship, they embarked on,
Unaware when their Pheromones kicked on.

Day in and night out,
They chatted and talked,
Their likes and dislikes,
The earth and the sky,
Books and web series,
Food, music and wine.

And then the Country shutdown,
For Covid 19 lock down,
They woke up with the good mornings,
Ended with the good nights,
They had so much in common,
They became each other’s obsession.

From Friends to more than Friends,
They worried when the other went offline,
They checked on each other,
Kept one another occupied,
“I had been waiting for you all my life”, she opened,
“I am here. I am not going anywhere”, he lullabied.

Lockdown lifted, normal life resumed,
He had a life to live and so had she,
Meet they did on an occasion or two,
A little touch of hand, sparks flew,
Deep intense eye contact,
If in seclusion, control they would loose.

And then just like that,
A whiff of smoke, he disappeared,
No replies, no call backs,
She questioned her own sanity,
He ghosted her without any explanation,
Was he just in her imagination?

One fine April evening in a social gathering,
They bumped on each other,
Euphoric she blushed and blurted, “Hi”,
Awkward and surprised he replied, “Hello there”,
Addressing the One beside him, he fumbled,
“Meet my wife, Jeanie here”.

Have you ever heard a heart breaking???
Deafening thumping sounds of your own heart beat,
With a reserved demeanour, she walked herself out,
Heedless and blind with tears, she made home,
Stark naked, she stood under the cold shower,
Her Pheromones washed off as reality struck.

He buried his head under his believing wife’s nape,
Made sure, comfortable she slept,
Flipped over and picked up the phone,
Her Instagram handle, he opened,
“People come and people go. The end purpose, you are, but on your own”,
Updated an hour ago.

WhatsApp he opened,
“Are you asleep? Miss you”,
He pushed the send button,
Two blue ticks with “typing” status appeared,
Made him smile and then...
Shifted his Pheromones elsewhere.

.     .     .