The Polki Affair

Saraswati liked to go window shopping in Mumbai’s many different shopping malls. Today was no exception. Even though her good friend Maithili couldn’t join her, she had gone out anyway. Why waste her lunch break just sitting in the office doing nothing? Taking a stroll around was far much better and more enjoyable. There were lots of things to do and see. This city had so much life, always busy at all hours of the day. She saw a vendor selling some snacks and stopped to check them out. Look at those big, delectable samosas! she silently expressed to herself. She couldn’t help it as her stomach grumbled loudly. She had only drank some tea in the morning before hastily leaving for work because she was late again. And today she could not afford to be that late. Her boss was away and she had to oversee everything. When there was a problem, she had to be present to either fix it or contact Mr Singh about it. Honestly, she had thought that she would be able to eat something later but she had just been too busy. She was not even able to snack on the peanuts that were always present in her handbag. The amount of paperwork she had done made her forget all about food. But now, looking at all those scrumptious snacks, she could not ignore it anymore. She bought one, spicy vegetarian samosa and quickly sank her teeth into it. Oh, that yummy, delicious taste hitting the back of her throat was priceless! With her savoury samosa in hand, she marched on. She passed some shops selling some wonderful clothes. There was one selling some fashionable Western garments, another with stunning shoes and bags. She moved on to the next with some imported furniture. Everything looked stunning. What she enjoyed most was seeing how these window displays never seemed to last long. When she saw one display in the morning, it was not surprising to see that gone by the afternoon, replaced by a more stunning one. Competition for customers was stiff in this city, she thought to herself. She continued on looking at the different shops until….she stumbled upon it! She stared at it transfixed to the spot. She knew that she shouldn’t keep looking at it but she couldn’t help herself. She was drawn to it. It had not been there in the morning when she had passed by. It didn’t help that it looked ridiculously similar to the one…. Tears welled up in her eyes as she started to remember. No, she mustn’t! She knew better. Going back there could only result in more negative feelings….more hurt! She had to walk away. She put what was left of her samosa into her bag. Her appetite had vanished. Mustering all her courage, she breathed in deeply and closed her eyes. Tears streamed down her face. Instinctively, one hand reached into her handbag, carefully placed her smartphone in the side pocket and took out her lotus seed prayer beads. Tightly holding onto them, she exhaled slowly as she quietly chanted, “O Goddess Maha Lakshmi, please destroy all evil and bless us with a bright and prosperous future.” Doing this always brought her peace. As she continued to chant, nothing else mattered to her-neither the ominous red lehenga adorning that mannequin in the store which kept reminding her of a past she’d rather forget or Mumbai’s notorious lunchtime hustle-and-bustle. Nothing else mattered to her; she was at peace with her Goddess.   “Where the hell is your manager?!” shouted a well-dressed man as soon as he had stormed through the door. He stood arrogantly in the doorway. Everyone turned to look in his direction. He did not seem to care that he was attracting the attention of the other customers in the shop. Two sales assistants quickly made their way towards him. Tall, proud and visibly angry, the man’s handsome features did not hide his fury. A man in his early or mid-thirties, he looked tough. He was clad in all black; black trousers, black shirt and tie and a black waistcoat. His deep, boisterous voice sounded like a man who was used to giving orders and being obeyed without question. His presence alone commanded respect for he was no ordinary man. At well over 1,9m tall, he towered over most people. “I am very sorry, sir” pleaded one of the assistants, in an effort to calm him down, “The manager has just stepped out for a while and will be back shortly. May you please come with me so that I can be able to assist?” The salesman gestured towards an open office door at the back of the store. The man glared at him before asking in his rich, guttural voice, “Are you the one in charge?” “No sir, I’m not but….” “You get me the manager right now!” the man interjected harshly before the salesman could finish explaining. He remained standing in the doorway, his huge frame blocking the shop’s entrance. Meanwhile, the other assistant who was behind the sales counter was frantically talking on the phone. Rudra could hear him pleading with someone on the other end to come back right away. Good, thought Rudra, at least they were now up on their feet. He would have been satisfied with this had it not been for the fact that his anger hadn’t simmered yet. They had all been very incompetent at doing their job.   After a while, Saraswati reluctantly opened her eyes. With renewed strength and willpower, she defiantly stared at the lehenga one last time and walked away. As she was making her way back towards her workplace, she felt much better. “O hail the Goddess!” she prayed in gratitude. Suddenly, she got the call from the store. Her colleague, Nikhil, was frantic on the other end. “Slow down, there is so much noise here. I can hardly hear you!” shouted Saraswati as she stopped in the street to listen. She could barely understand him. And what was that noise in the background?  Someone was shouting but Saraswati could not make out what he was saying. “Please come back, it’s urgent!” Saraswati finally heard Nikhil say. She resumed striding briskly back to the store. Oh Goddess, what was wrong now? She did not hang up the call but continued talking to Nikhil, asking him to tell her everything that had gone wrong. As she listened to him, she turned the corner and into the street where the store was located. She was so engrossed in her conversation with Nikhil that, as she was about to enter the store, she did not notice the tall man blocking its entrance until it was too late. “Ah!” exclaimed Saraswati as her cell phone flew out of her hand. She lost her balance and reeled backwards. Impulsively, she stretched out her arms trying to get hold of something to steady herself. As she did so, her handbag dropped to the ground spilling all its contents. In despair, she closed her eyes dreading the impending fall. Instantly, she felt a man’s big, sturdy hand enclose one of her wrists and swiftly jerk her up. Simultaneously, his arm wrapped around her waist. Saraswati was drawn into a tight embrace against lean and hard muscle. Breathless, she buried her face in the warm swaddle of his chest. She needed a few minutes to recover. Inexplicably, she felt very safe at that moment. After some time, she looked up. The black eyes that met hers were the darkest she had ever encountered. It was like looking into an endless, bottomless pool; dark and cold. Unsettled, Saraswati blinked. She didn’t know why but those eyes scared her. Her body trembled slightly. He was staring at her. His piercing, sombre eyes were unblinking, missing nothing. To Saraswati, they seemed as if they were not onlylooking at her but probing deep into her soul. She felt n***d, laying everything bare for him to see. Swiftly, she averted her gaze.