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"Hello.. Yes, Arun. I was out on some important work... Oh! I am logging in right away. Just give me two minutes.", Rajiv said opening his laptop. He was in the parking lot of Crystal Diagnostics Centre while Sana was inside for her scanning.
Connecting to his phone data, he immediately got into the call with his office colleagues.
"Hello everyone..", Rajiv greeted everyone upon connecting to the teams.
"Rajiv, where did you save the master data file last night?", Sam asked on call. His tone disquieted Rajiv.
"In the shared drive..", Rajiv said in a perturbed tone.
"The file is blank Rajiv.", Arun said.
"What? How can it be?", Rajiv exclaimed in flurry. He immediately scrolled to the path in the shared drive and checked the file. It was indeed blank.
"Did you save a copy of it elsewhere?", Asked Lucy.
"No, but..", Rajiv nervously stuttered.
"Rajiv, do you realise that it is month's long effort? We have a client meeting next month.", Lucy said exasperated with Rajiv's carelessness.
"I.. I understand Lucy, but I don't know how..", Rajiv was in loss of words.
"Listen mate, I can't ask the client for an extension because they are already annoyed by our ongoing delays. I don't know what you are going to do but I want everything to go as per the schedule and keep in mind that there will be no compromises on the quality whatsoever.", Sam said.
"Okay Sam.. I agree", Rajiv agreed. He dropped off from the call and sighed holding his head in hand in tension. His phone rang and it was Arun.
"Yes, Arun", Rajiv said.
"Rajiv, you know how annoyed Sam and Lucy are at the moment. We all know that it's going to be a tough job to recreate the whole file. You've fucked up a big time my friend.", Arun said.
"I.. I know.. Arun, I think I have a copy of it saved in another system which I saved last month while working on it. If it's still there then I think I can still pick it up from there and work extra hours to meet the deadlines.", Said Rajiv
"Why didn't you say that in the meeting?", Arun asked.
"Because I don't know if it is still there. I just want to confirm before opening my mouth.", Rajiv said.
"Hmmm.. Rajiv, I suggest you come to the office right away. You've been working from home for a week now. If you keep working from home then they won't notice your efforts and seriousness. You can lose your job, buddy. Until you get everything sorted just make sure you are in the office.", Arun suggests.
"Hmmm.. okay..", Rajiv hummed before disconnecting.
"Arrrggghhh.. Damn!! Damn!! Damn!!", Rajiv hit the steering wheel in frustration. There were multiple honks which dragged attention of people around in parking lot. Among them was the cleaning boy who was emptying waste into the dumpster.
"Kapoor uncle..", uttered the boy in surprise.
It was none other than Sidharth who had taken up a petty job in the building with the help of people who had picked him up from the container that he travelled in.
Though Sidharth was joyed to find Rajiv which indirectly meant finding Sana, he couldn't approach him because of various reasons. One, his illegal immigration, two his innocent but grave mistake and last, Rajiv was his friend of his father which meant his parents would learn about his whereabouts and it wasn't a good idea especially after he had stolen his brother's money.
Sidharth sneakily followed Rajiv, who went inside the clinic.
"Excuse me, my daughter Sana Kapoor is inside. May I know if she's done?", Rajiv inquired the receptionist.
"Hmmm.. She is being screened by our sonographer at present. It might take a few minutes for her to finish.", The lady said.
"I've got an urgent work and I need to leave.", Rajiv said.
"Do you want to leave a message for her?", Asked the lady.
"Oh, okay.", Rajiv quickly scribbles on a piece of paper and hands it to her
"Here, could you please give her this letter?", Rajiv said.
"Sure.", The lady nodded. Sidharth turned his back to avoid catching Rajiv's unnecessary attention. On the other hand, Rajiv left the place in hurry.
Sidharth anxiously waited to get a glimpse of the girl for whom he had travelled across the oceans and crossed the borders illegally. His palms were sweating and his heart was palpitating. It felt as if his heart was ready to come out of the rib cage any moment.
How was he going to face her? How would she react to his presence?
I hate you..
I hate you..
