Strangers & Secrets Page 2

  “Come with me” His manager ordered him.

  He followed him to his office.

  “What is it, a book?” His manager asked shaking the gift.

  “It’s a cassette”

  “What? How the hell am I gonna play this?” He said taking his seat. “Sit” came the next order.

  “So when are you leaving?” He asked with a neutral expression.

  “Today”

  “Have you figured out what are you going to do?”

  “No”

  “Look outside” His manager said eyeing the gallivanting crew. “Half the crowd here hates you and other half don’t even know your name but still here they are, transforming this boring room into some jovial private party with their laughter”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier about my resignation. I –“

  “Oh, stop with that nonsense. Here -” His manager poured him coffee from his flask.

  “This country is filling with educated zombies. Feelings are taboo, emotions have become sin and Prayers are exclusively reserved for marks and salary” His friendly boss said with a sad smile. “It’s not just you. Everyone around us is better pretenders than you. We lost the culture, we lost the language but the worst part is we don’t remember what we lost”

  “But I know what I lost” he said.

  “Exactly, we do something because we love to do or maybe we thought we loved it because of the company we had. If you really want to find yourself then get lost. The higher pay, experience, knowledge, power, fame everything has its own digits. We give life to what we believe and what do you believe in? What is its value? And what is the number you choose?”

  He leaned back, studied his boss. In two years, this was the first time his boss gave him advice. “I really don’t like numbers” He blurted.

  His manager sighed.

  “Any way thank you for your words and coffee” Devin said getting up. “I noticed you didn’t wish me”

  “For what?” His manager asked with a puzzling look.

  “For this” He said pointing around him. “Happy Birthday”

  “Don’t take me for a fool. I may not have foreseen your last trick but I know the difference between birthday and a goodbye”

  Devin smiled at the only person who understood him.

  “You might hate numbers, but we Indians are famous for a special one. Go be it. Farewell Devin” His manager said as he began to leave the room.

  Devin left his office midday. While his colleagues went for the fake birthday lunch, he bid his last adieu to his place.

  He steered left as the signal turned green. The auto rickshaw dinged his bonnet as he managed to pass through a narrow path between two trucks. The auto driver’s head came out of his auto and abusive slang came out of his mouth.

  The Best defense is the offense. The comments from Bangalore tourism website came to his mind. Driving out of the congested traffic was the basic qualification required to become a Bangalorean.

  He left the main road, drove in the lesser still more traffic than any other cities in India. The symphony of horns made the drivers elated with inhuman instinct. He punched the keys in his music system to distract himself. Different tones of static noise came out of the speaker. He looked at the sky through the windshield. The dark clouds in orange sky raced with him.

  He lost track of where he was. The price, that comes along for the people living in huge cities. He looked around for signs and direction boards.

  He recalled his boss’s advice from morning if you want to find yourself, get lost. “I believe I’m lost, boss man” he murmured studying the address below the banners on top of each shop.

  He glanced at the bandage sticking out of his wrist. He pulled the sleeve up, saw the bandage hanging to save itself. He pushed it onto his wrist but it came along with his other hand.

  He tried to open the dustbin lid with one arm on the steering wheel. It didn’t budge. The reckless biker cut him off, making him hit hard on the break. He spun his wheel, missing the woman walking down the street by inches.

  By the time he got his control back, the biker has vanished from his view. He lowered the window and threw the bandage out. Another huge privilege for drivers in India. He saw a pharmacy on his left, and he stopped the car. He took his wallet from the glove compartment before leaving.

  “Yes?” The small boy behind the counter asked.

  “Bandage” Devin said

  “2 rupees sir” He said opening a box of bandage which he pulled from the bottom shelf.

  “Four boxes” Devin said showing four fingers at him.

  The illegally employed underaged boy went to the inside room.

  The smell of medicines began to fill as the breeze turned against him. There is a probability it might rain today said the weather guy on TV that sat on the top left of the shop. He noticed the half empty candies kept at average kid’s eye level and about to expire condoms kept at average men’s eye level in the glass compartment.

  The underaged boy returned with his bandage. He threw a couple of candies instead of change. If they had given the other thing whenever they ran out of change, our nation would have had an optimum population plus better awareness. He thought looking at the candies as he returned.

  Inside his car, Devin dressed up his wrist with the fresh bandage, threw the rest inside the glove compartment along with his wallet.

