Have you ever felt that time has a mind of its own? When I was falling, time slowed down to give me an entire feel of that one second. Though once I was down, it seemed as if time wanted to make up for that loss. Sitting there, I never realized when the sun disappeared behind me, dragging my shadow with it too.

I have never understood how people can like darkness so much. Sure it unveils the beautiful world of moon and stars, but apart from that, there's nothing to like about darkness. It brings the horrors along with it, keeps us awake with its nightmares, and even snatches away our shadow. Darkness is the thing which actually makes us realize how alone we are. Feeling the chills of those unknown horrors, I bolted up on my feet. A strange urgency filled me up. Rather than darkness, it was the prospect of being alone that frightened me more at that moment. Filled with an urge to be amongst some people, I quickly started back for the comfort of my home.

I had just crossed the first of the three crossroads when the phone buzzed in my pocket. That moment of falling from the bridge replayed itself all over again. Standing on the bridge, dangling a leg out, and then the buzzing of this phone. I had completely forgot about that. Someone had called me. No, someone had saved me. Wishing to know the name of my saviour, I instantly fished out the phone from my pocket. It was still ringing, an unknown number flashing on the display.

"Aarav Malhotra?" A heavy female voice greeted me as soon as I picked it up.

"Yes?" I tried to return the same uncertain voice.

"Hi Aarav, this is Anamika."

Anamika...Anamika...Anamika...I quickly ran a search for that name in my memory. Nope, I didn't know her. Then why did her voice sound so excited? I guess I must have taken a bit of time in my search operation because even before I could reply, she began talking once again.

"The chances of you knowing me are very slim, but I know you really well."

"Okay..."

"Remember the short story you wrote in the college magazine?"

"Colours of their rainbow, yes!"

I had written many one shots before that, but that was my first ever try at writing a full length story. And the start of the story, which was written as a one shot, being selected for the college magazine was just the boost I needed. Wait a minute, did she just call that a short story?

"Hold on," I intruded just in time, "The one published in college magazine was just a one shot. How do you know it's a short story?"

"Because I've read it."

Now she had my attention. I stopped walking just before the last corner and diverted all my attention to her words.

"First of all, I loved the one shot so very much. But even after reading it for like ten times, that reader in me just wasn't satisfied. A tiny portion of my heart was not ready to accept that end. It kept screaming that there's more to it. And then one day, I gave in to those screams. I looked around, snooped a little, and after days of hard work, I finally had my hand on your wattpad account."

"You what?" I blurted out in a shock.

Someone knew me. No, check that. Someone knew both the sides of me. The real world had no clue about my existence as a writer and I had made every effort not to leave any trace of the real me in the virtual world. For me, both those worlds were different, completely aloof from each other. And yet, here I was talking to someone who had found a key to both those vaults. This was dangerous.

"How did you find out?" I tried to locate that chink in my armour, but the thief wasn't ready to reveal her methods.

"Don't worry MrMagician, your secret's safe with me."

The stress on those words, Mr Magician, said it all. She knew it. I know I should have been worried a lot, yet, there was a sense of knowing in her voice which calmed me a little. She didn't sound like someone who'd shout the secrets to the world. She knew their value and understood their importance as well. Starting to walk the final stretch again, I tried to find the motive behind her call.

"Does that mean you haven't called me to blackmail or anything?"

"What?" And for the first time, I heard the sound of her laughter. There are people who laugh just to show the world they can, and you can instantly notice the fakeness in their voice. Anamika was different. Her laugh was real. Real and contagious. It invariably brought a smile on my face too.

"No silly, I've actually called for a different matter."

"Okay..."

"So as I saying, I found your wattpad, found the entire story there, and absolutely fell in love with it. I liked it so much that I wish for the whole world to take a look at it. I wish to make a short film out of it."

My story being turned into a film? That'd be the happiest moment of my life. I had never dreamt of it to be honest, but I won't mind this unseen dream coming true. There was one problem though. It'd mean shouting it out to the world that I write. The exact same thing I had been running away from till now. Was I ready for it? I didn't know.

"Look, I know there are a lot of complications," she must have sensed the uncertainty in my silence, "But don't rule out anything and everything just on the base of a fear. Let's think over it, okay?" taking my silence as a yes, she continued, "Let's just discuss it over a meet, shall we?"

I wanted to. I wished to. Still, I wasn't sure. And till then, this has to wait.

"I'll message you later." I cut the call.

I waited outside the front door of my house just in case she called again. She didn't. Once in, it was a different story altogether.

The house was the same, the people in it were the same, the loud blaring TV was the same too, and yet, those were the weirdest two hours of my life so far. But then, what else could you expect from a person who had left it all behind, never to return. Just hours ago I had left the house with a plan to end my life. It's not as if I was sad that I didn't execute my plans. I liked this turn of events. Yet, it felt odd to sit there, watch my parents go about their tasks once again, and last but not the least, talk to them. Every effort they made to strike a conversation with me was thrown aback by my silence. I tried to act normal and show that I was engrossed in my phone, but I guess they must have noticed it anyway. Their words became measured, their questions more probing, and after a time, I couldn't take it. As soon as dinner was done, I rushed back to my room. During those two hours, I realized that I wasn't just addicted to life, I was addicted to all these tiny little things of life as well. And suddenly, it made the memory of trying to commit a suicide even more horrible.

Yet, even in those hours of weirdness, there was one thing that was constant, the thought of Anamika. Don't rule out anything and everything just on the base of a fear. Her words kept playing in my mind. I tried to sleep but my mind didn't allow. My eyes were closed but the mind was open. And once again, midnight brought with it the magic that it loved so much. I opened my phone to check wattpad and somehow ended up staring at her number. I just stared at it as if it'd help me clear my doubts. It didn't. But at that moment, something else did clear up. Right below her number was the same number logged in again, time displaying an hour before her call. So it was Anamika who called me while on the bridge.

It was Anamika who saved my life!

The realization gave a whole new dimension to my thoughts. Not only had she saved my life, she was now willing to unleash that writer in me all over again. Knowingly or unknowingly, she had become the bond that bound me to life.

Life is all about such unknown bonds, isn't it? A stranger can make you smile, or a stranger can leave you in tears. Sometimes, you fall in love with a stranger while on other times, a stranger may become the reason behind your breakup. In my case, a stranger was giving me a purpose to enjoy life again.

There are many other things that will influence my tomorrow, but today, I don't feel afraid of this unknown bond that I share with a stranger. In the end, it is the bond that has bound me to life.

Without worrying or even thinking about the future, I opened my phone and clicked on Anamika's number.

***

October 31st 2017

We meet a hoarse of strangers in the day, don't we?
Some stroll by, some talk, some smile, some wave.
And at the end of day, we either forget them or remember them.
Because it's always in our hands whether to allow the strangers to remain strangers or turn them into amazing friends.

Aarav has learned it the hard way how a stranger can create a magical bond.

But then, will Anamika preserve his trust?
What do you think of her?
What's her motive behind all this?

Stay tuned to find out...