In my little world ( Completed )

KEEPING MY WORD

Achyuth's narration :
"Pk look at the time ! We need to leave !" said Anjana.
"Yeah you're right. It's already 8.30" replied pk.
"So what ? we'll leave after having dinner" I put forth my idea.
"Ladki ( girl )problems sir, can't stay late at night and invite problems " sighed Anjana. 😔"Come on, the night started just now, let's celebrate and eat man " I urged them. " Sir, are you trying to escape by giving this dinner and forget about our bet ?" suspected pk. 😮 "No man ! I'll provide you the feast as promised" I defended.
"Sorry, I have an important work I'll leave now " stood Anjana.
"How will you go in this so called LATE NIGHT ?" I pulled her leg. "Metro " she replied.
Thought that a lousy cook like me would escape cooking dinner as our maid is on leave ! But these people rejected the idea of having dinner forcing me to cook by myself. 😒I paused for a moment before saying," come, I'll drop you. Rajesh said that you live somewhere nearby our locality "
"No problem sir ! I can go " she hesitated initially but later agreed when pk said," why become a sandwich in that metro ? Go with sir".
I returned their laptops, which I forcefully snatched from them. 😜"Bye laxmakka ( laxmi sis )" pk took farewell and left on his bike.
********
We had nothing much to talk during the ride. "Sir, where is Rajesh ?" Anjana broke the silence.
"Can't say exactly !Chilling out somewhere with someone" I smiled.😁 (With his GF. I doubt she didn't get the subtle hint.)
" So what made you believe that Rajesh and Preethi would reunite ?" I asked. "Don't know why, I could sense that they are genuine from the beginning. Somehow their egos, ambitions, infidelity and all overshadowed their love. We tried our best to bring out the realization. Like they say Love is a magic with no logic, which was proved in their case. Besides, how can we leave those people who are in relationship for 2 long years?" she answered.
" 2 long years...!" I repeated her words stressing them even more. She looked straight at me acknowledging the sarcasm, "2 years is long according to me."
"Ok madam !" I stopped her from giving so much of wisdom.
She muted herself there after. 😯
"Why did pk call you Laxmi akka ?" I asked her casually while sitting jobless at the signals. After a gesture of slow long blink she answered,😌 "That is the continuation of my name. Like you have Shiva Sai Venkata Achyuth, I have Anjana Srilaxami"
A small smile surfaced on my face instantly.😀 How did she knew my full name which I keep it as a secret at the office. " Please don't interrogate on how and from where did I know this information " she laughed. 😁
" Not interested anyways" I smirked and started driving towards the hostel as per her directions.
"Thank you very much for the ride sir" she said before getting down.
"Never mind. Now you people decide a venue for your FEAST on this Sunday " I said.
she gave a surprise smile, " sir, it was for fun. Don't take Pk's words seriously" 😇
"I can't break my promise. Moreover its not a big deal as such " I said.
She nodded with a smile and left.
Time to go back and cook my own hideous stew. 😖
Feast no 1 :
As decided we dined out at a restaurant which they selected and ordered some items like biryani, panner, naan, desert and stuff. But I was little cautious as the place looked
small, not well furnished with cleanliness not up to the mark 😓. While I searched for the fork to dissect the chunk of chicken, Anjana gave her unused fork. "for you ?" I asked.
" No need, I eat with my hands " she said. "Delhi runs short of water if you eat with your hands" I smirked. 😎Pavan who was also eating with a spoon giggled. "Well, it tastes better when you eat with your fingers. And there won't be any scarcity as long as you people save water by not using hands " she smiled. 😉
I took the fork from her and forced myself to eat , only later to reconsider the fact that more the unhygiene better the taste. The food was delicious.
"Where do you find these kind of restaurants ?" I asked my doubt. "Those who live in hostels away from their home knows every restaurant in the city " grinned pk.😊
Thank God , Rajesh found a great cook and I have no worries ! We ate, discussed some office matters, other things. Meanwhile a serving boy in his teens came to take the leftover dishes. Suddenly he lost his grip and dropped the earthenware bowl which fell on pavans hand first and then tumbled down to land on the floor breaking into multiple pieces. The boy, jumped out of his skin and apologized many times while cleaning pavan's hand with tissue. 😨 He also picked up the dispersed fragments of the ceramic on the floor. We didn't care much about it untill a middle-aged man dressed neatly, rushed to our table and showed all his wrath with abusive words in hindi directed to the boy😤. "It's ok bhayya ! Jaane dijiye ( bro ! Let go of him ) said Anjana to calm down the ranting grumpy man, who made the poor boy upset and sullen.😫
"No madam ! This has become a habit of this jerk, cutting the wage will only set him right. Hey idiot, you go inside and call vinod. If I see you here once again serving, I'll tear you into pieces" the angry man left screaming.
Another boy of same age came to fill up his shoes. "So your friend who got scolded where is he ?" asked Anjana while the new boy served us dessert. "That fellow Jagadish is little clumsy and messy. He was sent to wash utensils" he answered.
"You people look young , why did you come here ? Where do you belong ?" she continued the conversation.
"Both of us are from a village in Guna , madhyapradesh. Ghar ka karz chukana tha is liye aya. " he replied.
"What did he say ?" asked pk who can't understand complex hindi words. "he works here to pay off the debts on his house " I translated for him. "Can you ask him to meet me once?" heard something unexpected from her. Vinod went inside to call the other boy.
Pavan frowned at once, "what is the need to call him ? That man comes running to make ruckus if he finds him"😣. "Pk, I want to talk to him, didn't you see how badly he was treated !" she said. "Will it change anything ?" Pk questioned.
"Have you ever thought about these young kids who travel hundreds of miles giving up on all their dreams and work every minute draining the fuel out of their body to feed their hungry families. Just now witnessed the obnoxious condition which they experience every day. We hardly acknowledge their existence in our busy lives. We may not change his life, at least we can lift up his spirit and make his day better with few words" she commented.
Hmm...this girl is more philosophical than I presumed.
"Agreed ! But beware of that man" advised pk. The bill was placed on the table and I went to the counter to pay using my card.
From distance I observed her talking with the two boys.
"Where do you work didi (sister) ?" I heard one of the boys asking her when I went back to the table. "I'm also a migrant labourer like you working in an IT company " answered Anjana. 😐
"Done with your talks ?" I interrupted. While leaving she gave him some money perhaps for the broken bowl and told him to work carefully.
Day before feast no. 2
The brother and sister duo were waiting outside my chamber and I went out to learn something which came as complete surprise😱. They don't want any feasts and requested to give the same money to an organization which feeds poor children. "Are motivational classes happening in place of yoga classes ?" I smiled. 😋
"No sir, it gets bored when you eat the same biryani, panner ! And the following day morning effects are also worse.🙊 Why not help the needy ?" said pk. There's no other thing in this world except food, which is refused once your appetite is satisfied even if given for free ! These people are done with their hunger I guess. "Fine.I'll do that in view of your health pk." I assured him.
*********
Sipping the coffee and humming the songs playing in my bluetooth headset, I took the stairs instead of the elevator to recharge myself for the evening work. 🏃
I slowed down a bit to watch the philosophical girl who was climbing down to leave the office. All I could read is sadness from her face while she walked slowly with no energy in her steps, plain face with no emotion, deeply engrossed in thoughts.😞 Should I ignore her ?
Then, she almost tripped down suddenly, later regained her balance avoiding to fall down. We crossed paths and she noticed me.
" What's up ?" I asked.
"Nothing " she responded concealing her sadness. "There's a reason to say NOTHING . Isn't it ?" I spoke inadvertently.