  He adjusted his broken side view mirror which folded back when that auto rickshaw shoulder bumped his car. He looked at his own reflection, read through the broken lines written on it. Objects in mirror are loser than they appear. He laughed at himself over the wordplay. Even the broken mirror speaks only the truth

  His smile faded when he got a glimpse of something ahead on the opposite side of the street. It was a woman in the burka walking along the sidewalk.

  He thought of the woman he met recently. This one was wearing the same burka as that strange woman – plain black with no design patterns whatsoever. The dark fabric swayed around her like the slithering snake in the lonely desert.

  He removed the thoughts of her from bringing the intimidating visions. He turned his key and the engine came alive. Instead of the accelerator, his foot found the brake when he saw where that woman went.

  She vanished behind the old iron gates and the archway above them read “Hudson Memorial Church”

  Is that you?

  Muslim woman walking into a church in the land of Hindustan. It was strange even for cosmo city of the diverse nation.

  He turned off the engine, got off his car and began to follow her. He crossed the road, paused before the same gate, saw the woman at about 80 feet away from him. The gardener watering the plants stared at her as she walked past him.

  The priest came down the stairs from the church, instructing one of the church servers. He looked at the lady in the opposite color of his robe. He walked toward her, discarding the young boy.

  She stopped as he reached her. She lifted her veil back, displaying not just face also her shining brunette hair.

  Even from the distance, he could recognize her, it’s the same woman. She and the priest began to converse with their head nodding. Finally, he blessed her by finger tracing a holy cross on her forehead with a smile.

  The priest walked away toward his right as she began to walk toward the church. She began to climb the stairs and halted after reaching the last step. She grabbed her burka around her stomach, pulled open like a jacket. She came out like a butterfly coming out of the cocoon in a pale yellow formal blouse with soft Grey pants.

  An old lady came toward her from the other side of the church.

  She handed her pitch black trench coat/burka to her and disappeared inside the church. Devin passed through the gate, noticed that lady leaving with the handed over clothes, turning left behind the tower and vanishing from the view.

  He walked along the tarmac filled with trees on both sides. The reddish hue light from sky turned the wet leaves to appear dry.
The sounds of laughing leaves made him wonder about his invitation.

  The cobbled stone walls and terracotta roof gave the feeling of British India. The tall square tower next to church’s entrance still looked fresh even after a century. The pointed arches and high concentric windows in stained-glass gave it a fine Gothic appearance. The golden leaves, the colorless walls and the bright light escaping through the dark cloud gave a strange silence in the sepia setting.

  He walked through the ajar door, noticed the candles burning in silence and her sitting on the left, four pews from the door.

  He sat in the last wooden chair near to the door, waited patiently for her to finish.

  The church’s inside looked more silent than outside. The burning candles in the desk, the empty wooden chairs, the pale color of the wall and golden sunlight passing through the windows with a perfect mixture of warmness and soothing display gave him a feeling of sitting inside a mother’s womb. The vulva shaped pointed arches just added more details. A tall, glowing crimson cross stood alone without the crucified Lord. The ceiling fans were revolving slowly by the blow of wind from the side doors.

  Someone touched his shoulder. He startled, turned around and saw the priest smiling down at him.

  “You look confused, my boy” The priest said.

  “I... I’m just...” the words failed him. He took a deep breath and said “This is my first time, and I was just admiring the glass paintings”

  The priest kept his smile and his eyes looked into him. “People don’t come to church to admire its beauty anymore.”

  “I’m sorry sir, I’m not a Christian” Devin said.

  “You are sorry that you are not a Christian?” the priest asked making him feel friendlier.

  “I should be going” he said “and sorry for troubling you”

  “I believe you were going somewhere but still you wound up here. How did that happen?” The priest asked like a puzzle.

  Devin glanced at her. “I got distracted” he said.

  “Now you sure know where you want to go?”

  He looked at the depth of the question. He shook his head.

  “Ask, you shall get” The priest said.

  “I am confused. I don’t know which way to go now. Everywhere is just nothing” he said hoping to get clearance about his life.

  “Everywhere is nothing. Everything is nothing. We try to bring what we love into this world, then that becomes everything to us. This darkness may make you blind, indecisive but have faith in your heart you will get to see your world. Nothing is the beginning to everything”

  He surmised over the similar preach he got on the same day.

  “How familiar are you with quantum physics?”

  “Are you going to preach science and religion is trying to tell the same thing like those best-selling books in the market?”

  He guffawed. “Come with me”

  He followed him toward the altar. They both walked pass that alone woman praying in silence. He looked at her closed eyes and kept walking toward the front.

