Once in the dim
moonlight, a man; unshaved for long, dim eyes, long hairs to seem like a freak,
a dim blue shirt improperly tucked in, white pants which turned almost to a
light brown by the day’s work at firm, he was walking through the
moon-illuminated dark path after getting down from the only bus to reach from
his very widely known firm. He was sick from inside since a long time but seeking
to cheer from outside. He looked sad and grief clearly seen at his face which
made a strange erroneous image of his personality. He was judging the life he
is leading, about the obvious results, interpretations, philosophies and that
entire sort of things. He was positive in his attitude that kept him moving
through in his dull life. He was passing through the darkest side of the road
and as he passed through he heard a hard, stern voice from his back. In
anxiety, he looked back for the source of the sound. He saw an old wrinkled
bright face from behind.
It
was a lonely Old Man standing straight, pride reflecting on his face. Young Man
paused to hear.
Old
Man said:
‘You
seem to be hungry for days; I will give you food and in return could you help
me out in cleaning my home?’
Young
Man seemed stunned; all his egotism emerged out of him to protest the Old Man’s
misunderstanding. He stood there for a moment and reviewed his state. ‘Old Man
is apparently right’, he thought to himself. Young Man missed doing any unrealistic,
irrational or illogical comments, works, and talks after his college days where
he enjoyed the most. Young Man tried to make it a hit back to the past.
Young
Man said:
‘Thank
You Sir, that’s a great aid for me. I haven’t had food for last 3 days. I could
do any work you assign. You will be blessed for the support’
Old
Man asked to follow him through to his small but beautifully decorated home
with the nature works. Old Man asked out in curiosity:
‘How
did you get these good pants, shoes and a bag? Is it a stolen one?’
Old
Man chuckled!
Young
Man brilliantly made up saying:
‘This
was from my previous master; he gave me in return of the jobs being done at his
home. He was a nice gentleman like you, Sir’
Old
Man grinned!
The
internals of home were neatly arranged and structures were with architectural
precision to please the eyes of any, coming in. Young Man followed and did all
the works that were being assigned. He was tired at the end physically but he
wasn’t from heart, from mind. He was given with strong, delicious, hot dishes
that Old Man has made for him. Old Man was happy for his work aids and Young
Man for his food. Young Man realized the importance of mind-satisfaction over
the others. Young Man deserved it more, but he couldn’t achieve this eternal
happiness of satisfaction of the work you do. He got lost back to the thoughts,
but this time the chamber of dreams opened up. He Thanked the Old Man.
Old
Man said:
‘Come
back tomorrow’
‘Definitely’
Young
Man praised and walked out to his own home. He was smiling throughout the walk
back home. He felt stronger. The grief has gone, he has got someone to replace
or a facsimile of heart. He could sleep that night early without a dose. He dreamt for the very first time after the
day he had last seen her.
Next
morning with his usual prompt attitude but a bizarre additional unsullied contentment
glazing around his face, he reached his firm. As he entered his cubicle, the
phone on his table started ringing. He quickly picked up to talk.
A
Harsh Voice said:
‘Come
to my office now’ and hung-up
Young
Man with dim-face, walked over to his boss’s room.
From
the door he heard the recurring shouts of his boss on other employees. He
pushed the door open to ask for permission to GET IN; prior to it a shout came
to him asking:
‘Did
you complete the project invoice corrections?’
Young
Man gently replied:
‘Almost
done, I promise you to get it done by today sir’
‘You
could just do the almost part; you don’t know how to complete. You are just a
waste to this firm, indeed waste to this land. Do you know anything that you
could complete?’
Boss
asked to taunt him with a wry smile ON his face, all others in understanding
and compliance got into laughter to satirize.
‘You
give back the records; I would complete it of my own’
He
concluded with a sarcastic move of face out of Young Man’s eye which was his
deception in real. It was the 183rd time that the project he was
about to complete was took over by his boss. He was just 1 tier down to his
boss’s place at the time he joined the firm, but now his boss is on the topmost
tier and the Young Man is in the same place. It’s been 5 years since he has
been working on the same table, same position.
