She walks in through the double doors and heads straight to the elevators. The click-clack sound of her shoes reverberates in the foyer making her just a little self conscious. She goes to her desk avoiding glances from her colleauges and mentally pumps her fists in air, celebrating, only to see the ever chirpy Sanya jumping around her desk. Sheesh not the best start for a monday morning, she thinks. Plastering a fake smile on her face she moves towards her desk. Sanya closes the distance between them by lunging for her and grabbing her in a bear hug. Oh how much she loathes this monday morning ritual! It's as if all life on earth was to end during the last weekend and only the two of them have managed to survive.
She examines her desk to see if something is moved from it's original place. But no it is just the same as she left it on saturday evening. Good, she thinks and releases her breath in a puff. All the while Sanya is chewing her ears by describing every detail of her very awaited date on saturday and how wonderful it was in the beggining and how mean the guy was to have let her split the bill. "This is why I don't do dates " she tells Sanya absent-mindedly while checking her to-do list. She dives in to her work while Sanya just rolls her eyes, getting the signal that nothing that comes out of her mouth henceforth is going to be registered in her brain and so she decides to leave her alone.
The rest of the day passes by in a huff. A typical monday.
It is when she is wrapping in the evening. She hears it again when she is in the foyer waiting for the elevator. "They are not real. They are not real. They're not frigging real" she repeats this mantra in her head a several times till she feels a hand resting on her shoulder from behind and she turns with a jerk, her right hand slipping unconsciously in her satchel. She loosens her grip on the cutter when she realizes it is Akash from the Operations department. She tries to relax and get her breathing in control, dabbing a napkin on the sweat beads that have formed on her forehead. All this while he is staring into her eyes with concern and something else, love? She thinks, nervously and dismisses the silly thought instantly. The elevator arrives and both of them enter. Not a word exchanged between the two. That's how Akash is. Calm, patient and understanding. "Hi!" she says in a small voice still resolving from her shock. They make small talk in the elevator. Once out they part on their own ways, him heading towards the the parking lot while she walks towards the bus stop. She refused to let him drop her home for the nth time today, still he doesn't give up. He asks her almost everyday with the same politeness and takes a No from her with the same grace. Not at all pushy, she thinks and a hint of a smile lingers on her lips.
Her bus arrives 6 minutes later and she gets on it still thinking about the feel of his hand on her shoulder, the warmth of his breath on her neck. She feels like she is wrapped in that warmth, the smell of that cologne, cocooned like an infant in a soft blanket of wool. Soft and comforting. But that's not for her. She reminds herself that she does not need to seek comfort from anyone else. She is happy with what she has. She is happy with her life. Yes.
She is welcomed by a musky smell as she unlocks her apartment door. "Welcome home !" she sings to herself. Leaving her satchel and the apartment keys on the dining table she heads for the bathroom. Slipping out of her clothes she folds them roughly and puts them in the laundry basket and enters the shower. Hot streams of water cascade down her body, calming all the tension in her muscles. Once relaxed, she jumps out of the shower and puts on her softest pajamas and a Winnie the Pooh shirt. Ha! Should do with this much comfort for now.
Once dinner is ready she takes it with her to the couch and switches on the tv, for once disregarding her mother's lessons of why not to have meals anywhere but on the dining table. What about people who do not own a dining table, she reasons in her mind and lets herself have a tiny concession, promising it is just today.
She surfs through channels finally stopping on a food, travel channel.
After the dishes are done and the kitchen platform is clean she decides to hit the bed. Yawning her way to bed she lets herself fall on it dramatically and snuggles up in her quilt drifting into a sweet sleep. She dreams of strong hands and comforting smells and beautiful eyes. Beautiful eyes staring into hers, seeing through her. Seeing through her soul.
