Chapter 1
An agitated Khushi shifted restlessly on the bulky bed. It squeaked everytime her weight shifted, and her back would be a little stiff when she got up due to the hard mattress. She squinted at the windows, where curtains were drawn, shadowing the room in slight darkness. She got up, walking to the window, pushing the flimsy material of curtains aside, welcoming the warmth of the sun rays that were slowly peeking into the room.
" Aye titaliya! Sleeping till now? Hey Devi Maiyya, wake up and help me in the kitchen! " an unknown voice filled her mind. She spun, hoping to see the owner of the irritated voice, but as usual found no one.
"Dekh kya rahi ho! Jao kuch kaam karo! Hai re Nand-Kishore"
She sighed and shrugged, an odd feeling creeping onto her spine. It was a little over 5 30am. Deciding she won't be able to get anymore sleep, she went to the bathroom to freshen up for the day.
A smiling Sheetal was humming to herself while she was making coffee. The timer of the toaster went off, indicating that the bread had been toasted. Placing the toasts onto two plates, Sheetal arranged them onto the dining table. She frowned when she saw all the boxes laid around the house. She would need to start unpacking and cleaning the place up soon. She grabbed the coffee mugs and kept it on the table, while bringing out a basket of fruits as well.
"Khushi!" she called out
"Coming!" Khushi replied, applying eyeliner and adjusting her dupatta. She made the bed and joined Sheetal at the dining table.
"Sheetal! Morning. Wasn't expecting you to be up so early" Khushi smiled at her
"I am not a morning person, but I'm so excited about the job! I was so nervous i couldnt even sleep!" Sheetal said excitedly.
"You were excited and nervous at the same time?" laughed Khushi, drinking the strong coffee.
"You know me" Sheetal shook her head, munching onto the toast as Khushi nodded.
"How're you now?" Sheetal asked seriously after a while.
Khushi looked up at her and considered her question. How is she? She herself didn't know. She had come to dislike that question a lot, people were constantly asking her that ever since she had awoken from her unconsciousness. She looked at Sheetal, her expressions soft and concerned. Khushi decided to be honest with her four month old friend.
"I don't know" she said. "I still hear the voices, but i can't put a name to it. I feel helpless. I feel annoyed. I just wish i knew who the voices were" she added
Sheetal reached over and covered Khushi's hand with hers. "It's okay Khushi. It's normal to feel this way. Remember what Solani said? Don't pressurize yourself, just go with the flow"
Khushi took a deep breath and nodded at her friend. She was lucky to have Sheetal. Otherwise what would she have done? Where would she have been? She looked around her and saw all the boxes around in a mess and turned to Sheetal with a look of dismay.
"Sheetal, we need to unpack all the boxes and arrange everything! It's a mess"
"I know" Sheetal shrugged "We will do it after my job interview" she smiled sheepishly
Khushi patted her hand and concentrated on her toast.
"Uh, Khushi?" Sheetal asked hesitantly
"Yea?"
"Have you thought about what Solani asked you?" Sheetal asked hopefully
Khushi stiffened and looked at Sheetal with narrowed eyes.
"You know what I have to say about that. I can't marry Maheshji." Khushi fingered the diamond ring on her ring finger, staring at it in a daze
"But Khushi, he really likes you. I know you know each other for only four months, but still-" Sheetal got cut off
"I know Maheshji is a good man. While it's true that i only know him for four months, it's also true that i am engaged, or possibly even married" Khushi said exasperatedly, lifting her ring finger at Sheetal. She felt tears swelling in her eyes;
the blanks in her life suddenly overwhelming her.
"Shh Khushi, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought Mahesh up." Sheetal squeezed Khushi's hand.
"So anyway, what will you do while I'm away at the interview?" Sheetal asked cheerfully, changing the subject.
Khushi wiped her tears and smiled weakly
"Maybe I will start unpacking" she replied
Sheetal groaned, peeling the skin of a ripe banana from the fruit basket.
"No way Khushi. We will do the packing together! Besides, you should do something else, something fun to distract yourself"
Suddenly Sheetal's eyes widened and she beamed at Khushi, who stared back at her perplexed.
"Khushi!!" Sheetal squealed
"You should totally come for the interview with me!" Sheetal clapped
Khushi almost choked on the coffee. She wiped her mouth with the napkin and stared at Sheetal incredulously
"What? It's a perfect distraction!" Sheetal added
"And just what will i do there while you are having the interview? Wave to you from outside the cabin?" Khushi asked sarcastically
"Of course not" Sheetal rolled her eyes "What I meant was, why don't you take the interview as well? There's an opening for the Personal Assistant position which will be perfect for you."
