Hello faceless!

Divya was scared to death as she inched closer to her home sweet home. Her mother was worried too, looking at the sweaty daughter, awaiting her return from college. As Divya stood near the threshold, the mother and the daughter exchanged looks. Her mother grew apprehensive of what chased her dear daughter home. Divya was not the kind who would return home early in the evening. She always hanged out with her friends late in the evening. She would randomly pick a few strangers from online social networking sites once in a while, know them and meet them. This thing for new people and psychology kept her busy making new friends.

It all started with a small talk.

A: Hello! That profile pic of yours is really impressive!

Divya: Thank you! May I know who you are?

A: Your schoolmate, Mr.A.

Divya: Oh, hi, how are you doing? What are you up to these days?

And then without much detailed introduction, the chat continued with exchange of numbers and address.

Nobody would give away their personal details to a stranger. But, a known school mate? "What is the harm?", she thought.

After a few days, she had this sinister fear of being stalked. The fear stemmed from a creepy guy who stood around the corner of her house-street. She clearly identified his face, her school mate whom she met online a few days back. Though she tried to obliterate his existence in many ways, he existed in real; and right around the corner.

Unknown numbers bothered her all day long, she lost her inner peace; she stopped social networking; she disconnected from all online beings and all real beings. She stayed in her room all day and all night. She discontinued her education. Her interest in life dwindled.

Today, she is under medication and psycho-therapy for paranoia. Online social networking can deter her from her real life was an unimaginable thought, but it had come true.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda. This week's WOW prompt is 'A simple hello can lead to...'