Young
Man was innocent; he gave the 99% complete project invoice corrections to his
Boss. Boss got through with the 1% and submitted the mail back to head office.
Soon an appreciation mail came up for the rapid pace of work completion and a
smile turned up on the Boss’s face which looks absolutely similar to the
butcher’s face when he gets money in return to the meat he vends. Young Man was
staring at his master’s smiling face. Young Man smiled either. Boss shifted
back his eyes on the smiling Young Man’s face, he said shouting:
‘Get
back to your new assignments’
Young
Man silently in grief of his lost 183rd assignment, moved to his
cubicle. During his passage various pretty faces with ugly minds gave a passive
smile over his obvious conditions. His mob started ringing; he checked out the
name and dropped the call. On the mob it read:
’22 missed calls’
He
saw that with pain inside. He couldn’t resist the bit of tear that traced
through the eyelids, nose and to the polluted floor of the rooms corner where
he was standing. The tear that he lit cleaned the slightest part of floor, and
that showed up the original white color of the same floor. He borrowed some
happiness from the same fact that: My tear cleaned the fume of floor, at least
I am needed by them.
He
then got fed into the usual assignment works and the aggressive Boss didn’t
allow him have lunch, Young Man fearfully obeyed him. Young Man thought to
himself,
‘My
Boss is right, why I am required here? I am a waste. I couldn’t do anything’.
His
innocence confused his knowledge about self.
Tired
Young Man traced back the same dark path back home. Old Man stood there waiting
for him. Old Man called up and smiling Young Man followed to activate the deal.
Old Man opened his bunch of stories, experiences this time.
Old
Man sat on a chair and narrated his story of his
no-marriage-on-an-unsuccessful-love to the Young Man. Old Man was keen to
impart all the minute details about his abortive love which were conflictingly
the only memories that he cherished. Old Man’s inquisitiveness on Young Man
made him ask:
‘Do
you have any such love?’
Young
Man checked back his phone, it read:
’49 missed calls’
Young
Man replied with his tear lit up to the eye lids and wiping out:
‘No,
sir’
Old Man sighed in discontentment.
Old Man with the same respect and love had made the food for his so
called servant which he fed. Young Man was happy again, for the satisfaction he
received.
He realized that the old say is very true:
‘A Bad Job with Good Boss is better than a
Good Job with a Bad Boss’
He
had another peaceful night.
But
the phone still flashed saying:
’73 missed calls’
The
same routine followed the next day and he was being yet again exploited by his
great Boss. After the office hours, he got into the only bus to home. He took
out his phone and kept his eyes glued to the picture that he opened on his
phone. It was his picture along with her,
taken on their 4th Anniversary of love. He went down to the memories of his college days where he
desperately loved her, but she never
accepted his love. And later on with a course of successive events he got his
deserving love. He was absolutely
happy then.
A
gentle familiar touch on his shoulder brought him back to present. It was her; his Lady.
He
got a big blow. He asked:
‘You?
Here?’ He was searching for words.
Lady
stays at a different place far away from his and is pursuing a job, but came
right here for him. She is practical, real, smart and happy irrespective of the
circumstances. She understands people’s feelings, specifically the Young Man’s.
Lady replied:
‘I
am here for you,’ with a greeting smile on her face
She
sat next to him and they kept silent for some time. It was the high intensity
of their relationship which kept them in the state of tranquility. Lady has
empathy over him. Lady figured out his uneasiness. Lady said:
‘It’s
OK, I know you aren’t doing fine nowadays’
The
Young Man said:
‘No,
it isn’t. I am sorry; I didn’t pick up your calls’
Lady
said:
‘You
don’t need to be sorry to your lover’ she said smiling
That
smile emerged out of her heart to dry the tear hitting the doors of his eyelids
everyday in his work life. He was wrenched to the paradise containing love and
happiness; The Lady’s Smile. His mind twirled. He said:
‘You
are the only worth achievement I have got’
Lady
said:
‘That’s
very true,’ again smiling on imparting her modesty with her eyebrows launching
up in grace. She always loved being praised by him.
