Games of Deception

Chapter 3 - Blurred Lines

A Month Later

Tuesday, May 5th 2015

Bandra Kurla Complex

Life was much easier and simpler as a young child, carefree with no added burden of responsibilities. A child can blindly rely on her parents to take care of her basic needs. For that young girl, her parents are infallible, to be worshipped and an ideal example of who she wants to become as an adult. But parents are far from infallible, they are human. And as humans, they make mistakes too. The child grows up into an adult and many times, roles reverse; the child becomes more responsible and takes care of her parents. Madhubala Malik knew her parents were getting older and that one day she will have to look after them and make sure their retirement nest egg was well protected to live out their golden years. She just didn't expect to take on the added responsibility much sooner than she had expected. No daughter should be expected to clean up her parents mess, yet that is exactly what she had to do; clean up the colossal mess her father had created.

She slumps down in her chair in her dark, dingy cubicle. Consigned to a windowless corner in the vast office floor, Madhu can only rely on the dim tube lights as poor substitution to natural light from the sun. It is only 11 am in the morning and she had just returned from chasing after a source that didn't pan out. Madhu likes to think of herself as a serious journalist but at times she questions her chosen profession. Especially when she is handed out assignments that falls more into the category of frivolity than newsworthy.

After she had evaluated all viable options and did a lot of soul searching, Madhu opted to follow her dream of one day becoming a reputable news anchor. She forgo a promising, lucrative career as an accountant and passed up an opportunity to work for Deutsche Bank. Instead she joined Dailystar News and for 2 and a half years, she became one of the most favored writer for the magazine. However, the magazine was more into following the lives of celebrities and publishing gossip and Madhu just finds it detestable.

Madhu joined Mumbai Gazette, almost 3 years ago, and now at the age of 27, she is still seeking an opportunity that will get her closer to her goal. She was naïve to think that it would be easy to cope and survive the news world and climb her way up the pyramid. She thought hard work and dedication along with her intelligence, would be more than ample to make her successful in the publication world to give her a leg up to become an anchor. It took months and a few momentous incidents to shed her idealistic notions.

Staring blankly at the computer screen, she is jolted out of her silent reverie at the sound of her phone. Madhu frantically scans her neat desk, looking for her phone, as she silently curses her sister for setting up the embarrassing, personalized ringtone without her knowledge. She cringes as the phone blasts with the voice of an Asian man, rasping "You're sister calling you. You talk to sister. So nice..." Madhu's cheeks tinge with color as she glances apologetically at a few of her co-workers, who walked by and gave veiled, disapproving looks. Her lips twists into a grimace as she kneels down and digs her hands into her gargantuan purse.

Finding her phone, Madhu triumphantly pulls it out of her purse and answers the phone in a low, angry growl, "Maleeha, you bloody brat! I swear I will kick your ass tonight for changing my ringtone."

Maleeha Malik, Madhu's younger sister, laughs vivaciously as she responds to Madhu, "Sister dearest. Don't be such a prig." She stops laughing and adds in a soft voice, "You need some laughter, joy in your life." Determined to keep her sorrow bottled in just like her elder sibling, she continues brightly, "And who better than your awesome, younger and might I add prettier sister to add some color in your dull life? As your self-appointed doctor, I am prescribing you a daily dose of laughter to cure you of your melancholia, in the hope that you will no longer be a boring wren."