Fashion It Away

2

Finally, I reached Mehta Creations. Seeing the large building in front of me, I felt a bit overwhelmed. But soon, I regained all the confidence that I had in myself. I opened the door and entered the building. 'Hello, ma'am! How can I help you?', the receptionist asked. 'Hi! Nitya Arora. I am here for my internship', I replied with the best smile I could pull off. She showed me the way to the cabin of the president of Mehta Creations. And now, I was standing in front of him, Mr. Rajit Mehta, along with all the other new interns. He seemed a nice person. He made us all so comfortable with his talks that, for once, I doubted if I was really standing before the president of this big design house. Soon, he introduced us to the head designer of Mehta, Kriti Aditya, under whom we were to work. Kriti then took us to our respective desks and gave us a quick outline of the whole office. On the first day, I was given to work on some old exclusive designs of Mehta and recreate them more elegantly and uniquely. 'In case you guys need anything, reach out to me at my cabin. And you,' she said pointing towards me, 'Make sure you come up with some really good ideas.' Out of all people, why she pointed me out, I had no idea.

Kriti seemed a nice person too, though our interaction was just for a few minutes. She had a vibe, and I could clearly feel a positive atmosphere around me. Her cabin was just opposite my desk. For the first 20 to 25 minutes, I kept gawking at her. The way she was working with all her concentration, I realized I wanted this. This dedication and concentration. And I started working on the designs. Those designs were a masterpiece on their own. I really had to struggle and think hard about what more I could do to them, to make them a little more unique. I looked around me, and all were busy doing their work. Their smiling faces told me, that they were not struggling like me. Is it that easy for them? After a lot of thinking I came up with a few ideas, and I thought of discussing them with Kriti first. I went to her cabin, 'Ma'am I've...' 'Kriti! No one calls me ma'am here,' she interrupted. 'Um... Kriti, I've come up with some ideas which, I'd like to discuss with you,' I said and described to her, what changes we could make in those designs to enhance their look. 'Explaining your ideas to me is okay and I truly appreciate your effort! But I would like to see them on your worksheet, so get back to your desk,' she snapped. That was rude! 'Sure,' I replied and left her cabin. I started to pen down the details I thought for the designs.

After working for quite a long time, I decided to take a break and get myself a cup of coffee. The cafeteria was on the same floor so didn't take much time to come back to my desk. I took a sip and started to work again, but while putting the cup back on the table, I managed to ruin my sketches. I was trying to clean them up but nothing worked. Seeing the fuss, Kriti came out. 'What the hell Nitya? What are you doing? You just ruined all the designs', she yelled. 'Sorry, Kriti! Um... but, um... don't worry, I'll figure out something,' I replied nervously. 'You better do that! And you're not going home until you start each of the designs on a fresh worksheet. You get that?', she roared and went back to her cabin. FML! I swear, this was the last thing I would have wanted to happen to me today. I messed up on the very first day of my internship. I remained stuck at my desk late till there was no hint of sun remaining. When I finally got up from my desk, the cloak said it was 7:30 p.m. Great start Nitya!

I was standing in front of the main gate, scrolling through my mobile for a cab, when the shadow of some colourful lights reflecting on the road caught my eye. As I looked up, I found a café right beside Mehta. I couldn't recall noticing the café while entering the building this morning. But then again, I was too excited to notice anything beyond Mehta's signboard this morning. Anyways. Since my first day wasn't as good as I thought it would be, I decided to give myself a treat with a fresh cup of Cappuccino. I entered the cafe and ordered for myself. As I sat there, I found the place very pleasant. It had sleek round glass tables with white and red leather chairs, and slow music playing behind. Cozy enough! I waited for my cappuccino while relaxing on the chair and started scrolling through my social media feed.

My order arrived soon and I thanked the waiter. I took a sip from the cup and I was delighted. As if all my stress and exhaustion fled away with that one sip. I was just looking around, when I noticed a man, sitting at a distant table on my right, somewhere around my age I guessed. His big rectangular glasses fit perfectly his face frame. If it's for his glasses or what I don't know, he looked like a scholar, researching at some renowned University. He had a sharp jawline but that couldn't mask the sweetness of his face. He wasn't muscular like those bodybuilders we see, but very well-built. Seeing the posture, he was seated in and the distance to which his legs stretched, I was very sure I'd feel dwarfed by his length if he was made to stand around me. His hair definitely couldn't decide whether it wanted to be curly or straight today. He wore a white full-sleeved shirt, that rolled up to his elbow and had vertical maroon stripes. I couldn't see very clearly, but according to my knowledge, the blueish shade from those maroon stripes had to be blue linings on each of their sides. He paired the shirt with a pair of slate-grey trousers and black loafers. He had a book in his hand, to which he kept his eyes glued. What drew my attention to this man, was the colour combination of his shirt. I know we see such combinations very frequently, but I haven't seen men wearing such colours regularly. Moreover, his shirt had a mandarin collar. Now that's not common at all. But it suited him very well.

Once I was done examining his clothing, I looked up at his face again and found him looking straight at me, smirking. I turned my face right away, and a weird smile got projected on my face out of nervousness. What the hell is happening with me today? I decided to not turn my face that way again till I finish my coffee.

But after I was done, I turned to see if he was still there and he was not. God knows why, but I was disappointed to not find him again. I went to the counter and asked for my bill when the cashier handed me a book. The cover page of the book made me realize that it was the same book that man was reading, 'This is not mine!' I said confused. 'But I'm asked to hand this book to you ma'am', he replied with a smile. I took the book, confused, and found a note stuck on the first page that said "You still have that bright, mischievous smile I see. When are you planning to stop stalking me, Nitya? :P" How does he know my name? Do I know him too? I was thinking hard to recall where could have we met. I paid the bill and left. I waited for my cab to arrive while looking at the book in my hand. The title of the book was written in bold Italics 'Journey to the Heights' Interesting! But I remember I have seen this book earlier. The cover page and the title were now triggering my thoughts. I kept thinking about the book sitting inside the cab. I was trying to recall where could have I seen this book. In stalls? Probably. But no, somewhere else.

I reached my apartment and found Aanchal waiting for me. She asked me about my day and I told her everything in detail, subsiding the Cafe incident. I went to my room to freshen up and kept the book on the side table of my bed. After we finished our dinner, I did the remaining chores and came back to my room. I locked the door and got on my bed. As I closed my eyes and started thinking about the book, the foggy images in the back of my mind started to get clearer. My heart started pounding. I opened my eyes with a snap and sat straight on my bed. I know this book. Since ages. How could I forget about this? This was his favourite book. He would read it for the 1000th time with the same enthusiasm and patience. He loved heights! And his love could be seen in his eyes, under those big round glasses. I remember when he told me that his biggest dream is to reach that peak, from where he could feel the clouds draping him. He used to keep this book with him every time!