SwaRon OS: Procrastinated Beginnings

31^st October, 1973

She had been working in the Bengal regiment since January. As she turned eighteen in the autumn, the orphanage authority sent her to serve as a waitress for the Bengal Cantonment. Her school grades hadn't been satisfactory enough to land her up into a better job.

Listening the orders with a bowing head, executing them perfectly and smiling meekly to the soldiers while attending their petty chores was a customary routine for her. Her life was woven amongst the cobwebs of muted miseries. Dismayed by her woebegone situation, she walked unsteadily towards the Colonel's cabin. He had called her for a cup of tea. The brewing aroma of Darjeeling tea was the solitary respite for her grieving soul.

''May I come in Sir?'', she asked timidly, bowing her head in reverence.

"Yes sure Miss Sharon. I wonder what took you so long?", inquired the Colonel, peeping through his glass eyes.

Whilst a man of his position was supposed to be soldierly handsome, he was regrettably unattractive. A cavalier, who was still in his early thirties, but his whimsical attitude, often baffled his counterparts.

"I was tending the lawn", she replied nervously

"Oh, I see", he murmured, inhaling the exotic aroma of the Darjeeling tea.

"You may now leave Miss Sharon", remarked the Colonel contemptuously.

She nodded her head in affirmative and moved towards the busy corridors. The adjacent rooms were full of new recruits, strongly built young men, ready to defend the nation. They would occasionally drool over the waitresses. The new chaps were indeed fond of them.

Exasperated by the awkwardness, she rushed towards her room.

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"Hey Sharon, did you see the new recruits, promising, aren't they? Did you notice the way they looking at us, such desperate souls, huh?", asked Molly, her voluble roommate.

"Hmm", she mumbled softly.

"Sharon, you appear a bit exhausted. Have some rest dear. I'm going to the kitchen, will see you later, bye."

She bid a calm adieu to her friend and lied down on the cot.

Exhausted, oh yes, she was exhausted; fed up of her dreary life; dirty yellow hands, stale-smelling aprons and her tangled tresses. Not a single creature looked at her. While her fellow waitresses silently cherished the persistent stares, she poignantly cursed her hideous form. A sharp knock on the door awakened her from her sadistic slumber.

"General Singh wants a coffee", said the door attendant.

"Yeah, I'm coming", she replied dimly.

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As she walked out of General Singh's cabin, she overheard some eccentric voices.

"General Singh, meet our new recruit, Mr. Swayum Shekhawat. He has topped the NDA examination and his academic records are consistently brilliant."

"Mr. Shekhawat, we welcome you to the National Defense Academy. We want you to join the Bengal regiment as our Lieutenant General."

She could sense the General beaming with pride.

"I'm obliged Sir and will definitely try my best to contribute towards the defense administration", replied the new recruit with a humble salute.

"We will take a leave now. I will guide Mr. Shekhawat to the Grand Hall", said the officer.

Sharon swiftly made herself disappear behind the door curtains. As the officers walked towards the corridor, the Lieutenant General glanced at the door.

"Umm, Mr. Roy, don't you think there's something behind those curtains?"

"Easy, Mr. Shekhawat, must be the trifling breeze. There are other crucial things to care about. Allow me to guide you towards the Grand Hall."

"Yeah, must be the wind, let's go", replied Swayum, still having qualms about the breeze.

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Days passed and her desolation increased. Whenever she went to the Lieutenant General, her heart skipped a bit, her brain refused to respond, her actions grew strange. The other day, while she was supposed to serve him lemonade, she ended up serving milkshake. To her surprise, he silently sipped the drink and appreciated its taste. Weird, wasn't he? The very next day, while she was fixing his machinery, her hands trembled and her face grew completely pale; to which he anxiously asked, "Are you okay, Miss Sharon?"

She couldn't utter a word; instead she ran away from the cabin, closed herself behind the doors and cried furiously.

There was something about this chap, he didn't ignore her, he didn't deny her presence, instead, he admired her, cared for her. Why, why he should take so much trouble about her? Conscience, humanity? But was she even worth that? Rancid clothes, dirty toe nails and bare feet; why the hell on the earth, did he care about her?

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23^rd November 1973

"Miss Sharon, can I come inside?"

"Yeah sure, Mr. Shekhawat, but I fail to apprehend, what made the Reverential Lieutenant General come to a servant's room?

A servant, was that all she thought of herself?, he mumbled inaudibly.

"Sharon, you are certainly much more than a servant to me. A beautiful human being, a clean-spirited angel", he said, voicing his thoughts.

Unable to suppress her quandaries anymore, she yelled over him.

"Huh, is that really true Mr. Shekhawat? Why the hell do I appear alluring to you? I'm just an ugly waitress, a repulsive creature, who is ashamed of herself. And you, you are the Reverential Lieutenant General, a man of supreme authority, a person of prominent position. You don't deserve me; you don't deserve my filthy being."

"Sharon, you aren't a filthy being. Perhaps, you are the most wonderful person that I have ever met. A gallant lady, a woman of substance and who says you are hideous? You are gorgeous Sharon", he said firmly.

"Gorgeous, whom are you fooling Mr. Shekhawat? Yourself, right? Why do you want to ridicule your prestige by being with a waitress?"

"I don't care about the jesting; let them say anything they want. The fact is that I love you and I need you, Sharon", he spoke forcefully.

"Mr. Shekhawat, I would appreciate if you are least concerned about my life. Please leave the room; you are putting my job at stake. My work is my sole identity and you don't mean anything to me", she retorted angrily.

He stared her face in disillusion. He was dejected, completely shocked. Unable to recover the loss, he whispered quietly, "I'm sorry Sharon." He stood there for minutes, trying to gulp down the truth and walked away to the crowds.

"I don't deserve you Swayum, I just don't deserve you", she spilled out crying heavily.

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So, how's it? It's a completely random thought and I hope you enjoyed reading it. Pratik bhaiya, thanks for encouraging me to post it, else I wouldn't have posted it ever.

This OneShot is dedicated to Mannu a.k.a. magical_mania. She recently dedicated an entire update to me, so here's your return gift sweetie. Hope you liked it, biting my nails in apprehension.

And to the rest of my readers, do let me know if you enjoyed the OS or not. And as always, love you all🤗

Index-

Part 1- Page 1

Part 2- Page 5