What If #StoryTellersBlogHop #HumanAIPoV

Astha was staring at the computer screen. She was left with so much data, and her filing deadline was by evening. She raised her head from her cubicle. Everyone was glued to their screens. But she just could not. She needed her share of chips, coffee, cola, munchies and breaks. Off she went, willingly passing by Aron's cubicle to take a look at him. If, by any chance, he saw her. But he did not. Why would he? He had a beautiful girlfriend and seemed quite happy and set in his life. Why would he take any interest in someone like Astha- overweight, surviving on junk food, lazy with no ambition. What if she was as beautiful and smart as Aron's girlfriend?

It was already 7, and Astha was still left with a night full of filing. Most of her colleagues had left, and the rest were preparing to leave. Ahh...that's fine. She just needed a movie break. She opened the link where they shared all the latest films and web series. The problem with such websites was numerous other sites started popping up. Generally, she ignored such pop-ups, but suddenly, a strange one popped on the screen. All it read was, "What if..." Astha was curious; wasn't that what she kept telling about whatever good she saw? She was amused and typed, "All my pending work is done." to fill in the blanks. As soon as she pressed "Enter", the screen vanished. She laughed at her stupidity and started watching a web series- just a 40-minute break. 

Astha watched an episode and looked around to find the entire floor empty. She opened her work screen. She looked at the screen, and she was shocked. The filing was completed. No data were pending. She rechecked, and no, it was done. But how! Who cared? It was done, and that was what mattered. She quickly took all her belongings and rushed to the parking. She could still manage an office cab. The moment she entered, the last cab left. She took her cell phone to book an app cab. She tried to open the app, but a sudden pop-up appeared on the screen, and it read, " What if..." She tried to remove the pop-up but failed; she typed, "Someone dropped me". The pop-up vanished. "Hey, going home?" She looked up to see a motorcycle standing in front. It was Aron. Astha was unsure what to say, and before that, Aron said again, "Come, I will drop you." 

The following day, Astha went to the office a bit early. She was feeling great today. She got up early, went for a walk, prepared a breakfast instead of munching on snacks and got ready much before time. Oh, what was this sudden burst of energy! Was it Aron? She mailed all the files to her manager before time. She was also surprised that she did not want to binge eat. She raised her head from her cubicle. Aron was talking to another colleague. Last night, Astha could not say anything, not even a thanks; she was so elated. She wanted to celebrate this moment. She opened the shopping app, but a sudden pop-up screen appeared on the screen, "What if..." Astha absolutely forgot about this. Why did this screen appear every time she opened an app? And whatever she was writing was coming true. Then she laughed it off, "Foolish me." She typed "I were rich" in the blank space, and the pop-up vanished. 

Astha went home on time, and instead of ordering out, she made a tasty meal for herself for dinner. An instant bip on the cell phone made her check the text message. It was from the bank, "Your account number has been credited with Rs. 10000000." She shrugged off and ignored the message, scammers at work. She again saw a text, "Your current balance is Rs. 10223869." This time, she was not in a joking mood. She opened her laptop and checked her bank balance. It was Rs.10223869.The last deposit of 10000000 was from Whatif Inc. Corp. She did a search on the company but could not find anything. Suddenly, something felt quite uncanny to her. So, whenever she opened any app, a pop-up stating "What if..." appeared, and whatever she filled in was happening. She immediately opened a shopping app, and just as she had thought, the pop-up appeared again. " What if..." Astha thought for a moment, her fingers shaking. She typed, "Aron was mine." The screen disappeared. 

Astha was watching a late-night talk show on TV when the doorbell rang. Who could it be at this time! She went to the door and peeped out. Aron was standing there. He had a bottle of wine in his hand. "Aron, what are you doing at this time? " Astha could not believe her eyes.

" Hey Astha, I thought of having some wine with you." he chuckled. Astha hesitated for a while, " Um, ok, come in." They had wine, and Astha found herself quite confident around Aron. He was charming, cracking silly jokes and making her laugh. " I broke up with Simi." Aron declared all of a sudden. "Oh, so sorry to hear that, Aron. This was unexpected." Astha tried to comfort him. " Yeah, but it just happened. The relationship was going nowhere, so we decided to call it off." he seemed sad. "No worries. I am sure you both will sort things out." Astha's wish was genuine. This was not what she wanted. "No, Astha, it happened months back. I am telling you today. I know you like me; everyone knows back at the office."

Astha could feel a sudden discomfort within her; she did not want this, and she did not wish for any of this. She crushed on Aron, but she was not ready for him, at least not in this way. She wanted to be rich, but not in this way. Aron came close to her and touched her cheeks. The smell of the wine was strong in his mouth. Astha could feel his lips on his cheeks; his heavy breath seemed unbearable. She stood up, " Aron, I think you should go home now; it's pretty late." Aron looked at her in disbelief and left quietly. 

This was not happening. She opened a shopping app. The pop-up screen read, "What if...." She quickly typed, "This was not true." The screen vanished. 

The next morning, Astha woke up late, munched on some cookies, and arrived at the office much later than usual. As soon as she sat down at her cubicle, she received an email from her manager that read, "Come to my desk ASAP." While walking to his office, she passed by Aron’s desk, where he was happily chatting with his girlfriend on the phone, completely ignoring Astha. Once she entered her manager's cabin, she was met with a furious expression. "What am I supposed to do with you? You sent me a blank email, and none of the data was filed! I heard you were here at the office until 9 PM, watching movies. Is this a theatre for you, Astha?" Astha remained silent, accepting her one-week suspension letter before leaving the office and going home. Just as she settled in, she received a text message from the bank notifying her of a debit of Rs. 10000000 from her savings account. She smiled, switched off her phone, and said to herself, "What if there were no apps from now on?" Then she walked into the kitchen to prepare lunch, whistling to the tune of "I Want to Break Free."

This post is a part of Storytellers Bloghop hosted by MeenalSonal & Ujjwal Mishra