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Pratibha
Approaching footsteps towards her office desk took Pratibha's attention away from her computer screen. She turned around; Simran smiled at her.
"Hi, Pratibha." Simran smiled wide. "Are we going out for lunch?"
She needed to finish her assignment, but she didn't want to disappoint Simran. "Okay, let's go then." She rose, turned off the computer and the desk lamp.
Sai Krishna had been asking her for two days to finish the work soon and hand over the module. It was delayed because of technical complexity. She needed to stay back that evening or work on the weekend to meet the deadline.
"Are you all right?" Simran asked as they walked down the stairs. Maybe, Pratibha looked glum and that made Simran suspect something was wrong.
"Well, I'm just thinking about how to fix an error in my module."
"Don't worry. You'll find the solution after lunch."
Pratibha smiled. She admired Simran for having faith in her ability.
They hustled out of their office and walked towards the main street. The intense and bright sun shone in the middle of the sky. The greenery of various trees- Peepal, Asoka – and lush grass soothed her mind. She removed her sweater to feel comfortable in the balmy weather. The change of surroundings from the cold office interior to warm outside weather made her cheerful.
When a taxi approached, she told the driver the destination – a well-known Udupi restaurant. They sat in the rear seats.
The leaves of various tropical trees fluttered in the mild breeze. A couple of overloaded buses carried the passengers with a few youngsters hanging on the footboard. A few cars honked to clear their way ahead. A couple went past their taxi on their scooter with their helmets fastened.
Pratibha paid the driver and walked Simran inside the restaurant. The place was abuzz with customers. A waiter in uniform ushered them to an empty table beside a window.
They sat and decided to eat a light snack – Rava idli.
Pratibha propped her elbows on the table. "I'm eager to see my parents and I want this project to be over."
"What did Sai say in your one-on-one yesterday?" Simran sounded curious.
"He too wants to close the project in one month."
"It's good to hear." Simran smiled. "I'll tell my fiancé and my parents that I'll be coming back in one month."
"Don't give any exact date as everything depends on the successful completion of all the project modules."
"I'm sure my module will be ready as per the schedule," Simran said.
"Let's hope everyone will complete their work on time."
The waiter arrived and placed their food on the table. The smell of coconut chutney and curry masala wafted in the air.
Pratibha took a bite of idlis. "You know what," she said, as she chewed the food, "one of my colleagues, Vasavi, got an assignment in Bangalore after she waited on the bench for several weeks. I think I made a hasty decision coming here."
Simran looked at her, her eyes widened. "I think so too. We should've ignored the transfer order and waited for any upcoming projects."
"But I'm happy that this project has made our resumes stronger."
Simran nodded. "Did Sai say anything else?" She finished eating her food.
"Well, not much about the project work. He is calling a team meeting soon."
"I'll ask him about our intention to return home," Simran said.
"It's better if we talk about the matter," Pratibha said.
They ordered coffee. Prakash had told her Murali had been recovering. She needed to speak with Prakash and to know if Murali was still at the hospital.
"What are you thinking?" Simran broke the silence.
"I'm just-" Pratibha stumbled for words. Should she tell the truth and talk about Murali? Pratibha felt guilty as Simran had told her many times she should've told Murali about Rahul. But Murali was recovering; there was no harm in speaking about him.
"I was thinking about Murali." Pratibha unclasped her hands.
"How is he now?" Simran intertwined her fingers. "Did you speak with Prakash?"
"Yes, a few days ago. I need to call him again." She fished her phone out of her purse and called him.
After exchanging pleasantries, Pratibha asked. "I want to meet Murali. How is he doing?"
"He's well and is staying at his mother's home."
Pratibha's pulse quickened. Why did Murali choose to stay with his brother? Whatever he made a wise decision. He needed a change of place and to stay comfortable. He would be mentally fit in the company of his mother and brother. His decision relieved Pratibha, too. Had he stayed in his flat, he would've insisted Pratibha join him for an evening coffee. Pratibha wanted to distance herself from him after their bitter incident at Mysore.
"When are you planning to see him?" Prakash asked.
"I haven't -" Pratibha stumbled for words. Should I meet Murali? Will he be hurt further by seeing me? What if he liked to continue our friendship
"Please wait for a minute." She covered the phone mouthpiece and turned to Simran. "Shall we meet Murali at his home?"
"Sure," Simran said. "I haven't seen him since he was admitted."
"Yes, Prakash. We would like to see him very soon. Can you message us his address?"
"Sure," he said.
"Murali is feeling all right," Pratibha said as she sipped her coffee. "He's living with his mother."
"It's good that he is not alone," Simran said.
"When shall we go and see him?" Pratibha asked.
"How about tomorrow? We'll meet Prasanna today."
"Oh, yeah. That makes sense."
Pratibha paid the bill and she walked Simran out of the restaurant.
Email notification in the lower right corner of her computer caught Pratibha's attention. She clicked on it. Sai Krishna had called for a team meeting. Perhaps, he wanted to announce the project end date and relieve everyone's anxiety. Pratibha turned off her computer and went to the meeting room.
Simran along with other team members waited for Sai Krishna to arrive. Pratibha greeted everyone and sat on a chair. She asked her teammates if they would be able to finish their work on time. Their response gave her a rough estimate of the project's end date.
Sai entered. In his formal cream shirt and beige pants, he looked handsome. His dark blue tie suited his fair skin.
After exchanging pleasantries, Sai said, "I really thank everyone for working hard so far. I'm glad that our customer is happy with the progress made until now and we're releasing the product in one month."
