Arohi felt a little lazy. Reluctantly she went to the restroom to brush and then dragged herself to the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee. She sat on the couch and stretched herself while sipping the coffee. It was good and strong just like how she liked it. She enjoyed every sip of it and placed the empty cup on the center table. She glanced at the clock and realized that she had about 15 mins before she would usually hit the shower. She could, technically workout but she decided to go against what her logic said. She mumbled to herself, "Arohi nee daily workout pannare da chellam. Inniki oru naalikki break eduthukko thappillai. Treat yourself my love. Just chillax for 15 mins." She decided to gently shut her eyes, "Oru 5 mins kanna moodikko. Thoonga ellam maate" but almost immediately she dozed off.
She was waking up and was all alone. She walked up to the door. She struggled to open it. Was she stuck? She tried hard to pull the door but then when she let go, the double door automatically opened. There was a beautiful garden. She took a step into the garden and the house behind her disappeared. The garden was filled with beautiful colorful flowers and they were smiling at her. She heard the sound of birds chirping. Suddenly a butterfly flew towards her and sat on her wrist. She looked at it. For the very first time Arohi saw herself smiling. The butterfly was leading her somewhere and she trotted along. Far away she saw the silhouette of a guy. She did not know who he was. He wore a white tuxedo and a masquerade face mask. He held out his hand for her and she ran towards him. Just when she was about to reach out and hold his hands, the earth beneath her feet opened sucking her into a dark hole. She screamed but no one heard her. Arohi woke up with a jerk. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the time. She jumped up gasping, "shit I overslept" and she ran to the bathroom to shower and get ready.
As she walked in to the office she became aware of all the eyes looking at her suspiciously. Arohi had never been late to office. She had always been the first one there and the last one to leave. She felt embarrassed and quickly walked into her office. She sighed and opened up her water bottle to quench the thirst. Her stomach was beginning to grumble indicating that she had missed breakfast. Just then there was a knock on her door. "come in" she said. Joe peeked in before entering and shut the door, "Ma'am are you ok? You have never been late and there was nothing in your calendar. I don't mean to be nosy." Arohi smiled and nodded, "That's ok Joe. I know you so don't worry. Everything is fine. I just needed to take care of an emergency situation" she lied, "But nothing to worry about. Thanks for asking. By the way, can you have chandar Bhaiyya to send me his special sandwich and masala chai please?" Joe nodded and left. Chandar Bhaiya's sandwich shop was a little food truck outside her office. He made the best sandwiches. He was an older gentleman with a happy personality. There were very few people that Arohi would go out of the way to chat with and Chandar Bhaiya. Although he was almost as old as her dad, he insisted that everyone call him Bhaiya.
Arohi relished the sandwich and chai. Although she was occupied all day, there was one image that lingered in her mind, the guy in her dream. There was something familiar and comforting about him that brought a smile to her instantly. At least the dream wasn't as bad as the others. May be she is getting better. May be she doesn't need to see SK. Her mind was wandering all over the place when her phone began to buzz. She looked at it and was surprised by the caller. He, very rarely, called her. It must be something important. She quickly answered, "Aman Cheta what a surprise? Is everything ok? Is Aisha ok?" Aman, Aisha's husband was on the other end, "Hello dear Arohi, how are you? Yes we are all fine. More than fine actually but I am going to ask you for something and I don't want a no for an answer." Arohi chuckled. Aman was like an older brother to her and he always treated her like his little sister. Aman rarely asked Arohi for a favor and, of course, she could never say no to him. She said, "Have I ever said no to you Cheta ? Hukum keejiye Huzoor" she laughed. He laughed with her and said, "I want you at our lake house near ECR on Saturday evening. It is a small gathering. It is going to be a surprise for Aisha. She has been working too hard so I decided to give her a weekend of relaxation. It will be nice for all of us to take a break. It is time for you to start meeting new people too dear. You cannot be single all your life."
Arohi sighed, "Cheta I will be there but I am not interested in meeting anyone yet. You know my situation. I am better off alone...." before she could continue any further Aman interrupted her saying, "I am not asking you to actively date but keep your heart open just in case destiny is ready for you. Anyway, you know the lake house. We will meet there for lunch on Saturday and spend the weekend there. Don't worry, you get your room and we will not assign it for anyone else. We are just 7 of us so it is a very small gathering." Arohi thanked him for the invitation. She then looked at her calendar to see if she had anything scheduled. She noticed that she had scheduled a Saturday session with SK. She quickly called Annie and rescheduled that.
Although she was worried, Arohi was looking forward to a relaxing weekend. She needed to escape for all this atleast for one day. She wanted to sleep peacefully just for one night and may be, just may be, a change is location might do the trick.
Brinda Subramanian
YOU ARE READING
The Beloved
Fanfiction24 year old, over achieving Arohi wasn't someone people wanted to hangout with. She was arrogant and ruthless. She was the CEO of one of the topmost financials Institutes. She was the boss who was only concerned about the numbers. She didn't care wh...
