Now We Got Bad Blood

Chapter Eight- The Break-In and Friendship

Monami's attempts to dodge the Singh family failed miserably.

By the time she arrived home from her night shift a couple of days later, the heavens had opened up to one of the worst summer thunderstorms she had ever seen. Monami shivered involuntarily as lightning streaked across the sky raising the hair on the back of her neck.

She rummaged through her bag, hoping to find the house keys. After searching for the umpteenth time, she realized that she had left her keys at the clinic. Her mother was in the city for a client's dress fitting and since she would be returning late, Monami was locked out of the house. She slumped against the front door as another fresh roll of thunder groaned behind the clouds.

Sighing, she picked herself up after a while and darted across the street, taking care to avoid puddles. If she could make it to the clinic in six minutes, she would just be in time for Koel to lock up. Then she could enter, find her keys, and be back home, snuggled up in her bed.

As she sprinted, a loud clap of thunder rumbled, rattling her nerves. It hadn't rained this badly since the night her father went to jail, and with an unpleasant knot in her stomach, she realized how frightened she was on that fateful night. Ever since, the sound of thunder terrified her, managing to send her into a frenzy every time. It was something ominous, something unwelcome.
And now, with their compounder discovered hanging in his own house for reasons unknown, here Monami was, completely trapped alone in one of the heaviest downfalls of Vaishali Nagar.

By the time, she reached the parking lot, her clothes were completely drenched, and her hands and feet were numb from the cold. All the lights were shut off inside the clinic. It stood desolately against the night sky.

She was too late.

The clinic was closed and Koel had gone home. Monami dashed across the parking lot, hoping to find shelter under the overhanging roof. She would wait until the storm ended and then spend the night at Sid's house.

If the storm wasn't whipping her wet hair in lashes around her face, she would have seen the figure outside the entrance before she was charging straight into it.

"Aaram se!"

Monami stumbled back out into the rain, but not before she had seen that the stranger was pressed against the door as if peering inside through the glass. The stranger turned around and pulled the hood of her raincoat down.

"Sanjana?"

"Monami?"

"Tum idhar kya kar rahi ho?" Both of them asked at the same time.

"Main apni ghar ki chaabi clinic pe chhod gayi thi. Wahi wapas lene aayi hu", Monami answered first.

Sanjana nodded thoughtfully. Monami waited for her answer. Instead of answering, Sanjana asked another question."Tum idhar kam karti ho?"

"Haan, but zyada din ke liye nahi." Monami's reply came in an instant. It was partially true; she will go to the city and work in a big hospital once her father returns back. But still, she felt somewhat guilty about not mentioning that it was her clinic. She couldn't bring herself to tell Sanjana about the role the clinic played in her life; she didn't want the Singhs' to think that she was boring, stuck in a low-earning job, rotting slowly in the suburbs.

A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky and Monami saw Sanjana's face clearly this time. She was solemn-faced, thinking about something deeply. It was strange to see her like that.

Monami scrunched her eyebrows. "Tumne abhi tak nahi kaha tum yahan kyun aayi ho."

After a long time, Sanjana responded quietly, "Mujhe tumse milna tha".