Monday, April 03, 2006

A quick tale 121

Look at me

You cover your mouth and cough gently. This should catch his attention. But it doesn't. He leans back and turns the page of his magazine. A louder cough. He brings the magazine closer and peers into it as if it was in small print. You shift in your seat hoping that the mild commotion will cause him to look up and take notice of you. Ah you, you hope he'll say, how've you been? And from there on, you wish you'll slip into a casual conversation as if it's just been days and not 20 years since you last met and parted ways bitterly. But he continues to be absorbed in his read. You contemplate dropping your bag on the floor to get him to look your way. For a brief moment, you even consider going over and saying hello. Presently, his name is called out and he gets up to go see the doctor. He walks past you without so much as a glance in your direction. And that's when you notice what he's been reading. Instructions for an air conditioning unit. He knew.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

WOW!

radiantbear said...

Incrediable!

Now I know what excatly to do after 20 years;)

Casement said...

Hmmm..good one again!

Casement said...

On second thoughts, the 'he knew' at the end could've been avoided. It's like a 60's joke, they elaborate the complete joke to make everyone understand and lose the essence of the joke!:)

kay said...

brilliant brilliant brilliant.

ashok said...

happy B'day ammani...
and brilliant narration as usual!

Hawkeye said...

now this is really good!

yappi baarthday

Lost in trance... said...

i have a very awkward meeting coming up with my ex on the 10th. its not going to be as easy as this one.

Ahiri said...

Happy bithday ?

Happy birthday !

Anonymous said...

Happy bday from kalthoon,jikku,mottai,chellam and I

Premalatha said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Premalatha said...

Happy birthday?

Happy birthday!

(sorry ahiri or thanks ahiri. :-) )

Oracle said...

you could have skipped the "he knew" bit, would have ended better

Anonymous said...

Great.

Happy Birthday to You. - Saw it on Tilotamma's blog.

B o o said...

You dont know whether to comment in her post or not. Shes so popular. You ve just started. What will she think? Trying to (get) hit? Boring? Just another drop in the ocean? So you keep quiet. Then you get a chance to do something. You vote for her. You are disappointed when she does nt win and when she thanks her voters, you muster enough courage to drop a comment. You realize what a down-to-earth person she is even from the little you get to know about her. And today, well today is her birthday! :)

Ammani, thanks a bunch for lots of things your words have helped me with and have a super-duper Birthday!

Oops! Almost forgot. Lovely post as always. :) Thanks to Tilo for tipping us off!

Anonymous said...

Wierd to wish someone who i hv never met or spoken to...
but love the q ts

wish you many more wonderful yrs with jikku

uma

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday :-))!

Archana

anantha said...

A mostly silent reader here for a long time , I chanced upon this conversation between two movie geeks on a blog's comment section :
Vignette storytelling is like carefully selecting a set of Ammani quicktales, and telling them in a particular order in order to evoke a certain transition of moods.
If that is not a compliment, I dunno what is. I left a msg on Chaipaani as well, but here goes once more.. Happy Birthday and keep writing :)
A lot of us might not comment, but you have only Bloglines and IT departments to blame for that!

Anonymous said...

I do really really like this one! :)

D LordLabak said...

Happy Birthday Ammani. So what special dish did Mr. Ammani make today?

Anonymous said...

Belated Birthday wishes!!
hope u had super day. although it is tempting me wont ask ur age.

MathiS

Asmita said...

is it really your b'day? or is someone playing a late april fool joke?

ok...here is the deal...in this virtual world we will celebrate your b'day today whether it is or not!

great post again.

smiles :)

Anonymous said...

very well written .. i like your style. the short (i mean really short story) idea is good and you are very good at it. keep up the good work

Anonymous said...

Nice!Perfect!