Attachments

Chapter 21

A loud grumble emerged from the pit of my stomach the second Darshan and I stepped foot inside Sahil's Kitchen; a food-stall right in the corner of a narrow road, near the slum housings of Mumbai. Sahil's Kitchen was a gigantic space, under a vast tent, with plastic tables and stools scattered all over. Two black loudspeakers stood tall on either ends, filling the tent with the loudest and hottest Item Numbers of Bollywood. One bright light-bulb hung from above and dimly illuminated the massive space, crammed with people...half of whom were drunkards, slurring loudly. "Do you want to occupy the table near that speaker?", I asked Darshan, pointing at one speaker, but he didn't answer back. He looked around, with an extremely unpleasant and unsettled expression smeared on his face, which he hid underneath a gray hoodie. "I think we should go", I read his lips; the music was too loud, his voice was too soft and lip-reading was the only way out. Darshan fixed his eyes on me, and looked at me almost pleadingly. "Why?!", I exclaimed loudly, and he said something back that I couldn't grasp. "I CANNOT HEAR YOU!", I said out aloud and Darshan took a deep breath in, forcing his chest to rise, wrapped his hand around my upper-arm and tugged me out of the tent to the narrow roads, where it was much calmer and quieter.

"I'm not spending another minute in that tent. It's so disgusting!", Darshan stated, and he sounded cross. "What's so disgusting about it? Have animals filled the space?", I questioned. "I swear, it looks like that; I mean, look at the loudness and the...the people there. Just look at them; they're not the people you'd want to mix with, or even share a common space with", Darshan answered. "There's nothing wrong with them, but something's definitely wrong with you. Of course, your attitude comes with absolutely no surprise; big people with zero tolerance to people below their standards. So typical!", I smirked. "But I didn't expect this from you; I thought you were different, and thank you for proving me wrong. Simple fact – by the end of the day, all of us are human beings, we're going to be buried under the ground when we're dead and insects are going to feed on us; the whole process remains the same for the rich and the poor, the high-class and the low-class people. Your wealth, your prestige and your status won't favour you when you're dead; once you're dead, you'll be treated the way every other person is treated, which brings me to a conclusion that when you closely look at it, all of us are one. Don't let the temporary worldly matters blind you to an extent that you forget how to respect another human being", I snapped my fingers in front of his expressionless – or rather, shocked – face. "And if you don't want to share the space with them, you can leave; no one's begging you to stay back nor has anyone tied you up with a rope. But I've made up my mind that I'm going to eat here, and I'm not going to change my plans for anyone. Leave and go hog in one of those dead and boring five-star hotels, with people of your status. But don't ruin my mood with your small, senseless...and stupid talks!", I straightforwardly spat on his face and stormed back into the tent, stranding him all alone.

I collapsed back on a blue plastic chair in the corner of the tent, and cracked my knuckles, glaring at the pile of tissue on the table in anger; I was irritated, annoyed and furious because he ruined the whole atmosphere conveniently. I could feel my blood boil and swiftly gush through my veins. Anger filled my heart, and it consumed my insides in a way I couldn't control; I felt the urge to bang my fist on the wall or break something apart, but the boiling anger simply poured out of my eyes in streams of tears, as always. I clenched my hands into tightly balled fists, until my sharp nails pierced straight through my skin, and rested my forehead on my knuckles, allowing the tears to warm my cheeks. Moments later, I swept the tears that wetted my cheeks and licked my chapped lower lips, unlocking my iPhone. I tapped on the default, in-built Notes app, double-tapped on the keyboard to activate caps-lock and began venting out my frustration, without even sparing a moment to think – 'WHAT DOES HE THINK OF HIMSELF?! I WAS SO EXCITED FOR TONIGHT'S OUTING AND HE SIMPLY RUINED THE WHOLE PLAN. I AM NEVER GOING TO TALK TO HIM AGAIN. I WON'T EVEN LOOK IN THE DIRECTION OF HIS CABIN AT WORK. HE DOESN'T MATTER TO ME ANYMORE. SUCH A LOSER! I HATE HIM. I HATE HIM FROM THE DEPTHS AND CORE AND CORNERS AND CENTER OF MY HEART. HE NEEDS EXTRA BRAIN CELLS, AND I THINK I SHOULD DONATE SOME TO HIM. I NEED TO KNOCK SOME SENSE INTO HIS UNUSED BRAIN. STUPID'.