by Jisha Rajesh
“I have something much better than the food and that too exclusively for you,” Mrs Damle flashed a jubilant smile.
“What?” Mrs Menon said casually as she looked lovingly at the mountain of biryani piled on her plate.
“Malvika was telling me that Mehak is pregnant with Sandeep’s child and that’s why Muskan is in a hurry to marry her off.”
“You should always keep yourself updated about what is happening around you, Sejal,” Mrs Menon felt pity towards her, instead of being shocked and raising an alarm.
“What do you mean?” Mrs Damle’s face darkened with fury as her trick didn’t work well.
“Don’t you know the recent one?” Mrs Menon said as she gulped a huge bolus down her throat, “Muskan asked Mehak to get the child aborted. But Sandeep wanted to have the baby and threatened Muskan with a divorce. That’s why Muskan wants to get Mehak married off hurriedly, so that she could get rid of the girl and have her husband and peace of mind back.”
“What?!” It was now Mrs Damle’s turn to turn shocked.
Gangu bai, who was serving water to the guests, was also eavesdropping on their conversation. She ended up being more shocked than all four of them. She immediately ran to her mistress and was almost out of breath when she reached her. Muskan and Mehak were seated opposite to each other on the table where they were having their food.
“Are you okay Gangu bai?” Muskan was alarmed as her gaze fell on Gangu bai’s ghastly pale face, “you can take some rest if you are not feeling well.”
“Madam, is it true that Mehak beti is pregnant with sir’s child and he beats you everyday, demanding a divorce from you?” Gangu bai made use of her own creative skills to enhance the masterpiece before she halted to suck in air through a widely gaped mouth, “And that’s why you want to get her married off?”
“What!” Mehak nearly choked on her food.
“Who told you so?” Muskan flashed a knowing smile as she already knew the answer.
“I heard those ladies over there say so.”
“See I told you,” Muskan turned to Mehak, “that’s how the ‘NEWS’ weaves out a news.”
“Now I understand,” Mehak nodded thoughtfully, “why you have always despised them.”
“Let it be,” Muskan shrugged as she turned her attention back to the food. “Tell me, when are you going to give me a treat?”
“As soon as I get my first salary, didi,” Mehak said as her face glowed with an eager smile.
“Deal,” Muskan’s eyes were bright with pride as a wide smile split her face.
Ayana burst out laughing and rolled over with the manuscript in her hands. As she caught her breath, her thoughts wandered back to Shanaya.
“Their creative skills are far better than mine,” Shanaya’s words echoed in her ears, “and I should learn from them.”
Shanaya had remained repugnant towards the so called ‘rumor mills’ of the society. She never missed a chance to have a big laugh behind their backs, though remaining outwardly polite and amiable to them otherwise.
‘She was such a vivacious and good humored lady,’ Ayana thought, ‘It was fun being with her’
The agony of losing Shanaya for ever took Ayana in its possession again. And to get out of its clutches and to make her believe that Shanaya was still with her, Ayana took a plunge into the ocean of memories of the moments that she had shared with Shanaya. Dawn was about to break when she drifted into the arms of sleep.
* *
The first thing that came to Ayana’s mind as she opened her eyes in the morning was the manuscript that took her back to Shanaya and made her forget all her agonies. She instantly jumped out of the bed as couldn’t wait to take another dip into it. She was amazed by her energetic stride and acknowledged with surprise that her usual vigor was restored now. She went through her early morning chores with lightning speed so that she could get back to the enticing manuscript as soon as possible. Her eyes had a delighted sparkle in them as she seated herself on her desk in the study holding a cup of coffee in her hands. The manuscript was waiting over the desk, silently beckoning her attention.
“Get ready Ana,” she said exactly the way Shanaya used to say while sending her manuscripts over to her, “it’s coming your way.”
The thought brought a smile to her face and she turned over to the pages between which the poor bookmark was sandwiched for the night.
