Hey guys, thank you for your votes and comments.
Continuing from the last part,
*****
With Diwali going away, the winter season starts.
Trees started losing leaves.. But the scene was still beautiful in the university campus. These trees line either side of the road leading to the university dormitory block for the girls. Underneath the trees, students are standing in groups, catching up with one another about what happened during the holidays. Ofcourse, there is never a shortage of couples in the more secluded spots, cuddling and displaying their affection for each other… even though the weather was becoming colder.
Monami’s roommates have not returned to the campus, so she has the room all to herself. She spent her day reading, surfing the net and recording the details of working with Karan on a journal. It was a once in a lifetime experience. She wanted to keep a note of everything that had happened.
********
This was also one of those afternoons when Faizi called. Monami was lying on the bed at that time.
“Your voice sounds funny. Are you ok? Toothache ho raha h kya? Ya phir kisi ne aapke face par toh nahi mara jiski wajah se swelling aa gayi ho isliye aap ki awaaz aisi aa rahi hain?” asked Faizi, imagining many things at a time..
Monami tried not to laugh. She has a whitening mask on her face. It’s hard to talk when you don’t want to open your mouth.
“Mask! What’s up?” She answers.
Faizi was amused. He turns to Karan and says: “Hey Karan, inki awaaz ek dam sheep jaisi Dubai de rahi h.. It's kinda whiny but it's cute.. aap janaab sunana pasand karenge?"
Karan answered : ”Why would I want to hear her distorted voice?”
By this time, Monami has removed the thin piece of sheet from her face: “Hey, maine apna mazak udwaane k liye phone answer nahi kiya hain."
Faizi laughed and told her the reason for the call: "Let’s have lunch together. I’ve found a flat for you.”
“I’ll treat you. Come over to the campus. There’s a restaurant nearby that does a nice fish dish.”
****
There’s a lot of small eateries around the campus. Monami picked a restaurant that does a good lamb and fish casserole. It’s a popular choice amongst the students.
- Does he own suits of any other color? Monami wonders. At least he looks good in a black suit. Hang on, why should she care what Karan wears.
They stand at the entrance, waiting for a waiter to show them to their table. Karan takes a look around. The place is filled with the smell of chili, fish and lamb.
“They source their fish from the fish market every morning. It’s guaranteed to be fresh. And so is the lamb.” Monami looks at Karan, “Tumne pehle kabhi try ki hui hain yeh?"
Karan takes a glance at her. He doesn’t answer her question.
Monami passes the menu to Faizi: “Tumhe kuch aur bhi order karna hai?"
Faizi asks the waiter: “Can we order a steamed fish as well?”
“Sorry, we specialize in lamb and fish casserole. The kitchen prepares the food in the morning. We don’t have any whole fish filets left. The portions are quite large, it should be more than enough for the three of you.”
It’s a pleasant meal. Monami and Faizi did most of the talking. Karan will add a sentence or two occasionally, but it’s always in his arrogant and inconsiderate manner. They are used to his style by now, so they just laugh it off. When Karan leaves the table to take a phone call outside, Faizi says jokingly to Monami: “What’s wrong with us? Hum inn janab friend kyon hain? Do we like to bring torture upon ourselves?”
- A Friend?! Karan? Monami thinks to herself. They are friends now.
*****
Monami noticed that Karan did not touch the fish and lamb casserole. He didn’t eat any red meat dishes either.
Monami: “kyon..?”
“Kyonki yeh red meat nahi khata hain." Faizi knows what she is about to ask: “He was on a six month cannibal hunt in California a couple of years ago. Uske baad se isne red meat khana chhod diya."
Monami “I’m sorry….”
“Never mind. Usse vegetables khana bhi pasand hain.. dekho.., he finished this whole plate by himself!” smiled Faizi. “ In his line of work, he comes across a lot of very disturbing sights at the crime scenes, especially uss time period, Me jab isne FBi ko case solve karne me assist kiya tha.. Ab toh isse aadat ho gayi inn sabki.. itne experience k baad. Warna first time jab ye janab crime scene par the.. he threw up.”
——
After lunch, Faizi brings them to a beautiful apartment building on a quiet cul-de-sac.
The three bedroom apartment Faizi found for Karan is on the first floor. It has a very minimalist feel. A palette of neutral and gray colors makes the place cold and uninviting. There is a big 2 meters x 2 meters bed in the master bedroom, covered in black bed linen. Karan took a look around and nodded: “Yes, I like this place. Thank you.”
