Living In Oblivion

22

Avanti's eyes darted along as a fly flew from above the pen holder and settled on the tip of the triangular paperweight. Bored out of her wits, Avanti controlled herself from yawning out loud, keeping her gaze fixed on the fly, keenly observing every detail of the insect.

Her teammates kept rambling about new ideas and concepts, along with some upgrades. Whenever she tried to give a suggestion, she was reminded time and again that she was just a trainee and should focus more on learning rather than telling others about things they already knew.

Instead of picking a fight that could have risked her job, Avanti decided to mind her own business, and that somehow included the black fly that kept flying and perching on weird places, as if keenly listening to the nonsensical ideas these position-obsessed individuals were discussing. And that included Divit too.

Avanti was particularly irritated by the fact that Divit was also part of this pointless discussion, which would clearly lead to no benefits for the company. Although it was written all over his face that he was well aware of the uselessness of their conversation, he adorned a cool look and listened to the ideas as if they were going to take them to the moon.

From the way he talked, Avanti could tell that Divit knew his work, but it ended there. He only did what he was told to do. There was no passion involved, and that irritated her to no extent.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and she slid it out to check who it was, her eyes still fixed on the fly. For a second, her gaze shifted to the screen, and she frowned. It was her neighbor from Shimla.

Biting her lip, she ignored the call and focused back on the fly, only to find it had disappeared. After the meeting, Avanti immediately called back, only to hear her neighbor complain about her sick mother and her refusal to take medication.

Worried, Avanti assured Aunt Dixit that she would visit on the upcoming weekend, fortunately, just a day away. The rest of the day flew by as Avanti called her mother whenever she had a spare moment.

Back at her apartment, Avanti finished her tuitions and busied herself with packing. Checking her phone, she searched for any overnight buses to Shimla, but the network and recent updates were unreliable. Sighing, she returned to packing her small backpack and tidying up her scattered belongings in the cupboard.

Lost in her thoughts, she walked out of her room, changed her clothes, and grabbed her coat and stole along with the backpack.

"You going somewhere?" Divit, who was sitting on the couch watching the news, asked as his eyes landed on the bag on her back and the coat hanging on her arm. Setting the remote aside, he walked up to her.

Avanti scratched her head, feeling a throbbing pain intensify with each passing second. She rubbed her tired eyes, taking a deep breath. "Actually, my mother has fallen really sick. I'm going back to Shimla and will be back after the weekend," she explained, her voice thick with exhaustion. "I was actually coming to ask you about the first bus to Shimla. Do you have any idea about the timings?"

Divit blinked, taking in the sight before him. Avanti looked visibly worn out, with dark circles under her eyes and her usual radiance diminished. It was not the Avanti he had come to know over the past few months. She seemed pale and weak.

Blinking again, Divit scratched his nose and asked in a serious yet subtle voice, "Did you have dinner?"

"Huh?" Avanti laughed, puzzled. "But I asked you about the bus?"

Though her appearance concerned him, something about her laughter sent a jolt through Divit's body. It carried a twinkle and magic that resonated deep within him, causing his heart to beat faster.