..Girl Number Seven..

If grass can grow through a tiny crevice in the wall, then love can reach you anywhere in the world.

Chapter-1- Meet the astrologer

There is only one question that has boggled the minds of many intelligent scientists around the world. Why do guys like girls so much? This age-old curiosity has remained etched in the mind of humans ever since civilization started. If there is one-thing girls agree on, then it is the fact that men are stupid, arrogant, insensitive and completely useless. Yet, in spite of this open hostility, a guy would like nothing better than to go out with a girl, share an intimate relationship, propose, eventually marry her and sleep with his secretary. Of course, ten years later, they get divorced after a petty fight. Yes, that's the whole vicious unending cycle of relationships.

So in the name of all male egos out there, I had decided to put up a bold stand.

From the first of December, I, Rob Kingsley completely denounced any association with women. Yes, I was going to put on my Brahmachari robes, go to Nepal and lead a new life as a single male. A new career as a Buddhist monk awaited me in the lush snow covered mountains of the Himalayas.

I was sitting on my comfortable maroon couch, with my legs sprawled over the armrest. I pushed the glasses up my nose and gazed at my new apartment. Many cardboard boxes lay on the dusty mosaic floor; brown packages were strewn across the living room waiting to be unpacked and the house was crying out in need for human habitation.

Well, guess what? I am its savior.

Yes, I was joking on my earlier plan to migrate to Nepal. But my stand on women is still the same. After scraping through a one sided relationship, I have no intention of falling for a girl again. No. Never. I am even wearing garlic from now on.

The sound of the door opening broke me out of my reverie. My gaze flickered to the familiar figure that had entered my den, though uninvited. Dressed in black sweats and a junkie t-shirt, my friend looked unusually casual today. A grin remained inscribed to his hard toned face as he looked around the house.

"Holy cow. This place must have cost a fortune. What did you do? Rob a bank?" he asked me after letting out a loud whistle in awe.

A sigh escaped my lips. Standing up, I stretched my arms to get rid of my afternoon laziness. Flexing the muscles in my arms, I shook my head in despair. Ben was a guy who loved only two things in life. Money and Women. Both of which, I despised from the core of my heart.

"First of all, I hate the pun you used, Benny. It was lame. Secondly, no, I didn't rob a bank. Pop decided to allow me to get out of the house and live on my own. He wants me to learn the quality of responsibility. Apparently, he still has these wild visions of me becoming his heir to the Kingsley Corporate. I responded to him by Scrooge's famous one liner. Bah. Humbug."

Ben raised his pierced eyebrow and asked, "Who's Scrooge?"

"WHAT? Didn't you read Christmas Carol in the sixth grade?"

Ben ran a shaky hand through his cropped up blond hair. Flashing me an embarrassed smile, he remarked, "You mean in ol' Higgins's class? Nope. I was too busy throwing erasers at the know-it-all who sat next to me."

"I think that was me."

"Yup, exactly."

I chuckled and slid an arm around his neck. Leading him to the boxes that lay on the floor, I told him, "Well, Benny. I am glad you are here. Help me to unpack my stuff."

"Oh, I get it now. I am a makeshift mule. Shit, man. How can you take advantage of your friend like that?"

"I will pay you ten dollars for the job."

Ben crossed his arms over his chest. "Are you bribing me?"

"Fine. How about fifteen?"

A long drawn silence passed between us while my friend contemplated over the offer. It seemed as if he was fighting the tug of war between the angels and the devils. I could see the devil winning from a long shot. I admit. I have an over-active imagination.

"Aye aye captain, lead the way," Ben gave me a mock salute and seemed to have gained a sudden ounce of energy.

Pfft. And people say money can't buy everything.

..--..

I have known Ben ever since I was six months old and I am now eighteen. Yes, that's a long time. Mathematically speaking, that's 97.2 percent of my life i.e. 840 weeks or 5880 days. Don't even get me started on the number of hours. But my point here is, though we have known each other for ages; we are absolutely different. Come on. Look at me. I dress stylishly, wear shades, have a cross hanging around my neck and am quite intellectual.

On the other hand, Ben is..

.. Ben. He is my complete opposite. He dresses shabbily, had a bad boy image in high school, still hasn't grown out of that status and is always looking for women to flirt with. If we hadn't met as babies in diapers, then he wouldn't be my friend right now.

Ah. The world works in mysterious ways.

So, here I was. Rummaging through one of the last boxes that my mom had packed for me. The cello tape was being quite stubborn and refused to be cut by my sharpest Swiss knife. I couldn't help but wonder what my mother dearest had packed inside the brown box. The letters 'Fragile' stared at me in bold red ink.

Ben tapped the cardboard surface. The chinking of glass caught me by surprise. My friend raised one eyebrow in suspicion and picked up the box in his hand.