Chapter – 3- The Bossy Boss
It was already late when Muskan hastily stepped out of the taxi and paid the driver off. She glanced at her watch and gasped in distress as it was 1.30 a.m. She ran up the steps of the railway station and made her way straight to her the enquiry counter. She couldn’t bring her voice to work as she was struggling to catch her breath. The man at the counter gave her a puzzled look and she only gestured with her hands as she still couldn’t chain her hiked breathing.
“Lo…local?” she somehow managed to say
“The local train is gone, Madam.” The man felt relieved as he finally understood what the lady was trying to convey. “The next one will arrive only after two hours.”
“What?!” she turned such a ghastly face to the man that it gave him goosebumps.
She turned to look around and found the station desolate and eerie. She came out on the platform and made her way towards the ladies waiting room. The tapping of her shoes on the tiles of the platform echoed in the dead silence of the night making her heart pound even faster. She gulped down and hurried her pace to traverse the distance to the waiting room as quickly as possible. She was returning home after having a blast with Mehak at the Ian Regency hotel. She remembered how happy she was when she got a call from Mehak last night. Mehak was in the seventh heaven when she got her first salary yesterday and invited Muskan for a dinner treat to celebrate the occasion. Muskan forgot about her vulnerable situation and smiled as she thought about the proud twinkle in Mehak’s eyes as she paid the bill. Everything was going well till her car broke down on her way back from the hotel. She somehow managed to hire a taxi to the railway station and was beginning to feel relieved. But to add further to her miseries, the taxi got struck in a traffic jam from a freak accident on the road. And when it finally cleared off, after the much delayed intervention by the police, she ended up missing her train.
A chill ran down her spine as she walked on the deserted platform that was wrapped up in the veil of the pitch dark night except for a few lights that made a meager attempt to light it up. She pushed open the rusted door of the ladies waiting room that made a creaky noise as it swung on the old rickety pivots. Along with the despicable smell of ammonia that crept into her nostrils from the unhygienic bathrooms, the fact that she found it empty made her turn her back to it instantly. She promptly took to the general waiting room.
She peeped in through the window before stepping in. She saw a man sitting inside it with his spectacled eyes glued to a magazine. She took time to study the stranger before deciding whether to step inside or find some other place to wait. He was a smartly dressed, middle aged man with salt and pepper hair. His external appearance seemed harmless to her and her anxieties eased off to an extent.
‘Looks may deceive,’ her mind warned her as she took a step ahead.
‘I have nothing to do with him,’ she shrugged and walked ahead, ‘I just have to spend two hours in there, that’s all.’
Muskan stepped in and sat on a seat by the window, leaving a wide gulf in between them. She ignored him absolutely from the moment she walked into the waiting room as if he didn’t even exist. But from the corner of her eyes, she kept throwing stealthy glances at him in an attempt to study his reaction on seeing a vulnerable lady sharing a waiting room with him. She ran a quick check whether he was ogling at her or preparing to make any advances. To her surprise, she found a distressed look on his face since the moment she entered the waiting room. She even caught him frequently throwing stealthy but suspicious glances at her. His face turned pale and he uneasily drew his bag close to
him.
‘Why is he jittering? I am the lady. I am the one who should feel worried about my security and not him,’ Muskan thought as she felt being deprived of her birthright!
After a few moments, he jumped out of the waiting room with his bag clutched to his chest. Her utterly bewildered eyes wereriveted to the door for quite some time but he didn’t return.
‘I think he is gone,’ she thought as she pulled out her iPod from her bag.
She plugged her ears with the earphones and switched the music on in an attempt to spice up the melancholic night with some melodies. While being lost in the music, she felt an urge for her usual nocturnal visit to the washroom. She put the iPod back into her bag and walked towards the washroom while praying furtively to find it neat and supplied with plenty of water.
“I think she has left!”
