Between The Pages

Chapter 08

'Wow...your story is so amazing man. Do update it soon.'

'Now now, you can't leave us on such a cliffhanger. Did the bullet hit anyone? Is my Dev alive? I so want to know this. Please update soon.'

'I hope the bullet hit that puppet. That'd remove the thorn from Dev and Anjali's life. Waiting for the update.'

There were a string of comments on the last chapter. Tanmay read them all, rejoiced them, but never replied to any of them. His heart just wasn't there. How could it be? His favorite reader was missing since a week.

'They say when you're really into something, there's a chance you can get lost in it.'

That was the last message MissMagician had left for him. It was the tenth time Tanmay was reading it. At first, he had thought it was just one of those things she said to get his thoughts rolling. Just one of those things to get another story out of him. After all, they had shared many amazing sessions creating stories from such random thoughts. For someone who said she can't write, Tanmay knew the talent she hid under her cloak. When they went on chatting through the nights, he felt that time was really special. Because he was getting her to open up. Slowly it might be, but it was happening. And so, there was no reason for him to believe why this message would be any different. Then why does it feel different?

A reader is the most precious gift this world can give to a writer. Having a reader meant there were expectations, that there was a responsibility, and a constant pressure to bring out the best in you. A reader could make you write regularly, but a good reader can persuade you to keep on improving every second. And that's what MissMagician had done. She had used all her magic to turn him into a writer he never was. She had made him write every day. Even twice on some days. Such was the attraction towards her that he was ready to do anything to please her.

For him, having a reader was always a special feeling.

And if a reader was someone like her, any writer would feel like the luckiest person around. No, not someone like her, just her.

'You can get lost in it.'

Her words rang in his mind once again. She was right. Because he was lost. Lost in her.

Once while chatting, he had asked her why she chose that username. MissMagician. She told him the reason was simple. Those words, they infused a magic in her. They made her feel like she was in a magical realm. It was nothing more than a casual reply. But now when he looked at it again, he felt as if something was missing. Like she had failed to confess how she was an actual wizard who could do some magic.

Because if not, then how did she plan to explain her absence. One moment she was reading his story, her vote is a proof of that, and the next, she's gone. Just like that.

There was no doubt that she had always been a mystery to him. She had revealed so much of her true self but nothing really that could be traced back to her. She was the kind of a mystery even the great Sherlock would have been proud to solve.

Yet, it was this exact anonymity that attracted him more.

None of it mattered now. Because she was gone. Gone without a word, without even a bye. She disappeared just like that. He knew he should be angry. If her presence had perfected him, her absence was ruining him. He hadn't written a word since the last week. It wasn't as if the words had left him. No. They were there. He could feel them inside him. Yet the moment she was gone, he never tried to bring them out. That should have been an enough reason for him to be angry. And still, he could just not get over her.

More than the friend, he longed for the reader who left him.

No, he decided. "I won't write any more stories till you come back. What's the use of writing when I don't have my favorite reader reading it?"

No, I won't write.

***

6th June 2017

"Reader's thrive on the writer's words and writer's thrive on a reader's emotions. It's a mutual relationship. Even if one strand is left loose, it can damage the whole bond."

However hard we try to think that such little things don't matter. The fact is, they do!

If you ask me, wattpad is a great leveler.

Over the year that I've been here, I've had my share of both, smiles and tears.

The character of MissMagician is not just any fictional character. I've faced them in my wattpad life.

When the users leave like this, I'm sure there must be many reasons behind it. Sitting on the other side of the screen, I don't think we have any right to judge them. Because we don't know the real person.

And so, it'd be a crime if we draw any conclusions or form perceptions about them.

But I won't lie here.
At the end of the day, it does feel sad.

And when we're down like that, it needs something really special to motivate us back to life.

So what do you think would it be for Tanmay?

Will MissMagician return?
Will it be some new reader?
Something in his personal life?

All I can say is keep your thoughts open. Because in the world of the wizard, anything can happen...