"Be careful," I warned him.

But he would never listen to me. He shook the package forcefully until the mysterious thing popped out of the flap at the bottom. It fell to the ground and cracked. Ben and I peered over the ruins.

-

"Uh-so, atleast.. uh-we know it's a coffee-maker."

-

".. It was a coffee-maker until you broke it, jackass."

I glared at him while picking up the broken pieces. Muttering curses at him never did any good. Running a hand through his blond hair, he shrugged off coolly.

Sometimes, I felt like strangling him to death.

While I was still cleaning the mess he had created, Ben went to the large window and stared at the view outside. It was still snowing and the window was covered with dew. My friend raised one hand to wipe the droplets.

"Hey, do you hear that?" he asked me suddenly.

I looked up at him in surprise, "Hear what?"

"The sound of a piano, moron.. " Ben hissed under his breath.

I knew what he was talking about. The girl next door had been playing her grand piano for the past two days. She was quite good at it, I admit. From classics of Mozart to the new tunes of Vanessa Carlton, she knew the keynotes of each song. I had caught only a small glimpse of her. Not that I was interested. Nope. I was still holding up my ' Women are trouble' banner. My determined male ego refused to allow me to back down.

"Who cares? Ignore it. It's just the girl next door, " I mumbled under my breath.

Ben turned back to me. He pointed a finger at me accusatively.

"Shit. Don't tell me, you are still hell-bent on that stupid idea of yours. How can you swear off women?"

I sighed out aloud. Picking up the broken pieces, I went to the dustbin at the end of the hall to dispose off the chunks of glass. I was ignoring his question deliberately and he knew of my intentions.

"Rob, give me a straight answer. I know what Ruby did to you, was wrong but you need to put that incident behind you. Stop acting like a wuss and move on."

I rubbed my hands together. Shaking my head in disagreement, I retorted back. "Yeah, right. I have already told you. I had enough of relationships. No more girls. That's it. "

Ben walked upto me and tapped my head mockingly.

"Yo, did you have a brain transplant or somethin'? Cos' you sure sound like a middle aged man going through midlife crisis. Rob, for freaking sake, you are EIGHTEEN!"

Almost instantly, the piano that had been playing at my neighbor's house became dead silent. A sign? I couldn't answer that question. Ben and I had argued over this matter countless number of times. My ex-girlfriend Ruby was the last person I wanted to talk about right now. She was the reason, I had sworn off women for good. She had cheated on me behind my back. Usually, it's the guy who does such an abominable act. And then my delicate male ego was scarred for life.

"Can we drop this topic?" I asked my friend exasperatedly.

Ben gave me a long glance and shrugged. "Fine, it's none of my business anyway."

..--..

Three hours later, both my buddy and I were sprawled on the floor, thoroughly exhausted. The sky had fallen dark and I had completely lost track of time.

"Hey Rob, what's the time?" Ben asked me while wiping off the sweat from his forehead.

"There is a clock on the wall behind you," I replied in irritation.

"Man, I am so pooped. I can't even crane my neck to see the time. How pathetic is that?"

I stared at the ceiling and watched as a spider crept out of a tiny crack. It looked around in bewilderment, probably wondering what had happened to its web. Well, I was the one who cleaned up the ceiling. Am I supposed to feel pity for the poor creature?

Sorry to disappoint you but I have no regrets. It is my home, after all.

My home.

The words rang in my ears at different decibels, echoing in my head. I was independent. No more nagging sweet mothers. No more nagging fathers. And what is the best point of all? No more nagging women.

Freedom, here I come.

It was at that moment, the doorbell rang and startled the both of us. Ben and I shared a quick glance in confusion. He was thinking along the same lines as I was.

"Did you invite someone?" he asked me with narrow eyes.

I shook my head in response. Standing up with great difficulty, I dusted the white spots on my pants and made my way towards the door. I unhooked the latch. Opening the door through a small distance, I peeped out. A figure dressed in black was standing outside.

Involuntarily, my jaw dropped open. The stranger was a woman completely draped in black robes. A black turban covered her hair though some loose strands of hair were visible from the hem of her turban. Glittering bangles hung from her thin wrists. A low green cloth, allowing only her dark eyes to be visible, masked even her face.

I gaped at the stranger, unable to utter even a single word in greeting.

Her dark eyes flickered towards mine and twinkled in amusement. "Aren't you going to invite me in?" she asked me in a strong and determined voice.

"Depends," I muttered silently.

"On what?" she asked in a singsong voice.

"Depends on who the hell you are."

Without giving me an immediate answer, she stuck her head in and pushed me aside. I gawked at her courage while she strolled into the living room haughtily. With her nose stuck high in the air, she looked around my place with a keen eye.

"HEY! I never invited you in!"

