Hello madam, it's 8 am,' Lavanya woke me with a start.
'What? Is it already morning?' I questioned them with
a puppy look on my face.
'Yes, and you have an Interview to attend,' Rach spoke,
staring at me with a toothbrush in one hand and the other
on her waist. My head hurts due to lack of sleep.
'Is that for me?' I pointed at the toothbrush in Rachita's
hand which had red toothpaste on it.
'No it's for me, go get your own,' groaned Rachita.
'So, is it Friday today? and where am I going?' I asked
as Lavanya pulled me out of bed.
'Did you even look at the company profile or the
location?' Rach had a furious look on her face. But the
toothbrush in her hand made her look like a Barbie movie
character who usually tortured barbie's. I smirked as I
pictured it in my head.
'Stop imagining! Go and get shower immediately,' they
said. As I walked in, the water felt as empty and cold as my
soul. "The truth is I have changed a lot in these few months,
there is nothing that I am interested in, there is nothing that I
want to do, there is nothing which makes me feel good. But
still, I pretend that I am fine. Because I don't want them to be
the victims of my emptiness. And now I have to attend this
interview. Because sometimes I feel that I am a burden to my
friends… Fact is I don't want to add to their problems
anymore…"
I walked out of the shower with a smile to cheer them
up and saw that everything was arranged for me. My dress
was ironed and my bag was ready. I feel blessed to have
them around me and sometimes really wonder what it
would be like if they weren't there. But yet another truth
pops up that I am like this because of them. "Funny how
time controls us."
'Why are you even getting ready? anyhow you will go to
sleep now,' I questioned Rach as she was very much keen
on puffing the foundation on her face.
'Not today, I have a meeting with a client at 10.'
'Aren't you sick of working so much? I mean you were
working all night and now a meeting.'
'Don't worry, It was an important project. After the
meeting is done it's 3 days off for me.'
'Every Saturday and Sunday is a holiday for you,' I
screamed, making a face at her as she laughed at her poor
joke.
As we walked down for breakfast Mr. Kai greeted us
with a broad smile.
'So, are our Princesses ready?' He asked.
Our landlord, Mr. Shankar Kai turned fifty-six a week
ago but looks a decade younger than his actual age. His
light reddish beard makes him look young. He has a
wheatish complexion with a round face, with which you
could actually draw a perfect circle. He is a happy-go-lucky
person married to a loving wife and blessed with a son and
a daughter.
'Where is Lavanya?' Rach asked.
'She is out with her mother, they went to a temple,
hope they will be back before you leave,' Mr. Kai got back to
his files. Lavanya is Mr. Kai's daughter. She goes by
Lavanya Kai. I know it sounds very old-fashioned.
Lavanya's grandma gave her the name in her best friend's
memory.
'We are here,' Lavanya came in with Mrs. Kai. Mrs.
Ramya Kai was not as modern as her name sounds. She
came in with a "pooja thali" which she took to 'Devi' Temple
nearby. She looked just like her daughter, or we can say
Lavanya looked most like her Mom, except for her
complexion which was inherited from her father. Lavanya
and Mrs. Kai always visited the temple together on Fridays.
'I think I will leave now,' I said, as I finished my juice
and headed towards my room to get my bag.
'Wait, Arjun will drop you,' Mrs. Kai said. My heart
sank the moment I heard his name.