| |
Anuj moved upstairs to check his mail. It had been a while since he had checked his mailbox. And yes, he found one—it was from the UK’s Home Office. Anuj had applied for a work permit some time back, as not only Chase and Mason, but some of the smaller law firms too, had refused to consider his application form for a training contract on the grounds that he didn’t have a work permit.
He took the letter with him to his room. He tore the envelope and took out the neatly folded letter inside it. Anuj started to read. The first line was the standard: “Thank You for applying...”
Anuj awaited the bad news. He knew whenever something negative was to happen, the letters (or e-mails) usually started with a standard line like “Thank You for applying” or “We have considered your application” and blah blah blah...
Anuj’s blood went cold. He read the next few lines and realised that his apprehensions had once again proved to be correct. The UK Government had rejected his work permit application on the grounds that he didn’t have a job offer in hand. In fact, it went on to warn that by applying he had displayed “an intention to immigrate to the UK.” In lay man’s language, this meant that you didn’t want to leave the UK after your studies were over. This was a cardinal sin for any international student who came from Asia or Africa, and who incidentally was paying 300% more for his tuition fees than the local or EU student.
Anuj was flabbergasted. The firms won’t offer him a training contract because he didn’t have a work permit. And the UK Home Office won’t give him a work permit because he didn’t have a job offer. What a Catch-22 situation!
The letter sounded like a final nail in Anuj’s coffin. But he wasn’t disappointed. Anuj had got used to rejections and was surprised how well he’d taken it this time. He was only relieved that the UK Home Office didn’t ban him from entering the UK forever. The letter had ended on a positive note. It had mentioned clearly that the UK Government was rejecting his work permit application this time. He was free to apply for a permit in the future and that the letter had “no impact on his future ability to visit the country.”
Anuj had to take things in his stride and prepare to move back to India after his course.
“May be God has something else in store for you. All may not be over,” consoled the voice inside his head.
But what about Ella? Anuj had vowed to protect her. But how?
Anuj felt so helpless. Ella was already admitted to a hospital, and he had no access to her. And now his days were numbered in the UK. What could he really do?
He closed his eyes to think of a solution.
And suddenly Nisha Sharma’s image came to his mind.
“Were you scared what would happen to Raj when you were gone?” Anuj had asked.
Nisha had smiled.
“Of course. I was concerned. I knew—without me—Raj would be so shattered. I feared that he would abandon his movie career or move on to a path of self-destruction. And I certainly didn’t want that to happen. Nothing would have pained me more than to see my loving husband destroying himself after I was gone. I couldn’t let that happen. At any cost.
But time was short. I knew my days were numbered. So I wanted to leave Raj with memories—happy memories. I wanted to give him something he could carry with him wherever he went. Things that would remind him of me and also act as a source of inspiration,” Nisha had said.
“And what did you leave him with?” Anuj had asked.
“A pen drive that contained some music I had specifically composed for him—and a letter.”
A letter?
That’s it. Anuj could certainly slip a letter to Ella— that could remind her of him and may be, give her the strength to overcome her illness.
The idea excited Anuj. But there were so many things on his plate. When should he then write that letter?
Now, insisted the voice in his head.
Anuj tore a piece of paper from one of his notebooks. He grabbed a pen and tried to write. The words weren’t flowing. He didn’t know where to begin and how to end.
The matter was sensitive. Anuj needed to picture Ella reading the letter and imagine how she would react. Will the letter uplift her spirits and make her happy? Or will she feel rejected—that even Anuj, who she trusted so much, saw her as a person who was mentally disturbed.
Anuj knew that the best way to break the writer’s block is to start writing. And that’s what he did after gathering his thoughts for a few seconds.
The first few sentences were the most difficult to write. So he kept those sentences simple. And then the words started flowing.
Writing to a person suffering from an eating disorder is not easy. You have to understand that anorexics are very sensitive people especially where their weight and appearance issues come in.
Anuj paused. Should he talk about weight gain? Nay, that might make her feel worse. Should he say that she has lost too much weight? No. No. No. That may actually encourage her to continue on the self-destructive path she was treading on.
Anuj got down to writing again. The words now flowed in a torrent. He kept on tearing paper after paper from his notebook and kept on scribbling. The letter soon became quite long.
So Anuj stopped and started on another letter. In around half an hour, he was done writing both letters. Now he needed to buy an envelope. So he walked down to Finchley Road and bought one from a stationary shop.
He then folded both the letters, put them inside the envelope and sealed it.
Now Anuj needed to find a way to deliver those letters to Ella.
