TILL INFINITIES END

63. MANAV

(AUTHOR'S NOTE- ONCE AGAIN, FOR YOU, NODDY.)

I was sitting in my office, reviewing some documents for the upcoming meeting, when a knock on the door pulled me out of the work. My assistant, Meera stepped in, looking a bit uncertain. I look at her roughly and set my eyes again on the documents.

"Sir, there's someone here to see you." She says, standing at the door half open.

I glanced at my watch and kept surfing through the documents, "Mr. Sharma, I assume? They're early."

Meera shook her head. "No, sir. It's a young girl. Did you call for anyone?"

"Young girl?" I ask confusingly as I look at her.

"Yes, her name is..." she pulls the paper from the stack in her hands to see her name, "She says her name is Tia Malhotra."

What?

"Tia?" I ask again.

"yes sir, that's what she said." She looks at me with confused eyes.

Tia? Aarushi's daughter? I looked at the time, thinking there must be some mistake. I asked, "Are you sure?

"Y-Yes, sir. Teenager, long hair, glasses..." she mutters.

I felt a strange mix of confusion and concern rise in me. What was Tia doing here at my office?

"Sir do you know her?" she asks

"Yes. Where is she?" I ask

"There. In the waiting area near the lawn."

I felt a strange concern. What could she need? I stood up quickly, gathered my papers and rushed out of my cabin to the waiting area. And there she was, sitting quietly on one of the chairs, in her usual clothes and a small bag resting beside her. She looked... lost, as if her eyes were trying to stay in the moment; as if she didn't belong in the midst of all this corporate chaos...and the chaos was not just corporate. She looked so out of place, like a child lost in a world meant for adults. Is she the same Tia I met some time ago?

I quickly walked up to her.

"Tia?" I called softly.

She looked up at me, and when her eyes met mine, I knew something was wrong. Her sight was more vulnerable than when I met her last. She stood up quickly, almost apologetically.

"Manav uncle... I'm sorry for coming here without telling you. But... do you have some time?"

I could hear it in her voice—the hesitation, the cracks around the edges of her words, as if she was holding something back and desperately needs my help.

"Ofcourse, beta. What's going on? Is everything okay?" I asked gently, already bracing myself for whatever had brought her here.

She just stared at me, so simply, yet enough for me to feel a knot form in my chest. This wasn't the Tia I knew—the bright, cheerful girl who always had a smile and a sense of clarity in her vision. Today she looked lost.

I led her into my cubicle, shutting the door. I asked her to sit, and she did, on the edge of the chair like she didn't want to stay too long. There was restlessness on her face and her legs kept shaking. I offered her some water, which she took, but she didn't drink.

"Manav uncle, I am so sorry to come here uninformed. But this is all i knew about where I can find you. I...I went to your stay-in also, but they said you're off to work so I had to come here. S-Sorry." She sounded so different. There was a sense of shakiness in her voice. I really wanted to know how she found out my office's address but more importantly I needed her to talk to me of why she was here.