Wednesday 20 February 2013

The Break-Up


It was way past midnight when she finally reached home. The effects of the whiskey were wearing off. She was no longer high on happiness. In fact, her head spun and she was feeling dizzy. She wished she had refrained from displaying her dancing skills at the club. Her legs ached. She got out of her heels and sat on her bed. She switched on her laptop and signed into her Facebook account.

He was still on her list of "Close Friends". They had broken up a week ago and even though she had changed her "Relationship Status" from "In a Relationship" to "Single", she still had not been able to remove him from her list of “Friends”.

She glanced at the list of notifications. He had changed his profile picture. He was with a girl – from the backdrop, she could make out that they were, both, in the living room of his house.  "Who is this chick?" she wondered. She looked at his Wall Posts. His status read, “Best Weekend Ever!!” She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as she saw his latest “check ins”. He had visited a pub with her on Saturday evening, and on Sunday, they had gone for a movie together, after brunch at a restaurant which used to be her favourite.

She could not stop the tears from rolling down her eyes. She wanted to scream but no voice came out of her throat. She wanted to send him a message but he had changed his number. She did not have his new contact details. She was frustrated and she cried herself to sleep.

The next morning, she could not focus on work. She wondered how it had been so easy for him to move on. Even though she knew she was making a mistake, she could not abstain from logging into her Facebook account once again. There was another notification! He had changed his “Relationship Status” once again to being “In a Relationship”. He had uploaded new photos as well, of the weekend he had spent, with the new girl in his life.

As she stared at the screen, she, suddenly, burst out laughing. Surprisingly, instead of remembering the times she had spent with him in the last two years, it was a casual conversation with her mother that was playing in her mind. “Your generation is a strange one,” her mother had stated. “All of you are moving towards a culture of exhibitionism. It baffles me how you enjoy giving minute-by-minute updates of your life to the whole world. In our days, we had one camera and we developed the photos once in a year…But you upload pictures every single day – of lunch, of some kitten on the road, of your cubicle in the office – keep me away from all this. I do not need Facebook to let my close friends know what is happening in my life.”

Not being able to concentrate on any task, she decided to take the rest of the day off. After a long walk by herself on the beach, she dragged her legs home. Once again, she logged on to her account. This time, there were no notifications. She typed his name on the search bar but his profile did not open. He was no more appearing on her list of “Friends”. He had blocked her! She was even more amazed when she realized that this information did not devastate her. Although she was a little mad, at the same time, she also felt relieved. He had, with the click of a mouse, erased all possibilities of the two of them having any access to each other’s lives.

It was now her turn to shoot ahead. She managed to force a smile on her face as she clicked a picture of herself and uploaded it on Facebook with the caption “All Smiles J J”. She felt pleased as her picture received some instant “likes”. She had succeeded in showing to the world that she, too, was moving on… 

29 comments:

  1. Nice narration as usual.. New girl barely a week after a break up!! I wouldn't really call the first or the second one a 'relationship'. It sounds more like a hobby :)
    And am totally with the girl's mom on her views about facebook .. Yes its a great way to stay connected but looking at the kind of stuff that people put up most of the time, I feel its this popular because of the self obsession that is so rampant among humans .. Just my views :)
    I enjoyed reading the story!

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    1. Thanks :) :) Well, the one that ended was 2 years long - so I guess it can be termed as a "relationship" - who are we to judge in any case!

      Ha!Ha! I agree with that view of Facebook - I don't mind checking in to places but sometimes I find it to be rather intrusive...

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  2. Your stories are always so realistic, and this one, was just WOW ... I mean, this is a story about a common person, me, you, or anyone ... loved it, 'cause we can all relate to this ... you are a master storyteller :)

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    1. Thank you so much :) :) I like writing stories revolving around everyday activities :) I thought that style of writing was slightly mundane for readers - good to know that you enjoy it :) Thank you for the compliment again!

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  3. Divya,interesting...! I am a lot of facebook now but thankfully this was not there when we were younger! As you say, there is a lot of exhibtionism on FB. I cannot believe that people live the lives that they claim to on their walls. Couples wish each on through FB- a relationship created and sustained at the click of a finger! It is really wiered .... BTW, FB also helps enstranged couples meet and reunite. You should write something about that too :)

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    1. I know its benefits :) I managed to connect with long-lost friends after more than 17 years thanks to Facebook :) I will try writing a story along those lines too :) Thanks for the idea :D

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  4. I really loved the camera bit. It reminded me of a time when I got a roll developed that contained pictures of two birthdays and a family vacation in between. I was surprised when I saw them. Most of the time, we are so used to instant gratification that we never know when we get too much of it. The previous sentence also reminded me of McLuhan's - 'The Medium is the Message' - when too much of a thing manages to have a reverse effect.

    Love,
    Sanika

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    1. Too much of anything always has an adverse effect :) :) Thanks for visiting!

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  5. wonderful write-up, it brings out the innermost desire of us to know all about others and project only good things about us in the virtual world...People need to realise they should lead a real life for their sake and not for the sake of showing off on facebook...

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    1. Thanks Reshma :) These days people live two lives - one that they show on Facebook and the second one, in real :)

      The virtual world has its benefits as well...allows space for the fulfillment and expression of unfulfilled desires but everything should be in limits

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  6. Yes picking up the thread and moving on is the best way.
    Well written (and some how this struck a chord as a close friend had a break up last week)

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    1. Thanks :) :) Hope your close friend is doing well now!

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  7. A very true situation currently shown very nicely - this is what we all do exactly. Sometimes I wonder if FB was harmful or beneficial to us ?

    As I see the number of people suffering from FB depression around me :)

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    1. FB is harmful as well as beneficial - every coin has 2 sides :) I can't live away from Facebook :P

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  8. A contemporary master piece again.....
    Break ups are a reality and the only sensible thing is to move on.

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    1. Thanks :)
      True - but moving on isn't always so easy :D

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  9. This exhibitionist feeling kicks me every time I upload a pic 1 and thanks to that , I have always avoided check-in option.
    thats too intrusive specially if i want to stay off radar ;)

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    1. I don't have issues checking-in - to be honest, I am quite an exhibitionist myself - I won't be hypocritical and say I am not one :P But yes, it's all a facade - people still do not really know where I am all the time...the more the activity, the easier it is to hide a few pit-stops in between ;)

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    2. haha .. interesting ..
      me is mostly with my boyfriend and my bro on fb is biig stalker :P
      so i better stay away :D

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    3. LOL!! I've often done this - checked into a place in the afternoon (for example, a mall) with friends...then, posted some status at night about something very general...In between if I was somewhere I don't want people to know, they won't even find out because they believe you post your whole life on Facebook :D :D

      These days we all live multiple lives - one we actually live and one which we want others to believe we live.

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    4. I know !!
      I though avoid all the hassle. weekends , I stay offline.
      And I guess my bf likes that more.
      coz , otherwise , I am total twitter addict :D

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  10. A nice story.... This is break up nd u put it well in todat FB world.. There people try to live fr others just show of... Good keep writng

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  11. A lovely portrayl of GeY and Gen Z whose life now revolves around FB updates,Divya

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  12. Made me laugh. Made me think. Made me happy about my decision that I am not on facebook. (Twitter's another stoy though ;P)

    A good read. :)

    - SKB

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    1. Ha!Ha! Thanks :) :) I am very much on Facebook - not so much on Twitter but then that keeps changing :)

      Thanks for stopping by!

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