C-19: Beginning of Aftermath.

As the door of the bus opened, Shubham disembarked, following the flow of the crowd. His white shirt had long been drenched in perspiration and cola, while his diet and thirst formed abstract shade on the face. Study daily was a nightmare for Shubham, and this unavoidable routine was testing his limits, on the regular basis. “It’s getting hotter these days,” Shubham thought while he pulled at his crumbles shirt. The hot weather combined with today’s difficult teacher, had made him even more agitated. Shubham tucked his briefcase under his arm, as he walked briskly towards the Swati Residential Area. The Residential Area was near Radha Roadways suburbs, more than 10 kilometres from the city centre. However, rent prices, in the area were far from cheap. Shubham shared a house with a young couple. It was a fully furnished 2-bedroom house, and he only had to pay Rupees 3000 out of the Rupees 200 monthly rental, which was considered a very good deal. For a first tier city. Although the location was not very convenient, his housemates, were decent and they were quite nice to him. He breathed in the smell of freshly cut grass before seeing a few worker mowing the Park in the residential area. “What’s going on? Didn’t they trim the grass just two weeks ago?” Shubham felt puzzled, before he looked over at the park, that had yet to be trimmed. Only then did he realize that the grass had grown extremely fast, and was reaching about half a foot already, The trees in the area also seemed to have grown taller and looked very packed and dense. He then began to notice how odd the weather was. It was still hot, when they were already approaching Rainy season. Most of the Guava trees in the area were usually green by this time of the year, but this year they strangely seemed to had grown lusher. There were many theories about it on the news, from Wind flow currents to Gravitation deviation activity, some had even said that it could have been a end explosion of this Earth system. A simple search online could produce all sorts of arguments and precognition complete with photos and solid proof. All were equally logical, yet headache-inducing and at the end of the day, taken as legend of End of Calendar and Hindu mythology. “Better leave it to the scientists. What is there for an ordinary citizen to gossip about?” Shubham shook his head. A few minutes later, the aroma of a home-cooked meal greeted him, as he opened the knock of Wooden door. Just as he changed into his house slipper from his shoes, Dipali Rawat came out of the kitchen, She looked surprised that it was not her boyfriend. Recovering with a smile, she said, “Oh, Shubham, it’s you. Let’s have dinner together. I’ve cooked an extra portion today!” She went back into the kitchen, obviously still busy preparing Dipali Rawat. was actually quite young. She was 23 years old, just 5 year’s older than Shubham, She had fair skin, a slim figure, and a charming smile on her delicate Oval-shaped face. She looked like a typical Indian housewife type lady. “Sure, I get to save money that way.” Shubham accepted her invitation with a big smile. “What about Bro Danish how come he’s not back yet? He usually gets off from work quite early. I was thinking I’d play a game with him while I waited for dinner,” Shubham added as he saw that there was not a single pair of Shoes laid out. Dipali Rawat boyfriend, Danish Argarwal, worked at the Forest Care Department and his workload was usually quite simple. He started work at 12:00 am and would usually get off at 4:30 pm. He hardly ever joined any social gatherings. It was quite strange for Shubham to not find him home at this Hour. “All you do is play games!” Dipali accused smilingly, still in her apron and kurta, “I know both of you gamed until 1:00 am while I was sleeping last night. Why didn’t you stop him?” Shubham smiled and replied, “Alright, I’ll try to stop him next time. I can’t promise I’ll succeed though! He’s an addict.” “He can’t force you if you don’t want to play!” Dipali Rawat retorted with anger visible, but with subtle hint of delight and amusement. Dipali Rawat actually knew her boyfriend well enough to realize that shecould not put the entire blame on Shubham. To put it nicely, Danish Argarwal was a family man But he was also known as a geek. He had no less life. He always left for home night after his working hours and spent the rest of his day gaming until midnight. She tried to stop him but failed most of the time “Okay, we’ll go to bed before 11:00 pm next time.” Shubham felt that they had been staying up really late recently as well, and always felt sleepy during lunch time, he went to his room to get some clean clothes and then headed to the bathroom for a shower. Afterwards, he started a game of Pubg. He realized that the sky had already gotten dark after just one game. Dipali Rawat came into his room just as he was about to start another one. [Seriously no personal room] “Shubham, let’s have dimer We don’t have to wait for him anymore” she said softly, with a worried expression, on her face. “Have you given him a call or text him?” Shubham asked. “I have, he didn’t pick up and is not answering either!” Dipali Rawat bit her finger, a bit before saying, “He did say that he’ll be inspecting the forestry situation in next village, with his superior this morning. Perhaps he’s still busy." “Never mind, let’s eat first, I am already dying out of hunger.” Shubham stopped asking and the two of them sat down at the dining table. Dipali Rawat was a very good cook. There were 2 types of vegetable dining’s and a bow of Daal on the table, all of them looking and smelling delicious. [Daal, liquid like food, which normal Indian eat during lunch time. A traditional dish, which every Indian is aware of.] “Oh, this Old bajaara Daal is my favourite! I’ve liked it since I was in high school, and I’ve been missing it. Let me try this first!” Shubham helped himself, to a spoon of daal fillet. “How is it? Did I add too much salt?” Dipali Rawat asked nervously. “Are you kidding? You could’ve been a head chef with your culinary skills! It’s such a waste that you’re only cooking for Bro Daniel.” Shubham complimented her, where she laughed and chided, “Stop flattering me! They’re just regular dishes. Have some more if they’re so delicious.” The heavy earlier atmosphere was replaced by a harmonious one as they joked throughout dinner. Shubham smiled as he looked at Dipali, while his eyes relaxed, but he was aware that it was for a moment, given Daniel has to come back soon. It was when the dinner, came to an end that Dipali Rawat started to worry again, she took out her phone and redialled her boyfriend’s number, her expression turning darker. “What’s the matter?” Shubham asked.