Everyone Has a Story 2

by Savi Sharma

  I started walking home, thinking about all the changes we had gone through since the day I ran into Arjun at the Delhi Lit Fest. It seemed so long ago; we had all lived a lifetime with the challenges that had been thrown at us since then.

  No matter who you are, or what you have done, there is a moment that you want to give in to failure.

  But that wasn’t right, was it? If time just went on and on, with no ending and no beginning, how could we treasure each day?

  I never imagined it would be so tough, but success comes with a price tag. Sometimes you have to do much more than you expected to taste the sweet moment of success.

  Accept fate, but determine to make some changes in your life. By doing this, you learn more about yourself and it gives you the incentive to pursue your dreams. You might need to return to the starting line, but use it as an opportunity to run the race in a different way.

  Our stories were far from over and as I turned the lock and pushed the front door to my house open, I was buoyed by this effervescent hope.

  Resolve to look at your life’s challenges in the eye. Persist and move forward. I was ready to do that.

  29

  VIVAAN

  One year later

  Isn’t fate a funny, fickle thing? One minute I was on top of the world. The next moment, I was thrown further down than I had ever been. My dreams were shattered, and I was lower, more depressed than I had ever been, even when working as a banker.

  Then things started to look up once more. The end is not the final moment, but a bridge to the next beginning. We don’t realise it until we take that next step. No matter what you may learn, one of the most valuable lessons you can learn is that of patience. Sometimes it takes a long time to work through something that should take a much shorter time.

  In a storm, surrounded by rain and wind and despair, it is hard to even remember the sun will shine again. I even forgot the feel of the warmth on my face for a little while. But the storm did pass and I emerged a changed man.

  When those first rays of sun hit my face again, I appreciated them all the more. I embraced the lessons of the storm, but cherished the relief as it passed. Life’s experiences can be wonderful or harsh, but the harsh lessons are meant to help, not hurt.

  I was pleasantly surprised to realise how much I enjoyed working with Parth and his company. Gone was that depressed man I got to know in the Uber. Instead, he threw all his energy into making Yaadein a thriving success. He split his marketing efforts between seniors and their family members, travelling across India to give talks about the importance of capturing this precious history. It complemented the rich history our country has. Knowing how much I love travelling, Parth made sure that I had the opportunity to travel with him sometimes as well. Managing the financial aspects was critical—even more, as the company skyrocketed—but I found myself caught up in the excitement of this prospering business so much that every day I worked at Yaadein was invigorating.

  ‘It’s amazing how fast Yaadein continues to grow,’ I mused, walking hand in hand with Meera. Despite our busy schedules, she and I made sure to take time out for us, too. Today, we were visiting the Pune Okayama Friendship Garden and were enjoying a brisk walk on a rare cold day. ‘It seems like every time I open my laptop, I find another retirement community or nursing home that wants to contract with us.’

  Meera shivered a little and pulled her jacket around her shoulders tightly. ‘It sounds like Parth is going to have to bring on more writers,’ she said. ‘Let me know if he wants me to speak with some of my students again.’ In a brilliant move several months ago, Parth and Meera combined forces to give some of her students the opportunity to hone their writing skills by working for Yaadein on a part-time basis.

  ‘I definitely will,’ I responded, wrapping my arm around her and rubbing her arms briskly to warm her up. ‘Do you want to head back to the car?’

  She shook her head. ‘The chill in the air is actually a nice relief after all the heat we’ve had lately. Besides, I love this place. The Japanese influences are such an interesting change from the other gardens in Pune.’

  We stopped and took in the well-manicured lawns and the trees that, to me, were cut to look like children’s lollipops. I couldn’t help but laugh every time I saw the happy-looking branches.

  A gust of wind rose and blew, pushing us along the path toward the waterfalls.

  ‘How is your blog doing, by the way?’ she asked.

  ‘Talk about taking off,’ I said happily. ‘It astounds me how much people are enjoying my pictures and my writing. Now I completely understand how much you love to write; it’s humbling but amazing to get so much attention and such positive feedback from people across the world!’

