• Second Chances •

47. Love and Loss

"Are you sure about this?" asked Aditya as he got down from the car.

Ram was nervous. He wiped his hand on his jeans and nodded. "I am. If you have any other idea, then tell me."

"I don't!" Aditya adjusted his jeans.

"Then quit making me more nervous!" Ram made a face at him and started to walk towards the small lane. 

For a moment, Aditya looked up at the sky. They all needed some kind of divine intervention. Whatever Ram had planned could go either way and Aditya was genuinely scared for everyone involved. Especially Ram.

Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he rushed behind his friend in the dinky yet bustling lane. 

Ram negotiated his way through the muddy, dirty corners, the pesty sellers and the chaos of scooters and bikes. Aditya was surprised by it. But then again, there was a lot about Ram that no one knew. So even when all of Aditya's senses were assaulted and on fire, he trudged along.

Randomly, Ram stopped in front of a rundown tea stall.

"Do chai dena bhaiya!" Ram ordered confidently to the older man behind the makeshift stove.

The man nodded and got to work just as quickly. Looking around, Ram pulled Aditya and sat down on the wooden bench in front of the stall.

All the while, the tea stall owner kept looking at them like they both were aliens. As did the other passersbys. Aditya got worried that they were attracting too much attention. And this was when they were in their most average clothes.

"Ram, everyone is looking at us..." Aditya whispered in Ram's ear.

Ram patted his hand. "It's okay. Don't worry. Trust me."

Aditya didn't want to but he kept quiet. He could never not trust Ram and his instincts. Ram always had the knack of doing the right thing. Fidgeting, he waited and prayed hard.

"Idhar ke nahi lagte ho..." remarked the tea stall owner as he poured the chai into two glasses.

Ram smiled. "Haan. Tourist hai. Mumbai ki bastiyon ke baare mein suna tha. Bas wohi dekhne aaye hai."

Hearing this, the man grinned. "Arre wah. Hum bhi famous hai."

"Arre bahut!" Ram continued to humour him with small talk. He knew that this would help them a lot. That's when his eyes fell on a man standing at a distance. He was stoically observing him and Aditya.   

"Namaste Tiwari!" the tea stall owner greeted that very man. He observed the man's long face as he sat down on the bench opposite Ram's and remarked, "Kya hua bhai? You don't look happy."

The man threw a disgusted look at Aditya and Ram and then shrugged. "Haan toh kis baat ki khushi? Hum famous hai toh bhi kis ke liye? Gareebi. Bahar se log humare bure haal dekhne aate hai. Batau. Kya jhaand zindagi hai. Why should that make me happy?" 

Ram's jaw hardened. He threw a nervous glance at Aditya before profusely apologizing to the man. "I am sorry. We didn't mean that." 

The man rolled his eyes. "You are not sorry. You are just here to watch our plight. You will probably take a few pictures and post them on social media with sentimental music and rake in the views. You are here for yourself. And for the money." 

Both Ram and Aditya sighed. This was going to be tough. The man's words even though acidic, didn't hurt them because he was right. A lot of people did do such things to them. His anger was valid. But he also needed to know that Ram wasn't the same. 

So keeping his tea glass aside, Ram got up and stood in front of the man. He extended his arm for a handshake and let the businessman in him take over. "You are right. I am here for my own agenda. I am here for my company. Ram Kapoor. Director, Kapoor Urbans."