Ride on Time

Chapter 105

By the time Mitsuo went back to the Shridhar Industries lobby, his hands were full from all the shopping and he was still munching the chocolate pretzels he got on the way. The receptionist told him that Shruti's meeting was over and she was now free to see him. Of course, he wasted no time in making his way up to her office.
The moustached man he bumped into the other day, the same one whose name he mispronounced during the event a few days prior, got into the lift with him. Mitsuo didn't really notice at first, but that was until he caught a glimpse of his name tag that read Mikail.
"You the emcee from that day, right?" He suddenly asked, pointing at Mitsuo.
Mitsuo swallowed his pretzels and nodded. "Yes. Sorry for mispronouncing your name, Sir. I had no clue it was pronounced Syed and not Shed."
"It's okay," Mikail said. "Why you here now?"
"Just came in to say hi to Ms. Shruti."
"The CEO is very busy, you can't just come in as you wish," Mitsuo turned to Mikail in surprise.
That made something snap inside Mitsuo. "Sir, I have full permission to be here. Ms. Shruti is my close friend and I just came to see her, though I may seem like a shopping tourist who came to meet the CEO of this establishment for fun."
Mikail kept silent as the lift went on. Mitsuo was glad that the older man stepped out on the 25th floor. He heaved a sigh of relief and loosened up considerably when arriving at the thirtieth floor where Shruti's office was.
Shruti was free and awaiting his arrival. The receptionist had informed her that a 'Chinese' man with glasses and a Swastika wanted to see her and she instantly knew who it was.
"Hi, Mitsuo," Shruti greeted and was replied with a bow. "Aren't you leaving today? What time's your flight?"
"An hour ago," Mitsuo said, much to her surprise.
"What?" Shruti's eyes widened. "You missed your flight? Why? To go shopping?" She gestured towards the bags he was carrying.
Mitsuo laid the bags down on one of the chairs and sat down before telling her all about the nightmare he had that morning. Shruti listened intently, her eyes glistening with every detail.
"He said that 'she was dead' but didn't mention who," Mitsuo went on. "And then he turned to me and said 'don't go', right before a lorry bashed into the car.
"The car was burning, I tried really hard to pull him out to safety but then you came up and pulled me out. Nika was with you, and then my alarm rang and woke me up."
Shruti nodded slowly, a troubled look on her face. "This... this guy you're talking about, what did he look like?"
"I could see his face very clearly. He looked Indian, he wore thin-framed glasses, had a beard, even gold hoop earrings. He appeared in my dream before, but it was in a mirror."
"A mirror?" Shruti prompted him to explain further.
"Yes, I was writing at a vanity table, with the mirror covered with a white cloth. I put the pen away into its case, which looked a lot like the one you gave me the other day to sign the papers, and looked up at the mirror. I pulled the cloth off and there he was, looking right at me in the form of a reflection."
Shruti nodded quietly again and fumbled for something in her drawers. She pulled out a picture and handed it to Mitsuo. "Was this the guy you mentioned?"
Mitsuo took the framed photo and looked at the man in the picture. It was the same guy that appeared in his nightmare, only he had a wide grin plastered on his face instead of the solemn expression he usually wore in Mitsuo's dreams. "He is the one." He nodded. "Do you know who he is?"
Shruti looked up at him and smiled, the tears finally escaping her eyes. "That's Shri. My brother."
"It... it's Shri Mohan?" Mitsuo asked in surprise.
"Mmm..." Shruti nodded, reaching for a tissue paper. She sniffled and dried her tears before speaking again. "Mitsuo, I'm not sure if it's just me missing him so much, but... you're just like him. You remind me of him so much since the day we first met."
"But... but I look nothing like him," Mitsuo pointed out.
Shruti shook her head. "Not appearance-wise, Mitsuo. He had the same habit of playing with his pendant whenever he was nervous." She gave him a watery smile. "Something which you're doing now."
Mitsuo realised that he had unconsciously been fiddling with his Manji and lowered his hand. "It's a common habit, I'm sure a lot of people do that too."
"You read his books, didn't you? Did you compare his writing style with your own?" Shruti continued. "The only difference is the advanced technology like smartphones and laptops."
Mitsuo opened his mouth to speak, holding up a finger, but quickly refrained as he placed said finger on his chin instead.
"That dream you mentioned, Mitsuo, was the exact same way my brother died," Shruti sighed. "He was on the phone with me when... when it happened."
Mitsuo swallowed his saliva, carefully choosing his words. "Where was he going?"
"To KLIA so that he could take a flight to see Misao one last time before her parents brought her to Tokyo," Shruti sighed, placing a hand on her forehead.
"But why was she leaving?" Mitsuo asked but immediately regretted. "I'm sorry. I forgot, though her mother told me."
Shruti was silent, her gaze lowered as she reminisced.
"He... he mentioned that he was going to KLIA," Mitsuo added. "I was a little confused since I wanted to go to KLIA today too, and he mentioned it in my dream just this morning."
Shruti looked up. "What time was this dream?"
"Very early, it was around four-thirty?" Mitsuo recalled.
"Maybe you had unfinished business here," Shruti suggested with a shrug before changing the subject. "Would you like some tea?"
"It's fine, I just had breakfast," Mitsuo politely declined.
"Be my guest, a cup of tea isn't all that filling," Shruti insisted. She called her secretary and requested the tea. She returned the receiver to its cradle and turned back to Mitsuo with a sigh. "This might be a lot to take in, Mitsuo. But judging by whatever you're saying, you might actually be my brother. Reincarnated from the dead."
Mitsuo blinked twice. "That's a really big claim. But I don't think so..."
"Mitsuo, he died on the Eve of the Christmas you were born," Shruti stated. "Besides, that dream you mentioned? The one with the mirror? Mitsuo, Shri sat at the dressing table in his room and wrote in his diary throughout our stay in Japan. And this pen..." she rummaged in her drawer and pulled out a black case. "Is the one he used to write. It was a gift from Misao and he really cherished it."
Mitsuo took the case and opened it, revealing the same silver pen that appeared in his dream. It gave off the same shine as he had seen too.
"But why was the mirror covered?" Mitsuo handed the pen back to her. "It wasn't some nightmare effect, was it?"
Shruti chuckled, shaking her head. "Nah. Our mother used to warn us about looking into mirrors at night so he kept the mirror in his room covered when we stayed in Japan."
"Oh..." Mitsuo nodded.
The secretary came in with a tray and placed it on the table before leaving. Shruti thanked her and poured herself and Mitsuo some tea.
"I'm not really sure about anything that's going on," Shruti admitted with a sigh. "I'm just as confused as you are. But even if you're not Shri, he might be trying to tell you something."
"But why me?" Mitsuo desperately said. "Why me and not anyone else?"
Shruti shrugged. "I'm not sure. But you have to find out."
Mitsuo frowned and silently sipped his tea.