aurore - an unusual love story √

part seven

Sonara picked up Humaira from the bed and with the other hand held the bag that contained her clothes and necessities. She frowned a bit. A boy stood at the door without expressions. A key hung from his finger which he twirled around at times. Sonara followed him.

Walking down the stairs with heads turning, they passed through the aisles of the huge and surprisingly clean chawl, crossing which they reached a small single room at the backside.
Something sort of a separate watcman's chamber.

The boy opened the door to the room. Sonara got in. The room was indeed larger, but completely isolated from the rest of the chawl. Behind it.

The boy gave the key to her.

Sonara looked at him,
" Why am I being shifted here within just three days? Did I ask someone for a favor? And the room's good but it's isolated... "

The boy didn't stop for a second after uttering, " Chhetri sir's order. "

Sonara shivered a bit. Her instincts mostly proved to be fearfully correct.

It's three days since she had been easily recruited into the 'Fragrance' soap factory, in an easy task of moulding soaps. The factory already had eight hundred workers.
And was supervised by Sunil Chhetri, a man in his fifties.

The man didn't appear a supervisor though. He almost acted like the owner. He decided recruiments, he decided payments, he decided dwellings, and everyone was more afraid of him than respectful.

Sonara was recruited suddenly, and given a dwelling within the chawl for five hundred a month. She started with both her job and stay, but in these two days she had made not a single friend either within the factory, or in the chawl. The chawl almost completely housed the workers and their few families.. but no one cared. People here were actually more engrossed in themselves.

Sonara realised she needed time but she was happy because the pay was indeed good. She could now get Humaira treated in a better way.

But today she felt, something was not going alright.

Yesterday while she entered her name and new address (she could write both) in the employee book, a man sat in front. In mid twenties. Eyeing her from top to bottom.

She looked at him a bit retortingly, and was about to go. Just when a conversation like this happened,

" Who are you? " , the man asked tilting his head. " Never seen you before. Dad didn't say there are mid month recruiments these days. "

Sonara knew stares quite well, and this one didn't really go well with her. She didn't answer and tried to move away.

" Hey, I'm talking to you. Myself Raqesh Chhetri. I visit often. Where do you stay? In the chawl or somewhere else? "

Without a word but with a disgusted expression, Sonara thrashed the pen on the book over her name and address, gesturing him to have a look rather than question her. And immediately left the place. While walking away she could well feel the distasteful stares of the leech.

Did that incident have anything to do with the change in her room to this isolated one?

Sonara clenched her teeth. She knew though, she could face anything on earth. Just anything.

---

Jai stood for the third time before the hut from that night on Dhara road.

The morning completely brought out a different picture of the place. The bylanes spread across a large area, and there were quite a number of similar huts on the insides of the main road.