Living In Oblivion

33

Four Years Later

Divit turned off the alarm and closed his eyes, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep. He walked out of his bedroom, entering the dimly lit hall connected to a modular kitchen. The silence enveloped the space, broken only by the noise of the refrigerator. Sighing, he poured himself a glass of water and took slow sips, the cool liquid soothing his senses.

Feeling the chill in the air, Divit prepared for his daily jog. He put on a warm hoodie, slipped into his shoes, grabbed his headphones, and locked his apartment before stepping outside. As he started running, the cold breeze nipped at his skin, causing his neck hairs to stand on end. The fog obscured his surroundings, but he persisted, his body gradually adapting to the weather.

Pausing near a circle, Divit panted heavily, catching his breath. He bent down and sat on the footpath, gazing at the deserted roads ahead. His mind wandered, lost in a stream of thoughts that neither held a specific focus nor wandered aimlessly. Suddenly, his attention was drawn to a street dog that stared back at him, wagging its small tail, triggering a memory- reminding him of certain someone. Blinking, he looked away and stood up, resuming his jog.

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"Yes, that would do it. Call a meeting regarding the campus placement and training sessions in half an hour. And I would need the list of colleges we need to target. And Tripathi sir asked for the sales reports this month, tell Paveen to see to it and ask Zubaida to report" Divit finished with a nod, not sparing him another look.

As his subordinate left, Divit closed his laptop and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. It was a relatively quiet day, reflecting the decreasing sales and demand in the corporate sector. The shares were plummeting, and stakeholders were in a state of frenzy.

Not that he cared much.

Divit enjoyed it. He enjoyed being alone, writing the pages of white in darkness of night. It often pushed him closer to the heartbreaks of life reminding him of how life never goes the way you want it to go, it goes the way it tends to.

Time after her pushed him closer to his craft as he started writing to the world allowing people to see through the non conveyed parts. He talked about the truths that were often left untouched, hiding behind the irrationalities of illusion and lies. His words were no beauty and charm, but they were bitter and brave, providing a realistic perspective on life and societal norms. It offered a candid perspective on life's realities and practicalities, delving into unexplored territories and questioning the norms hidden beneath the veil of respect for elders and the hypocritical rules of society.

Although he was caught in the routine of a private job, Divit didn't mind it. The monthly paycheck provided stability, comfort, and affordability. Life revolved around money, and luck played an ever-increasing role in shaping his destiny.

Life was selling on the price of money and the stakes of luck kept getting higher with each passing day.

He had distanced himself from others, living like a recluse, avoiding attachments. He found solace in music and writing, allowing his emotions to flow through those channels. Although memories of her still haunted his dreams, he had made peace with the fact that a part of him would always belong to her- it will always be hers to keep and to break, to care and to take.

Walking into the team room, Divit joined his colleagues, exchanging greetings without much conversation. The HR and the General Head, entered, and the meeting commenced. Tripathi discussed the upcoming campus placements and training sessions, emphasizing the need to adapt to new technologies and market trends to sustain their position.

"Mr Tripathi will join us in sometime till we can discuss about the needs of the projects we have in future for the candidates that will join us. This year our company has recruited from all around the India, while inaugurating our another branch on the outskirts of Gujarat and Bhubhneshwar. But our branch will always be the central unit and if we want to maintain that position, we need to maintain that standard. MD has asked to bring a new technology, that makes us clear about what we need to do and carry forward the recruitments based on that. The culture of electric cars, electric gadgets is increasing at a higher speed so we need to change our schemes before the market crashes us"

Divit paused to see everybody listening, "Recruitments this year are very important, if we want to stay in the market. Arun ?" He turned his neck "Schedule"

"Sir" Arun nodded before handling him the sheet.

"It's a four day-" Divit paused as the CTO joined.

Passing him the sheet, Divit shifted back.

Nodding at him, Tripathi started, "We are sending twenty members from our branch to different cities for the off campus and on campus placements, from R&D, HR, Quality and Sales and so will the other branches that will join you in the cities assigned. The touring will start from next week to Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Ghaziabad, Kolkata, Shimla and Gwalior" He paused before reading the list "People from here, Zubaida- Sales, Ghaziabad; Divit- R&D , Shimla, Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Vikram- Gwalior and Kolkata"

"Further details will be mailed to you and any personal problems will not be necessarily entertained."

As the meeting ended, Divit walked out immediately, his heart beating loud in his chest. The name of that city was enough to bring back horrific memories from the past.

That city was known for its Victorian architecture and soothing breeze, mending hearts and long pine trees but all he could remember was how he returned back from there with the shattered pieces of his broken heart not knowing how to fix them back together.

Life moved on and the pain became bearable with time allowing his mind to start finding and accepting reasons behind her actions. Though the memories and hatred were still very fresh, hidden somewhere deep in the darkest corners of his heart but he didn't want to strum a single wire of that.

Cursing under his breath, Divit shook his head, determined to focus on his work.

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Breaking another morsel from his omelette, Divit threw it to the dog who kept circling around him wagging his tail. Sitting on the hood of his car, he gazed at the deserted roads engulfed in a deafening silence, courtesy of the thick blanket of fog hanging in the air.

In the distance, he could hear only faint murmurs of a few people eating near the food truck. The truck, adorned with bright yellow and white bulbs and adorned with sparkling fairy lights, seemed like a star amidst the darkness. The dimly lit streets were cast in a yellow glow by the streetlights.

Plopping another bite inside his mouth, he chewed on it, lost in his thoughts. He came here very often in winters for dinner and mostly to talk, when he felt like.

The dog tried to climb over the bonnet, but failing he adjusted on placing his legs over it, standing closely to Divit and staring back at him.

Throwing another bite in his mouth, Divit started telling him about office and home. He rhymed poetries and told him lines, shared the black and some light of white. He ranted his griefs and shared his peace, talked about his mood and shared his food.

The dog kept sitting there even after the omelette finished, wiggling his tail and blinking at him without fail.

The night burned with the ashes of pain and the fog passed taking memories in vain. With questions thrown, answers blown, words worked as a tool making the world fool and Divit went back home with a lighter heart that was not tearing him apart.