Chapter #5
As she waited for the car to be let through the security post into the gated property that she now called home, Annaliese contemplated how the move to India had brought so much change to her life and lifestyle. This: the security measures that her mother had intractably insisted upon were chafing for someone like her who was so used to making her own way around the vibrant streets of New York City. On foot was, in Annaliese's opinion, the best way, to get a true feel for a place, and if nothing-else, that was what she yearned for: to explore the city and seek the truth behind what had really drawn her here. Not that this would happen any time soon. Being escorted around was to be a way of life for her, but it was a condition that she would submit to, so that she could at least have the chance to try and find the answers she needed.
A minute later, they had pulled up to the home's main entrance, and the swift acting chauffer was at her side, holding the passenger door aside.
"Thank you, Hardik."
The young man nodded. "Will you be needing me anymore today, Di?"
The young chef smiled gratefully when he used the familiar address. For her mother's sake she would use the services of the driver, but in no way would she retain some false superiority over someone she considered an equal... and even if he did not quite believe it: a friend. She would leave that nonsense to others.
"Di?"
Annaliese shook her head. "Nahi, I am done for the day. Tomorrow is another story though," she lamented. Unconsciously she sighed as she thought of another round of interviews that she didn't want, since she had found her dream job.
"You are sure to get one of the positions, Di," Hardik stated out of the blue. "And when you do, I will take you to get the best kulfi to be found in Dehli."
"That would be great, bhai," Annaliese answered as she exited the vehicle, "but..."
"Finally!"
Annaliese turned to see her brother exiting the house behind her, his mobile up to his ear. "I thought you would never get back," he complained before barking at the chauffer an address that he needed reach straight away. Immediately, Annaliese saw the look of concern that came to Hardik's face, and held the door ajar, when her younger brother would have closed it.
"Arjun, who are you meeting and how long are you going to be?"
"Now Princess, you know those are questions you need to answer, not I. Be a good girl and report in to Papa, like you always do and leave me to my own business." He turned his attention back to his call "Haan Ajay, my sister... Anyway, I will be there in ten minutes, have one ready for me." He snatched the door from his sibling's grip, closing it and preventing her from hearing the remainder of his conversation. "Meet her...my sister? Not sure why you would want to do that, but yeah, no problem, mate."
Pursing her lips, Annaliese watched the car pull away, with her brother animatedly talking into his phone. She hoped the unease she saw on the driver's face was mostly because of Arjun's high-handed mannerisms, which was bad in itself, yet not as worrisome as the thought of her brother frequenting some seedy part of the city with bad company. This would probably require further investigation on her part, but one thing her sibling had been right about was that she would need to meet her father soon. It was habit rather than an order, but even if it was, it would be one that she wouldn't mind at all. She would share how her interview had gone, and they would talk in depth as they always did. However, she thought, for a change, she may actually have more questions for him than he would have for her today.
*******
With the fuel delivery made and the final connections completed, the service installer tested the gleaming stainless-steel range as his final task to the hours long installation. Lighting each of the burners under the watchful gaze of the restaurant owner, the technician fielded the questions thrown at him by the young man. It was evident that he intended to be completely involved in every aspect of his business, which could be a good or bad thing depending on his temperament. Unlike some of the other businessmen he had dealt with, Shaurya Khanna seemed a lot more even-keeled then most, making his task less stressful than it could have been under such intense scrutiny. In short order the inspection was complete, and the satisfied owner was signing off on the receipt of the appliances. Retrieving the necessary paperwork from the man, the technician extended his hand. "Thank you again for your allowing us to outfit your kitchen. I can assure you Khanna Saab, your head chef will be very happy here."
A moment's hesitation passed before the man responded, and that to only after he blinked suddenly as if waking from a trance. Finally, Shaurya took the hand awaiting his, and shook it firmly. "I believe you are right," he responded deeply. "You have created exactly what I wanted." Unwittingly his thoughts returned where they had just been, hoping that she would feel the same about finished kitchen. Chiding himself, he forced himself away from that way of thinking, instead choosing to escort the appliance technician out of the restaurant. That proved a momentary respite though, for as soon as he returned to appraise the space, so did his vision of the one candidate who had made the greatest impact on him reappear. He could envision none but her there...it was almost as if she had been there before. Frustrated, he raised one hand to his eyes; he was surely going mad.
*******
"Relatives...in India as a whole, definitely beta, but in Delhi specifically, I can't imagine that we do, Annaliese. Actually, our family..."
Dr. Lochen Sharma paused suddenly to study his eldest child with avid interest. Today was definitely different. No, he corrected himself: it was she who was different. For one: he was certain that the job she had interviewed for earlier was one that had piqued her interest more than any of the others. She had attempted to approach the topic of her latest interview as impassively as she had the others, but from the beginning of their conversation he sensed the difference. At first, he imagined it was just her trying not raise her hopes up in fear of being disappointed should she not be selected for the post, but that wasn't the complete truth. There was still something; something not quite tangible, that was affecting her. And now she was querying the possibility of them having kin in the area. He cocked his head to the side slightly. "Is this part of the reason that you wished to come here, beta: are you seeking some sort of connection, Annaliese?"