“Ab next tumhare apartment ko dekhte hain." says Faizi to Monami.
“Mere? Same building me hain?”
“Of course, iss bahane tum ek doosre ka dhyan rakh sakte ho." Faizi whispers in her ears: “I think it’s safer for you to have a male friend living close by.”
Karan overhead this statement. He has a smile on his face. Monami is not sure what the significance of this smile is. Proud? Pride? What is he proud of anyway? That he’s a man, and not a weak and vulnerable woman?
——-
“This neighborhood is probably outside my budget…”
“Pehle ek baar apartment andar se check karo.. phir decide karna ." Faizi pushed her into a small studio apartment on the second floor. It’s neatly furnished. A little chandelier hanging from the ceiling adds a nice feminine touch. There’s two small orange sofas in the middle of the room. There’s a Japanese style tatami bed next to the window. On the other side of the room is a clawed foot bathtub, with soft pink drapes around it. Monami can already imagine how relaxing it will be soaking the tiredness away after a hard day’s work. This place is perfect for her.
“How much is this studio?” She knows it’s not going to be cheap but it’s worth the extra rent. Faizi told her how much the rent is. She made a quick calculation in her head. “OK! Toh phir main le rahi hoon."
Karan looked around her apartment. He takes a look at the views outside the window: “Wow, you’ll never see a sunrise through these windows.” It looked into the wall of a tall neighboring building.
Come on, at the price she is paying, she can’t expect a sea view too!
He walked to the clawed foot bathtub. He looked at it for ages, and then used his fingers to examine the surface. Monami thinks it’s weird that a man would stare at her bathtub for such a long time. She walks over and tries to draw him away: “There’s nothing special to see here.”
“Tum blush kyon kar rahi ho?" Asked Karan.
It’s not something Monami expected him to say. She subconsciously touched her face. It’s … a little hot.
“Don’t be shy." His eyes flashes her a haughty glance: “Women feel the need to be naked sometimes. To be freed from the restraints of clothing. You express that when you are alone. It’s normal human behavior.”
Monami's face was bright red now. But perhaps they have spent enough time together by now. She came back with her counterattack: “aapne apni psychological books me yeh read Kiya hai?" Yeh sirf 'on paper' theory hain.. aapko idea nahi hain ki actually women kya sochti h aur uske kis behaviour k peeche ka reason kya hain..?"
****
Monami spent the next few days decorating her apartment. She looked forward to her first day of work.
Karan has been busy too. He bought a car - a Grand Cherokee. They met each other at the lobby a few times. Apparently, Karan works mostly from home. He does not need to go to the office every day.
****
Monami works for a company called ClearWorld - a well-known international trading company. It’s not easy to get an internship there, but her good grades helped her to secure the job.
On Monday morning, Monami took the metro to work. The company is in a building located near the new town area, next to all the high-end shopping malls, entertainment and bars.
It is a magnificent building. Everyone is very well-dressed. They all look like they are very busy. The atmosphere here is quite intense. Monami has heard rumors about an employee who died suddenly of fatigue due to overwork. There’s also a story that a girl committed suicide recently because she can’t take the pressure of working here anymore. Monami doesn’t know if they are true. But everyone does look like they are in combat mode and ready to ‘fight’.
Monami reports to the sector that is responsible for automotive parts. This is one of the smaller divisions within the sales department. To her relief, her reporting manager is quite nice, and her colleagues are friendly and helpful. They are all around the same age as her, so it’s easy to get along with them.
******
Weekend.
It’s been a week since Monami started work. It’s been a busy week. She was happy to relax in her little apartment.
There’s a knock on the door. It’s a courier package for someone called Simon.
The courier guy says to Monami: “Maine Mr. Shergill ko call kiya.. woh ghar par nahi hain. So he said to leave this package with you.”
- Simon? She didn’t know he had an English name.
- Simon. It’s a nice name. It suits him.
******
Just before dinner time, there’s another knock on the door. It’s Karan.
They just look at each other. She passed him the parcel. She expected him to leave straight away. But instead, he walked in without an invitation. He started inspecting the house. Then he took a seat on the sofa and opened the parcel. It’s a document file. He starts going through the file.
Monami left him to do his own thing. She went back to the kitchenette to prepare her dinner.
***
The house is so quiet that Monami sometimes forgets that there is someone else sitting on the sofa.