  ‘How wonderful.’

  I thought about the huge milestone that took place last week when my Instagram posts reached one million followers. Meera was obviously reading my mind because she mused, ‘A million people. . . it’s absolutely amazing. And how about the sponsorships?’

  ‘I’m still trying to figure out which ones I really want to promote,’ I said. ‘You know how much I love Puma, but then Nike and Adidas are fantastic companies as well. Oh, I didn’t tell you, I did sign with UCB the other day.’

  ‘Ooo,’ she responded. ‘I could go for a nice layer of that right now!’

  We laughed, thoroughly delighting in each other’s company before my next trip. It seemed like every time I turned around, someone wanted to fly me to another part of India to check out a hotel or resort. Tomorrow, I was heading to Chennai to check out a new hotel on the beach. I was hoping that Meera would be able to come with me, but with final terms coming up, she felt it was important to stay behind to help some of her struggling students.

  She was so dedicated towards her students and took the time to help those who might be finding the class particularly challenging. ‘How is Siddharth doing, by the way?’ She loved to tell me stories about this particular young man. Although he was dyslexic, he had such a passion for reading and writing that Meera pitched in quite often to help him when he was having difficulties.

  Meera smiled happily. ‘I paired him up with another student, who is helping him by reading his work out loud to him. I do believe they might be developing into more than just two study partners.’

  ‘You little matchmaker,’ I teased.

  ‘I honestly wouldn’t have thought the two of them would be a good match,’ she said. ‘Well, at least, not until she jumped at the chance to help him. Then I realised there might have been a bit of a crush there.’

  ‘And Siddharth?’

  ‘Oh, there is definitely some interest. He shows up for class early each time now, and he even got a haircut!’

  ‘No!’

  Meera nodded. ‘He’s totally cleaned up now. And I’m pretty sure it’s all because of his study partner. They arrive separately, but they sit together and leave side by side now.’

  My phone pinged and I realised that we would have to head home soon. ‘I think we’re going to have to cut this short,’ I said regretfully. ‘Let’s head back to the car and you can tell me the latest in your writing.’

  ‘No way,’ she said. ‘I want to hear more about the trip we’re going on next month when the semester is out.’

  ‘I think you’re going to love it,’ I said. ‘I’ll have to show you pictures later. The resort has these little separate huts with huge, thatched roofs. It looks like the huts are actually part of the jungle with all the old growth they were able to preserve. I can’t imagine how that big construction equipment managed to do it, but they did.’

  ‘And there’s a pool?’ she asked again. Meera did love spending time by the pool. Of course, since she brought her journal everywhere she went, she certainly could write anywhere.

  ‘There are either two or three pools; I can’t remember.’

  ‘What about the food?’ she pressed.

  ‘Well, since we’re part of the pilot programme being brought in to test the acco
mmodations, we’ll have to see how good the dining is. But it sounds like they are bringing in several chefs from different culinary specialties and we get to pick which foods we like the best.’

  Meera clapped happily. For such a petite woman, she certainly could pack away the food. ‘Oh, I can’t wait,’ she said excitedly.

  We reached the car but before we drove away, I used my phone to check my email again. ‘Hey, guess what!’ I said excitedly.

  ‘What?’

  ‘It looks like I might be heading back to Goa again soon. There is a new hotel they want me to blog about,’ I said, scrolling through the email. ‘And, they asked if we might have some friends who want to come along, preferably with kids. It looks like they need to test a couple of different demographics.’

  ‘Oh, fun! Do you think Nisha and Kabir will be able to get away?’

  I nodded. ‘I know they’re busy, but I bet they’ll make time for this. Jianna will love it!’

  I turned my phone off and leaned over the seat to kiss Meera, long and passionately. When we caught our breath again, Meera grinned at me. ‘What was that all about?’ she giggled.

  I shook my head. ‘I’m just so amazingly happy. I would never have thought a year ago, when things were so bad, that we would be here right now, planning these trips together. It’s amazing how our luck has turned.’

