Fear of Missing Out

Palak had been waiting for Sharan for an hour, when

he called.
“I’m so, so sorry. I would have called you earlier, but…”
“But you were busy with your phone,” finished Palak
with a sigh.
Sharan was quiet for a second. Palak wondered if he
would hang up or yell. He did neither. She heard him
clear his throat and then, “Umm... see you.”
That was enough to get Palak suspicious. The anxiety
came rushing in like the sea. “He held something back.
What is he hiding? How can I find out more about it? I
wish my smartphone could track him!”
The voices inside her head knew she needed their help. They wasted no time in
appearing on her shoulders.

Poof!

“Be logical, Palak,” said the good

voice. “You simply do not know
enough right now to decide where he
might be or what he is thinking. I
think you should just let it go.”
“Nonsense!” said the devil, her forked
tail all red, black, and snakelike.
“Who would know Sharan better than
Palak? She has every right to demand
answers and be treated like she is
more important than everyone else.
They are best friends!”
“You are mixing up issues, here,” said the good voice. “Besides, you sound arrogant
and impatient. After all, why can’t Palak wait and ask Sharan about it when he turns
up?”
Palak decided she has had enough and shooed the voices away.
All the same, she couldn’t distract herself until Sharan finally turned up.
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Sharan had been sitting on the bench in the park, a few metres away from Palak. He
wasn’t entirely sure why he hadn’t said hello to her. She was evidently waiting for
him in the park. Wasn’t she?

Poof!

Sharan felt a slight weight on his shoulders as the two voices appeared.

“Shame on you, Sharan, for making the poor girl wait,” said the good voice, outraged.
“It’s not like you are planning a surprise!”
“Hang on a moment,” cried out the evil voice in mock anger, “He is clearly trying to
decide whether she can be trusted with his feelings. He doesn’t want to get hurt.
Nobody does. Can you blame him, given what she is up to?”
Sharan sighed and waved the voices away.

True. He was in a dilemma. This wasn’t the first time he had turned up early and
decided to wait and watch. Sharan tried to justify his behaviour to himself.
“Let’s see. It all began when I realised she was interested in the match on the TV
screen when she came to visit me recently. I introduced her to Football so at first I
was fine with it. But then her eyes kept darting towards the TV screen and she kept
murmuring, “Come on Ronaldo, and show Messi what you are made of.” I let it go,

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thinking she’s just a “diehard football fan”. But then, it kept happening time and
again. She would keep checking her mobile phone, never put it on silent, and keep
listening to the others in the house even when we were talking and reply
absentmindedly.

I could tell she wasn’t listening. She would keep saying, “Aha… oh, really… mmhmm…
is that so... wow... no kidding...” and keep looking down. It was only when she stood
up that I realised she was watching the live streaming of some show she was fond
of. She could have just recorded it. I felt like a fool for trusting her! Why keep this a
secret? Shouldn’t friends share everything? And today? For the last hour, all she has
done is sit and stare at her mobile screen, playing games, taking calls, texting,
listening to the same song at least five times on a loop. What is she scared of missing
out on? Does she expect the lyrics to change?”

******************************************************************

Palak got up with a sigh and turned around. Sharan stood with his eyes downcast.
“Hey,” he said, but the hesitation in his voice was evident.
“Sharan, I want to know what took you so long but I can’t take this tension any more.
I can’t trust you. I tracked your phone. It says you were right here all along. You
haven’t been a good friend, Sharan!”
To Palak’s surprise, Sharan laughed.
“I can’t trust you either. You prefer your phone, the TV and the internet to me. You
haven’t been a good friend either, Palak!”
It was such a relief to finally talk about it! Palak and Sharan decided to choose
friendship over entertainment. Do you know what they learnt that day?

Sharan learned to trust his feelings. Palak learned to trust the people she was with!

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