‘So
tell me, what happened?’
The
Young Man explained him about the discontent towards his firm and the changes
lead by it. The problems he runs through. Lady was compassionately listening to
her lover’s sorrow. Lady was genuinely concerned about the Young Man’s problem
but alike the Young Man, Lady kept positive.
The
bus reached Young Man’s destination. Young Man held the Lady’s hand softly but
locked and walked up through other route to home so as to escape the Old Man.
He wanted the covert of him to be hidden before both Old Man and Lady.
After
reaching home, Lady made food for him. They ate, he always liked her food. He
exclaimed:
‘Awesome’
They
were both 25 years old. They didn’t marry yet, they never thought much about
it. Life after college was as busy as seen. Young Man arranged the bed for the
Lady. He said:
‘You
may sleep; I have some works to be done. Our GM is paying visit to firm tomorrow’
Lady
replied:
‘I
need to talk’
‘Tell’
he sat down
‘I
don’t know if it’s the right time, but I need to tell’
‘Go
on’
‘I
want to marry you’
Young
Man was astounded!
7
years ago, Young Man said the same thing to The Lady in college. He was gauging
the changes that came to his life within this period. Young Man kept silent.
Lady
said:
‘Don’t
need to be worried about it, but please think on it’
It
froze Young Man’s heart. He said:
‘Do
I deserve a girl like you?’
Her
childish humbleness spoke out again when she lifted her eyebrows again. Lady
replied:
‘I
am lucky to have you! Good Night!’
She
gave a dedicated kiss to him on his right cheek and covered her face with
blanket in shy. Young Man’s solidified adrenaline got his heat and ran in excitement.
It was enough for him to be satisfied and happy. He went on to do the works
assigned on the GM visit tomorrow moving to the other room after texting a
message to her:
‘I
love you’
She
replied:
‘I
love you too’
He
slept on the chair. He woke up and asked her to stay back at home and travel
through the city. He rushed to the firm
saying:
‘I
will be late, back home’
GM
visit gave obvious pressures to his Boss, which he transferred on to Young Man.
Young Man was busy with his works.
One
of the employees said:
‘It’s
been said that our old GM has also come along to watch over the data’s’
Young
Man replied:
‘Why
does he want to know that?’
‘He
was the best GM of our firm ever; he is the one who took our firm to this
height. You might have heard about Dr. Prabhakar. It’s him!’
‘Yes,
I have. Is he here?’
‘Yeah,
but nobody is allowed to meet him’
Young
Man aborted his wish to meet him.
The
Old GM was analyzing the workers through the CCTV camera, while he got passed
through Young Man’s face. He scrolled to get a zoomed picture of Young Man. He
identified Young Man. He asked Young Man’s Boss about Young Man. Boss with
excessive esteem to his-boss, said:
‘He
is the Second-Assistant Manager, joined 4 years ago’
Old
GM asked:
‘Why
didn’t he get promoted since long?’
‘He
is a hopeless surplus, Sir’
Old
GM was confused. He was absolutely in the middle of nowhere.
After
the work at firm, Young Man took his bus back to Old Man’s home. Old Man was
having a worried puzzled look. Old Man kept numb. Young Man carried out the
works and sat down to have food as per the existing deal. Old Man taking all
the courage and with a perturbing mystifying face asked:
‘Who
are you?’
Young
Man to-end-the-play, said:
‘I
am Krish, working as Second-Assistant Manager at a firm’
Old
Man was convinced. But to continue, now with the start of his play; he asked:
‘You
work at a firm on a decent position yet you look terribly ill, bodily weak, and
mentally feeble?’
