A TALE OF DYAD SOULS

Off to Bangalore

Shine's point of view.

I needed to hurry up. Or else, I would have been late for work. I shook myself saying this to get rid of last night's remembrances. Every time he was back in my head, all the pain and wounds were fresh in my mind. I was all the more shattered. All the bad feelings pit in my stomach.

The visions of the day would rarely give away to the day. But I needed to live in reality.

The tasks of the day demanded my heed and focus. I needed to get solutions and get my job done by the end of the day.

I stole a glance from the outside of the glowing red sun and reached out to turn off the lights in my room.

Ring, Ring, ring, ring.

I was about to take a shower and get ready for work. But out of the blue, my phone starts to ring, leaving me baffled. I was not accustomed to getting calls so early in the morning.

The buzzing of my phone left me puzzled when I got to know it was my HR.

Crossing my fingers, I reached the table where my phone was kept and called my HR.

“Hello, yes ma’am? I am extremely sorry for answering so late,” I answered my HR.

“No, it is perfectly fine. It happens, do not worry. Well, I have good news to share with you,” HR spoke.

I take a deep breath and relieve sigh. Minutes back, I was pretty tense but listening to her, all my tension diminished.

“Oh, good news, what is it? Please say, ma’am,” I asked her in excitement.

"Bangalore… you have to go to Bangalore for a business trip." She happily replied to me.

I felt like the earth had slipped beneath my feet. As if the carpet was removed beneath my feet. I lost my senses. Before I could regain my senses, she carried on further.

"It is an exciting business trip. Since you have been very good at your work, you have chosen along with other employees for this business trip,” She opines.

“Ma’am, why me?” hesitatingly I asked her.

“Well, Shine, you have been chosen for this trip because of your efforts and good work. Keep doing this ahead. Employees like you are an asset to the business. See I have to contact other employees too, I am in a bit of a hurry. The rest of the things will be there in the mail. Good luck and be ready,” She then cut the call.

No, no, why me? I muttered under my breath.

Bangalore… I have to go to Bangalore. It is his hometown. How can I go there? I went there several times in the hope he would be there. But all these added to my depression. I have faced several panic attacks and physical sensations of fear in the past years. I just cannot afford this anymore.

Suddenly, my heartbeat started to accelerate. There was muscle tension, shortness of breath, and dizziness. I could not see things clearly before me.

I ran into my kitchen quickly to fetch a glass of water to ease myself. I drank the whole water in one go. The jug was all empty.

I started to take a long deep breath and rubbed my palms. Somehow, I managed to control the situation I was going through. But the fear of going to Bangalore was still there in my mind.

Nevertheless, maybe this was the chance to overcome my fear which had been haunting me for years.

.

.

.

In Bangalore

The sounds of the baggage wheels brushing on the moving sidewalk, the boarding pass being torn off, and passports being stamped. This created an 'oxymoronic' situation within me.

Oh, God! Oh, God! I recited to myself. It was very difficult for me to board the flight to Bangalore. But I had to. I had no other option left.

I step out of the airport and feel the fresh air of Bangalore. It has been three years since I have been here. But nothing has changed, everything is the same.

Remembrances of the past came in front of me in the blink of an eye. But I was not there for that. I was there for my work. I rushed through the gate to catch the cab.

The hot humid weather of Bangalore was already making me dehydrated. I could feel my cheeks burning. They were all red like tomatoes. Damn, I am allergic to sunlight.

I was getting bored and impatient at the same time when my gaze drifted to the road in front of me where several cars were passing by. I wished someone would have come to pick me up.

But what caught my breath was the black Bentley. Though it was not the end, it was the person in a crisp black coat who made my heartbeat stop for a minute. I could feel a lump in my throat. I wanted to say something but it felt like I had forgotten how to speak. Before I could call him or make sure that it was my Ruskin, a car came and was parked in front of my eyes, bringing me back to the factuality, and there that person was gone.

“Madam, where do you want to go?”

A voice echoed in my head. But it took me minutes to figure out that the question was directed to me.

“Huh? I want you to drop me at the Hotel Taj.” I said to the cab driver.

I got into the cab as quickly as I could.

Now, when the car was going to the Taj Hotel, I could see the places where I had been before. I gazed out of the window to see the things happening outside. The heavy traffic flowing outside made me feel that I had already entered Bangalore. The city was full of hustle and bustle. Vehicles of all shapes, colors, and sizes passed by blowing their horns too fast. The echo surrounded my ears.

I could hear the birds chirping while the fields, trees, and hedges moved by. Soon the highway passed by, and I had a good view of it. It was quite noticeable that, in the past few years, the city had hardly changed. The place reminded me of my old days. I have been there for professional as well as personal purposes before.

“Are we still downtown?” I asked the cab driver, admiring the nature outside.

“Yes madam!” He replied, driving the car very quickly.

