Resurrected

  I said, “Hope I have not troubled you.”

  “No, please go and get me a bottle of water.” I handed over my own bottle of water and said, “This is boiled water. You can drink if it you want otherwise, I can buy a packed bottle for you.”

  “No need to buy then. Give me your bottle, I am very thirsty,” saying this she snatched the bottle from my hands.

  After drinking water she told me to take the taxi towards a restaurant. On the way, she said, “Iveil take all these decorations to your house and decorate it. I have also ordered a cake. It will reach your house on the 4th June.”

  “How much more am I supposed to pay you?” I spoke sadly taking out my old torn wallet.

  “No Iveil, you need not pay me anymore. Here things are not very expensive. I got it within the amount you gave me.”

  I started scratching my head in confusion. How can she buy so many things in such a small amount? But before I could say anything she said, “Iveil, will you give me your advice for a situation?”

  “Sure,” I looked at her through the small mirror of the taxi.

  “Let’s go to the restaurant and there I will tell you my problem.”

  Merlin wanted to take her to the Taj Lands End hotel at Bandra. Once there, I parked my taxi and noticed that there was only my taxi in the middle of all expensive cars. Before I could feel sorry for myself, Merlin dragged me to the restaurant. When I entered the restaurant everybody started staring at me. My legs stopped over there. For the first time, I felt ashamed of being a taxi driver and I wished to be a super-rich businessman. Merlin realized my situation.

  She patted my shoulder and said, “Iveil, why did you stop here? Our reserved table is in that corner.” I went after her.

  She sat down at the table and ordered the food. When the waiter went away, she looked at me and said “Iveil, do you remember my boyfriend?”

  “Oh yes. The guy whom I had seen with you on your birthday…” I replied recollecting the past days.

  “Yes, he is my boyfriend. He is a Managing Director of a reputed company.”

  “That is very good,” I replied with a smile.

  “Everything looks very good at first sight,” she said.

  “I didn’t get what you meant?” I asked

  “My boyfriend’s name is Alex Horse. He is simple, honest, impressive and much more to it but he never tries to understand me, my life, my problems, my struggles. At times, I feel he acts very selfish.”

  “I had noticed it when I had seen him. You can try to be patient and give him some more time to understand you.”

  “I will give him time but he must be willing to understand me,” she protested.

  “Why don’t you talk to him and tell him how his behavior bothers you so much? I am sure he will understand!” I tried to help her with my advice.

  “He never feels guilty for hurting me.”

  “That is probably because he doesn’t understand that he is hurting you. We all have a conscience, each. If he loves you, he would never hurt you willingly.”

  “I love him so much that despite being hurt, I always forgive him and speak to him again. But sometimes I ask myself how long must I keep hurting myself?”

  “Try one thing Merlin. Take him for outing and tactfully tell him how his actions hurt you. Tell him how much you love him. Tell him that you have always tried your best to understand him and he too should try to understand you.”

  “Okay, I shall try that,” Merlin took her cell and dialled his number. She kept the phone on loudspeaker mode.

  “Hello, Alex.”

  “Hi, Merlin.”

  “Alex, can we meet for dinner tomorrow? Some place near my home?”

  “No, Merlin. It will be too far for me. Why don’t we go somewhere near to my office?”

  “Alex, it will be too far for me. It is not a safe place at night.”

  “Then cancel the plan,” Alex replied rudely.

  “Can you drop me home after dinner?” Merlin didn’t want to give up.

  “No sorry, I don’t have time to drop you home. Please cancel the plan. Anyway, I am busy now so talk to you later,” Merlin looked at me with a sad face.

  “Relax, Merlin. We will find some way to make him responsible for your love.” I smiled at her.

  “Do you think there is any way left to change Alex?” Merlin asked dejectedly.

  I kept thinking for some time. The waiter came to serve the food. While eating I was thinking of innumerable ways to suggest but finally all appeared meaningless.

  Finally a thought struck my mind. I slowly said, “Merlin does Alex truly love you?”

  “Yes,” she replied looking at me confidently.

  “If you start dating somebody else, he might become jealous, right?” I asked.

  “Yes, he will be. But, that is not going to change him,” she was stuck on her belief.

  “It will definitely. When he will see you with some other guy he will feel sad. He would try to find out what did he do wrong. On observing your new lover’s care and concern for you, he will automatically change.”

  “Maybe. So what should I do?” she asked me with a confused reaction.

  “Do you have any guy in your friend circle?” I asked.

  “Yes, I have many male friends,” she replied.

  “So think about a boy whom you can trust. Tell him to act like your new boyfriend. Tell him to behave with you very decently, politely with understanding, care and concern. Alex will automatically learn his lesson,” I replied and winked at Merlin.

  Merlin smiled at me with happiness. She asked “Will this really work?”

  “It may work or it might not. If it works you will get back a better Alex. But if it doesn’t work then you might lose him forever. There is a risk in it, definitely,” I replied.

  Merlin’s face grew unhappy. I knew she would not be ready to take such a risk because nobody would take a risk to lose the person they love a lot.