She overheard a man’s voice as she was about to leave the washroom. She held her breath and stooped to peep through the key-hole. She saw the man who was sitting next to her talk over the phone.
“Why are you so worried? She is just a woman, a meek creature. She won’t eat you up! Believe me, everything will be fine.”
She could hear the conversation from the other end as his phone was on the speaker mode.
“Is she pretty?” The man on the other end asked with a nasty laughter and her heart rocketed in anticipation of the most dreaded calamity.
“Don’t you remember what had happened to Sanjay when he was returning late from work one night?” The stranger in the waiting room scowled, “A gorgeous lady asked for a lift and he obliged. She befriended him and then they had a drink together. And then he woke up to find that she had robbed him of all his valuables. God knows who this lady is and what villainy is brewing in her mind?”
She felt like banging out of the washroom like some superhero to pounce on him and punch him right on his nose.
“Fine, then keep yourself away from the spell of her charms,” the man on the other end said in a mischievous tone “and you will be safe for the night.”
Muskan came out of the washroom with an offended look on her face as soon as she saw him hang up. He stared at her in astonishment for a while as he saw her emerging out of the washroom. After he recovered, he sheepishly turned his face away as he feared that she must have heard everything.
‘It’s payback time now,’ Muskan thought as she stumbled upon a plan to prove to him that she was not what he thought her to be.
“Hi Alia,” Muskan called one of her subordinates and put the phone on speaker mode, “have you prepared the presentation for our client meeting scheduled for the next week?”
“Hello, Muskan ma’am,” Alia said in a dreamy tone and Muskan guessed that she had woken up from a deep slumber, “no Ma’am, not even a single word.”
“That’s really bad Alia,” Muskan cocked an eye at the stranger sitting by the far end of the waiting room and said it loud enough for him to hear clearly, “as we are respectable citizens and no scoundrels or thieves, we should act responsibly and finish our assignments in time.”
“You are right, Ma’am,” Alia said yawning, “but as you know after the retirement of our CEO Swaminathan sir, the post is still vacant. So, I thought, what’s the hurry?” Alia’s words faded into another yawn, “but yesterday Amit was telling me that a new CEO will be appointed soon.”
“WHAT! WHEN?” Muskan panicked as she thought of the jobs she had been deliberately avoiding expecting a long delay in the appointment. She was expecting an appointment only after the Diwali holidays, which meant still there was a fortnight to go. On the top of it, Muskan had assured herself that even if a new officer is appointed, he will join the office only when the festive season is over. But Alia’s abrupt disclosure proved her mental calculations all wrong and pushed her to the end of her wits. The stranger in the waiting room seemed to vanish into oblivion.
“In a day or two,” Alia’s sleepy voice brought Muskan’s heart to a standstill, “His name is Anand...err…something, I don’t remember. He was appointed on Swami Sir’s recommendation. He has worked as Swami Sir’s subordinate during his initial days, apart from being one of his best friends.
“Well, Alia,” Muskan admitted sheepishly, “I too have to buckle up now as I have also left my jobs pending.”
A drop of sweat trickled down Muskan’s forehead as she hung up. But her terrified eyes didn’t fail to notice an atrocious chuckle on the face of the stranger. She glared back at him and her eyes threw huge canons of rage on him. At this, he surprised her even more by bursting out laughing.
“Well,” he said as he caught his breath, “then you must finish your pending jobs immediately because I am your new boss, Anand Mathur. You are Muskan Shukla, right? Swami Sir has told me about you.”
Muskan was taken aback but she promptly wore the mask of a sheepish smile as soon as she recovered from the shock.
“It was a pleasure meeting you, boss!” Muskan said as she adorned a wide smile on her face, which was deeply flushed with embarrassment.
“Yes, that’s was the way she had met the Sri Lankan writer, Paul Thomas!” Ayana jumped on her chair. “She couldn’t recognize him as he was a media-shy person.”