Karan is very focused in what he is reading. Monami pours him a cup of tea. Without even looking up, Karan says: “I don’t drink liquid from unknown origins. Replace it with water.”
Monami looks at what he calls ‘liquid from unknown origins’. It’s a combination of lavender and orange blossoms and hibiscus flowers. It’s her favourite flower tea.
“Agar aapko pani peena hain toh khud jaake le lijiye."
Karan sensed her displeasure. He looks up, but she is no longer there.
Monami is cutting vegetables in the kitchenette. But she is listening to what Karan might do. There is no movement behind her. She turns around and sees Karan holding the cup of tea she gave him. He looks like he is examining some important evidence from a crime scene.
Monami can’t help but give a little laugh: "I found this shop in an old alley. A girl that owns this speciality tea shop says they only use organic products. I have tried all the tea shops in the area. This is the best.”
Monami continued cooking. She puts a pot of soup on the table.
The cup Karan is drinking from is empty. Monami smiles. She is about to walk off when she sees Karan stretching out his hand. He taps the top of the coffee table (next to the empty cup) with his long fingers.
Does this means that he wants more tea?
Monami raises an eyebrow and asks: “yeh achi h huh?!"
Karan smiles without looking out: "haan, thank you."
Monami thinks about Faizi’s comments in the restaurant - bringing torture upon themselves. He is right. Why should she bother? She is not his maid. Yet, she is flattered because he approves of her taste in tea.
She gives a small sigh and pours him another cup of tea.
*****
For dinner, she has prepared some biryani and soup. She brought out all the dishes. Is he staying for dinner? She actually never checked. She took out two plates of biryani.
Given the past comments he made about her cooking, she is ready for his unkind comments. If Karan says: 'main iss quality ka food nahi khata' She will respond “Aapko galat fehmi hui hain dono plates ka khana mere liye hain."
But her ‘preparation’ was unnecessary. Karan picked up the spoon and started eating.
None of them spoke.
Monami watched him pick up the veggies with a spoon. He put it in his mouth. No comment. Then he picked up the bowl of soup, scooped out the spoon and sipped.. then a spoon of biryani and then the vegetables…
"Chahe kitna hi mujhe ghooro tum.. isse tumhare food ki quality magically improve nahi honi hain." Karan finally spoke.
She was about to rebuke him when he continued to say: “What’s this?” He pointed at the soft capsules of rice in the white porcelain plate.
“Jasmine rice from Thailand." Monami answered. “I tried over 20 brands. This is the best. Though basmati is good to make biryani.”
****
Because the sofa sits quite low to the ground, he has to lean forward whenever he is taking food. She put down her plate, took out a pillow from the bed and put it behind his back: “There. Ab aapke liye jyada comfortable rahega."
She found this pillow after looking at quite a few shopping malls. It has a nice design and is very comfortable. Karan looked at her, then leaned against it.
****
Monami just finished washing the dishes when her phone rang. She dried her hands and answered. It’s Sid.
“Toh kya kar rahi hain?" He sounds relaxed.
Monami smiled and answered: "Doing the dishes."
Sid: “Ab.. koi dinner k liye aaya kya?"
Monami glanced at Karan, who is still sitting on the sofa watching TV: “Haan. Karan.”
“Dinner at 9pm? Are you guys dating each other?"
“Of course not.” Monami interrupted him, “tu aur main bhi toh kitni baar sath dinner karte hain. Same deal. Just two friends having a meal together. So kya hua abhi achanak call kiya?"
Sid said : “Woh jo crime scene par numbers the uske baare me batane k liye call kiya tha. Kuch experts hain jo usse decipher krne ka try kar rahe hain. They have made some progress. Just socha ki tujhe aur Professor Shergill ko bata doon."
****
Karan was examining Monami’s bed, or to be exact, what’s on Monami’s bed. On top of her bed, there is a nice silk duvet.
Then he looked at her bedside table. There’s a number of beautiful dolls on it, as well as a black paper weight. These are all the results of careful selection after looking through several shopping malls.
“You must have spent hundreds of hours to find decorations for this little space of less than forty square meters.”
Monami poured herself a cup of tea: "ek hafte se jyada.." She enjoyed the process. Besides, the end results are well worth the time spent.
“Tum sahi thi.” said Karan
Monami: “kis baare me?”
"Ki mujhe females samajh nahi aati hain.” He obviously agreed with her. “ Mujhe yeh samajh nahi aata ki tum itne saare hours iss place ko sajane me kaise spend kar sakti ho.”
