I open the app on my phone and stare at the landing page. During the signing-up process, I had filled in all my details meticulously, but now when I log in, the app asks me whether I wish to maintain anonymity until I trust the partner who’s been chosen for me and the app’s ecosystem. I decide that anonymity is a good option. It might be better to use a different name; being a public figure isn’t as fancy as it seems, and sometimes, you have to pay a hefty price for being in the public eye. The absence of a private life has always troubled me, and I’ve done everything in my power to protect what little privacy I have. Using my real name might give Asmitha direct access to my personal world, and that would be totally unwanted.

We think we have a lot of time in life, but the fact is that we don’t know how much time or what quality of time we have left. Sometimes, time is on our side and we feel that we can conquer the world. And sometimes, time isn’t on our side and we feel let down by the world. Good times don’t come with the guarantee that they will stay, so when the times are good, we must make the most of it. We shouldn’t put anything on hold until tomorrow, because we don’t know what tomorrow will bring.

And with this medley of thoughts in my head, I scroll through the app and see that I’ve been paired with a woman name Kiana.

I take a deep breath, and then type out my first message, using my new pen name: Neer.

Me: Hi Kiana! You seem like someone I’d love to get to know.

The Delay

Kiana

Saturday, 17 December 2022
Newark Airport, New York

‘Life is a mess, and you’ve got to appreciate the mess that is life.’

I’ve decided to skip breakfast and just have a quick cup of coffee from the Italian coffee machine installed in my luxury suite at the Plaza, where I’m staying. But skipping breakfast would be stupid, given that I’m here on an official trip and the company’s footing the hotel bill. The breakfast spread would, no doubt, be huge and delicious and lavish—it is the Plaza after all, and the best part is that I don’t have to pay a single cent from my pocket for anything. But having breakfast all by myself in the restaurant isn’t as exciting really. Drinking fancy Italian coffee while sitting by the enormous French windows that offer a breathtaking view of NYC … that would perhaps be more pacifying.