She refused to acknowledge my question. Instead, she turned to me. Her eyes danced in amusement. She stretched her hand out politely, "I am Mudraksha. The local astrologer, psychic and palmist. Three-in-one. "

What did she just say?

I shook her hand warily. "Uh- who are you?" I asked her for the umpteenth time.

"It's so hot in here.." she mumbled, ignoring my question yet again.

She raised one hand and began fanning herself. Her bangles jingled against one another, creating soft sounds. Ben raised his head from behind a table and peered around sleepily with one eye open.

"Uh, is it Christmas already?" he asked in a groggy voice.

His eyes shifted to the dark figure that stood in the hallway. Instantly, his jaw dropped open and he blinked in surprise.

"Yo, Robby. Who is this?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I am dwelling on the same question."

The woman looked back at me in surprise. With a smile, she walked upto me and grasped hold of my wrist. Without allowing me to utter even a single word in retaliation, she pulled me to the couch.

"Listen, woman. Don't touch me!"

She ignored my demands and pushed me back on the couch. Encircling my neck with her arms, she sat down next to me. She raised her hands to wrap them around my hard jaw. The woman twisted me to face her.

Her eyes sparkled with brilliance. "Are you feeling comfortable now?" she asked me concernedly.

For a moment, I sat there in my position, lost in a trance. There was a glow in her eyes that I had never seen in anyone's before. Looking beyond the mischief and humor in them, they held a deep hidden secret. I shook myself from her solid grip.

Wait. Who does she think she is? Nobody can barge into my house uninvited and manhandle me. This is one of the main reasons why I despise women. They are always bossy and try to control you every second. Pfft.

Ben was gawking at us, trying to make sense of our interaction. Well, he was as clueless as I was.

Mudraksha, as she called herself, proclaimed. "I want to do a free reading for you, Rob Kingsley."

I raised one eyebrow suspiciously. "How do you know my name?"

"I am a seer. I have the extraordinary perception of the third-eye. "

"Oh really?" I retorted in disbelief.

Her eyes twinkled again and she gave me a knowing wink. "Actually, the janitor told me."

Ah, so I did hit jackpot. She was nothing but a phony. I bet she figured out the worth of my rich ancestors and decided to swindle me of my savings. Ha. I wasn't falling for that old trick in the book. Con artists did not particularly find a good name in my list.

I cleared my throat to draw her attention. I asked hesitantly, "So, why do you want to do a free reading for me?"

"I have my reasons. Now, " she pulled my right hand up and stared at it. Squinting her eyes, she traced a light finger over the lines on my palm.

"Interesting.. Very interesting," she muttered. I chuckled at her response. Yup. There was no doubt about it. She truly was a con artist. I watched her as she reached into her robes and pulled out a magnifying glass.

She continued to study my palm-lines with its help. I tried hard to force back the laughter looming in my stomach. But a chuckle kept erupting from my mouth every odd moment. I am extremely ticklish too and the personal fact didn't improve my cause.

She looked up at me, with the magnifying lens still stuck to her face. No wonder her left eye looked abnormally larger.

"I see now. You have sworn off women, haven't you?"

I bolted upright in straight attention. Wait. Did I hear her right? Or were my ears deceiving me? How did she find that out? Had she been saying the truth all this time? No way. She had read me like an open book. I guess my facial expression must have given away my inner thoughts.

Though the green gypsy cloth covered her mouth, I could trace the outline of a triumphant smirk inscribed to her lips.

"So, I am right. Listen lad; throw away your childish stance. "

Unable to control my frustration, I spat back. "Oh yeah, who are you to tell me, huh?"

She closed her eyes for a brief second. When they fluttered open again, Mudraksha winked at me. "The future stores many fortunes for you."

I pulled my hand away from her. Running it through my black hair, I tried to sound normal though my curiosity was overpowering my need to stay cool.

"Like what?" I asked her with a shrug of my shoulders.

There. The same sparkle in her dark eyes puzzled me once more.

"Watch out for the seventh girl tonight. She is the one for you."

Seventh girl?

A dead silence floated between us as we stared at one another. My breath quickened unexpectedly and I leaned back against the armrest of the couch. After watching her for a long moment, I blurted out, "Do you really expect me to believe that?"

"Mudraksha never lies."

Another awkward moment passed between us. Ben raised his head from behind the couch. Giving the stranger a long intimidating stare, his gaze softened and he asked hesitantly.

“Yo psychic, can you do a reading for me too?”

..--..

I have been wanting to do a romantic comedy novella for a long time. Girl Number Seven provided the right opportunity for me. I intend to complete it in forty five days. It is a novella, after all and has only four main characters, one cat and a piano.

A simple story with a hidden twist. Don't try guessing. ;)

Enjoy.