Monami: "...... that’s none of your business!"
******
After the detailed ‘inspection’ of her house, Karan finally left.
- Karan ate two servings of biryani today. He ate at least half of the vegetables and two bowls of soup. Seems like he enjoyed the meal after all. She smiled and went to sleep.
******
The next morning, Karan visited again.
This time, it’s Monami’s turn to be in her long-sleeved cotton PJs. Karan took a look at her: “You are thinner than I expected. Change kro.. hum bahar ja rahe hain.”
Monami: “ja rahe hain? Hum? Bahar? Kahan?”
Karan: "Shopping."
When they were both in his car, he passed Monami a list. She can’t believe what’s on the shopping list: "You mean - tea, rice, pillow, duvet, paperweights… aur jitni bhi wo cheezein hain mere ghar me.. aapko unn sabka ek set chahiye? Kl toh aapne kaha tha aap samajh nahi paye ki maine yeh shopping karne me itna time kyon waste kiya.."
“Firstly, hume ek nahi har item kr 2 set chahiye. Maine Faizi ko btaya aur usne kaha he wants a set too.” He said in a casual voice: “ And Don’t you think it’s the perfect outcome? Tumne woh boring, inefficient, time- consuming work kiya aur hum teeno benefits share kar sakte hain. Acha h na.”
Monami: “Karan! Maine aap jaise aise arrogant and condescending manner me favor magne wala pehla insaan dekha hain!!”
****
Faizi called to thank Monami. His approach was completely different to Karan’s. He’s so appreciative of her time and effort, and praised her for good taste. He vowed to treat her to a nice and expensive meal later.
Karan was sitting beside her when she talked to Faizi. When they had finished, he said to her: “I appreciate your taste, but I despise your efficiency. It’s two separate issues. It’s not contradictory!”
******
When they were on their way to the first shop, Monami asked him: " Agar aapko shopping me apna time waste nahi karna toh kyun mere sath aa rahe ho?"
Karan replied: "Tumhe lagta hain main yahan hona chahta hoon? Faizi ne bola hain ki I must be your driver for the day.”
******
That afternoon, Monami found out something new about Karan. He is quite loose with money. He never asks about the price of things. He just throws his credit card to her and lets her deal with it. She collects all the dockets(price receipt) and passes them to him. He just throws them away without looking.
And although he is a picky person, the type of things he is picky about is very selective. He’s picky about everything to do with his work. He is picky about what food he eats. But other than that, he seems pretty easy going. Maybe he can’t be bothered. it’s not worth his time and energy. For example, when she asks him what color and style of pillow he wants, he will say: “Same as yours. Don’t ask me anymore.” When she asks about other purchases, she gets the same answer.
*****
With one exception. They are in a mattress shop. Karan wants to test and choose his own mattress. Because sleep is important for him.
The sales woman leads them to the mattress Monami is after: “Yeh humari shop ki best selling mattress hain.. Would you like to lie down and test it out?”
Monami lies down on the bed.
The sales woman continued to talk to Karan : “It’s firm, made with fabric that’s treated with antibacterial properties…”
Karan: “yeh out of shape toh nahi hoga na agar iss par jyada bounce aur roll kare toh?”
The sales woman took a look at him and Monami, then with a sly smile on her face, she replied: “Sir, that’s absolutely fine. Yeh mattress market me sabse best quality ke latex foam se bani hain.”
She walks off, leaving just the two of them. Karan lies down beside Monami.
Feeling the other side of the bed sinking in slightly, Monami turns around and looks at him: “You do a lot of rolling in bed?”
"Of course not, sirf darling mere bed par rolling karta hain..”
It’s been a long day. They both rest on the mattress.
As she is about to get up, Karan turns sideways, supporting his head with one of his hands..He looks into her eyes.
Her heart starts to pound.
- It’s because he is intruding into my personal space. She said to herself.
He leans towards her. His handsome features are more distinctive than usual because they are just centimeters apart. His eyes look bright and he has a smile on his face. His thin lips move: ”Monami ...... moves in with me.” He said softly with a deep and rather sexy voice.
***
Monami has never been so physically close to a man before. They are so close that she can feel his warm breath touching her skin.
After a short pause, Karan continues: "Clearly, agar hum sath rehte hain toh yeh humare liye yeh arrangement mutually beneficial hoga. I am not interested in wasting my time on trivial matters in life, which you seem to enjoy. I will have more time that I can devote to my work and other things I enjoy doing..."
