Love Knows No End

Time moves so slowly when you want it to fly. Isn't this the biggest irony of life..? How desperate was I for the clock to strike 18:00 so I could just pack my bags and zip out of office. After all it was one of the most important days in my life. Time was taking eternity to tick by the second and I was just waiting for the clock to move from 17:30 to 18:00. Staring at the clock, I went back in time... to the first time I met Shravya. She walked up to me and introduced herself. She was a trainee just out of college and refreshing in her looks. She had worn a pretty Pink shirt with a Black trouser and her hair curled up. She wore a perfume that smelt so good and her smile just made me gaze at her. She spoke once again. "Hi Narain!!! I am Shravya... I have joined..." Her voice broke my thoughts and I said.. "Yeah Hi!! I am sorry I did not respond... I was lost in something critical at work... “She smiled and walked back to her seat.... I could not believe my eyes. I had never seen such a beautiful girl... She was the prettiest. She could give a run to any heroine in Bollywood and now she was a part of my team... I could just not take my eyes off her... this was the first time I realized how creative God was... He must have spent an eternity on her and would be very proud of this creation of his….

Trrrrrrringggg Trrrrrrringggg my extension rang to bring me back to this hour and that was my moment of blunder…. answering the call.

"Hello!"

"Hi Narain! This is Kumar, Can I see you in my cabin..."

"Yes Kumar... Will be there right way..."

I hung up and looked at the clock on my PC as I prepared for the walk to Kumar’s Cabin. It showed 17:55. The voice from within spoke… "Just 5 minutes for you to leave and now your PM has called you in... What does he want… How much of your time will he take... Can you cook up a reason and leave early... hmm how about putting your roommate through an accident?.. or saying you have to meet the broker to settle some issue over the rent....." My thoughts were interrupted by Kumar's voice as I walked into his cabin

Kumar greeted me, "Hi Narain! Please have a seat... I guess you know that we have a client visit tomorrow and we need to prepare a presentation on the recent achievements and challenges"

I replied… "Kumar I sent you the presentation last week, there were no comments from you. I assumed that it was fine and good to go..."

Kumar said "No Narain! I was held up in a few other things and could not review it and now since we do not have any time, we will need to finish it before calling it a day today. There are few points I have jotted down... I am mailing them to you. Please have a look and make those changes and we can quickly review and freeze the presentation..."

I said.. "Well Kumar! I wanted to leave early today because I had an appointment with my broker... Can I come into office early tomorrow and fix this up for you???"

Kumar said "I am afraid Narain!!! It cannot wait for tomorrow because the client walks in at 9:00 am and we will not have enough time to fix things before that... so I suggest you cancel your appointment and get on this immediately..."

Completely dejected, I mustered the courage and said, "Well okay... let me see what I can do..."

Kumar replied, "Relax man!! it won't take much of your time, it will be done before you know..."

I walked out of his cabin with a heavy heart... and sank into my chair looking at the clock… it showed 18:15... And I was already behind schedule by 15 minutes... I opened my mailbox, not knowing that there was a bomb waiting to explode...

My presentation which had 21 slides attracted 47 comments... which included complete redesign, layout, data and messages too...

The voice within spoke again “God! Do you have to go through this… what a useless manager you have? Does not even know what he wants... Had he spent some time a week ago, you would not have to sit here on such an important day...."

Luck was just not on my side... So I told myself “Let’s get started quickly!!” I started with the first comment... As I closed each comment, motivation to finish quickly only got stronger… I was at the 14^th comment when Rizwan called me over for a smoke. Unable to say no... I looked at the clock, it showed 19:15, I convinced myself that I could afford a 5 minutes break and walked out...

Out at the smoking zone Rizwan cribbed about his work, his manager, his team and everything under the sky... The voice within said "Why don’t you ask him to JUST SHUT UP!!!! You have your own things to worry about right now..."

But I wore a smile, peeking at my watch every 20 seconds, indicating the rush I was in, but he couldn’t care less. Finally, I decided to take charge and get back, not wait for him to understand.

I told him “Sorry Rizwan! I am in a rush and have to get back to my desk right away.” I cut him short and rushed back. As I walked up to my desk, I saw the house keeping guy cleaning my desk. He looked at me with a big smile... Why not? I had a special relation with these guys… I was always there when they were out on rounds to do their routine evening chores. I smiled back, and when he was about to leave… disaster struck.. his hands hit the power switch on my desk and my system went dead. I was left dumbstruck, the work I had done for almost an hour then was gone...

How I wanted to kill this guy if only our legal system would permit...and all he could do was say “Sorry sir.. dekha nahin!! Galti se ho gaya!” 

Biting my teeth hard, clenching my fist to control my anger but unable to say anything, because the damage was done… I yelled at him to leave... I did not even remember when I had last saved the work... and now how much of it I would have to redo... As I powered on my system and was waiting for it to boot which today seemed to take a light year... “buzzzzzz” I felt my mobile vibrate... and picked up the call.

