chapter 21

“It’s called the magic of Sam’s friendship.” Sam patted himself on his shoulder and applauded himself.“Oh! So, it’s that way.” Chetana imitated Sam’s words exactly the way he had said.They both burst out laughing like the insouciant kids from Sam’s evening classes.“It will be fine, Chetana,” Sam looked into her eyes, trying to unveil the secrets she was holding back, “whatever it is, it will be fine.”Chetana understood that Sam’s curious eyes had succeeded in reaching that obscure depth where she had kept her pain buried. The only thing that still remained concealed from him was what was hurting her.“Thank you, Sam, for taking me to the real world,” Chetana said as she boldly met Sam’s gaze. “I have found myself again after a long, long time. I was an independent girl during my college days. I was the master of my life and used to take my own decisions. But then…”“Then, what?”“Then life happened.” Chetana sighed as she looked vacantly at the sea. “Anant came into my life and I myself didn’t realize when I handed over the reins of my life to him. I let him take decisions for me out of my fervid love and blind trust in him. Then Richa came along and I started living the way that suited her, the best. But now,” she turned to look at Sam, “you have re-introduced me to the person I once was. Thank you very much!”“Let’s go.” He smiled at her. *     * “Where have you been, Sam?”A deep frown formed on Chetana’s face as she saw him, walking into the coffee shop. “Do you know how long I have been waiting for you?”“What?” Sam almost burst out but then hushed his voice as a few startled customers turned to look at him. “What the hell are you doing here?” Sam seated himself on the chair opposite to her and wiped the sweat from his forehead, “I have been looking for you on the beach all this time.”“But, why were you looking for me at the beach?” Chetana’s frown deepened.“Well!” Sam’s lips curled in a sarcastic smile, “I was hoping to find Her Highness on her throne, a beach chair at the usual place on the beach.”“Whatever!” Chetana shrugged. “Let’s meet here every evening and have coffee together.”“And you,” Sam pointed a finger at her, “are going to pay for the coffee.”“Oh, really!” Chetana charged at him with fake fury in her eyes, “what makes you think so?”“Only if you want to listen to the story of Ved and Sneha,” Sam looked sideways.“You are right, Sam.” Chetana was all smiles. “I will buy you a coffee if you promise to tell me a story every day.”“Then, let’s seal the deal and order coffee for us.” Sam shook hands with her.“It’s always a joy to have fresh faces in your office,” Sam said as they waited for their coffee to arrive. “It feels too good to see enthusiasm for work on those young faces and their indomitable passion to reach the pinnacle. Today’s story is about 3 new appointees who joined my office on the same day. It was 7 years ago that I met three talented youngsters, Vedant, Sneha and Daniel who joined our office as sales executives. Daniel was a native of Mumbai while Sneha came all the way from London. Vedant belonged to a small village in Tamil Nadu. All three of them were in my team. On their joining day, Sneha and Daniel had reported to duty on the right time but Vedant kept me waiting for a good two hours. Even though it was 7 years back, I still remember the day as it were yesterday when Vedant came rushing into my cabin. 7 Years Ago… “I…I…am sor…sorry, sir!” A handsome young man in his mid-twenties ran into my room and stood panting like a rabid dog. “My train was late and you know how pathetic the traffic of Mumbai is.”A lion’s share of his forehead was under a heavy coat of sandalwood paste and vermilion. Large drops of sweat dribbled down his forehead, striving to bring the coat down along with their flow.“Please have a seat. You are the new executive, I guess.” I crossed my fingers and studied him carefully. “The missing one in the trio.”“Yes, sir.” He held out his appointment letter with shivering hands.“What’s your name?” I asked casually, as it was customary for a senior officer to ask the name of his new subordinate. But the ‘name’ that came my way was rather long for my expectation.“I am Vedant Vaipattusseri Adityanarayana Namboothiripad.”“Oh, my God!” I shuddered as he blurted out his full name in a single breath. “You look too young for such a heavy name; let’s cut it short. I will address you only as Ved. Is it okay?”“Yes, sir.” He lowered his head and blushed a little at the new name he was christened with.“Well then, Ved, you can join duty from this very moment.” I said shaking hands with him. “All the best and welcome to Telex International.”“Thank you, sir.” His wide grin and keen eyes expressed his gratitude and relief on being able to join duty without facing the wrath of a foul-mouthed superior for arriving late on the very first day. Ved occupied his seat in his tiny cubicle. The exuberance of his first appointment made his chest swell with pride like he was crowned the ‘King of the World’. He placed a tiny statue of Goddess Saraswati on his table that he had brought along and closed his eyes in a silent prayer.“Hi, I am Daniel.”Ved opened his eyes with a start and looked at the statue of the Goddess in utter disbelief. He sighed as he found the statue sitting as still as a statue. Then he raised his eyes to look at the young man standing near his cubicle.“We are in the same team,” Daniel said as he held out his hand, “what’s your name?”“Myself, Vedant Vaipattu…” he halted midway through his name and then said after a little battle with himself, “Ved.”“Nice to meet you, Ved.”Ved opened his mouth to respond but his words stuck in his throat as a melodious tinkle of laughter sounded in his ears and took him to an unknown world of fantasies. He turned to see a beautiful girl cracking jokes with a colleague.