Ek Duje Ke Vaaste - 1

Prologue

  "It was the worst day of my life," screamed Seema aunty from the other room, "when your filthy mother left you on my doorstep and committed suicide." Annika breathed deeply. Even after twenty-two years of listening to this same statement over and over again, she'd never gotten used to hearing something like this about her mother. Of course, her mother was a mystery to her as well, but something about the way Seema aunty spoke about it made Annika feel uncomfortable, it was an eerie feeling in her spine that gave her nightmares and kept her up at night.

  "Why do you have to live with her?" asked Niharika, her neighbor and best friend, "just go somewhere else. You're talented, you know so many things and I'm sure any place will be better than this." Annika just kept smiling. Like her aunt's statement, she hadn't heard this statement for the first time. Many neighbors and friends had suggested the same thing and Annika had thought about it a lot of times. But after every brainstorming session, she concluded that however bad, cruel, or evil her aunt might be, she had brought Annika up for twenty-two long years, and abandoning her just didn't seem the right option.

  But of course, that had cost her a lot. She had stress and anxiety all day and she had never lived without fear, with true freedom. She also craved that. This conflict was never ending. In the end, she'd decided to go with the flow. Whatever destiny had in store, she'd accept it willingly. The same night, Seema aunty called her to her room. Annika was never allowed to go into her room. This was the fifth time in her entire life she was entering it. She knocked on the door calmly. Her aunt was sitting on the huge armchair, facing the window. The room was dark, but the unmade bed and the messed up cupboard with one door slightly ajar were visible. The moon was shining outside, casting a white glimmer on everything.

  "Sit down." Seema aunty said almost in a whisper. Her voice seemed tired and for the first time in so many years, Annika realized her aunt had gotten older. She suddenly seemed to notice all the wrinkles and other signs of aging. She sat down besides the armchair, taking a deep breath. Her aunt didn't look at her, she was still staring at the moon, her eyes glittering like a young child's. Was it the moon or were there actual tears in her eyes?

"I need you to go, Annika." she spoke, without looking at her, "I've got you tickets for tomorrow afternoon and you are leaving."

"sor- what?" She widened her eyes and shifted in front of the armchair, but Seema still didn't look at her, "leaving- where? why? why so suddenly? did I- did I do something wrong? what happened?" there was so much more to ask, she thought, but words wouldn't come out at all.

"I'm not asking you, I'm telling you." She replied sternly and before Annika could say anything, she gestured her to shut her mouth, "You're going to Mumbai tomorrow and I am not hearing anything that you have to say against the idea. It's an order. I've looked after you enough. That wretched mother of yours gave me a responsibility I didn't ask for and I've done my bit. I want to get rid of you and everything that reminds me of her. Now no more discussion, go to your room and pack your bags rather than wasting my time."

*

"Sanat, if this event flops, our entire company is going to be in a huge loss. Do something that saves us, not drowns us even further." Shanaya said in an urgent tone. God, that girl was always anxious. Sanat was sitting on his bed, filing his nails and idly biting his lip. 

"It's okay Shan, this event is NOT going to flop. Okay I'll call you in a minute, My dad is calling." Sanat sat up with a start. His dad calling this late at night was NOT a good sign. Or probably it was? He never knew what was up with his dad. 

He took a few deep breaths, adjusted himself properly on his bed as if his dad was ACTUALLY watching him and picked the call, "Hello, Hi dad." wow. A hello and a hi in the same sentence. Nice way to start.

His father's voice came muffled, "Are you asleep?"

"no." he replied softly, "but I was about to go to sleep, I assure you."

"That's fine, but do you have a minute to talk?"

okay. a conversation. wow. "yeah.... sure I guess?"

"I'll cut it short and get to the point. One of my school friends called. She's in a bad condition and her niece needs a job. She's good with planning events and gatherings and she's coming to Mumbai for the first time, would you be able to provide her job and also, if possible a shelter? Now I would've done it myself but she's young and twenty-two, so you and your circle would understand her needs better than me. I was friends with her aunt and mother, and they were really good people. I would like to help them at least this once because I do owe them something."

His dad didn't fumble once, it was like he'd learnt the whole thing by heart. But then again, everything his dad did was perfect, "Okay, I'm in for it. Just tell me when she'll be coming and all the details."

"Okay I did forget to tell one thing. She's coming alone and as I said, for the first time, so you'll have to go to the airport to pick her up. I'll send you her picture and details. Please don't send someone else, I'd like it if you went yourself. Also I have a meeting, So I'll call you tomorrow." The call disconnected.

Sure. A meeting? this late at night? but then again, who was he to poke around in people's personal lives. One more thing added to the list of things to do.