THE PILL – CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 6 – UNLOVED & UNNOTICED

The red BMW sped past all the cars along the sharp curve on Bourbon road and tried to merge lanes with the other cars on the highway.  The constant blaring of horns, warning the car to slow down….went unheard. Even while on its way to join the other cars from the merging lane, the car did not show any sign of slowing down.

Little did anyone notice that there was another car right on its tail. Driving almost at the same pace.

Was the red car being chased? This question was ignored.

THEN

Adam couldn’t stop himself from looking at this girl. Her beauty and grace swept him off his feet. Can she be his, forever ? Even the question seemed like a joke to him.

He came back from college everyday and glanced at the mirror in his room. His reflection made him hate himself . He was not a handsome dude, flaunting his muscles and riding a bike, impressing every single girl on the way. He was not exactly some one, whom any girl would like to see in her dreams. Instead he had that nerdy bookwormish look all over his face. His spectacles were bigger than his ears with thick blue rims. For that he can put the blame on his mom. Why can’t she choose a happening pair of specks for him from the optician’s office or may be some nice pair of contact lens. She always clarified when asked, “Why ! These are trending now .  Mrs. York’s daughter has got the same pair herself. How lovely it looks on her.” He hung his head down and sighed .

Even if he worked on his gears to look smart , his physique was not good enough to make heads turn. His attitude , err.. did he have one ? Even if he did, it was never seen. Rather his personality would go unnoticed everywhere. He had too many weaknesses that kept pulling him back. He was shy, boring, never said the right thing at the right time, sad and invisible. Aah ! Not really invisible , but, no one ever felt the need to look at him. No one, except his mom and Henry.

Adam was fighting depression since a long time because of all this. He hardly cared for a change in him , until last week. Last week was special. Elsa joined college and he met her for the first time. She walked in through the college entrance , wearing a pearl white floral dress and white shoes. Her hair pulled back from her forehead with a thick white cloth hair band. She had long, shiny, blonde hair that bounced when she walked. Large ear rings with little white feathers hanging from them, kissed her cheeks as she moved. Her lip gloss made her lips look more rosy pink just like two petals of rose. Her cheeks were blushed to impart a light pinkish hue. She had a dimple that dug deep into her right cheek when she smiled . Adam could not move his eyes from her . He longed for her presence around him all the time since that day. Strange, he could see her even when he closed his eyes. Umm.. Was that love? He wondered.

After weeks of feeling a compulsive need to keep looking at her, Adam decided to follow Elsa to her home. He would stand at a distance behind the trees, so that no one would see him. Trying his best, to catch every single glimpse of her, as long as he could. He despised any discouraging statement from anybody , when the matter concerned her. So he decided never to share his feelings with Henry as he would surely discourage him. He also kept his feelings a secret from Ellie.

Things were going on smooth. Elsa did not get an air of Adam standing right there , in front of her home. Adam could spot her room window as well, when one day the blinds were pulled up. Otherwise mostly he would see her, when she entered the living room. The living room glass windows were almost always left uncovered.

Everything was going on fine until one day he saw Elsa leaving on a bike with someone, from college. He couldn’t see the person with whom she was on the bike.

Somewhere, something started bothering Adam …. a lot. He could sense a tingling feeling in his stomach. He could not rest for a while. He felt like he would throw up. Henry was still talking to him, but, he hardly paid any attention.  Suddenly, Adam rose to his feet and rushed out of the college.

He usually rode a cycle or Henry’s bike to college. Not that he did not know how to drive a car. He very well did. But, Ellie took the car to school everyday. They owned a simple black sedan . A lovely one. He wished he brought the car to college that day, specially, when he was walking for almost over an hour.  He did not stop until he reached Elsa’s home.

The bike was parked outside.

He could not hide that day anymore. He could not control his temper. He kept looking at the living room window. But, she was not there. Elsa lived with her parents. On other days, her father would watch TV in the living room. But, today he could spot nobody.  Then as a resident passed by, with her baby on a stroller, her eyes on him – he felt the need to hide again. The woman kept looking at him curiously.

He walked to the other side of the road and went straight behind the tree. This has been his hiding place since weeks now. But, today something in him said, he might get caught. His restlessness was not keeping pace with his need to stay hidden that day. He kept peeking from behind the tree and then started walking to and fro, on the sidewalk . More than two or three residents spotted him that day.

Finally there was a sound of the door being unlocked. Adam was standing quite close to the door then. He did not get the time to run back and hide. He stood there looking at the door.

It was Eric.

Adam was not shocked when he saw Eric with Elsa. He has been around her since day one. But, he never got the feeling that they were in a serious relationship. He was still not sure about that though. Elsa always left home alone. Eric and she, shared a common group of friends, Elsa never talked to anyone outside the group. Henry did mention that he was his boyfriend. But, Adam did not believe him, since he felt Henry noticed his feelings for Elsa and so he started showing his ways.  So, was Henry, right ?

Adam has always given her cues of his affection for her. Then, how can she be so heartless. Is he born to live without love forever. Never loved by his dad, whom he still wanted back so badly in his life. And now Elsa.

Suddenly he felt a deafening pain in his ears. He promptly covered his left ear with his hand and shut his eyes. Instantly his cheek felt wet, as blood trickled from his ears to his neck.

He has just been punched by Eric.

Adam was usually bullied by Eric and his group in college and normally he never fought back. But, today something got into him. He got up and pushed Eric with all his might.

Elsa screamed. Adam looked at her. The terror in her eyes.

He never wanted to see that. He turned his back towards them and started running . In no time he disappeared . Elsa and Eric kept looking , awestruck.

After reaching home, he cried that day. He cried his heart out. Elsa screamed when Eric was pushed. Not when Adam was punched. He felt ignored and left alone again. Life was too harsh on him.

NOW

The man wearing the black hat appeared. “Do you want to tell me anything?”

Adam looked at him , “Why can I not meet her again ?  I dream of her everyday, but, why don’t I see her in reality ? Why does she not come to college like she did before? Everything that you promised came true except for this. The pill works like magic, but, in this case ….it’s a failure. ”

A sinister music started playing on the background. The man looked at Adam and said, “Remember, what I told you before ? ”

Then he turned his back on Adam and repeated,

“All you wish, will be in your dreams. And all you dream, will be a reality. One pill a day and your life will change. But, what’s gone forever will never get back life, whatsoever. ”

He turned back to face Adam and smiled.

Adam trembled. The smile…. The smile seemed familiar. He started sweating and breathing heavily.

There was a knock on the door of his room. He spontaneously looked towards the door and then quickly moved his eyes back to the spot where the man was standing.

HE WAS GONE.

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