Roses for Valentine's Day

Gowri Bhargav posted under Flash Fiction QuinTale-60 on 2024-02-22



Riya slammed her phone as she saw one of her friends striking a pose with her boyfriend and flaunting WhatsApp status with a lovey-dovey picture. “Seriously! Just ‘cause it's V-day my girlfriends want to show off their love. They conveniently deserted me today. I wonder where the taglines like ‘Friends Forever’, and ‘BFF’ disappeared. And look at the gorgeous roses and cutesy gifts in their hands. Ughh!” ‘You are jealous Riya! Admit it.’ Her mind's voice seemed to taunt her. “Jealous? ME? Never. I’d rather be single than get hitched to some mindless idiot.” Her voice echoed inside her bedroom. As she picked up a book to read, her phone popped with a WhatsApp notification. There was a message from an unknown number.  Riya! Your roses are waiting for you. Riya stared at the screen in disbelief wondering whether to reply. Once again a message popped. Riya! Why aren’t you replying? With great hesitation she replied. Who is this? And why are you messaging me with a picture of roses? Identify yourself. Whoa! I thought you already had me in your contact list. I’m Varun, your neighbor from Flat No. 1052. Remember, you once contacted me regarding the mixed-up mail? You live in 1025, right? My bad! I didn’t save you in my contact list. I have also cleared the previous chat screen. These roses were delivered to me by mistake. Surely, I have never been lucky enough to receive roses in my life. Haha. Riya chuckled while typing. So thoughtful of your boyfriend to surprise you with roses on Valentine’s Day. Hmm. Actually, I ordered those roses myself. A gift from me to me to please the me in me. lol. But self-love is a great gesture. Btw…great sense of humor—‘the me in me’. Ha ha!  Hey tnx! Btw, what did you gift ‘your’ girlfriend today? Flowers, candlelight dinners, or jewelry? Nope! I don’t have a girlfriend. Just planning to watch my favorite movie ‘Serendipity’. Guess what! That movie is on my TBW list and I was planning to watch it tonight too. How interesting! So, shall I bring the bouquet of roses for you? Roses? For me?! Hey! I meant the roses that you’d ordered for yourself… Oh, right! Oopsie.  Maybe we could watch the movie together. What say? Riya went silent for a few seconds. She wondered if things were progressing too quickly. But then she decided to give it a shot. Sure! And…we could order pizza too if we feel hungry. Maybe some ice cream too. And…no! We are not celebrating Valentine’s Day together. It’s not a date. We are just hanging out. Oh, absolutely not! Just hanging out. OK, see you at home then. I’ll bring ‘your’ bouquet. Bye. Bye, waiting… Riya ended the chat and rushed to find her favorite dress from the cupboard. She felt quite excited. The mixed-up delivery had indeed led to an eventful conversation over WhatsApp. She wondered if love was in the air.