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Even though I was lying in a corner of the darkened room with my mobile phone wrapped in a blanket, I could see the outline of my slender body in the light of the screen. A long fingertip to Instagram’s search bar reveals flaky patches of red nail polish.
The name _black_lover_7 was typed from the cursor that appeared with a click on the search bar. A bitten and spat nail was dug into the bedspread. The protruding eyes are sore. It darted left and right. Click follow below a black and white profile picture of a naked beauty and spit your nails out again.
I sweated, as if for a few moments I had entered the life of someone who had shown me something wrong. She turned off the mobile screen and tucked it between the pillows and covered her head with the blanket. Still, the thoughts scattered in many directions and peeled off the paint on the wall.
‘Don’t eat like this, eat quickly, little one…’
While picking at the bread in the bowl, the sound of the notification rang out before the mother’s mutterings were pushed into her ears. Before you even get your hopes up, Instagram notifications are inundated. By the time he started to get bored, he accepted the rest of the follow requests and watered one cheek. A group of flies had already started buzzing on the scraps of bread that had been collected and set aside.
The book case was a cover when my father cut it in half when he turned 17. The birthday present was wrapped and given in the palm of his hand. Tear off the colored paper and look at it. My square on the mobile off-screen inside the square box of Samsung. Soon the days and nights passed without a trace. After drinking tea after brushing his teeth for a long time, he was upset for the next few days. By the time we eat Venta Chuchu Chor in the afternoon, it is common for my mother to unknowingly throw the coconut chot outside, unable to bear the stench of its coldness. All the books have been put on the shelf. You can clearly see the path of the eight-legged animal in the dusty Pustappuram chattas.
The sound of a new notification was heard when he was unbuttoning the first button of his worn uniform shirt. By that time, the buzz of the next notification was confined to the corner within a second. My eyeballs are so watery while taking out the mobile phone and doing the test!
The first notification is by following the account _black_lover_7. Seen below it.
hi
I moved my index finger to the onscreen keyboard and started typing.
hi
That’s it.
On the screen in the blink of an eye,
Typing…
It was at the same time that anger bubbled up in his chest and his eyes fell on the screen.
what’s the name
Atira
again,
Typing…
Saw all his posts. It is beautiful to look at.
thanks
It was only after reading that typing message that I got a sense of beauty. The body was stuck in front of the mirror for hours to blacken the eyes and powder the face. The feeling of inferiority drips and burns when the face sweats. Bruises will start to appear on the face where the powder has leaked. A bulging school bag with plus two textbooks and a pattern of pink lipstick stands out.
Little specks of stars in the sky. Inside the room, I turned pale when the light of the mobile screen hit my face.
on screen,
Typing…
It will be seen.
Its image in the pupil of the dilated eye.
hi did you lie down
My hand was shaking. Bite your nails and spit. It stuck to the screen.
no
When do you go to bed?
will be late
But we can say something..?
I agreed because I was not mature enough for my age. During the night he chatted till his eyes drooped without asking his name. It was sent late the next morning. It was a school holiday that day. After taking a bath, he touched Kuri and directly took the mobile phone and stabbed him.
Opened Instagram’s homepage and scrolled through the notifications. Disappointment grew on his face when he learned that nothing new had come for him. Got out of it and looked through WhatsApp chats. You can see the PDF files of Plus Two classes. So he went through many apps without any purpose.
Like every night, the door was locked and the light was turned off, and the room became dark very quickly. He fell on his knees and fell on the bed in shock when a notification rang. The light from the screen hit my face covered with a blanket. The eye remained closed for a moment on impact.
hi did you eat
That was his message. The eyes widened as much as possible, making sure.
ate
did you lie down
going to bed
How about we talk for a while?
OK.
Can I ask you anything?
Ha…
How about we have a hot chat?
The loose strands of hair on the face were tied up. Again I untied my hair and put my fingers in it and felt it.
Hot chato?!
Instantly his video call appeared on the screen.
My face was not clear on the screen. I hid in the darkness. An image of a naked beauty can be seen hovering in a circle at the top of the screen. Below that is the call button. The thumb poked it as if trying to stop it from floating. Later on the screen, a man was seen naked up to his waist. The body was sweating profusely.
By then the call was cut.
On the screen again,
Typing…
do you like me
Ha.
I sent you a photo.
Do you want it?
Or video call?
It can’t be.
What dress are you wearing? can you say
Cover the body with a blanket. again,
Typing…
gone
no Tell me…
Didn’t I ask earlier… which dress is Athira wearing…
Night dress.
Sleeveless?
Yes.
But let me show you one.
Not now.
And when will it be? say
Turning off the mobile screen and putting it under the pillow, when I opened my face to the darkness, everything I saw in front of me was covered with black smoke.
I remember… In the picture of the naked beauty, I could see some shadowy figures behind her. Outside, the shadows cast by the trees bathed in the blue light of the moon were seen through the small gap in the window.
Suddenly I heard a knock on the door. Maybe dad…
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Last Updated Nov 17, 2022, 5:31 PM IST