A man was smoking near a coconut tree. I told him to quit, but he always replied, "If I quit, I will die." I didn't understand why he said that. I asked him, "Why are you so addicted to it?"
Then he replied in a soft tone, "To leave one addiction, a new addiction is needed." He added, "You are too young to understand."
I simply said, "Okay sir, goodbye. I have work at home." My mom was waiting for me; she had asked me to bring back vegetables on my way home. I crossed the road to get them. While I was buying vegetables, the seller said, "I have never seen you before. Are you new to this colony?" I replied, "Yes, we moved here last week."
I started walking toward my home. There was so much silence. The only sound I could hear was that of my own footsteps. I wasn't shocked, because it was another day of lockdown. During this Corona period, we are all trapped in our houses.
I have finally reached my home. I want to play with my friends and explore the world, and I have so many plans for after Corona, but for now, I need to stay at home. So, without wasting any time, I rang the doorbell. The sound of the bell broke the silent environment.
My mom opened the door and asked me, "Why are you so late?" I said, "Mom, you know vegetables are heavy to lift." Because of Corona, we stock up on all food items once a week, which is why they are heavy.
I entered my flat, and the first thing I did was wash my hands, face, and whole body. After that, I went to my room and jumped on the bed without thinking. A loud sound was produced, and my mom shouted, "Andrew, stop making so much noise!"
I was so bored that I decided to do something. A thought broke through all the speed barriers in my mind: the idea to make prank calls.
I finally reached home. I want to play with my friends and explore the world, and I have so many plans for after Corona, but for now, I need to stay at home. So, without wasting any time, I rang the doorbell. The sound of the bell broke the silence.
My mom opened the door and asked me, "Why are you so late?" I said, "Mom, you know vegetables are heavy to lift." Because of Corona, we stock up on all food items once a week, which is why they are heavy.
I entered my flat, and the first thing I did was wash my hands, face, and whole body. After that, I went to my room and jumped on the bed without thinking. A loud sound was produced, and my mom shouted, "Andrew, stop making so much noise!"
I was so bored that I decided to do something. A thought broke through all the speed barriers in my mind: the idea to make prank calls to random people. The idea was a bit weird, but the neurons in my mind were jumping to do it.
I picked up my phone and typed some random numbers. My heart was saying, "Brother, don't do this, you are wasting people's time." But then, a neuron "accidentally" jumped on the green button.
Ringing...
Somebody picked up my call. A broken voice came from the other side, "Hello?" He was an old man. I replied, "Hey sir, how are you?"
The old man asked, "Who are you, Beta?"
I replied, "I am an employee from a health company. If you need any medicine, call us."
The old man said, "I am fine for now, but I don't know for how many more days I will be."I picked up my phone and typed some random numbers. My heart was saying, "Brother, don't do this, you are wasting people's time." But then, a neuron "accidentally" jumped on the green button.
Ringing...
Somebody picked up my call. A broken voice came from the other side, "Hello?" He was an old man. I replied, "Hey sir, how are you?"
The old man asked, "Who are you, Beta?"
Now I decided to pretend live a health company employee...
I replied, "I am an employee from a health company. If you need any medicine, call us."
The old man said, "I am fine for now, but I don't know for how many more days I will be."
These words hit me hard. I said, "Thank you, sir, for your time," and I cut the call.
Then, I made more random calls. I loved talking to strangers, trying to make them laugh with my jokes and silly antics.
Finally, I decided to make one last call.
I typed a random number into the keypad and hit dial. My heart started to thud.
Ringing... ringing...
A very sweet voice answered from the other end. "Hello?"
In that moment, my confidence vanished. My hands started shaking, and it felt like my voice had completely left my body.
She spoke again, "Is anyone there? Or should I hang up?"
I finally managed to scramble for words. "Hey ma'am, I am Raghav. Do you need any caller tune services?" I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"No, thank you," she said softly, and the line went dead.
I sat there, feeling happy and sad all at once. My heart was racing so fast, it felt as hot and intense as the sun.