BROKEN PIECES OF HEART

Chapter 2

"Are you comfortably settled, Urna?" the sweet voice of Vidhi Thakur, HOS of Dreams International, graced her ears.

Slowly, but surely, Urna developed a comforting rhythm in her workplace. She liked her boss. The comfort of her staff has always been her first priority. Gossiping and groupism in a workplace was never encouraged by her. Little did you know that sometimes, inside her 'cave' (as she referred to her private quarters) in the company of certain staff members, she does gossip about the film industry or such . Recently, into such hangouts Urna's presence was also asked for. At first she was afraid, and slightly confused, usually used to keeping a distance from the staff. However, eventually the latter encouraged her to be open and Vidhi Thakur, as she found out, was a jolly and fun loving person, as strict as she is in work.

Raising her head to make eye contact, she spoke.

 "Yes ma'am. Thank you."

"Please let me know if you need something, don't hesitate. Ok?"

Urna looked up again and smiled at her kind words. Albeit hesitantly, she decided to speak her thoughts.

" Ma'am, I have a habit of cooking sometimes. If you permit, I would like to hover around a few stores, bring some groceries, vegetables, toiletries and such?"

"Please carry on, dear. You don't need my permission after the school hours! Do you want me to send you with someone, who can help you? You're rather new, and i assume that you don't know your way around?"

Urna appreciated the help, but her experiences have taught her to never rely on anyone but herself. Just as she began to speak, the door behind her opened and a voice boomed through the room.

"Hello ladies, beautiful morning - so we came to destroy it."

Peals of laughter  broke out in the room, as the male voice and the HOS shared the joke. Urna felt a strange, prickly sensation in her neck, as if someone was staring at her.

She tried to ease off the sensation and shifted her chair a little to give space to the other person entering the room. She sensed there were two people, as they took their seats.

"Urna, meet Bhairav, our Sports Coordinator. Bhairav, meet Urna, my assistant."

"Hello Urna," spoke Bhairav, "I am the person responsible for maximum breakage here. Hope you won't mind getting them repaired as soon as they break."

Urna can't stop herself from laughing at the comment. As her giggles died down, the HOS introduced her to somebody else, who had taken a seat on the sofa situated at the left side of the room.

"And this is the person responsible for repairing it!" said the HOS, smiling towards him.

Urna turned her head to greet the person. As soon as she saw the sweet smile directed her way, she found herself stumbling back to her seat. In her dizzy state of mind she just about heard what was being informed to her.

"Urna, meet Krishna, The Visual Art HOD in Dreams. He is the one who brings beauty to these halls, here at  Dreams. Along with all artistic activities, he oversees photography and social media management of Dreams International as well. He will be working with you on the publicity and marketing factors  of the institution. And Krishna, as you know, Urna is my EA.As  she is new here,  she may need a bit of guidance sometimes."

Krishna nodded, "Thank you ma'am, I will be there whenever she needs me. Pleased to meet you Urna. Welcome to Dreams...

She gathered herself just about enough to say- "Thank you".

"Also boys, Urna needs help in knowing the locality. She needs to go shopping. Who can accompany her tonight?"

Bhairav said, "Ma'am, I could have used the opportunity to spend time with this beautiful lady, but as my lady is in hospital, I have to go."

"Oh, ya, my mistake, Bhairav. When is the date?"

"Tomorrow, the doctors are going to do Cesarean."

"Best of luck, Bhairav", smiled the kind lady. Then turning towards Krishna, she said, "Krishna are you free tonight?"

"Yes ma'am, I will accompany her. Ms. Urna, will 5pm do for you?" As he told the last lines to Urna, she got up and said, "Ma'am, I can make it myself. They must be having their own plans. I don't want to disturb them."

"I know, you can do it darling. But you are new here, so it may be a bit hectic. This time you go with Krishna, next time onwards you can go alone. OK. And trust me, he is a good man. He wouldn't give you a chance to complain."

The kind words didn't give her space to object. She has no words to describe her discomfort.

"Ok ma'am, thank you so much. I will resume my work now, and I will send you the draft soon." Urna left with her parting words.

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