He watched as his daughter opened her mouth only to then refuse to speak. He leaned forward and clasped her hands to encourage her, wishing that his wife was here now. The mother and daughter were even closer than he and Annaliese were, and if there was anyone who could encourage her to share what had her on the obvious precipice that she was on, it was she. He smiled when the same thought obviously came to his child. Still clasping her father hands, she looked anxiously around the room. "Is Mama home," she asked needlessly, knowing that if she was, then this conversation was one that would be taking place between the three of them.
"Nahi beti, I'm afraid tis only me for now... is this something you would prefer to speak to your mother about?"
Annaliese sat there for a moment, more indecisive than she had ever been before. Although she knew her father loved her, he was a man of science after all, and that would most likely make a difference in his reaction. But the firm grip was encouraging her otherwise. And then he squeezed her hands. That and the unconditional love she saw in his eyes, was all the prompting she needed.
"Papa do you believe in guardian angels," she asked.
"The devas, you mean, Annaliese?" He nodded, as he watched his child. "I do," he assured her. "I believe that everyone of us are watched over and guided by..."
"But do you believe that they make themselves known to you, Papa?"
"What was that, Annaliese?"
"Our guardian angels, do you think that since they are with you at all times that sometimes they reveal themselves...let's say that they can come to you in your dreams if they choose, or am I just being completely fanciful?"
"I imagine it is could happen, beti. I am clearly not an expert on the subject, but, I would like to think that such contact is in the realm of possibility. So, how does this relate to you wondering if we had relatives here?"
"Meera Sharma," Annaliese answered succinctly. "I truly believe that I learned the name of my guardian angel today...and in my dreams she looks just as she did in life, Papa."
"And with the same surname, no less."
Annaliese nodded.
"Aacha. Relations I may not have, but I do have a few contacts that I can call on in the city. Perhaps we can find someone who can speak to this matter more appropriately."
The logical answer was exactly what Annaliese had come to expect from her parent, and she nodded her agreement to his suggestion. Even if he thought her query inane, he would never expressly let her know. Instead, he would provide her the avenue to seek an informed answer: without judgment. She loved him so much for that, she thought as she went over to embrace her father for his understanding. "Thank you, Papa."
********
Ringing the doorbell outside the stately residence was the last place Shaurya expected to find himself this afternoon, but after leaving the restaurant it was almost as if he was compelled to steer his vehicle in one specific direction. As he contemplated whether he had made a mistake, he felt the vibration of his mobile inside his inner jacket pocket. However, before he could reach for it, the home's door swung open. Shaurya immediately plastered a smile on his face as he folded his hands to greet Mahdav's father. "Namaste, Uncle, how are..."
Hurriedly ushering him into the house, the older man anxiously peered outside of the home for a minute, before shutting the door in frustration.
"Uncle, is something wrong?"
The distracted man finally gave him his attention. "Beta, I'm sorry; forgive me. I thought you were the doctor."
"Doctor, Uncle...is someone ill?"
Before he could answer, a frazzled Mahdev entered the room. "Shaurya you're here already...how...wait never mind, just come, Baba is getting worse, and he is insistent that he needs to speak to you."
Putting two and two together, Shaurya followed his friend who led the way to his ailing grandfather's bedroom.
"What the hell happened?"
"I don't know, he was fine all day and then this fever, a bad one, comes out of nowhere. It's affecting him badly, but he is fighting any attempt to help him. He just keeps on saying over and over that he needs to talk to you; to let you know something important. Maa asked me to call you if only so we can get him to take any sort of medication."
Shaurya frowned, he had never known Rajiv Uncle to behave in such a manner that Mahdev was describing. "Do you have any idea what he's deemed so important?"
"Actually, I was just about to ask you that very thing, dost," Mahdev asked as he opened the door to the bedroom suite. He considered his friend's unpredicted arrival and couldn't hold back any longer. "Why did you come anyway, Shaurya?"
"To understand what is happening to him, why his world has turned upside down,I imagine. Isn't that right Shaurya?"
The voice that reached them was labored, and anyone seeing the elderly man, would understand how very ill he was. Beside the frail bed-ridden figure, Mahdev's mother wrung out a compress and placed the cool cloth on her father-in-law's his forehead. "Enough," the senior rasped. "I need to speak to Shaurya, now...alone."
Only after assuring her that he would see to it that Rajiv Uncle would take the medicines she had prepared for him, did Mahdev's mother allow her son to lead her out of the room. Immediately, Shaurya followed the direction given to him and supporting the elderly man, managed to get him to take a dose that if it wasn't too late, would help bring down his temperature until the doctor arrived. He settled the man back on his pillows and then prepared to exchange the compress for a fresher one. A fever-heated hand stopped him, and instead urged Shaurya to sit.
"Uncle..."
"Uncle, nahi...there's no need for that...it's just us Shaurya now, so no more uncle nonsense. You make me feel old when call me that... Just be who you are...who I know you to be." With glassy eyes, Rajiv stared at him, and then shook his head. "You haven't figured it out, have you? I thought after today, it would all be clear, Shaurya, but I should have known better. When it came to her, you could never think straight."
Bewildered, Shaurya just stared; not knowing at all how to respond.
"She's back...at last she is back where she belongs...our Mehek has come home."
Edited by crtkelly - 7 years ago
DO NOT COPY THIS POST AS THIS IS EXCLUSIVE TO INDIA FORUMS
Anupamaa
Cricket