Ayana smiled and was about to turn to the next chapter when her phone rang. She pressed her fingers between the pages and closed the manuscript as she turned to look at her phone.
“Hi Sandra,” Ayana greeted her enthusiastically over the phone.
“Hi, Ma’am,” Sandra smiled as she noticed that Ayana was jovial again, like the old times, “If it is convenient for you, could you please come to the office for some time?”
“Anything urgent?” Ayana asked as she glanced at the wall clock. It was already noon.
“You have to sign a few documents and some cheques. It’s our payday next Monday.”
“Oh!” Ayana slapped her head, “I completely forgot about it.”
“Do you want me to send them to your place?” Sandra was in a dilemma whether it was inappropriate to ask the bereaving Ayana to come over.
“No, that’s fine,” Ayana reassured her as she sprang to her feet, “I will be there in half an hour.”
* *
Ayana was right in time for her evening cup of coffee when she reached home. It took her longer than she expected at the office. She was meeting her staff members, who were more friends to her than mere subordinates, after a long time. They all were concerned about her wellbeing and clustered around her with worried faces as soon as she landed in her cabin. She was overwhelmed by the love and concern that she saw in their eyes. She made diligent efforts to ensure each and every one of them that she was still in the process of mending her broken heart and will soon be her earlier self again. She threw her bag on the bed as soon as she reached home and walked straight into the closet. She freshened-up and changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top. She made a cup of coffee and smiled as the inebriating aroma of the bubbling brew filled her soul. She placed the coffee mug by the side of her bed and perched upon it. She wrapped herself in the blankets and opened the manuscript placed on her flexed knees.
Chapter – 4 - A Conspiracy
Muskan hurriedly locked the door of her house and stepped down on the porch. Diwali was approaching and she made a long list of things to shop for. As she was about to pull open the door of her car, she noticed a coal black SUV parked on the road opposite to her bungalow. Her hand froze on the handle of the door as her eyes were fixed on the vehicle that she was sure didn’t belong to anyone in the neighborhood.
‘Who could be that?’ she wondered, ‘may be the Guptas have some guests.’
She shrugged and got into her car.
“After all, it’s the festive season,” she said to herself as she turned her car out of the driveway.
She drove her car through the busy streets till she reached The Grand Shopping Mall. She turned her car towards the parking lot in the basement of the mall, praying with all her heart to be able find a parking space. As th
e festival of lights was approaching, the shopping malls came up with alluring discount offers and gift packages to attract customers. And as a result, all the malls were jam-packed with customers and so was the parking lot with their vehicles. Muskan heaved a sigh of relief and didn’t forget to thank the Almighty as she finally spotted a space to house her car. She jumped out of the car and hurriedly stepped into the lift.
A couple of hours later, she returned to her car carrying a dozen shopping bags full of books, clothes, crackers and toys for the kids. She planned to donate those things to an orphanage. She wished to celebrate Diwali with those kids as Sandeep was on a business tour and couldn’t make it home for the festival. She smiled as she checked out the packets and matched them with the list she had prepared. She placed them on the back seat and turned the engine on. As she pulled her car out of the basement and drove to the main road, she noticed the SUV that she saw in front of her house in the morning. It was parked by the side of the road opposite to the shopping mall. A slight flame of suspicion flickered in her heart and she felt an urge to check it out. But then her gaze turned back to the shopping mall and she dropped the idea as another thought crossed her mind.
‘What else but a shopping spree.’ She looked at herself in the mirror and smilingly shook her head. ‘May be those guys were not lucky enough to find a parking space.’
She drove her car on the desolate national highway towards the outskirts of the city. A long drive of nearly an hour brought her to the arched gate of the orphanage. Her face glowed with exuberance as the shrieks of the children playing in there fell in her ears. She parked her car and stepped out.
“Ramlal, please help me with the bags.” Muskan smiled at the peon.
“Mataji,” Ramlal yelled as he came running out for her help, “our Muskan Madamji is here.”