Khushi's eyes widened as she swallowed
"PA? That means working right alongside the boss? Yea, I don't think so"
"Khushi! C'mon it'll be great. You only said you feel bored at home right? So come to work with me! It'll be so much fun together! Pretty please? And anyway, this will be a good distraction. Plus, the PA won't have to do much, it's us workers that have to do all the work" Sheetal said with mock anger.
Khushi smiled at Sheetal, thinking over it for a moment.
"Then why don't you apply to be the PA??" Khushi asked, amused as Sheetal's eyes rounded
"I did not put myself through a degree and travel all the way to Delhi and rent this place" she looked around at the new place " to become a PA! I can't even make proper coffee, how can i be someone's personal assistant?" Sheetal made a disgusted face at the liquid in her mug
"It's not that bad" Khushi winced slightly at the strong bitter coffee
"Who are you kidding? Anyway just think about it. I think being outside will do you a lot of good" Sheetal said
"What time is the interview?" Khushi asked in a small voice
"In three hours. You'll come? I will help you with all the application forms, I still have extras!" Sheetal's eyes sparkled
Khushi remained silent, debating whether on not to join an office at this point of time. But there was nothing more she could do, was there? Dr. Solanki already told her she just had to wait and depend on time to fill in the blanks. So why not do something useful till then? Slowly she nodded, conceding.
Sheetal squealed in delight and got off her chair, coming to Khushi's side and hugging her tightly
"This is going to be so great!" Sheetal smiled widely as Khushi joined in the smile and hugged her back.
Half an hour later, both the girls cleared away the dishes and sat at the dining table with the application forms and a file which was supposed to be Khushi's portfolio. A happy Sheetal was arranging the forms while a nervous Khushi bit on her nails.
"Sheetal" Khushi's hand closed over Sheetal's one, stopping her from arranging the forms anymore "I dont think i can do this. A portfolio? I'm supposed to have a portfolio? But i dont have any resume or working experience! Why would this company want to hire me?" Khushi tried to reason
"Khushi, we are doing this and it's final. So what if you dont have a portfolio? In that case, they'll just make you do role play I guess" Sheetal argued
"Role play means?" a confused Khushi asked
"Role play means the boss will just ask you to do some stuff in the office, kind of like a trial thing, arranging files, making coffee, scheduling appointments, that sort of thing" Sheetal said breezily. Noticing her friend's worried face, she used a method she knew would definitely work on her
"Why, scared are you Khushi Kumari Gupta?" Sheetal challenged
"Lagi shart? Mein kabhi harta nahi hu, Khushi Kumari Gupta. I don't ever lose" an arrogant voice floated through the room and a handsome face with a smirk flashed across Khushi's eyes. Who was he? He seemed familiar, was he a friend? A relative?
"Khushi?" Sheetal poked her shoulder, bringing Khushi out of her thoughts
"What're you thinking about? Please don't back out now" Sheetal said pleadingly
"Okay, I won't" Khushi said as Sheetal patted her hand reassuringly
After an hour and a half, both the girls got dressed for the office and packed some snacks along. They locked the apartment and headed to the roads to hail a rickshaw. While traveling to their destination, Khushi saw a jalebi stall along the street and immediately told the driver to halt, ran to the shop, bought a box of steaming fresh and hot jalebis and munched onto them. Sheetal dragged back Khushi to the waiting rickshaw, shoving her in the seat and getting in herself, all while mumbling something under her breath about being late.
"Khushi! Kitni jalebiya khati ho tum, phir be you don't ever put on any weight" an amused voice rang through and startled Khushi, immediately recognizing the voice to be the same as the arrogant one before who had confidently said he never loses.
She groaned. Who were these voices? Why don't they leave her alone? She stuffed another jalebi into her mouth just as Sheetal told the driver to turn in by the bus stop, announcing their arrival.
While Sheetal paid the driver, Khushi slowly got out of the rickshaw, the left overs of the jalebi packed away safely in the confines of her purse. She stared ahead at the magnificent white building before her. At the top right hand of the polished structure, the simple red logo branded the building. She looked at the two joined letters and tried to guess what they could mean. A sense of dejavu seeped through Khushi, but she pushed it aside.
Sheetal came up beside her, her expressions mirroring Khushi's as she stood in awe of the sophisticated building.
"It's huge isn't it" Sheetal said in wonder as Khushi wordlessly nodded in agreement, swallowing her saliva.
Coming out of her adoration first, an excited Sheetal linked her arm around Khushi's and pulled them to the entrance of the building. The same red logo of two joined letters greeted them by the huge front entrance door as the two security guards stood on each side of the doors.
"Welcome to AR" one of the guards said as he opened the glass door.
*Did not edit, sorry for any mistakes. Please like and comment, please? PMs sent to only those who are in my buddy list! Thanks for reading.*
Just can't believe I'm the first one
Party time ...🥳Thank you for a wonderful update
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