The next morning was waiting
for me to fill my life with full of
challenges since I had to engage
in a dreadful task under the close supervision of Mr. Karthik.
I could not let him down due to
my dernial, he was hoping me to
live up to his expectations. In fact, Mr. Luthra was needed to be impressed by my behavioral conduct to receive the stamp of approval from him.
Hurrying up with my kitchen
chores and having the breakfast of little sandwich and a glass of apple juice, I stood before the mirror again.
"First impression is the last
mpression.."
Mr. Karthik's words lingered
in my ears. He wanted my
impression to be perfect in front
of Mr. Luthra so that the latter could demonstrate me. But what did he actually mean by the word 'impression'? Was physical appearance meant to be everything to impress anyone?
I was really a critic when it came
to discussing about external
outfits and appearances. Why
did a person really need to be a
gaudy queen in order to influence someone's mind? Or were I interpreting Mr. Karthik's words in a wrong way?
I shuffled among the stacks of
clothes piled up in my cupboard to decide my attire for the day. After a ten minutes of conflict with my outfits, I eventually selected a long white colored tunic with a pair of crème palazzo pants. The narrow high ponytail had kept my hair intact, imparting a suitable match to my clothes. I spread a little of the regular peach foundation with a thin layer of kohl around the brim of my light brown eyes. Sticking to light makeup had always been my daily routine, or in fact my austere way of living.
I picked up a black faux leather
handbag while reaching for
the main door. To make my
impression more impactful, a
black wedge heels for the day
would be suitable I thought.
Though I had never been a fan of
wearing heels, yet it was supposed to be my first external best impression!
________
The bus to the city hospital
dropped me before time in front
of the hospital's lobby. There were still ten minutes left to seven and I preferred to take a brisk walk around the hospital. I gave Mr. Karthik a call and he reminded that he would reach in time, I mean exactly at seven. He was so punctual that he wouldn't stir even by a minute.
I was loitering around the hospital like a fool for an odd five minutes when I perceived something doubtful near the backyard boundary wall where people did not generally go. I had reached there unmindfully while roaming alone like a lost wanderer.
A young man in his early thirties was revolving his uncovered eyes around the hospital vigorously though he had kept his face hidden inside a hoodie jacket. I noticed him intensely staring at the hospital building floors above, trying to figure out something.
I started getting an immediate gut feeling that he had been searching for someone or something. It was only a few seconds later when I saw him trying his best to climb the pipeline and I alerted myself. I hid behind the second boundary
wall so that he wouldn't sense my presence.
I heard the man giving someone a call before climbing. "Are you sure you have reached the floor where Karan is? I anm coming to meet you there. Mind that you can get caught because of the security and you might be needing my assistance.'
I did not know what the speaker
on the other end responded but
I could see the first man moving
away while replying over phone.
"Fine, I am waiting downstairs.
Complete your task and move out quickly."
I was hesitating to take a decision in such a situation. Who was this Karan they were discussing about? Was it the same Karan Luthra that Mr. Karthik had spoken about? My sixth sense was pronouncing aloud that he might be the same because there were people lurking around to kill him and they wouldn't miss such a chance.
