Here is the third part of the story disguised. Read it as the author, Sudheeksh, continues his wonderful story...!
Sandesh was in his dreamland that entire
day. His body was in the office. But, his mind was still circling around Adhya.
Ashutosh had been telling him, “Mr.Sandesh, you seem lost” uncountable times.
His words were in effect only for few minutes. Then Sandesh was back in his
dreamland.
“Poor fellow!! Might be
stressed due to his work load”, Ashutosh had thought. So, he let Sandesh be
himself. Sandesh’s mother had called him in the noon and had enquired when he
would return from office. Usually, he wouldn’t receive her calls. She keeps
annoying him for one or the other thing and tries to act like a good mother, as
he thought. But, today it was a different. Even she felt that Sandesh isn’t
paying any attention to her words. But, she was glad that at least he answered
her call. Just before his duty was done, Nidhi asked him to check on the cab.
As he dialed his cellphone, after ringing for few seconds Ramu-dada answered in
his frustrated tone, “I can’t pick you two today. They said they would arrange
something for you to travel home. Just call them and enquire”.
Sandesh then called the
transport department and asked whether they’re getting any cab replacing the
one broke down in the morning.
“I’m sorry, sir. All cabs are
fully occupied. I’m afraid you’ll have to find some other mode of
transportation” replied the voice on the other end in a hurry and hung up. He
replied it to Nidhi. When it was time for them to leave for home, Nidhi told
him that Rishab will be dropping her almost near her home. So, Sandesh had to
travel alone. Sandesh then thought, “I’ll have to get a wonderful bike. Then, I
can pick and drop and roam anywhere with Adhya”. People usually say, “A man in
love is no different than a lunatic”. How true!! Just a hi, 20 minutes talk and
a hand shake, WHOOP!! He was in love!! And he was thinking and dreaming
everything that might happen once she’s with him. I say, if you want to lose
your mind and become completely mad at very short time, you can simply ask god,
“Grant me a crush”. And when he grants you that boon, it’ll do the rest!! Well,
it’s a wonderful feeling though.
Buses will be completely packed in
such peak hours. So, he decided to take an auto-rickshaw. It took two hours to
reach him home. As soon as he entered, he head straight to his room. He had
noticed an elderly man sitting in the living room, on the sofa in his
kurtha-pyjama talking to his mother. He wasn’t concerned about it. All he heard
was his mother saying, “I’ll talk to him and let you know tomorrow”. He went
inside, latched the room door and fell on the bed. Sleep embraced him in no
time. And, even in sleep, he was dreaming about Adhya.
“Wake up Sandu!! Eat something
and then sleep”, Savita was trying to wake him up with repeated bangs on the door.
“Okay, okay!! I’m wide awake.
Are you trying to break that door?!” Sandesh yelled in response.
“Come down soon. I’m preparing
your favorite Alu-paratha. Come and have it before it gets cold”.
He was very hungry. After
hearing the name of his favorite dish, it grew bigger. He rushed to the
bathroom, took bath and within a fraction of second he was at the dining table.
He started feasting over Alu-paratha with masala dahi. What a combination!!
Even after he was full, he couldn’t stop himself from licking his fingers.
Savita was watching her son enjoying dinner, from kitchen. She was happy
looking him satisfied. Just as he finished eating, she came near him with a
bundle of photos and placed it on the table where he can see them clearly.
“What’s this?”
“Photos…of some girls. They are
searching for a match”
“Sure. I’ll let you know if I
find anyone”
“Don’t you start the drama now.
Padiyarji brought them for you. Just go through them and select someone you
like”
“Okay. I’ll select”, he replied
calmly and returned to his room, latched the door and slept again.
Sandesh’s father came home at 11pm.
He noticed Savita sitting in a chair, her eyes glued onto the television. But,
she wasn’t paying any attention to any of those serial dramas which she always
adored. She was somewhat startled to see Shankar standing near the door. She
recovered quickly and smiled.
“You left the door open”
“Yes. I was expecting you”. She
continued after a small pause, “Go wash your face. I’ve made Alu-paratha”.
He came in undoing his tie and
asked in a concerned voice, “Did he eat?”
“Oh!! He feasted on it. It’s
his favorite, remember?”
“Hmmm”
“He slept as soon as he
finished eating. He might be very tired”
“Hmmm”, he was thinking of his
son, sitting on the sofa.
“Are going to take bath?”
“Yes, yes. I was going to” he
replied as he rose. He returned after the bath. By that time, dinner was
waiting for him on the table along with his wife. They started dinner as he sat
down. After a while, he looked at his wife and asked her, “What happened?”
“Huh?!” sudden break in the
silence startled her.
“You seem upset”
“Nothing... just...”
“I noticed it as I entered. And
I’m watching you since then. You’re lost in thoughts. And I know it’s bothering
you. Tell me what happened?”
She sighed deeply and replied,
“Its Sandesh. He’s...”
“Sandesh?! What happened to
him?”
“I showed him some photos.
Padiyarji had brought them in the noon. And he...”
“Savita, why do you keep doing
this? You know he don’t want to get married now”
“But, as parents, it’s our
responsibility”
“He’s not that old as you
think”
“Old? He started working 2
years ago. Still, he’s single. If not now, when will he get married?”
In my country, as soon as you
get a job, you should get married. People will back off when it’s their turn
for marriage. But, as they grow old, have kids and as they grow up, they start
forcing them to get married as soon as they think their children got settled.
Even the oldest person in the family’s final death wish will be watching you
getting married and then breath their last!!
“Why’re you hanging onto that
old custom, Savita? Besides, you do know he won’t agree at any cost. He’ll get
married when he feels he’s ready for it. Why do you keep poking him with that
and start a fight? Stop it all and...”
“He didn’t fight”
“Huh?! Then why are you
worried?”
“I’m worried because he didn’t
start a fight. In fact, he didn’t talk anything about it. Just said, ‘I’ll
select’ and went away. Every time I came up with this concept, he used to shout
till his voice reached the sky. But, today, NOTHING!!”
Parents always worry about one
or the other thing about you. They get tensed if you don’t talk and even if you
talk a lot, if you don’t sleep and even if you always sleep, if you stay inside
home a whole day or if you return at midnight.
“Savita, he gets tired after
working a whole day. That too after an hour’s travel drains his energy. He’ll
be exhausted. He needs rest. That’s why he didn’t pay any attention to your
words and remained silent. What’s there to worry about it? Be practical. Stop
worrying about such silly matters. You don’t even know what you did in that
tension”
“What did I do?!”
“You ate my paratha!!”
There was a long laugh. She
felt much better now.
* * * *
Sandesh was busy with his office
work from past few days. This new project was sucking out his time and energy.
His team of six had to finish it soon. They had made three groups of two
partners each among themselves and had planned to work late night, one team a
day, so that they can get a better pace.
It was 10am. Sandesh was deep in
his work. Suddenly, he felt an urge to stand. He stood and faced their lobby
entrance. All of a sudden, everything stopped!! His eyes remained fixed on what
he saw without a blink. There she was, walking with the wind, moving slowly.
Her giggles filled his ears, he could hear nothing. It’s like years of his prayers
have reached the god and he had granted him his wish without any second
thought. His dream girl was now right in front of his eyes, walking towards
him.
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