Always and Forever

Chapter One

12 years later

"Darling, can you take the night shift today?" came the sing-song voice of Sneha Mathews, current city editor of The Herald. She was sitting in her enclosed cabin and although she hadn't addressed anyone in particular, Lekha Prakash knew she was referring to her. She hesitated, but only for a few seconds before calling out in a cheery voice. "Sure thing, boss."

She turned back to typing her story fast. It was a special feature about the changing art scene in the city which was starting to open itself to new talent, breaking the decades-old monopoly of the old established artists and the dominance of young artists whose work was sponsored by their rich parents.

She took pleasure in her work and ignored the buzzing of the newsroom. She could hear someone say her name as if from far away but continued on, hoping that whoever it was would just go away.

"Ouch!"

She stopped typing and rubbed her arm where it hurt. She turned slowly and saw her friend Priyanka sitting right next to her.

"You pinched me?"

"Yes darling, I pinched you. It was the only way to get your attention," said Priyanka imitating the sing- song voice of their boss. Lekha wanted to be angry with her friend but she couldn't help laughing.

"Let's get a coffee," said Priyanka. Lekha was about to protest but Priyanka held on to her elbow firmly and made her get up. "The night shift is yours and you have plenty of time to work on that article," she added quietly. Lekha allowed herself to be led out of the office and into the lift leading to the ground floor.

"Let's just do with Chai and Pakoras, I feel nervous sitting in a cafe when there is so much work to be done in the office," said Lekha and Priyanka nodded, knowing that the cafe would take the same amount of time, but Chai and Pakoras from the corner shop was just cheaper. It was just like Lekha, she never talked about money. It was just the way she was.

They didn't speak as the both of them silently went to the corner cafe and ordered Chai and Paneer Pakoras. It was only when they had eaten, commented on how tasty the whole thing was, how the serving boys were so polite and nice, better than any fancy restaurants and commented on how hot it was these days, the hottest summer that Delhi had experienced yet, did Priyanka begin to hector her.

"Listen, this is not done. She cannot order you to work like this. This is the third time this week you are taking on the night shift."

Lekha looked away from Priyanka's earnest face, letting her drone on about how she was being taken advantage of and how she needed to put her foot down. She looked at the oncoming traffic and saw a white Mercedes slowly enter the building. It reminded her sharply of how low her family had fallen in the world and she looked away, blinking hard to keep in the tears.

How long had it been since she had last sat in a car like that? it had to be on that terrible terrible day when her father had that heart attack and he...she refused to think of his name now even in her mind... had driven her and her sister from Delhi to the hospital in Darjeeling. They had held hands almost throughout the journey, ignoring her sister in the back seat who kept praying in her loudest voice that they would arrive in time and everything would be alright.

Well, the worst had happened and they had been met not by their mother but by their aunt, who had simply told them that their father was no more, their mother was in a state and that it was their time to be resilient and strong for their mother's sake.

All of her relatives had gathered and Lekha had been touched to see how many of them came, some hopping onto 12- hour flights to make it to the funeral.