What happened yesterday?

If there had been a contest for the most introverted geek, Amit would have been a strong contender. His innate accuracy at dodging social gathering was something from which we can all take a lesson or two. Perhaps it was an effect of having an overly protective mother. Most of his boyhood was spent indoors.

Even after landing a sound job and being bestowed with the employee of the year award two times consecutively, Amit was still sharp at avoiding human interactions. A trait he wasn't particularly proud of. This had to end. Enough was enough. If he wants to get out of his mother's shadow and make a home of his own, he has to interact with the opposite gender and be more confident about it.

Fortunately, after some attempts, he scored himself a date. Now that he thinks about it, the attempt was quite fluent. Some may declare him a natural. The girl did show genuine excitement (he concluded that from the 12 online articles he's been binging through)
Though he did wonder, whether, like him, it was her first date as well? But he played cool and refrained himself from making such a disastrous query.

A Sunday afternoon. That was the day they both had agreed on. It worked perfectly fine for Amit. He needed the Saturdays to unwind himself. Surprisingly, he wasn't anxious. He had all his dialogues practised flawlessly. Patiently lingering for the moment to put them to practice. The day arrives. Amit boards the train on time. Feeling proud of maintaining his record of never being late on a date, irrespective of the number of dates he has been to. Nobody likes to make someone wait. When about to arrive at his destination, he texts her and lets her know that he is almost there.

Almost at the address, yet devoid of any response. He tried to call her but she cancelled it immediately, signalling, she had received the message. Then why wasn't she answering? Was she busy? Was she mad at something which he did or did not do? All kind of questions swamped his mind. He approved the last line of the fifth online article, 'you can't foretell a girl's desire'. But he can't give up without proper reasoning, so, he keeps calling her no matter how ashamed it made him feel. This girl was ignoring him for sure. After the eighth attempt, she picks up.


"Hey let me just say that I'm sorry for whatever I did. It seems like you are angry at me." Said Amit tentatively.
"ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS?! I KEPT CALLING YOU YESTERDAY AND YOU DIDN'T PICK UP. AND DURING MY TWELFTH TIME, YOUR MOTHER PICKS UP AND SAYS THAT YOU ARE ASLEEP AND SHE DIDN'T WANT TO DISTURB YOU" screamed the girl with the highest decibel Amit had come across over a cellphone.
"What are you saying?! Why did you call me yesterday? We were supposed to meet today. I reserve my Saturdays for resting. Sorry I didn't see your missed calls. Might have deleted the logs by mistake. But I wasn't on a sleeping spree yesterday and my mother said nothing about you calling me. Hey anyway, I guess you mixed up the days. We were supposed to meet on Sunday. You might have thought I said Saturday. It's okay. I understand. It's an honest mistake." said Amit gathering all the calm he had.

"YOU FREAKING PSYCHO! YESTERDAY WAS SUNDAY. TODAY IS MONDAY. I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF FREAKING PRANK YOU THINK YOU ARE PLAYING BUT I WARN YOU IF YOU CALL ME OR TEXT OR TRY TO CONTACT ME IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE, I'M GONNA CALL THE POLICE AND MAKE SURE YOU REGRET IT", said the girl, managing the same decibel. She would have slam-dunked if it had been a receiver but eventually settling for a hard press at the hang-up sign.

Amit was dumbstruck for a moment, he slowly slipped his phone back in his pocket and walked back towards the station feeling a bit relieved. "That was a good dodge", he murmured to himself. After boarding the train to go back home, he felt eerie to be stuck inside a crowded Mumbai local on a Sunday afternoon. This city is definitely turning out to be a clusterfuck of people. Right then he receives a mail from his manager. What was his lazy manager up to on a Sunday afternoon he wondered? Amit waited till the train's density had been somewhat breathable. Quickly opening the mail and going through it twice made him puzzled and he muttered: "what's wrong with everyone today?!"

The mail was first of a kind that Amit had ever received, it read,
Dear Amit, 
I'm sorry to write a formal mail regarding your submission of our future strategy for the upcoming tax regulation. As the team had pointed out, you were supposed to finish the task this weekend, I too am sure of your assurance of finishing the task by Sunday night. I'm a bit disappointed with your negligence. On top of it, you took an unplanned leave. Expecting more professionalism from you in the near future. 
Agitatedly Amit called his manager.


With each ring, he subdued his temper. When the manager received the call, Amit said, "Sir, I think there's been a misunderstanding."
"What?" The manager replied.
"I mean I'll give you the report and loop in the team by tonight, just as we had agreed on. And I wasn't informed that you had expected me to come to the office on a Sunday afternoon!" exclaimed Amit.
"What's this nonsense Amit?" Said the manager peevishly. "Today's Monday and everyone is been here since 9. They all knew how important today's meeting was. We had to reschedule the meeting because of your absence. I can understand a leave was due since you had been working so vigorously but for sure you chose a wrong day. Anyway, I hope you get the task done by tonight and come well prepared tomorrow morning. And please don't pull this nonsense that you thought today's Sunday and all. That's beneath you Amit. See you tomorrow."


Amit tried to counter but his mouth kept opening and closing like a dying fish and no sound came out. Eventually, he hung-up. A feeling of dejection and self-doubt clouded him. What happened today was far from his idea of normalcy. The same questions kept him in doubt. Was he losing his mind? Was the girl right all along? Why would his boss say that? Did he really miss the Monday meeting? And if all that were true, then why don't he has any recollection of yesterday. All he remembers is him going to bed and his mother making him his favourite stew. He had a short nap and then he started reading. And if that's not true then what truly happened yesterday? This question bothered him the most. He needed answers. He was on the verge of losing his sanity. The only person who could provide him with any kind of truth would be his mother.


After getting down from the train, he hurriedly ran towards home. Pantingly reaching there he rang the bell. His mother opened the door in a flash like she was expecting someone all along. He caught his breath and explained everything to his mother. He hugged her and started crying. For a moment she didn't say anything, patting him gently, trying to make sure her only son is feeling safe within her embrace. "I had warned you this job is not healthy for you" his mother began, "You have always been so fragile my poor little thing. So easily trusting people. Oh... What would happen to you when I'm not here. That thought scares me. And when you told me you are going to meet someone I was even more scared. What if she steals you away. Makes you hate me. Oh no no no no... A mother can't let that happen to his only son." She slipped him a glass of his favourite stew and made him take a sip. "And then you told me you also have work for your boss on Sunday evening. Morning girl, evening boss, no time for mother." She continued, "A mother had to do something. I couldn't just sit back and watch my son give someone else more time than his own mother."


"But what happened yesterday mom? What did you do? And why don't I remember anything?" Questioned Amit, now slowly leaving her embrace. He got up and for the first time felt frightened to see his mother's calm face. "WHAT'S IN THE STEW MOM?!" He started to feel a surge of weightlessness. The glass slid out of his palm and his body thumped down on the floor. He rested there senselessly. His limps gave a bit of jerk but after some time he was completely stationary. Still breathing. His mother got up from her place, moved towards Amit, stroked his hair and whispered to her unconscious son, "Time to go to bed."