The Golden Ball

1.

Tap. Tap. Tap

Five minutes pass by.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Ten minutes pass by.

I tap my feet on the tiled floor, glancing repeatedly at my watch. I kept rolling my ball between my fingers anxiously.

Will they call me?
What if I came for nothing?
What if I mess up?

"No, stop, don't overthink. Come on now.", I boosted myself up.

Breathe in. Out. In. Out.

"Miss Aparna, you may come in."

Massaging the aches which erupted as I got up, I made my way into the interview hall. The executives stood before, imposing figures and serious faces.

"Mis Aparna, please have a seat and introduce yourself."

"H-Hello to ev-everyone p-p-present h-here. M-M-My name i-is A-A-Aparna D-D-Deshmukh a-and-"

" Excuse me, could you please stop for a second?"

"Y-yes s-sir."

"There is no need to be so nervous, Miss Aparna. Interviews are normal things. Just calm down and repeat everything slowly."

"B-But s-sir,", I said, already hating the next words coming out of my mouth," I-I am fine w-w-with c-c-confidence, b-but I have a-a stammer w-when I speak s-so I a-ask for some p-patience as I t-talk."

A silence presented itself in the room, which was broken by the whispers of the executives as they discussed with one another.

I started rubbing my sweaty palms together. Finally one of the executives looked up and said," Miss Aparna, your resume is fantastic as is your body language, but since this job requires a person to be legible as they speak, I'm afraid that we cannot give you this position."

"B-But s-sir,-"

"I am sorry, Miss Aparna. I really am."

I looked at his face. Nope. Not the slightest bit sorry in whatever regard. I silently bowed my head and exited the room. Outside, the nerves that I had been so desperately pushing down started rising up. Furiously dabbing myself with my handkerchief, I searched my pockets to see if it was still there.

Ah. Thank God.

I took out the yellow ball and started rolling it between my fingers, occasionally throwing it up and bouncing it to rid myself of any intrusive thoughts.

If I didn't have this, I would have surely broken down in the interview room itself. This was the only thing helping me to keep it together.

I got it from some vendor. He told me to keep it as a good luck charm. I observed the ball, rolling it around in my hands. It's helped me manage my stress, but the good luck part was a scam.

I grit my teeth in frustration. This was the most promising job on my list. I've searched almost every part of town. I literally have nowhere else to go. I have just enough money to buy food for the next few weeks.

You know what? It's fine. I'll ration the supplies I have at home and I'll use this money for the next job interview. I'll find another job, somehow.

Calming down, I got on the metro. The busy streets of Mumbai hustled by as I watched different people moving on with their well practiced lives.

Study well, get a job, get married, have children and make sure your children become successful. That is the staple rule of an Indian society.
The idea of living by yourself, especially an unmarried young woman in her thirties, such as myself would make most people wet their pants.

Most people, including my parents.
They've been coming around, but they still try to push their proposals onto me.

I scrolled through my phone, finger hovering over the call button and eventually pressed it.

"H-Hey mom."
"Hi sweetie!!", my mom replied, excitedly," How did the job hunting go?"
"O-Oh that u-u-um..."
"Don't tell me...Appu...Was it the stammering?"
"..."
"Oh sweetie. It's okay, I'm sure you'll get somewhere else. I don't what type of people they're keeping for interviews. You can't judge someone because of something they can't control."
"Mm-hmm..."

"So, um, what about money? Do you have enough?"
"Y-Yeah, I-I mean f-for the t-t-time being."
"Do you want us to send-"
"NNNO", I said, sharply," I-I c-c-can figure t-this o-out o-on m-my own."

" Appu...", An awkward silence permeated the atmosphere. Mom started off nervously,"So, um, a new proposal just came-"
"Mom." I heard some rustling in the background.
"Appu." Dad. "Just hear it out, okay? The boy is really good-looking and he's an NRI as well. He has a well-paying job in the U.S too."
"I-I don't w-want it."

"Appu, just look at his picture. I'm sure you will like him. The family even said that they would overlook your stammering."
"I-If you l-like him so m-much, t-then w-why d-d-don't y-you mmarry him, Dad?"
"Appu! Otherwise also you aren't doing anything by yourself! At least let this work out!I'm trying to help-"
"B-By doing w-what? P-Pushing m-me into a m-marriage b-by force? A-All to s-save y-your repppputation in society, r-right?"
"..."
"U-Unless y-you have a-a-anything sup-portive to s-say to me, then I-I'm hanging u-up the phone."
"..."
"B-Bye D-Dad. B-Bye M-Mom." *click*

"Malad station.", the intercom announced. Sighing, I got up and made my way to the platform. Soon I was standing at the entrance of my flat.

Ping! A text message from Mom- I've sent his number here. Call and talk to him if you change your mind.

Getting inside, I threw myself onto my bed.

No sooner had I done so, came a knock on the door. Cursing whoever decided to grace their knuckles on my front door, I opened the door, only to find my landlord standing there, in all his potbellied glory.

"Madam, it's been two weeks since I've been reminding you to pay your rent. Today is the last day."
"U-Uncle, p-please just g-give m-me f-few m-more days, I-I'll g-get the m-money-"
"No madam, I have been lenient with you as is, especially with your problem. This is your eviction notice.",he said, handing over that piece of paper,"You need to be out within three days."

I semi slammed the door after he left.

Agh!! Why?! Why can't anybody just understand what I'm going through? I wanted to be independent and make my own way in this world. I gave up my whole life for this. And what happened? An almost empty wallet, a lifetime of rejections and an eviction notice.

...Maybe I should just call the guy. Who knows, he might be a good match for me after all.

Unwillingly, my fingers opened the text message and searched out his number. As my thumb hovered over the call button, sharp raps presented themselves in succession on my door.

I looked through the keyhole to see a stranger standing outside.

"Great, just when I thought my life couldn't get any worse, now I'm at risk for organ smuggling!!", I thought. "I'm bolting the door completely today."

The raps continued, but I didn't pay any heed. I took my kitchen knife just in case they got inside, hid it under my pillow and went to bed.

Sometime later, the raps ceased. I sighed with relief, and turned over to sleep, but my hands never left my knife.