“….Excuse me, kya aap iss mattress se satisfied hain?” The sales woman is back.
Karan turned to look at the woman: “Please do not interrupt me.” Then he continued with Monami :” Indirectly, you will reap some benefits too… You can….”
"Sorry, I'm not interested.” Monami stopped him.
Monami gets off the bed and walks away with the sales girl. She is buying the mattress, to put in her own apartment. Karan stood at a distance and looked at her.
*****
"Come on in." Monami stepped into the elevator.
Karan walked in and stood beside her.
"Why are you not interested?" He looks down at her.
Monami does not answer. The elevator door opens. This level is a food court, where a bunch of people flood in. As many people as possible squeeze into the elevator. Monami was standing so close to Karan that their bodies seemed to be touching each other’s.
Monami wanted to step back, but there’s no space. Then Karan looked down at her: "tumne mujhe jawab nahi dia. Why are you not interested in moving in with me?”
******
The whole elevator was eavesdropping. He obviously doesn’t care about the crowd.
Monami spoke with a soft voice: “I like my own space. I need my peace and quiet time. I am not moving in. Case closed.”
Karan does not insist anymore.
She was relieved. But after a few seconds, she heard him speak again: “tum wrong decision le rahi ho.”
Finally, a young girl next to Monami can’t hold it in anymore. She bursts out laughing.
******
Monami knows that everyone in the elevator thought Karan is her boyfriend, trying to persuade her to live with him. But she knows that it’s the last thing on his mind. He’s simply looking at the issue from an efficiency angle. His cohabitation proposal is not personal. So therefore, to decline his offer is an ‘inefficient and wrong’ decision.
******
Back in the apartment, Monami is enjoying a warm relaxing bath in her bathtub. She thought about Karan, his handsome looks, his smiles, and his proposal. Something feels different in her heart. She can’t explain it, nor has she felt like that before in her life.
Even when she got ready for bed. She was still feeling a little out of sorts. At the time her phone rang. It was Sid.
"Sid"
Iss waqt toh Kabhi Sid yun call nahi aata hai. Lagta hai kuch important hain. Thinking that she answered the call.“Is everything ok?"
Sid sounded kind of vague: “Woh numbers.. humne unhe ek order me toh sort out kiya hain.. par phir bhi koi sense nahi nikal raha."
"What do you mean?"
“Dekh, maine na woh numbers tere aur professor Shergill ko mail kiye hain. Tum ek baar khud check karo.”
******
Monami puts on her coat and turns on the computer.
"145,297,289,121
162,17,324,1
25, 484,
365,88,729,16
421,27,841,1
586,29,1156,1
425,136,729,16 "
- What sort of game is Saurav trying to play here?
Monami scrolled to the bottom of the message. The decipher specialist has boiled it down to this row of numbers : 8,9,9,13,14,15,19.
“Hum yeh figure out nahi kar paa rahe h ki yeh saare numbers ka meaning kya hain. Mtlb kuch bhi ho sakte hain yeh. Koi coordinates, kisi book me words ya page numbers? Bina kisi clue ke, it would take forever to solve. There’s not much else we can do.” Monami recalled what Sid told her on the phone.
Monami looked at the columns of numbers. She closed her computer and lied back on the bed.
She took out the phone, pressed those numbers. A landline number has 6-8 digits. And Mobile phones have 10 digits. So there’s extra numbers. Switchboard extensions? No such luck. It’s an empty number.
Morse code? She is not familiar with it. Latitude and longitude coordinates? But it’s in the wrong format.
English alphabet? A to Z corresponding to 1-26. She took up pen and paper from the bedside table and converted them into the English alphabet. But she has her doubts. Can’t be that easy. Even the experts cannot decipher them.
Translated letters: H, I, I, M, N ,O, S. Doesn’t make any sense.
- Ok. What if we change the order
HIMINOS?
HNSOMII ?
......
- Just go to bed. Monami thought to herself. Maybe Karan can work it out tomorrow.
She closed her eyes. Karan’s face flashes before her. The long slender eyes, tall nose, thin lips, his faint smile, the sarcastic smile…
She suddenly opens her eyes. Monami looked at those letters again.
Karan.
Karan.
She has found the meaningful combination -
HI, SIMON.
*******
Simon, Simon yeh toh Karan ka English name h but the thing is Saurav ko yeh name kaisa pata.. ab yeh ek question hain.. socho socho
Till then
Ta-ta
Your writer
Kriya