"Hi! Can I talk to Narain!”

“Yeah! Narain here.. Who is this?”

“We are calling from The Melting Morsels... The Chocolate cake you ordered for is ready.. When would you like to collect it sir..."

"That’s great...errrr… Till what time are you open..? "

"We are open till 9:30 PM Sir"

"Fine I will get someone to collect it...Thank you"

“Thank you sir! Have a great day…”

Knowing for sure, I will not make it, I thought I could ask my roommate Mahesh to help, as this cake was very important, but he was known for missing calls and that was the last thing I needed… I prayed and hoped he would answer as I called him… but God seemed to have different plans… After 6 attempts, I gave up and my machine was up smiling at me coyly. I wasted no time in opening the presentation only to find that last save was when I had worked on the 4^th comment… 

The voice within spoke yet again... "Did you really have to go for a smoke today..."

“Buzzzzzz” my phone buzzed, showing Mahesh on its face… I answered, explaining my plight and requesting him to collect the cake. He said he was on an overnight road trip with friends and would not be back before morning!!! But he will see what he can do and call me back shortly…

I resumed work and was on the 7th comment, “buzzzzz” It was Mahesh again. He had asked Rishi to collect the cake and said, I will need to pick it up from his room on my way back… I could not ask for more on a day that was just not mine… and resumed work...

I lost track of time with work and started working on closing comments one after another and saving with each comment getting closed… learning quickly from my mistake. I was on the 38th comment, “buzzzzz” my mobile rang... it was Rishi!! I answered the call and he lashed out at me as it was already 10:15 PM… He threatened me with 30 mins grace else he would eat the cake himself and hung up even before I could explain…

I knew I could not make it to his room in 30 mins, if I were to work on this presentation. So I walked up to Kumar's Cabin hoping to update him on the status and trying my luck for resuming work next morning… As I walked to his cabin, I noticed the lights were off and the door locked… He had already called it a day... I immediately called on his mobile to check if he was expected. He did not answer my call... With burning rage and anger, I came back to my desk. Saved the presentation shut down my PC and dashed out... I did not even have time to bring out my frustration on Kumar by letting my inner voice abuse him...

As I rushed to my bike at the parking, the voice within said “You have had an awful day so far… but now you are going towards the most important moment so cheer up and chuck all the worries.” I smiled, felt the excitement imagining how Shravya would react seeing me at her place All her friends would be at the party but the most important ingredient, the cake was my responsibility… and Shravya was unaware. As I was about to start my bike... I remembered the gift I bought for her... Just to make sure, I looked for it in my bag... The latest 256GB Iphone X, laying there in a glittering green gift wrap with a beautiful bow on it... something that cost me a month’s salary on my credit card... Thanks to the EMI facilities, I could pay it back in smaller installments... but Shravya was worth much more than this gift…

I rushed to Rishi’s house through empty streets at night.. the best thing that had happened today, assuring me of the great time ahead… Rishi, handed me the cake after all his swearing, whining and warning… which did not affect me even a bit after the day I had… The voice within did all the talking and I was wondering how difficult life would be if this was not possible…

I reached home to change, only to realize that I missed picking up the keys, attached to my desk keys… and felt the day was taking a U-turn… that’s when my inner voice spoke, “Man don’t worry this is just a small down turn.. indicating an awesome evening ahead…”

Cheering myself up, I drove towards Shravya's house… I wanted to make the best of it by a grand entry at the stroke of midnight… I looked into my watch and it showed 23:45 and I had just the time for a quick smoke… I stopped by a tea stall and lit up a smoke, “buzzzzz” my mobile, It was Neha, she called to enquire where I was and when would I get the cake… I told her of my whereabouts and assured her that I’d be on time and make my entry with the cake special. She swore and threatened me of consequences if I were late… and hung up. By now I had had enough for the day and nothing mattered to me more than Shravya's birthday!

As I was done with my smoke, I looked at my watch, gracefully doing its duty showing 23:52 on its face. I quickly rode to her society and got to her apartment. I heard a lot of noise inside and sensed many people in there… I had butterflies in my stomach not knowing how I would express my love in front of such a gathering… I did feel that she was also interested in me… She would smile at every possible instance, left no chance to sit next to me under the pretext of her doubts, always asked me to buy her chocolates… I knew this was her way of telling, I was special… So, I chose this special day to explicitly word it and declare the relationship in front of all her friends. As I waited outside her door, I put up the candles on her cake and lit them, the clock showed 23:59… and I waited for it to turn to 00:00 with my finger on the calling bell… the countdown began as the clock reached 23:59:50.. 10... 9... 8.. 7... 6... 5... 4.... 3... 2... 1... TING TONG!!!