  For some time there was complete silence. I could see Merlin again lost in her own world. The waiter came and kept the bill in front of Merlin. She paid the bill and looking at me said, “Iveil, I am ready to take this risk.”

  “Very well, Merlin. You won’t get what you want unless you take a risk.”

  “But Iveil”, she continued, “I can’t figure out who the guy can be. I mean who has time to do all this acting stuff just to save my relationship.”

  “Yes, that is also true…” I replied.

  She thought for a while and said, “Iveil, there is one guy who will do the acting in a perfect way. He is very trustworthy and I know him well,” she said and smiled.

  “So request him to help you out?” I said innocently.

  She asked quickly, “Iveil, will you please play my new boyfriend’s role? I can only trust you for it.”

  “I… actually don’t have time” I replied in broken words.

  “Iveil please”, she begged. “I will pay you for acting.”

  “But madam… I never had any girlfriend. So I will not be able to act like your boyfriend. I treat you like my client and respect you a lot. I will never fit into this role,” I spoke the truth.

  “Iveil, please do not refuse. You have built hopes for me and now you yourself are only pouring water over them,” she said, trying to convince me.

  I was confused. I drank the tea kept on the table. Merlin looked at me and said, “Iveil, how much do you earn a month?”

  “About ten thousand,” I replied.

  “Okay then, I will pay you thirty thousand for the month if you will agree to do acting for one month as my boy friend.”

  “Thirty thousand!” I exclaimed. I couldn’t believe my ears.

  “Yes” she replied and took out her cheque book. She continued, “I will pay you immediately, if you agree.”

&nb
sp; “Okay I agree, madam.” I replied.

  “So tomorrow you will report to my office as a trainee. It is my father’s office so he will never refuse to appoint you as an intern. After a few days I will act like I have started liking you. This rumor will surely reach Alex because he knows many employees in our office,” she said eating the ice-cream.

  “But Madam, I do not think your father will appreciate this silly behavior,” I said with fear on my face.

  “Don’t worry. I will tell him about our plan. He is very supportive and understanding.” Soon we left the restaurant.

  The next day I reached her office by 9 a.m. The office was huge with many sophisticated employees. The receptionist guided me to the cabin of the boss i.e. Merlin’s father. I knocked the door of the cabin and with a loud but polite voice asked, “Sir, may I come in?”

  “Yes, come in,” Merlin’s father replied.

  I went inside and saw Merlin sitting on a chair opposite to her father. She said “Iveil, I have spoken about our plan to my father. He has agreed to it.”

  Her father looked at me and said, “Iveil, you will have to act like my daughter’s new boyfriend but do not take any wrong advantage of it otherwise I won’t…”

  Merlin stopped him and angrily said, “Daddy please, Iveil is a decent guy. I trust him a lot.”

  “Okay, Iveil hope you can act well?”

  “Sir… I have no experience but I will try my best,” I said frankly.

  “The best way to act is to put yourself into the character in which you are acting. So do you have any girlfriend or somebody whom you loved in the past?” He asked looking directly into my eyes.

  “No sir, I did not have any girlfriend but when I was in school, I had fallen for girl. I could never tell her about my feelings because I was too shy to admit them. Later on, I got to know that she started dating a guy from our class. So I buried my feelings for her,” I freely confessed about my past life.

  Merlin’s father kept staring at me. He said, “Iveil, then for a month you must assume that my daughter is the same girl whom you had loved during your school days. Just assume you both met after a long time. Only this will help you to play your character well.”

  “Okay sir”, I said.

  He turned towards Merlin and said, “Daughter, you shall assume that this guy is not Iveil but your lover Alex.”

  “Yes dad,” she said looking at me.

  Her father continued, “You are now an intern in this firm. After a week your drama of love story must start. Let the things look natural and not like a made up story.”

  For the first week after the office work I would go out with Merlin. It was her father’s suggestion so as to create a friendly bond between us.

  While knowing her closely, I realized that though Merlin was very pretty, she never accepted it. She was extremely talented, but she never used her talents. She was extremely smart, but her lack of concentration had hidden her intellect. She also had a very sensitive and innocent nature. She loved to help everyone and to love anyone whom she met in her life. She had an honest nature.

  In the next week, Merlin started showing her feelings for me in the office. I too acted perfectly of accepting her love. This rumour spread like wild fire in the office and it finally reached the ears of Alex.

  Alex called Merlin and said, “Merlin, I have heard that you are cheating on me with some trainee in your office.”

  “Yes Alex, I like him. I am sure you will not be bothered by it,” Merlin replied calmly.

  “No Merlin, please stop it otherwise you will truly love him. You do not know if he will love you forever or just use you…” Alex taunted her.

  But Merlin had a firm reply, “No, he is not that type of a guy. He cares for me, understands my problems, supports me to deal with stress, respects me and protects me. He tries his level best to make me happy and always brings a smile to my face.”

  Hearing this Alex was completely silent. Merlin realized that Alex was repenting for his mistakes. Later he said, “Merlin, I will still give you some more time to think.”

