WRONG NUMBER


It was the day of my son's XII results and I was so
tensed. I sat beside him
while he logged on the website with his registration
no.

" Ma" , he screamed in excitement," I scored 1191,
with centum in 4
subjects. I cant believe it. "
I kinda became numb in my excitement. My eyes became
wet.

I kissed him on his forehead and smiled . My husband
had gone out of
station on some business trip and my son immediately
called him on his cell
and told him of the news.

Soon we realized that he stood first in the state. Oh,
my joy knew no bounds
when Reporters and media persons soon swamped my house
for interviews and
photos. I was so honored to join him in the snaps.

I wanted to call my "wrong-number-friend to tell him
the news......I was so
excited.
He was someone whom I have known for more than 20
years.

I still do not remember when we became friends, but
certainly cannot forget
the first day he called me when I blasted him for
giving me so many wrong
calls.....after that he had called up a week later
asking apology, for he
had now got the right no of his friend whom he wanted
to talk to .We spoke
for an hour that day...even without knowing each
other's names.Though he
kept pestering me to reveal my name I never did and so
he kept a
name...Sweety. I used to get so shy whenever he called
me 'Sweety'. I was
doing first year of BSc. Maths then, and he was a
Computer Engineering
student.

From then he used to call me very often . We almost
discussed everything ..
By the final year of my college, we probably we were
in love, but I had been
cautious. I was in a dilemma whether to tell him. But
what if he was of a
different religion? Do I have the courage to talk to
my parents about it?

........all these questions ran through my mind.

I decided I'll not talk to him thereafter. When he
called next time I lied
to him I that I was going to Delhi for my post
graduation. He gave me his
office number and asked me to ring him up once I reach
there.

I never called .......

A couple of months later my marriage got fixed with a
guy of my parent's
choice. I was not happy but I did not complain; rather
accepted it as an
obedient daughter. At times I felt I missed my wrong-
number- friend.......

My hubby was a moody person; I have hardly spent any
good time with him- but
he was genuine indeed and never bothered my personal
space. After 2 years we
had a boy...Yet,I was not very happy with my married
life...One day I
happened to browse through my diary and found I still
had my old friend's
office phone no that he had given me. I dialed it and
spoke with him. He
said he was married and got a kid too. I was happy for
him though in the
bottom of the heart I felt bad that I could not marry
him.


From then I used to occasionally call him on that
number. I never gave him
mine as I felt that would put me in trouble...

And till today I almost shared everything with him
including my relationship
with my hubby.....today I was so happy and I wanted to
call him.

Just then I got a call.
"Your husband met with an accident and died on the
spot"

I banged the phone down. I broke. I did not call my
friend.....I somehow
started feeling guilty. I have never tried to talk to
him properly when he
was alive or moved close with him....
I felt I had been a bad wife........

A couple of years passed and one day my son brought
home a Bengali girl and
said they wanted to get married. I got them married as
I did not want my son
to go through what I did.
I decided to give my son his father's room and started
clearing it. There
was a phone book. I gently opened it to find, " Wrong
No: Sweety -XXXX XXXX"

God always puts the right numbers together. Its we who
interpret it wrong!!!