Happenstance?
Part 2?
I just couldn’t believe I had accompanied an unknown man, who just held my hand and asked me to come with him. His subtle persuasion was enough for me to go, or may be, I just needed a person beside me for my own situation wasn’t quite encouraging.
I sat beside him, looking inside the luxurious car he had. Clearly they were rich as fabled, the whole city kept on talking about them. I noticed he had made a movement, he was staring blankly outside the window, his hand on the bouquet, when the man sitting on the front seat asked him something.
“Sir, you’ve gotten wet, Mam has been asking for you, you need to freshen up. She won’t like it if you turn up like this.”
I was waiting for him to answer the man’s concerns, but he chose to ignore it.
The awkward silence needed to be broken. I thought of asking him.
“Why did you ask me to come with you?”
“Because I needed someone beside me.”
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Not the worst though.”
He had my handkerchief in his hand and kept on wiping the roses. I was just sure something wasn’t right.
The car stopped in front of a huge gate. The guards peeped in, lowered their gaze as he saw them, and opened the gates. And there was the palace, huge and magnanimous.
I was astonished, there were trees and fountains everywhere. The big house stood elegantly in the midst of beautiful lawns, completed with the beauty of flowers spread far and wide. The Car stopped in front of the main door, and some people came up efficiently, opening the doors.
I saw a man gesturing me to come down. Just a mere company of that crazy man, Om, fetched me all the respect. It was ironic, for I didn’t even know of him.
We entered the house, with an entourage of servants coming after us. It was so depressing, so many eyes on me, and I had never even dreamt of all this.
I saw the house, decorated with expensive pieces, sprawling carpets. And then my eyes met a woman, serious and somehow similar to Om. She must be his mother.
“Where have you been Om? Look at you, my dear, freshen up. And who is she?”
She cast a hard look on me. She smiled a bit, but wasn’t pleasured at all.
“She helped me mom,” he turned towards me, “come with me.” And again I was abiding him. He held my hand and took me upstairs.
While I kept on dashing by the magnificent house, the servants saw me curiously. I gave a fake smile and kept on greeting everyone I came across.
We reached the room, sprawling but simple. He let me in and I didn’t know what to say or do.
“Sit down.”
“I still have so many questions to ask. But the first one has to be, why did you bring me here? I just gave you a handkerchief. You can give it back to me any day. What was the need of all this?”
“I prefer to be asked one question at a time. Keep calm dear.” The unsmiling face still had a lot of charm.
“First things first, let me wear something better, and I’ll answer all that you’ve to ask.”
And before my reply, he just entered a cabinet and closed its doors.
I sat and gave all the events a thorough thought. I looked at the canvas and the colours kept beside it. There were paintings everywhere, the room was beautiful, in a very serene way. The huge garden could be observed from the huge windows.
He came out wearing some casual clothes, tying his messed hair into a bun and sat in front of me.
“Now that you’ve freshened up, can we talk?” I preferred to know all that was going on in his mind.
“I took you here, to thank you, you just helped me when I needed it the most.”
“But there were other ways too. Firstly tell me what had happened to you, if you wish.”
“I had proposed her, she broke my heart and I was standing there completely broken.”
“Okay…..and I happened to be there. Would you’ve just done the same if someone else had helped you?”
“I think no.” He looked straight into my eyes.
“You don’t even know my name.”
“But I’d like to.”
“Gauri Sharma. Nice to meet you.”
“Omkara Singh Oberoi. Nice to meet you too.”
“Well, you seem to be in a problem as well.” He just read my mind, being an absolute stranger.
“Yes, and I was walking back to my home.”
“So how can I help you?” It was strange enough. Why would he help me?
“Why would you help me?”
“And why did you help me then?”
“I just thought…….”
“I think you can share your agony, just like I shared mine.”
“I lost my job,” I continued hesitatingly, “and my brother ran away with all our money. My mother was very sad, and I was going back home. We’re not broke though, but we aren’t left with much money to last even a week.”
“That’s equal to being broke.”
I hanged my head, I just gave myself some solace, thinking we weren’t broke. He just made it worse.
“Sorry for making it worse, but you really are broke.”
“I know that, but I’m just thinking of
my next steps.”
“Try to get a job, as soon as possible, and don’t lose hope. We often lose the easiest battles after losing hope.”
He got up, opened a drawer, and gave me an idol of Bappa.
“I get all my strength from Bappa. Keep this with you, he’ll endow you with the strength to fight everything that comes your way.”
Strange, he was broken some moments ago, and now worried for me and thought of helping me.
“And what about you? You’re heartbroken and sad.”
“I just know how to heal myself.” And he just looked at me, and gave a smile, melting into that straight face.
I could feel myself brightening up, there had to be something really enchanting in his smile.
I got up and saw the garden. “So beautiful, this garden is full of flowers.” I was very impressed.
“Really? Well I planted all the flowers myself. You want to have a look?”
“I would like to, but have you really planted this garden all by yourself?”
“Yes, and roses are my favorite. Let’s go.”
We left for the garden, and as soon as I reached there, I saw a rose plant, which had been plucked of all it’s flowers.
“Who did this? This plant has no flowers and all the others are in full bloom!” I was surprised.
“This was the first rose plant I had got for myself. I plucked all it’s flowers, made a bouquet and got it for Inaya, and all it got was scorn and hate.”
“I can understand, money makes people susceptible to treacheries.” I looked at him, meeting his gaze.
“People are important, getting hurt is just a stage, because after someone denounces, someone would be there to hold you up. Like you were there for me, Gauri.”
Was that a pleasantry? Well it made me feel good nevertheless.
???????
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This story would go a bit far now. Keep yourselves rooted and this is exam season, my extended wishes to all the students. Don’t ponder, do study and give your best, never wait for miracles. That works always. Thank you for reading, do give a comment or a thumbs up as you wish.
Lots of Bhalobasha,
AditiB.