Young
Man described the life he is passing through and the intricacy, frustration,
catastrophe that he dealt after his college days-where he imagined about a much
broad life that he could trail. He detailed his college days filled of ideas,
dreams, longings and confidence and life after. He explained the grief of life
ahead. Sharing it to Old Man gave Young Man the peace to his essence.
Old
Man was dazed to see a versatile character and an owner of very unique
personality whom he considered as his servant. Young Man never thought of
having a disregard to his self-esteem due to this misunderstanding.
Old
Man kept mute along the phase and Young Man in relief of revealing his distress
kept calm. While the Young Man was walking out, Old Man called up and said:
‘You
don’t need to come again’ with a mourning smile
Young
Man replied:
‘May
I?’
‘You’re
Wish’
‘I
guess some tomorrow will make everything
right’
‘May
that tomorrow come soon, son’
Young
Man walked down the lanes to his home where his adore lay. He had a nice day to
sink his sleep in dreams that he never used to watch. His sleep belonged to him
now.
Next
Morning was a bit noisy due to the falling of big drops of rain over the thick
dry ground which produced a glee smell of mud that enriched the positive within.
The
Lady stayed!
Young
Man went to firm. It was absolutely a different scenario that he passed through
while entering the firm. He was honored with round of claps, cheers, standing
ovations. He was happy from nowhere. He didn’t know the reason, but yes he
didn’t want to. His ecstasy within was unbounded right then. He was less
bothered on the reason, but the news came:
‘He
is being promoted to the place where Young
Man’s Boss worked at. And the second
news is that His Boss is being
terminated from the firm’
He
was ecstatic and so as to dilute the happiness which he acquired at that
moment, he ran from that place over
to 4 km’s to adulterate the level of happiness he achieved. He reached his home
and took his soul with him and enjoyed the feet he achieved. The Lady was
happy.
Lady
thought it the appropriate moment to ask:
‘Will
you marry me?’
‘Any
doubt!’
Tears
brushed past her blackened 21-eyelid hairs instantly and she hugged him so
tight that she could make him feel how much she loves him.
His
tomorrow has come; The Young Man’s.
Young Man came to know that this was all done by the Old GM after recognizing
him. Young Man wished to thank him, but Old GM demanded his privacy. Young Man
never tried to contact the Old GM later.
Young
Man convinced his and the Lady’s parents for marriage. The
marriage was fixed and most of all the important guests were invited. Young Man
thought of inviting the Old Man. Young Man considered Old Man as his luck. He
decided to take his Lady along to Old Man’s place after telling about the story
between him and Old Man. It’s been a long time, since he went there. He wanted
to introduce his love and about the tomorrow-that-has-come.
He
saw a huge number of people surrounding outside and inside the Old Man’s home
from far. They reached the place, walked in and got that traumatizing news:
‘Old
Man is dead’
Young
Man couldn’t control the emotions and the eyes watered rapidly and at even
pace. His breathe summoned the grief of a lost friend. He froze. He reached the
funeral and that is where he was taken aback as he saw the writing’s on grave:
Mr.
Prabhakar (Ex-GM)
Young
Man knelt down with his forehead touching the grave, uncontrolled tears along
the fast breathes flowing on. The Lady couldn’t act in response in any way. She
placed her arm over his shoulders. He cried along the day. He realized, he has
just watched The God; The Old Man; The Old GM.
He
took the invitation card from his pocket and kept it over the grave.
It
read:
‘KRISH WEDS
PINKY’
We
cordially invite you to have your esteemed presence for making it a grand
event.
He took his pen and wrote in to-column:
Dear
Friend,
Mr.
Prabhakar
For anything,
Write to:
Harikrishna M Menon,
Room No. 107, House No. 3-3,
Abhishrey Executive PG Academy,
Beside Khazana Jewellers,
Chaithanyapuri 'X' Road,
Dilsukhnagar, Hyderabad,
Telangana State- 500060
