To trust or not

Chapter 1

CHAPTER-1

TOKYO

From the sky, Tokyo was a jungle of sky-scrapers but as the flight neared the ground, she could see specs of traditional architecture dotting the landscape. Beautiful, blossoming trees greeted her sore eyes, the orange leaves and white blossoms soothing them. Patches of green were visible at every corner. She hadn’t slept a wink during the entire flight and looking at the refreshing sight made her feel a wee bit better.

Narita International Airport was the busiest airport she had ever seen in her life. As the plane taxied down the runway, the sheer number of aircraft she saw boggled her mind. It was as if the whole nation was flying out or in at the same time.

The flight had landed at 7.50 a.m., as per schedule. Disembarkation and luggage collection was soon over. The efficiency and swiftness of the staff and systems astonished her no end. She wondered what kind of office culture she would find at her work place and whether she would be able to keep up with it. But now was not the time to think of any of that. She began looking around and, after some initial hesitation and confusion, found the sign-boards displaying metro train departures into central Tokyo. The instructions Shikhar had given her, had proved most helpful and she blessed him silently, forgiving him for his nagging and annoying lectures.

Mercifully, she did not have to change terminals to take the metro into the city. She walked the long way to the platform, reading banners detailing upcoming events at the airport itself. The interior was a melee of people, luggage carts, counters and even a shopping mall, on the fourth floor!! She focused on the task at hand, looking for directions to the rail line. It was quite a walk and, presently the train arrived.

The electronic doors and short closure intervals unnerved her, as she waited for people before her in the queue to get in. She boarded with some difficulty, managing to get all her luggage inside by herself. She marvelled as much at the interior of the train as at the strength she had shown hauling her bags up. She was tired after the 8-hour long flight but had another 80-minute ride to endure up to Shibuya Station, somewhere near which her apartment was.

The train reached Shibuya and it was time for her to take charge of her life, henceforth. Shikhar had given her no instructions about how she would live alone, in an alien land, with alien people who didn’t speak her language. She looked around for a taxi but couldn’t spot any coming that way. She stood there for a long time, not knowing what to do. The work day had begun for the locals and there were hardly any people entering the station.

She opened the map in her bag. One look at it and she realized it wouldn’t work in that particular situation. She switched on her phone (and silently, blessed Shikhar again, realizing also that she had not called home yet to inform them). She opened the map and fed her now-to-be address in it. She read the directions it showed and began walking in the direction it said ‘Sakura Homes’ was. It was a long distance from where she stood. Or so it seemed to her. All she really needed was a bed to flop down on and close her eyes to it all-the newness, alienness, aloneness, unknown-ness. Instead, she began walking down the road towards uncertainty…….she didn’t know where she was headed.

‘I’m lost.’

‘No, I’m not!’

‘I’m in the wrong place.’

‘No, I’m not!’

‘I should call Shikhar.’

‘No! No!’

‘Maybe I can call Roy.’

‘Of course not! All his jokes about my childishness would come true.’

‘So what? He is my friend. He will understand.’

‘No!!! He will tell Shikhar and Harsh and they will all have a hearty laugh at my expense.’ She smiled to herself at the thought, giggled even. And then anxiety gripped her again.

‘I should go back to Mom.’

‘Most definitely not!’

‘I should call Dad. DAD…………..’

And the tears again began to flow down her cheeks. She stood at a crossing in a Tokyo suburb, her sobs attracting attention from passers-by. Some looked at her curiously, stopped for a second but moved on, unsure what to do. An old woman sitting on a bench across the road looked at her sympathetically.

She saw no one. Her tears blurred her vision and her thoughts turned to the day her father had passed away, four years ago. Just like that. Without warning. Without sorting out her life, her problems, her career prospects, everything…….He was the one to push her into a professional degree college. She had always been a brilliant student. Not just studious but intelligent.

He had been her anchor for everything outside and her mother, inside. Both had loved her, Shikha, and her younger brother, Shikhar, devotedly. They were a fantastic set of parents, loving, understanding and compassionate. They both knew their kids inside out. They stood by the siblings like rocks. And now, the rock was broken.

Their home was their haven, a much-loved abode, where they had spent the most cherished days of their lives. They had been given a nurtured and nourished childhood, all thanks to her parents’ maturity. Her father always encouraged both of them to invest in their interests and develop them into professions.

He had always taught both of them to be there for each other too. Shikhar had been her confidant and she his. And he himself had been there for all of them. But that was no longer true. He had left them forever, to be on their own and fend for themselves. His heart had not been strong enough to survive the attack. What he had disregarded was the fact that they too weren’t strong enough to survive his death.

They had all been shattered and deeply impacted. They had taken a long time to get to their feet and, this time, it was Shikhar who had picked them up. He had stepped into his dad’s shoes surprisingly seamlessly, or so it appeared to the women. He had taken charge of all matters, within the house and outside as well.

Thanks to their father’s fool-proof planning, the siblings had been able to continue with their studies uninterrupted and other household chores could be resumed easily. They had insisted upon their mother to continue her teaching, not so much for financial independence but for something constructive to fill her time with. She had recovered from the shock much quicker after that and was grateful to them both.