Everyone from inside shouted… HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHRAVYA!!! and the door opened… I stood there with a cake decorated with candles and Shravya could not believe her eyes… Neha turned off all the lights and now only the candles on the cake lit the room… As she walked closer to the cake, I could not stop noticing how beautiful she was… Deep green eyes, lips having a dash of lipstick on them, her curls swaying as she walked. Her face was so clear not a mark on it… She walked up and said… this was a wonderful surprise… and thanked everyone…

We then made her cut the cake and the rituals progressed. Most of the cake was smeared on her face… I have never been able to understand this… when the cake is for smearing does it matter that the cake comes from a regular bakery or The Melting Morsels… and more so if the flavor really made any difference… But then I stood there holding the cake with both my hands as everyone smeared the cake on her face… I felt, my presence made no difference, I was just another piece of furniture, holding the cake for the others to enjoy!!!

The voice within spoke for the first time today... "Yesterday was your worst day… Today is yours… She is your girl… give her the cake and the gift… Go for the Kill tell her about your love…"

I called out " Shravya...."

She came closer.... I wished her “Happy Birthday!!!” and fed her a piece of the cake… I reached out to my bag and pulled out the gift and said, as I gave it to her…”This is for you!!! And please open it after everyone has left…“

She took the gift and threw an expression of surprise asking "OOOOOO for me...????"

The voice within spoke again… "No! I am Santa Claus and am here distributing gifts to all…" But my face masked the expression and said "Yes Shravya!!! Something you always wanted… " She took it and thanked me with a hug!!!

I felt this was the right time and I should go for it… I looked around and everyone was busy either dancing, talking or eating…

I called… "Shravya… I need to tell you something....."

She said… "Yes Narain, go ahead... "

“I……..”

“TING TONG…” The bell rang once again… and I was interrupted…

She rushed to open the door and at the door was a Greek god like 6'2" tall and shoulders wide enough to block the doorway …

Shravya pounced on him and he hugged her so hard… My blood began to boil!!!! I clenched my fist in expression of anger, biting my teeth hard…

Shravya spoke… "Guys!!! I want you all to meet the Love of my life… Ritesh!!! We have grown up together and for each other… I feel so good to introduce you to him on this special day… "

My heart skipped a beat… I went speechless… I wanted to place a mighty blow on this monster like being, but knew I was not made for it...

Shravya spoke again… " It’s not possible for Ritesh to remember all of you… but still let me try and started introducing each one in the room…

My turn came soon and

Shravya spoke again "And Ritesh!! I want you to meet this very special person… Narain… My Team Leader… He has been more than a TL, he is always there to help me when I am in trouble at work… he makes work so easy by guarding my back like a BROTHER… "

The word BROTHER came upon as a nail in the coffin. I felt the ground under me split. My love was shattering in front of my eyes and I could do nothing but smile and shake hands with this monster

Shravya said… "Narain!!! ooooh I just forgot… You wanted to tell me something… Go ahead… I am listening…"

I said... "Nothing Shravya… I just wanted to tell you that we have a client meeting tomorrow and I need to get back to office so I will leave now???"

She wore a look of disappointment which failed to resonate with the joy in her eyes… and said… "OOO Narain!!! not fair… the party has just begun… Ritesh has come all the way, missing his shift today, to be with us and you want to leave now… Stay for some time na please…”

I wore a dejected smile and said "Sorry Shravya, but I have to… I left my work half-way…"

I looked up at Ritesh covering my anger with a smile, trying to be sweet to him and said...

"Ritesh!!! Hard luck!!! Need to leave… will catch up with you later… but you please have a great time…" He promptly said… "I understand… work is priority…" I shrugged, bid farewell to all and stepped out, thinking how catastrophically my love ended.

The world seemed to collapse in front of me… Darkness reeled… My eyes swelled up and throat chocking…

“Buzzzzz” I felt my phone ring… it was Kumar, asking if I was done with the presentation… I told him I was out for tea and would resume in some time and send the presentation once done… He said "Good!!! We will go through it together at 7:30 AM… " I hung up and looked at the watch... it showed 00:45… knowing I had no time to rest, I rode back to office to get going with the presentation, after the most important relation in my life had come to a crashing end… I was crying from within… Unable to tell anyone or even cry out loud…

The presentation was a success and I was applauded by all… but only I knew what I had to pay…

As I came back to my desk “Beep Beep…. Beep Beep” My phone beeped, showing me a message from TM-HSBC, a reminder to my upcoming EMI for Shravya’s gift… Cursing myself I pressed the delete button and was staring at the phone as it showed metaphorically how the message is thrown to the bin… the same way Shravya threw me out of her life, when I heard a voice call me..

"Hi Narain!!"

I turned around...

She said "Hi! I am Pooja... and I have joined your team, guess you are Narain... Everyone was telling me about you..."

I could not help noticing her beautiful face... God... She was the most beautiful girl I ever saw.... my heart skipped a beat.