Pratibha cheered along with her colleagues.
"But you must continue working hard and finish the remaining work on time. I don't want to face any last-minute hassles."
Pratibha nodded.
"We're eager to return home," Pratibha said. "It's good that we're completing the work well in time."
"I can understand your concerns," Sai said. "You can have two weeks of time off once the work is complete."
Pratibha's heart raced. Is Sai not transferring me back to Bangalore? "I'm going back to Bangalore after the completion of work."
"Yes, Sai," Simran said. "I too want to return to Mumbai after the project completion."
"Did you talk to your managers?" Sai Krishna asked. "What have they planned for you?"
"No, but I'll talk to him soon," Pratibha said.
Sai Krishna paused and ran his eyes over his team members. "I'm assigned a new project to lead starting next month. I would like to retain all of you in my group."
"But we two are returning home," Pratibha said.
Sai Krishna remained silent for a few moments and then said, "All right. I'll talk to your managers. Nevertheless, you are both welcome to work with me."
Pratibha admired Sai Krishna for providing an opportunity to work on the new project. No doubt, her perseverance and programming skills attracted him. But she needed to go to Bangalore and resolve matters relating to her marriage. She shouldn't delay speaking with her parents about Rahul. She might lose Rahul if she remained at Hyderabad.
After the meeting, Pratibha walked alongside Sai out of the meeting room.
"Please don't forget to relieve me after the project completion," she said. "I must return home."
"Sure," said Sai Krishna. "But I'm unlucky not to have you in my next project."
"Don't worry. I'll rejoin you if there is no project to work on at Bangalore."
Later in the evening, Pratibha found a solution to her project problem which had been troubling her for two days. She heaved a sigh of relief. Thanks to an online community of programmers. Without them and the Google search engine, she couldn't have resolved the problems so soon. Her glance shifted to the computer clock. Another ten minutes before the office cab departed. She would finish the remaining work and hand over the assignment to Sai Krishna tomorrow.
"Hi, Pratibha."
Pratibha looked back while she was switching off the computer. It was Simran. "Hey, Simran." She smiled and took her backpack. She tucked it onto her shoulder.
"Let's go," Simran said. "We'll miss the cab, otherwise."
Pratibha nodded. She walked alongside Simran and hustled out of their office.
The cold evening breeze was exhilarating. The branches of various tropical trees – peepal, Asoka, and bougainvilleas – growing next to the parking place shook in the gentle wind. The sun appeared less intense and its yellow rays reflected on the office building's windows. Employees hurried towards their cab.
Pratibha sat on her usual seat. Simran made herself comfortable beside her. She remembered Prasanna when the driver left the company premises and headed down the main street. Prasanna used to initiate a conversation with Pratibha and Simran as soon as the driver had eased the cab out of the parking lot. Pratibha missed him. She turned to Simran. "Are we going to meet Prasanna?"
"Oh, yes. We'll go today," Simran said.
Pratibha turned back and looked at some of Prasanna's group mates. She told them her intention and asked them where Prasanna lived. One of them assured her he would take her to Prasanna's home.
They located the house with ease. Pratibha opened the gate and stepped onto the porch. She rang the doorbell and waited for someone to arrive.
The smell of jasmine which was growing near the porch wafted in the air. Various colors of roses in full bloom soothed Pratibha's eyes. Full-Grown Asoka trees were lined alongside the compound wall. The flower pots were wet and evidently were watered a while ago.
The door opened. A middle-aged woman in her traditional silk sari looked at Pratibha and Simran with a questioning expression.
"Good evening," Pratibha smiled. "We're Prasanna's colleagues."
The lady stepped back, making room for them to enter.
Pratibha and Simran removed their shoes and followed the old lady to a small bedroom.
Prasanna, lying on the bed, smiled at them. A green blanket covered him up to his waist.
They sat beside the bed and exchanged pleasantries.
"How did you get injured?" Simran asked.
Prasanna's eyes filled with tears. Maybe, he had gone through a painful period after the accident.
Pratibha touched his arm. "Don't worry. You're going to be all right."
His mother offered them coffee. "We didn't expect this would happen to him. He is already suffering from disability because of polio. He lost his balance and fell down on the road."
She wiped tears on her cheeks.
Simran and Pratibha consoled her and cleared the tensed air.
Pratibha's heart sank; compassion coursed through her soul; she peeled an apple which she had bought and gave it to him.
"I want one of you to speak with my manager about my time off," Prasanna said. "I had initially applied for one month, but I may likely extend it."
"Don't worry," Simran said. "We'll talk to your manager and set the matter right."
"That's right," Pratibha added. "You need to recover soon without worrying much about work."
They exchanged more small talk. Pratibha was contented to see Prasanna cheerful after their rendezvous. She prayed to God to bless him with good health and then bade him farewell.
After having coffee with Simran at her flat, Pratibha retreated to her bedroom. She needed to call Rahul as it had been several days since they spoke last. A sense of anxiety filled her mind. She grabbed the phone from her table and called him. The phone rang and rang. Rahul didn't answer. She tried for the second time, but there was no reply. A cold shiver went down her spine. Why is Rahul not answering my calls? Her heart throbbing against her ribcage, she called him again. No answer. Is he busy? Maybe so as otherwise, Rahul wouldn't have ignored her calls. I'll wait for him to call back.
Her wait ended in vain as Rahul didn't call her that night. She controlled her urge to call him for the third time. I will wait until tomorrow and see whether Rahul will call me back.
She tossed and turned on her bed with an image of Rahul assaulting her mind until she fell asleep around midnight.