  “Alex, if you can change yourself and be like my new lover then only I shall accept you,” Merlin said patiently.

  “Sorry Merlin, I can’t change or become like him. I will live by my identity only. You must accept me the way I am,” Alex replied bluntly.

  “Sorry Alex, then I will not change my mind either,” she disconnected the phone and started thinking if this plan would actually work out.

  My behavior as usual was very decent, kind, helpful, understanding and respectful. I was loved for myself, other employees became my friends. Every day would start by working with amazing people and end with an outing with Merlin.

  On my 31st day, after my work I was called in the cabin. When I went inside, Merlin was very happy. She hugged me tightly and said, “Iveil our plan has worked. Today in the morning Alex sent roses for me and invited me for lunch. He apologized for being blunt and hurting me. He behaved very politely, caring and loving. I have accepted him back. Thank you very much.”

  Merlin’s father took out a cheque for Rs. 20,000 and handed it to me. I kept the cheque on the table and said, “Sir, Merlin has already paid me Rs. 30,000.”

  Merlin’s father smiled at me and said, “Iveil the cheque which Merlin gave you was for acting. The cheque which I have given is your salary for working in the office. Anyway, your seniors are amazed by your etiquettes and the quality of work. Therefore, you are provided with an offer to work in my company. Will you accept it?”

  Hearing this I very excited. My joy had no limits. I will be working in an office with a fixed salary was the most pleasant surprise for me. I accepted the offer.

  I looked at Merlin and said, “You are my lucky charm. My destiny has changed after I met you. Thank you very much Merlin… sorry madam. If you have any work for me in future then please feel free to approach me.”

  “Don’t thank me. In fact, I am indebted to you for being such a true and honest friend. From you, I have learnt that even poor people have self respect and beautiful lives. Thank you for helping me to get a better Alex back into my life,” Merlin said, becoming emotional.

  “Madam, we do get each and every happiness that is in our destiny. God has written our destiny and we must thank only HIM.”

  I went home happily and shared this joy with my mother. I then went to the same beach where I used to go everyday with Merlin. I sat on the sand and kept staring at the sea. The water was touching my feet as if welcoming me. My mind started recollecting all the memories of the past one month with Merlin.

  That entire month, I would start my day by sending a Good Morning SMS to Merlin. We always had lunch together and in the evening would hold hands and walk on the beach. We would share our smallest experiences with each other. We would celebrate our happiness together and console each other during sad days.

  I suddenly felt very lonely. I kept staring at the waves. I asked myself whether whatever was happening in my life was good for me.

  At that time I got a message from Merlin. “Hi, if you are free then join us for dinner. It is in happiness of my rebonding with the love of my life.”

  “Okay,” I replied and stood up removing the sand from my clothes.

  I went home and after wearing the suit gifted by Merlin, went to the hotel. When I reached there, I saw Merlin and Alex waiting for me. They later went inside and sat at a reserved table.

  Alex looked at me and gave me a smile.

  He looked at Merlin and said, “My dear, you must open an acting school. I still can’t imagine how you performed such a drama accurately.”

  He turned towards me and said, “Man, you are really too good. I had been forced to believe that she had started falling for you. You made me go mad with envy for you.”

  Merlin intervened, “Our love has expanded and matured thanks to Ivei
l. Without him we would have never understood each other so well. It was his idea and his actions due to which we are together again.”

  “No Madam,” I said, “You have come into my life as a blessing in disguise. You have given me opportunity of working in a reputed company even without being well-qualified. You have always given me more than I ever deserved. May God always bless you and Alex with lots of happiness and love.”

  “Thank you,” Alex said and patted my shoulder.

  CHAPTER 24

  PARENTS ARE GOD ON EARTH

  One day on reaching home after the tiresome work in office, I was lying on the sofa reading a magazine. My phone started ringing and it displayed Merlin’s name.

  “Hello, Merlin!”

  “Listen very carefully Iveil, I am in a great trouble.” Merlin said in a fearful voice.

  “Where are you?” I got tensed.

  “I am hiding at the Marina Street, near the place where construction is going on. Some drunk people are continuously following me. Come soon.”

  “Okay, wait. I will reach within few minutes,” I replied and rushed out.

  I was wondering how to reach Marina Street as soon as possible. If I waited for a bus it would be too late. If I went by train, it would take at least twenty minutes to reach the railway station. I was sad with not finding any good alternative to travel fast.

  Suddenly, I recollected that I still owned my taxi. I took the keys and started the taxi after a long time.

  I reached the construction site on Marina Street. I came out of the taxi. The lane was extremely silent and darkness was surrounding it. There was no trace of any person in such an area.

  I walked into the corners to see if Merlin was hiding there, but no luck. I was about to return. At that time I felt like once calling out Merlin as loud as possible.

  So I kept shouting, “Merlin, where are you? I have come to take you home.”

  I walked the entire lane calling out to Merlin. As I reached the end of the lane, there was a pat on my shoulder. I turned around to see that it was Merlin.