Seeing the tall buildings near the area downtown, I got the idea that I was in Downtown, Bangalore. A florist shop, a grocery store, a bakery, a restaurant, and a mall adjacent to the buildings reminded me of days spent in that society. I had lived in that society for months along with Ruskin.

Soon my head bowed against the gusting wind, quite icy and withering. My jacket flapped in the strong wind.

I zipped my jacket quickly as I was welcomed by the gusty winds accompanied by the afternoon showers.

I quickly rolled up the windows of the car and turned on the A/C as I felt the chilled winds entering the vehicle. I closed my eyes and felt the pleasant moderate climate of Bangalore. The man's reflexes in the crisp black coat came again before my eyes. My heartbeat started to beat a bit more. Somewhere deep down I prayed for him to be Ruskin.

My mind and eyes soon filled with all the remembrances of the past and shimmered in happiness. The sight in front of my eyes melted my heart. I closed my eyes again as they were demanding him to see him.

“Madam, your destination!” The cab driver said it loudly, awakening me from the deepest reveries I was going through.

“Yes, umm… What? Did you say anything?” I asked the cab driver, holding a confused face.

“Ma’am, we have reached the Taj Hotel.” He said very humbly before me.

"Yes! Oh, thank you so much. I said to him while I was completely outside of the zone.

I was barely in my senses. The voice of the cab driver echoed in my ears like an intonation, waking me up from my deepest slumber, which brought me back to reality. Sighing, I stood up and strode back to the seat, keeping my grasp on self-control tight, and drifted out of the car, after paying the cab driver.

I reached the lavish Taj hotel around 6 ‘o'clock in the evening. I could see people sitting on the couch holding their bags in their hands, either they were to leave or had come to stay.

I sat on the sofa in the waiting room staring at the entrance. I do not know why, but my eyes constantly gazed at the entrance of the hotel. I did not know at first why my eyes were gazing constantly at the entrance until I saw the black Bentley again.

I knew what that opportunity meant to me so, without even thinking twice and caring about anything, I raced towards the entrance. Before I could see who was there in the car, the car moved away from there towards the parking lot.

I followed the car hoping I would finally get to know whether the person inside was my darling Ruskin or not.

The more my steps were heading towards the car the more my heart was beating fast. I could feel a similar and strange feeling when I was heading closer to the car. The same feeling when Ruskin is around me is quite different from others.

Soon the man came out of the car but I could barely see him. All I could see was his back and from his back profile I could not figure out whether he was my Ruskin or not.

I managed to have a glimpse of his side look and my heart started to accelerate a bit more when he seemed quite handsome, not in a conventional sense, but actually, he stood out from the crowd just like my Ruskin. I pondered for seconds and was about to call him before I could go ahead and see him completely, yet again a car came in front of me and he diminished from there.

I was shattered to another level even after going the extra mile. I knew finding Ruskin was not a piece of cake, but I considered him and could not help myself.

Holding myself tightly and strongly, I went inside my room from there very quickly and laid down on my bed, which was as snug as a bug on a rug.

I wanted to go off to sleep but a phone call from my HR stopped me from doing so.

"Shine, I am sorry to call you so late. I wouldn't have called you so late but there is an urgency." She said to me in tension.

"No, no, ma'am. It is alright. Please tell me what type of urgency. I will try to solve the issue and do my best." I responded to her quickly.

"Shine, it is very nice of you. Mr. Drake will not be available at the meeting due to his issues. So, you will have to lead the meeting and put forth the presentation before the foreign clients." With high expectations and hope, she said to me.

"Ma'am, but...How can I?" I replied to her in a very low voice.

"Shine, no if's and buts. Trust me, I very well know you can do so. And you only said to me you wanted to solve the issue. So, here you go." She said to me very confidently.

Listening to her words, I couldn't say no to her. I had nothing but yes to say to her. After all, she was my boss. Somewhere, on the other hand, I was happy too, like Mr. Drake was not coming. I do not like his presence. He seems very clingy and weird. I just cannot withstand his presence. Although this is not the first time he has been doing so. Ever since I joined the office, I have been accustomed to this behavior of his.

Ah! I took a relieved sigh and moved towards the window of my room. I isolated myself from everything and accepted the night. The view from the glass seemed like heaven to me. The night view was nothing less than a picturesque sight. I could see the passion of people in the city. The hustle and bustle to win the tussle was dictated by their passion. I swirled around to have a full view of the glass walls. The city was shimmered by the glow of street lights, small trees swayed on the street as the strong breeze hit them.

I stood rooted to the spot trying to see as much as I could, but I could barely see distant objects. I waited there for a while and what caught my eyes was a beautiful couple mellow-dancing on the street without even thinking twice about anyone else. The purity of love can be seen from a distance in their eyes. They did not care about anyone. And were in their own world.

It took me a bit more minutes to get away from there. I drifted from there to brushing my teeth and washing my face before I went off to sleep. I checked my reflection in the mirror for two seconds and went off into deep slumber.