Worth The Risk (On Hold)

Chapter 3 : Mumbai

"Don't forget to keep an eye on your luggage", I recalled mom's words as I counted my bags for the hundredth time. I just reached Mumbai and was now clueless and standing at the platform of the Mumbai Central railway station.

I called up Priya as soon as I reached Mumbai and she had not picked up my call. After ten minutes and almost having a panic attack I had received a message from her saying she was busy and had sent me the address to which I had to go.

I somehow managed to get a helper to carry my bags to the taxi stand and got into the taxi telling him my destination. "Please take me to Dey-Hai-Sir", I had told him and the driver had looked at me seeming amused, I think at my pronunciation. "It's Dahisar", he has replied shaking his head and I had just nodded in response.

For a first timer in a huge city, I was too nervous with a million thoughts flooding my mind.

Did I even do the right thing? What if I get lost or get into trouble! What am I even doing here?

I was snapped out of my thoughts with the loud ringtone of my phone and looked up to see mom was calling. I spoke to her and re-assured her that I reached safe and was on my way to Priya's flat.

"We are here madam", i heard the driver tell me and I nodded as I fetched out the cash to pay. I got out of the taxi and looked up at the old building that stood in front of me. I took a deep breath, Here goes nothing...

...

It had been three hours since I reached the flat. I sat there figuring out my life for first ten minutes after which I got bored and played Sudoku, until my battery died and then I ended up reading my medical books.

"Hey babe", I heard the familiar high pitched voice of Priya! Finally, I thought as I got up from the floor.

When I entered the house I was surprised to encounter an almost empty apartment. Hardly any furniture and really dusty. It seemed as if no one was living here for a while. I just entered and chose not to comment as it was not really my place to ask.

Though I and priya knew each other for five years, we weren't really the best of friends. We hardly knew anything much about each other. It wasn't surprising as I hardly had close friends because I never had much time to maintain friendship. The people around me were equally into studies.

Priya took me to an empty room and told me I could live there provided I would be paying half the rent. There was just one table a chair and a cupboard in it. No bed or cot was present which got me concerned. Priya asked me to get myself a bed and for the time being handed me a mat to sleep on. I sighed as I took it from her.

After freshening up and changing clothes Priya took me to the hospital she worked in and told me to apply for the post of a ward-medical officer. I silently obeyed and took my certificates and CV to the office. Priya then left for her work.

Unlike me, Priya had gotten herself a seat in a famous University for the Subject of her choice that is Obstetrics and Gynecology. She had told me she was busy most of the time so I didn't want to bother her and figured out the surroundings myself.

...

By the end of two weeks I had got the job, I got some furniture to make my stay comfortable, I had lost my phone once, lost my temper twice and lost the count of times I lost my way in this city. At the beginning I used to have doubts on my decision to move to Mumbai, but then I would think of the consequences of staying back at home and I would get more and more determined to stay here.

I had managed to make a fairly good impression at work. I was posted as a ward resident and would have two morning shifts (8:00am to 2:00pm), two afternoon shifts (2:00pm to 8:00pm) and one night shift with a next day off and one additional day off a week which was pretty good considering the good pay.