• The Way Back Home •

4

Ram sat in his comfortable office chair staring at the air. Over the years, he had always remained consumed by work. He always wanted to keep on working so that there was no time to think about the things that unnerved him or made him sad. But for a few days, Ram was facing difficulties to even completing even a single file. He just couldn't concentrate on anything. He just couldn't get himself to work. All he wanted to do was to sit and do absolutely nothing. Maybe it was his burnout phase? He had no answers. But right now, staring at space and being blank felt more comforting than pouring over figures and data in the file.

"Sir?"

Ram heard the now familiar voice of his new secretary and looked up. He immediately felt a spark of irritation go off in his belly. He abhorred her hair.

Not able to control his emotions, Ram snapped at her. "What?"

With a straight face, she pointed at the wicker basket lying on the coffee table. "Dinner time."

Ram threw his head back. "I am not hungry. Leave it."

There was a beat of silence. Knowing that she was still standing there, Ram straightened to look at her. Making a face, he asked her, "What?"

She sighed. "According to the schedule handed over to me, this is your dinner time. You will have to eat your dinner. Then after half an hour, you have to take..."

"For the love of god, stop!" Ram put up his hands.

Ever since he had the damned accident, everyone around him had been raining upon him to do things. Brinda had gone ahead and fixed a schedule for eating, sleeping and working. He had handed it to Tarun at home and to this new secretary at the office and they had been instructed to follow it to the tee.

Aditya had insisted on therapy sessions so he had no choice but to attend them two times a week. Ram did his therapies. But it was difficult scratching the wounds and talking about the past. Instead of feeling calm, his sessions invariably turned him more irritated and sad. And there was nothing he could do about it because no one around him was allowing them to be stopped. Except for his mother. But strangely, his friends had overridden Nandini's wishes and forced him to continue.

Cursing lightly at how everyone was smothering him, Ram moved towards the sofa. He sat down and said, "Call Tarun."

The secretary also moved towards him. She questioned, "For what?"

Ram sucked in a breath. He didn't want to shout at her but her questions were dumb. Sarcastically, he doled, "Mere sar pe beth ke tabla bajane ke liye. Of course, serve karne ke liye. Call him."

She chuckled but pressed her lips together soon. "I can do it too. Let me serve you."

Before Ram could react, she proceeded to open the basket and served him the food. He held his head. The pounding headache had returned along with nausea. He didn't know if it was the food, the smell or just that woman. Or maybe, his reaction to the entire situation.

Taking the plate from her hand, he whispered, "Thanks."

He then waited for her to leave. She didn't. She stood there, staring at him like she was waiting for him to eat.

Feeling extremely exhausted by the constant eye keeping on him, Ram exhaled noisily. "Lovely. Have you been instructed to watch me as I eat?"

A smile threatened to blossom on her lips but she controlled herself and nodded. "Yes. I have to check if you finish your food or not."

Ram kept the plate away and massaged his temples. "Look. I don't want to sound rude. I don't want to come across as a bad boss or inhumane. So just leave before I shout and scream. Okay?"