Her written message flashed infront of his mind which made his throat dry and legs shiver. He finally managed to grab a chair in the waiting area, restlessly shaking his legs and hands. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her. She wasn't the same chirpy and chubby girl, who he once played with. Though her belly was big like every pregnant woman, the rest of the physical appearance looked petite. Her face was void of beautiful smile she always wore and her eyes looked lost and missing it's shine. He loathed himself even more, if that was possible, for bringing such a day to his dear friend.
The receptionist handed Sana her father's message. Clueless and curious of the content, Sana thanked her and started walking towards the exit. On her way, she read the letter. Her facial expression looked extremely perturbed now.
"Sss...na..", Sidharth called her, which came as a whisper and went unheard by her ears. She exited the door and he followed her with shivering legs.
"Sana..", clearing his chocked throat he called her again. It wasn't loud but was audible to her due to the lesser distance.
"Huh!!", She gasped and froze in shock hearing the familiar voice. Hoping it to be her hallucination, she turned around.
Dressed in yellow fluorescent vest just like any housekeeping staff, there stood a lean young Asian boy. His brown orbs were filled with fear and guilt which were silently pleading for her mercy and forgiveness. If it wasn't for his voice, she might have not even recognised him as he looked nothing like a handsome boy she once befriended.
Although shocked, she turned cold looking at him.
"Sana.. it's me.. Sss.. Sidharth.", Sidharth uttered yet again to help her recognise.
The moment she heard his name, the dreadful and distressing past and agony she went through due to that one mistake of her life came haunting. She stepped back with hatred filled eyes.
"Sana.. stairs.. be careful..", Sidharth widened his eyes and pulled her holding her arm to avoid her from falling from the stairs. He turned her to switch their position.
"Noooo.. don't touch me!!!", Sana wriggled and cried, hitting his hand. All these 7 months she had been hating herself that she allowed him to touch her and do things which was forbidden for her age. She cursed herself for not listening to her mother when she had instructed her to not talk to boys.
Her mind was too disturbed to understand that his intentions were to save her from falling. The moment he left her arm, she pushed him away which made him lose his balance and fall off the stairs.
"Huh!!", She gasped nervously on the thought of hurting him. Even though he had caused her trauma, her empathetic heart was concerned for him.
Luckily there were just two steps hence he stood up quickly on his feet. He dusted his palms which stung due to fresh bruises. She observed his palms which had tiny spotting of blood in that fraction of second. She realised that if he had not pulled her then it could have been her in place of him to meet with the accident. The consequences of which could have been horrendous. The guilt of hurting him made tears well up in her eyes.
"I am fine Sana.. I am sorry..", Sidharth's heart ached finding tears in her eyes.
"Stay away from me..", She yelled with chocking and heavy voice before walking past him. He turned around and looked at her departing. As she walked to the nearest bus stop, she wiped the tears which flowed continuously. Turning her back to the road and facing the lonely bus stop's glass wall, she puled silently.
Why did he come here? Why can't he leave me alone? Why?
She scanned through her bag for a handkerchief and wiped her tears. When she saw to her left, she saw a bus approaching the bus stop from far. She searched for the Myki Card* in the bag. It was then she realised that she had left her wallet and Myki at home as she had travelled with her father in his car.
The bus stopped and the driver opened the door for her. She looked at him hesitantly and nodded no. The driver smiled at her before leaving her alone at the bus stop. Unlike India, there were no conductors in the bus to collect ticket. The travellers had to touch on and touch off their card but there were chances of checking officers who could drop in any time and those who were caught travelling without a Myki would attract heavy penalties.
She could sense Sidharth's staring eyes from far. After having left three buses, she finally went back towards the clinic. Walking near to him, she stood infront which made him lower his head in guilt. He expected a slap on his face for staring at her.
"I forgot my wallet and Myki at home.", She muttered.
"Huh?", Her words made him look at her in surprise.
"I can't recall the route either as I had come here only once before with Maa.", Sana explained.
"I will drop you home. Just give me a minute", He said instantly and ran to one of the other house keeping staff. Sana kept observing him as he spoke to the person who in turn spoke to someone over the phone. Sidharth smiled at him and shook hands before returning to her.
"The taxi will be here shortly. Do you remember the address?", He asked.
She nodded her head.
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Myki card - is a card which is used as a ticket to swipe and travel by train, tram or bus in and around Victoria, Australia.
To be continued ❤️❤️