One morning, the buzzing sound of my phone woke me up at 6. It was a WhatsApp message from an international number. It just said, “Hey.” I had no idea who it was from, and out of sheer curiosity, I replied back. In retrospect, I think that was probably one of the not-so-good decisions I’ve made in life. Within seconds, that person replied and we ended up having a conversation.
I learnt that he was an Indian guy named Jatin who had moved to Ghana a few years ago. He was from the same city as me but a different school. In fact, he had come to my school for a couple of competitions when we were in the 8th grade. When I saw his profile picture he looked pretty familiar.
We talked throughout that summer and I got to know that he was visiting India in July to spend some time with his family before heading off to the USA for college. By this time we had confessed our liking for each other. So, I was overjoyed to know that we would be meeting soon. He asked me if I would go on a date with him and we made plans about how we will spend time together. To say that I was over the moon would be an understatement.
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I had told about him to my best friend Priya, who lives in Mumbai. However, she didn’t like him. She told me that she wasn’t getting positive vibes from him. I just brushed off her warnings thinking she was just being an overprotective best friend.
Finally, the day came when Jatin and I were to meet. We had decided that he would pick me from college and we’d go for a movie. At the cinema hall, somehow, things took a different turn and, well, there wasn’t much movie watching happening between us. When we left the theatre, I was blushing. He dropped me back to college and I went home all giddy.
It was almost midnight when I messaged him and he replied a while later saying he’s pretty drunk. I wanted to ask him if he was serious about me and whether whatever happened during the day meant something to him. I thought – what better time than now? After all, drunk people usually speak the truth. I asked him and the answer I got was definitely not what I wanted to hear. He told me that he wasn’t looking for a relationship and that it was just a hookup for him. I was shocked and heartbroken. That afternoon at the cinema had been my first kiss.
I was in tears when I called up Priya. I told her the entire story and she was furious. He had once tried flirting with her and I didn’t take it seriously because I thought it was harmless. That night, she told me that he had again tried flirting with her and she didn’t want to tell me about it because she thought I would feel bad.
So, we planned to find out what Jatin’s intentions were. She texted him saying that she’s got some urgent work in Delhi and would be here for 2 days. That got him really interested and he told her that they should definitely meet.
Then, she called him up and put me on conference call. I heard the whole conversation. Priya assured him that she wouldn’t tell me about their plans. And the next thing Jatin asked her was if they could hook up. I was shocked beyond words. She agreed and then they fleshed out their plan – he was to pick her from the Metro station and then they would head to his friend’s empty flat. He even told her that he wasn’t serious about me. In fact, he slept with some girl the day before he met me and he hooked up with someone else at the party he went to, after he dropped to my college. I didn’t know how to react.
On the day Jatin and Priya were supposed to meet, I, along with a friend of mine, went to the Metro station. So, instead of Priya, Jatin found me standing there at the station. The look of shock on his face is something I will never forget. He tried to act really casual and pretend as if he wasn’t at all surprised to see me there.
I straightaway confronted him. I told him that I had heard the entire conversation between him and Priya. Had my friend not been there to stop me, I would have probably slapped him then and there. He tried explaining things to me and claimed that he would have told me everything, but I was in no mood for any excuses from him. I left him there.
He kept asking me to meet him; he wanted to apologize to me. I flatly refused and told him that I forgive him, because by forgiving him it would be easier for me to forget about him.
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I didn’t hear from him for a while. He messaged me after six months saying that he was in Delhi and would like to meet me. I totally ignored him and that was the last time he tried talking to me.
* Names changed to protect privacy.
Images: Shutterstock
