The Rubble

CHAPTER 4

The steward came in with two warm bowls of Spinach soup, the aroma of sautéed onions and palak entered their nostrils even before they could drink it. Praanvi took a spoonful of the soup, as it smeared on her upper lip which made her sad because she had to wipe it with the tender napkin beside her. It was so soft that it hurt her. She would have very well licked the bowl clean if it weren't for the posh restaurant they were sitting at. As they slowly devoured the delicious bowl of soup, the steward came in with a whole set of starters.

"These are freshly cut cottage cheese dipped in fresh cream, turmeric, and peppers, marinated with the help of the cream and flour-based sauce and skewered to be char-grilled," he placed the paneer tikkas on their plates as another guy brought in creamy kebabs of boneless chicken blended with cream cheese, vinegar, peppers and coriander, all the ingredients grilled in the Tandoor which is infamous for its variety of dishes.

As they served the starters, Praanvi looked at the intricate design of the restaurant, its chilling ambience and the lighting. The design of the ancient vessels and ladles made her lips curve in delight, reminding of her days in her pottery classes in Mumbai with Riddhi.

"Praanvi" she heard her name which made her train of thoughts slip and jumps into reality.

"What happened? You've been quiet the whole time." Riddhi lifted her eyebrow as Praanvi smiled foolishly, cutting her piece of the tikka.

"Was thinking of our pottery sessions. Man, what a therapy were those. Can you imagine we went on to do pottery within weeks of meeting?" she chortled as her teeth bit the soft chunks of the cottage cheese. As soon as she munched them, she cut her piece of the chicken before asking, "What is up with you these days? I mean, no contact, now working with The Sal Foundation. Time has flown by. Why didn't you call me?"

"Well, I changed my number after I quit MindFeed. Later, I was searching for jobs and I landed up with TSF, two years later. Those two years were life-changing. My bank balance almost went empty so I had to work as an associate in an advertising agency. The moment TSF called me for the interview I immediately went on with an online interview. Thankfully, I got selected, they asked me to shift my base to Brisbane. That's it! I didn't think twice. I accepted it and went aboard with it. I missed home initially but learned to love the place too. I didn't make any social media accounts so I couldn't be in touch with you guys."

"Wow, a lot has happened in the mid-way," Praanvi said, taking a sip of the warm glass of water.

"What about you, anything new?"

"Well, I wanted to leave Mumbai after whatever happened, like so bad. I couldn't stay there anymore. So, I left to Kufri, rented a house. I joined the Voice of India after a year. I took an off, explored new things before I landed up there. I was working as an associate, now I am dealing with most of the interviews. Life's been good." she smiled weakly as the stewards brought in hot naan and butter chicken.

"That's nice to hear Praanvi, good to know you are happy now," she placed her hand on hers as she whimpered before adding, "well, not so much."

Riddhi's eyebrows crinkled as she bit her lip, "not so much?"

"Yeah, I have been meaning to say something to you," Praanvi took her phone and types her passcode fast and immediately showed the bright screen to Riddhi, who's eyes blinked incessantly looking at the number of notifications on her phone.

"1247? Seriously? You don't use your phone or what?"

"No, not that, look at the message."

"Unknown," she mumbled before opening the message.