This & That

Naman touched the dust that had gathered at his old desk. He worded his name on it, carefully, and no one disturbed him this time. Towards the end of the cursive of the second 'N', he put his head on the table, and looked at it, as though the alphabet shone back at him, tracing its way glitter all the way to his eyes, "Puneeta."

If anyone was not paying attention to Naman and his antics till that moment, they were all ears now. Puneeta was often found wired in with Naman, in this particular corner, to their defence, "sharing similar taste in music." Colleagues were happy when work-time went into the showcause of two adults indulging in "unacceptable behaviour." 

It was two years back, each of the six days, the common fifteen minutes off the lunch break, Naman and Puneet would settle and others would sigh at their intimacy. They would often eavesdrop upon giggles which emitted from silly sounding options:

 

"Mountains or Sea?"

"Football or Tennis?"

"Son or Daughter?"

"County or City?"

"Sunrise or Sunset?"

"Bungalow or Apartment?"

"Tea or Coffee?"

"Beer or Whiskey?"

"Dark or White Chocolate?"

 

The stolen sessions went on. Between preferences, nobody could intercept their silence. They betted on what the answers could be. They betted on how long they would last, or one outlast the other. They betted on who amongst them would give these two out. All of this happened. Between victories and defeats Puneeta changed cities and Naman took to the seat of power. Between assumptions and answers, they gave up each of the above.

Naman returned to the moment, straigtened his tie, finished his greetings and left the campus. He thought of Puneeta the entire way back to his office. Nobody knew Puneeta was his cousin, nobody knew their answers. 

 

"With You."