Shrouded Motifs

The Judgement

Dedicated to shimmeringsoul99

PRESENT DAY - COURTROOM

That date had changed everything between us. Our friendship was never the same again. It was a domino effect from there, we went from bad to worst and to this day in court.

The judge began, "After hearing all the witness accounts, the evidence on record and the plaintiffs and defendant's arguments, the court has decided that...."

I was about to blank out into obliviousness after hearing so many legal jargons as the judge continued in a dull voice.

".... all the evidence presented are circumstantial and the witness account heard are hearsay. The court is therefore giving more time to both the sides to present additional evidence on record. The next hearing date is after a month on the same date. The court is adjourned."

I didn't know whether to whoop in joy or start dancing right here and now.

************

FLASHBACK – OFFICE (CONTD)

Days passed more quickly after that failed date night. I drowned myself in work and used my energies towards some productive stuff. Lavanya had ceased to exist for me. She tried to make up, apologize to lessen her guilt but the damage was done.

I just felt more annoyed by the manner of her apologies. Flowers, chocolates? or the worst butting in at my new lunch table to make puppy eyes at me. Ugggh....I felt like slapping her sometimes. But like a gentleman I controlled myself and continued ignoring her. She could burst into a ball of flames and I wouldn't care less.

I was meeting every deadline at work as I stopped wasting precious time drooling behind Lavanya. It felt good to be free from the prison of her pretty and charismatic eyes. I still noticed her movements in and around my cubicle but convinced myself that it was just her fault. She made so much noise while simply walking!

"Guys, please take a break from your hard-working hours and chill out." As usual Vishal was fooling around with a couple of his devoted followers standing in the middle of the office.

He continued in a slightly louder voice, "I am serious, the dedicated human resource team of our organisation has planned a field trip to the outskirts of the city for our team. We can go crazy over the weekend and get a well-deserved break. Also, we are welcome to any suggestions for the location where we can go. Like Lavanya here has suggested a beautiful place near to the city surrounded by the forest and also guess what accessible to the beach. So, any of such similar suggestions are welcome, as it's a trip for all of us," he finished with a wide smile.

Trust your boss to give you work even for planning a break. I was new to the city so couldn't come up with anything. But the mention of Lavanya's name had irked me to some extent. To add fuel to the fire, Lavanya's suggestion was considered final and our trip was planned. It troubled me but I decided to first enjoy the trip.

The place was surprisingly as promised. The road leading upto the farmhouse was filled with lush green valleys and the farmhouse itself was right in the middle of the forest. I did everything possible a swim in the sea, at a nearby pond and some games at the farmhouse.

I was thoroughly distracted from the nagging thoughts of Lavanya until the dawn of the Night. Like a bad omen, the moon shined bright and big. We had a bonfire with a cliché of a guy playing a guitar. He was unequivocally bad at it. Still some girls managed to get impressed by it and proceeded to make gooey eyes at him.

I searched for her and found her right beside the boss. Both were clearly visible in the light of the bonfire. With the fire my anger burned bright and red as they continued talking animatedly till the wee hours of midnight. I returned sleep deprived from the field trip.

On one hand I felt the urge to protect her knowing about Vishal's bad reputation amongst the other girls of the office. But I also knew very well that if I tried pointing that out to Lavanya she could easily brush my advice with an offhand, "My life, My rules" remark. I felt like I was in the middle of a very deep pickle with no way out.

Finally, I decided to simply ignore my good guy instincts and continued working hard towards the coveted promotion. The wheels in my head started running in the right direction to achieve what I wanted. Suddenly, my phone pinged.

This old woman was really getting on my nerves. But as the wheels turned faster, I picked up my phone to reply.