  “What do you see?” The Priest asked halting near the lectern.

  “A Cross” Devin replied.

  “And?”

  “- without Jesus”

  “This is Church of South India. We see god as god and the cross is like something you leave in this world after you leave. It can be your children, your ideas or your actions. Do you know what its meaning is?”

  “Faith? Justice? no... A symbol of Hope”

  “Well, for some its resurrection, and for some it’s a prop in horror movies but take them apart what do you get. Just two sticks, two straight lines but put them together you will set a powerful message carried over for 2000 years. If you can’t understand something right away give some time, you will learn to see”

  Every time he met this woman, his life changed its direction. He thought over his manager’s preach, tried connecting with the priest’s presentation. He smiled at him, turned toward the place where the woman was sitting.

  He half expected her to have vanished when he turned, but she was still there, keeping her eyes closed.

  “It’s OK to be confused but don’t enjoy it,” The priest said tapping his shoulder before leaving.

  Devin began to leave, walking toward the front door. He glanced at her for one last time. Her calm face looked more serene than before but her eyes were aiming at him.

  The whole city sparkled with lights, with a blank sky above. He reached his home around 9 and parked the car in front of his house, climbed out locking the car with a press of a button.

  He looked at his house. The one place that frightens him more than anything. It’s an every day’s nightmare. He walked to the front door, turned the knob – it opened.

  “Senandra, it’s me” He said entering his home.

  The whole place was lit bright and all the lights were glowing. He threw his bag on the couch, went for the kitchen turning off lights on his way. He took the water bottle from the refrigerator.

  Thud! – something slammed on the ceiling from above.

  He walked toward the stairs. “I went to church today” He said looking at the top of stairs. “Guess who I saw there?”

  No reply came.

  He took another swig from his bottle. “It is the same woman. I saw her in color today. Do you know what else happened?”

  Again it was the same silence. His eyes searched for movements above.

  “Are you mad at me?” He said climbing the stairs slowly.

  The sweats appeared around his forehead, flowing across his temple. Every step he took in the wooden stairs made him feel more tired.

  “I can’t sleep without your bedtime story, honey” He said reaching the top of the stairs.

  The dull lights flickered on the wall lamp. He walked near the closed door on his right. He turned the doorknob. The door didn’t move.

  “I’m sorry, dear. Don’t worry I’ll find it soon. I already quit my job. I’ve nothing else to do now, so I’ll be on it. Please let me in” He said at the closed door. He waited for it to open. Only his shadow appeared and disappeared on the green door in the blinking light.

  “Good night, dear” He said and climbed down the stairs.

  As he reached down, the door slowly opened with the creaking sound.

  He went to his bedroom, dropped himself on the bed. He grabbed his laptop and turned it on. He clicked the envelope icon and various mail regarding upcoming interviews blinked at him. He skimmed over all the emails and nothing interesting caught his eyes.

  His eyes felt droopy. He shut his laptop, fell back on his bed. His mind began to shut down the thoughts one after another. He looked at the rotating ceiling fan above him as his eyes closed.

  Chapter 3

  MIDDLE OF RAIN

  “Thank you, Mr. Devin. You can leave for the day. We’ll call you on further confirmation” The interviewer said handing over the file.

  Devin gave a polite smile before leaving the room. Another off put interview. He looked at the decorative mirror on the hallway, adjusted the tie on his fine black suit. The lobby was filled with hyper interview candidates, praying inside and nervous outside. Just-graduated students and almost 30s were sitting together. Everyone’s face reflected only one thing – The desperation.

  He pushed open the big glass door. It was drizzling outside. He reached the front gate, with raindrops splattering over his face. He took right, toward where he parked his car. The sidewalk provided the shade from disturbing sprinkles.

  People on the street ran to the nearest shade along the sidewalk. The vehicles rushed home before it was too late.

  He stopped under the shade near the crossroad, looked at his car on the opposite side of the street. Nothing was there to protect his suit from getting wet. He made his run across the street. His hand searched for the key in his pocket while blocking his face with his business bag.

  He pointed the key toward his car. A biker passed by with a screech of horn, splashi
ng the waters logged on the street. Devin jumped back, saving himself. His key left his grip, half disappeared into the puddle formed next to him.

  He turned around, began to pick up the key and stopped when he saw someone joining him in the middle of the road.

  It was a woman in burka, THE WOMAN in burka standing with the matching umbrella. He knew it was her. Her eyes were staring at him through the tiny space in the veil.