NEO and NEETHA

NEO AND NEETHA

It was 10 am; he was back home from college already. “KSU or SFI?” it was his Mom. (For those who are not familiar with student politics in Kerala; KSU and SFI are THE strongest students’ political organizations.) She didn't need an explanation from his part, that there was a strike in his college that day too. It was the last year of his engineering, and the number of strikes had hit an all time high that August. Though KSU and SFI had widely conflicting principles and political outlooks, it appeared that they agreed upon a common slogan; that being: An eye for an eye; and a strike for a strike.

In his college it was an unwritten rule of sorts among the students, that they would study anything ONLY in the last week before the exams. And every student from the class topper to the once-in-a-while-visitor to class, earnestly adhered to that rule. So having nothing else to do that day, he plunged himself into the internet. He just had to check if some stray forwards had made its way to his severely starving mailbox. He was not at all into chatting, he almost detested it. He could not handle all those bad words and the mindless flirting going on in the chat rooms. But that day, he decided to sign in to one of the chat rooms.

To this day, he doesn’t know what made neo_matrix100 to say hi to a certain Neetha_a in that chat room. (Don’t let his chat name neo_matrix100 mislead you, he was not flashy or audacious like Neo of Matrix, on the contrary, he had a very reserved and quiet persona.) One hour later, after what was by far the longest chat he had ever had, Neo and Neetha said bye and went their ways into the infinite realms of the cyberworld. But that one hour was magical.

The next week when the strike chapter repeated itself again; he found himself staring at the same chat room, hoping to find Neetha_a. Ten minutes of ‘smileys, asl s, LOL s, and many more chat-acronyms that he couldn’t quite figure out, filled the screen; with not a single contribution from his side. Then, to his delight, he saw the message “Neetha_a has entered our room” flash across the screen. Neetha said she was hoping to find him in the room for the past two days. This time, neither of them wanted to lose touch, so they exchanged their email IDs.

Everyday Neo had a mail from Neetha and Neetha had a reply from Neo. Neo learned Neetha’s real name was Anu and that she was doing B.Sc Zoology. Neetha learned Neo was called Sachin outside the cyberworld. Neo and Neetha talked tirelessly about everything under the sun. They discussed the movies they saw, the songs that they liked, their college, their families, trips to their native place and so on. And if they were ever to run out of subjects, Neo would talk about Java programming and Neetha would talk about her Microbiology classes; fully aware that the other wouldn’t understand a thing.

Onam, Neetha’s birthday (September), Neo’s birthday (October), Christmas: all were celebrated online. Neo sent a mail with Neetha’s favorite song attached for her birthday, and Neetha sent a lovely e-cake for Neo’s birthday.

Suddenly his life seemed more meaningful; there was something to smile at, something to look forward to everyday. The world just seemed so much more beautiful. What was this heavenly feeling that was enveloping him about a girl he has never seen and whose voice he has never heard? Was it love? He wasn’t sure.

Come January, and both Neo and Neetha were nervous about seeing each other for the first time. The occasion? Neetha had completed her BSc course and what’s more, she had topped her class in the final exams. Neo suggested a treat and Neetha suggested the place. The plan was in its final stages when he had to go to his native place due to an emergency.

When he came back, he had enough mails to make his mailbox look healthy and happy like never before. They continued their volley of mails until, one day in January! Neetha's mail that day was unusually small and he could sense a taste of sadness in it. Neo was concerned and mailed her back. But no more mails form Neetha ever made its way to Neo's mailbox. Neo's mailbox was again plunged into starvation and Neo into desperation.

And then one day, Neo put in his last words for Neetha as an offline message. “I’ll always cherish our friendship. Have a happy and wonderful married life.” He had a lump in his throat when he finished typing.



Epilogue

One whole year and a couple of months have passed. And last week, Neo got a mail from Neetha. The essence of the mail is that Anu is happily married to a software engineer, and she says my Java preachings have come in handy for her at times. You know what? I felt really happy for her. Happy for those beautiful days; happy for her contented and joyful marriage.

A voice deep within me whispered: Eventhough Neo and Neetha were a great couple in the cyberworld, Sachin and Anu were not meant to be so in the real one.


All endings are happy. If its not, then it is not the end. – Anonymous