Preeti Shenoy - It’s All in the Planets

Its All in the Planets

Its All in the Planets

PREETI SHENOY

westland ltd

61, II Floor, Silverline Building, Alapakkam Main Road,

Maduravoyal, Chennai 600095

93, I Floor, Sham Lal Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110002

First published by westland ltd 2016

First e-pub edition: 2016

Copyright Preeti Shenoy 2016

All rights reserved

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN: 978-93-86036-46-9

Typeset in Minion Pro by SRYA, New Delhi

Printed at Thomson Press (India) Ltd.

The author asserts her moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, circulated, and no reproduction in any form, in whole or in part (except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews) may be made without written permission of the publishers.

For JB and Figgy,
and the magic of stories

i fear

no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet)

~ e.e. cummings

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.

I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.

~ Pablo Neruda

CONTENTS

LEOS, born between July 23 and August 22, is the fifth astrological sign of the zodiac. The Leo is represented by a lion. Self-confident and assertive, full of wit and charm, Leos are generous to a fault. They completely pamper and spoil those they have given their hearts to, and will move heaven and earth to keep them happy. They are fiercely loyal to the ones they love. They are fairly balanced and realistic people. It is not in a Leos nature to dwell on the past. They want to be admired and appreciated. It is very hard not to like a Leo. Leos are of two kinds. They can either be quiet and confident, or flamboyant and arrogant. But their hearts are pure gold, and if you have a Leo as a friend, they are usually friends for life.

SAGITTARIUS, born between November 22 and December 21, is the ninth astrological sign of the zodiac. The Sagittarius is represented by an archer who is half-human and half-horse. They always speak their minds and are sometimes blunt to the point where it makes your toes curl, embarrasses you and makes you go ouch. Sagittarians are not known for their tact. They are completely unaware of it, though. They would be horrified if they knew they had hurt you. However, their refreshing honesty that is completely free of malice, their childlike demeanour, and their enthusiasm will sweep you along. You want to hear it like it is? Go to a Sagittarian. They love to travel, hate to be tied down and are born explorers. Warm, generous, fun-loving, they are perfect hosts. A Sagittarian can be a very dependable friend.

Its all in the planetsyour daily forecast: Darshita Sen

Leo (July 23 to August 22)

Someone youve known for a while gets into a conflict with you. You might be feeling low on energy, and this could be the reason. Stay positive. Focus on coming to terms with what must be done.

It is only when the train starts moving that I realize how loud I was being. By then I have been talking at least a whole fifteen minutes, and I am mid-way through my life-and-death conversation with Subbu. But my fellow passengers do not know it and are giving me death glares. Damn! I feel like such an idiot now as I quickly lower my voice.

No. I am not okay. How can you tell me to calm down? She has said she needs time to think about this. Do you know what it means? How can you? You have never even been in a relationship for you to begin to understand.

Anyone else in Subbus place would have hung up on me by now and told me to take a walk. But Subbu? He loves me too much. Subbu, my wingman, my relationship-philosopher, my guide, and now my therapist as well, has been listening patiently to me going on and on about my issues with Trisha. And my last remark was below the belt. I try to make amends.

Im sorry, bro. That was uncalled for. I apologize, I say.

I should not have made that remark. But I was too upset and distraught at Trishas latest missile.

I had seen it in the auto-rickshaw, on my way to Bangalore Cantonment station.

Ani,

I am really, really, really not dumping you (well, not yet! Just kidding!). Please dont get scared and please dont think of this email as that. But I need time to think about this relationship.

I honestly do. You dont give me space to breathe. You send one mail, then follow it up with a message, then three links, and even before I have had time to check them, you are on the phone calling me. If I dont pick up, there are fifteen WhatsApp messages waiting for me.

I have a life apart from you. I need time on my shoots. I cant respond to you instantly. And I have told you that Vishwa is a friend. Yet you insist on keeping tabs on him. Why in the world did you send him that message asking him when he will drop me off? What was that supposed to mean?

I know you love me, Ani. And I have told you that I love you too. But please understand that you cant bind me like this. Make me accountable to you for everything. I dont keep tabs on you, do I?

I leave today for Leh. The whole team is travelling with meand yes, Vishwa will be there too. Please dont worry if I dont message you. The Internet, I am told, is intermittent. I am coming back to you in two weeks. That will give us both enough time.

Please treat this dispassionately and please dont drink too much.

Work outand lose that gut. Or at least try. Twenty-seven is no age to have a beer bellyas slight as it is. If you dont take care, you will soon be a plump overweight roly-poly-Ani. Heh heh.

Muaaah.

Trish

What the hell did she mean by this? What does she mean by she needs time to think? How could she do this? That too, when I am on my way to Chennai to meet my parents and tell them about us. Thats what we had agreed on. And now she pulls this stunt on me.

I definitely do not recall flooding her with links. I had sent her one on anamorphic sculptures, and two xkcd comics. How can that not be funny? And how long does it take to read two comic strips anyway? And what did she mean that I call her and flood her with messages? I think any guy would definitely care about when his girlfriend got homeespecially when she was out drinking with a whole bunch of unknown idiots like Vishwa and his gang. And what Trisha conveniently forgot was that she was so drunk that day, she was not even able to stand. I drove all the way to Yelahanka to pick her up and then dropped her at her home in Indiranagar. I drove fifty-five bloody kilometres to ensure she was safe. And she did not even remember that.

This was too much.

I was so lost in my thoughts and consumed by her mail that I was not even aware when the auto-rickshaw reached Cantonment station. The auto-driver said I had to pay one-and-a-half times that of the meter as it was before seven oclock in the morningthat unwritten rule among auto-drivers of Bangalore. I did not bargain with him. I fished out three hundred rupees and asked him to keep the change. Usually, when I take the Shatabdi, I have a cup of coffee leisurely as I wait for the train to arrive. Today, I had no interest in that either.