  ‘Hope is real. It’s good. And good never goes away. And it’s our hard work,’ she laughed. ‘We are good people and we deserve happiness. Plus, we never gave up, not in each other and not in ourselves.’

  30

  KABIR

  ‘You’re back again?’ I laughed at my new friend and started making his favourite double espresso. ‘Finals week is pretty tough, huh?’

  My customer propped his elbow up on the counter and sighed heavily, then took a deep whiff as the aroma of the coffee reached his nose. ‘Mm. . .’ he groaned appreciatively. ‘I have no idea how I would have gotten through my exams without your coffee.’

  I grinned and said, ‘Probably the same way you did last year before I set up shop here.’

  At that, the young man shuddered in remembrance. ‘Yeah, and I blew two of my exams last year because I kept falling asleep while I was studying!’

  I handed him his travel cup and took his money. ‘Well, as many of those as you’ve pounded back in the last few days, you probably won’t go to sleep until the next semester starts!’

  My young friend gave me a winning smile and said, ‘That’s the plan, definitely.’ As he took his change, I realised his hand was shaking ever so slightly. At first, I dismissed it as caffeine jitters but just as he was about to turn away, I thought about the lunch that Nisha had packed for me. I knew she had packed extra jeera biscuits, knowing that they were my favourite. ‘Hey,’ I said and he turned back to me. ‘You are eating, right?’ I couldn’t help but worry about some of these kids; they pushed themselves so hard at the end of the term.

  ‘Yeah, this morning,’ he said confidently before his smile started to fade.

  ‘Wait. Hm.’

  I didn’t give him a chance to say anything else. I lifted up my cooler and started to reach in for some of the biscuits. Seeing the hungry look in his eye, I wrapped a few biscuits in a napkin and then pulled out one of the two Russian Salad sandwiches that Nisha had packed. ‘Here,’ I said, putting the food into a small paper bag and handing it to him. ‘My wife makes the best sandwiches.’

  ‘Really?’ he said, incredulously. ‘Wow, thank you!’

  I smiled happily. ‘Well, when your exams are done, and you don’t need quite so much coffee, I expect you to come back and let me know how well you did!’

  He was already munching on Nisha’s biscuit. ‘I will,’ he said around a mouthful of food. ‘This is delicious,’ he said, reminding me of Jianna with cookie crumbs on his face.

  ‘I’ll tell my wife,’ I offered. ‘She’ll be very happy to hear it. Wait until you try the sandwich. You can’t get any better in a restaurant.’

  ‘I can’t wait,’ he said happily. ‘You are one lucky man, Kabir!’

  I nodded. ‘I know it,’ I responded before I gave him a wave to send him back to his dorm room. ‘Don’t I know it,’ I said more quietly to myself.

  And I did know how fortunate I was. The coffee stall near Pune University was so successful that we were turning a profit in no time. I wasn’t able to run it by myself, so I hired a staff member to help. And as soon as I was able to, I hired several more staff to help with the long shifts.

  With the profits, Nisha and I agreed that we would invest in another coffee stall near one of the other universities in Pune. Word caught on quickly and we were extremely busy there as well.

  In the next few months, we expanded so that ten campuses had a Kabir coffee stall near it. I carefully and personally trained each staff member until I was convinced that they understood every coffee recipe I had created, but also the nuances of running a coffee booth.

  Yet, all this time, I kept the memory of my horrible burns fresh in my mind, and the promise I made to myself when I was healing to always put my family first. So, no matter how busy I was, and no matter how busy Nisha was with our little girl, we always took time for ourselves, whether it was sharing a cuddle in the early morning before we got up, or going out to eat. Often, we took Jianna but sometimes, we hired a babysitter to watch her so we could have some ‘us’ time.

  I was working as hard as I did when Kafe Kabir was open, but now that I took the time with my family, my time at work was much more pleasurable. I no longer felt torn, trying to figure out what was more important: making money to support my family or being with my family.

  How much I would have missed watching Jianna growing up had fate not stepped in that day, and caused that devastating fire. At the time, and while we were struggling to make ends meet, I would stay up long into the night, cursing fate for its cruelty. I now realised that if it wasn’t for that disastrous day, I would never have stopped.

  I knew we needed to work on us every single day. We needed to work to support each other’s hopes and dreams and to share happiness and sadness. It wasn’t always going to be the easiest thing in the world in many ways, but in others, it would be so simple, because it was a part of us.

  At first, when I mentioned the fact that I was thankful for the accident to Nisha, I’m pretty sure she thought I was finally going crazy, judging by the funny look on her face. It happened to be one day when we were walking through my favourite path, the one on the university with the old trees that were pushing their way on to the walkway. It was one of Jianna’s favourites, too. She loved pretending she was a princess in a magical garden.

  ‘I mean it,’ I said to Nisha’s doubting face. ‘What would have happened to us if Kafe Kabir was still there? I don’t know if I would have ever realised how important it was to make time for you two.’

  Ever the supportive wife, I could tell Nisha was getting ready to defend my own actions to me. I held up a hand to stop her. ‘I know what you’re going to say but honestly, at what point do you think I would have slowed down?

  She stopped and considered my question, slowly shaking her head. ‘I don’t know if you would have,’ she finally admitted. ‘But I don’t know about actually being happy that you were hurt. That was horrible. I almost lost you, Kabir.’

  Nisha bumped into me on the walkway, and I knew she needed a hug. I stopped walking and took her into my arms. ‘But you didn’t lose me,’ I said sincerely and gently kissed the frown lines on her forehead. With one eye on Jianna, we stood like that for several minutes, just rocking gently under the towering old trees. ‘And now, you have more of me that I didn’t really know was in me to give.’

  Jianna came galloping back to us, and I bent down so she could launch herself into my arms. ‘Group hug!’ she yelled happily, throwing her chubby arms around us.

  We started walking again, turning our attention back to talking about the coffee stands and filling each other on bits of convers
ations we had with Vivaan and Meera. Finally, I broached a subject that had been on my mind since the day Kafe Kabir burned down, but I pushed away until the success of the coffee stalls made it a real possibility.

  ‘Nisha,’ I said hesitantly. ‘We are doing really well with our coffee stalls now. And we can hardly keep up, now that the end-of-term finals are on.’

  ‘Yes, I know,’ she said. In fact, while I was busy running the businesses, she was the one who was tracking the finances. The day the average monthly profits from each stall broke the thirty-thousand rupee , she surprised me with a delicious home-cooked meal, going all out and cooking all day. And then one day, I came home to find her all dressed up with reservations to an upscale restaurant across town. I thought she was just surprising me with a nice meal, only to find out later that it was to honour the coffee booths each making more than fifty thousand rupees each month.

  She definitely had an even better sense of our finances than I did.

  ‘What would you think if we rebuilt?’

  She stopped again on the path so abruptly that a student walking behind us almost ran into her. I tugged her to one side, apologising to the student. The student waved off the apology. ‘Love your coffee,’ she said and passed us with a grin.

  When we were alone again, I repeated my question. ‘Rebuild Kafe Kabir?’ she asked, her eyes wide.

  I nodded. ‘I don’t think we would need to take out a large loan at all, and now we have all ten coffee booths to use as collateral so we should get a really good interest rate.’

  Her eyes flashed and I knew she was thinking about the fire again. ‘That isn’t going to happen again, Nisha,’ I whispered.

  ‘How do you know?’ Her eyes filled with tears. ‘We never thought it would happen the first time!’

  I took a deep breath. ‘We’ll hire the best electricians and make sure the wiring is absolutely perfect,’ I said. ‘And we won’t use old, used equipment that we need to keep patching. Everything will be brand new.’

  ‘And safe?’

  ‘And safe. I promise, Nisha. I can fail and I can break. But in breaking, I can still find a way to piece my dreams back together. Each morning heralds a new day and today is the day I think I should start rebuilding.’