Chapter 1: Falling
He rechecked the address that was written in hasty scrawl to reaffirm his destination. No, he hadn't arrived at wrong place; the small cafe bursting with some sort of festivities was the place he was supposed to be and deliver the message.
"Excuse me ma'am, can you please tell me where I can find one Ms. Geet Handa?" He asked a well dressed woman who was coming out of the cafe in a huff. The woman spared him a short look.
"You don't know what happened?" She asked. Before he could formulate a response, she continued. "Go straight ahead and you will enter backyard. The lonely girl with hands on her head and sobbing her eyes out would be the one you are looking for", the woman replied brutally. He was taken aback at the sharpness in the woman's tone.
"Excuse me?" He didn't quite follow what was going on. His puzzled face only fueled the gossiping woman's mirth. She laughed and gestured him to go inside and see for himself.
He maneuvered his way through the cafe and its patrons and found himself in an almost empty backyard. It seemed as if everyone was leaving or had left in a hurry. Apart from caterers, florists and other facilitators who were removing the decorations, there was indeed a lone woman dressed up for whatever occasion it was sitting with a defeated expression. He approached her cautiously. Something told him that the situation wasn't normal. The table she was sitting was the most decorated one of the lot and there was even a grand cake. Was it a birthday party gone wrong? He mused as he arrived at her table.
It was the same moment when she looked up and stared straight at him. His step halted for a moment. She showed no reaction and before he could introduce himself and deliver the message, the caterer interjected.
"Ma'am, what do you want us to do with the food? So much food and no one really ate", the caterer asked her gently.
"Bring two plates with anything vegetarian in it; for me and the guest over here", she said while getting up and extending her hands in greetings. The caterer gave a committal hum.
"Oh, am not staying. I am here to deliver a message to Geet Handa from Dev", he replied. The caterer looked at her in question.
"Just get me something vegetarian to eat. Thank you." She dismissed the caterer with finality in her tone.
"I am Geet Handa. What's his excuse?" She asked looking anywhere but him.
"Well he said he can't make it to today's meeting with you because of an emergency meeting which he cannot avoid."
"He jilted me on the day of our engagement for a bloody meeting?" She seethed and thumped her hands on the table. He took a step back. He hadn't realized it was actually Dev's engagement that was going on and this Geet girl was Dev's fiance. He didn't know how to react or even comfort for that matter.
Geet collapsed on chair and rubbed her temples with both her hands. Without knowing what to do, he sat on a chair opposite to her. He quite honestly didn't know how to console people let alone women so he just sat quietly and stared at her intently. After many moments, she spoke.
"You know what they don't show you on TV and movies? The aftermath of failed engagement party generally fast forwards to the girl bawling her eyes out and her girlfriends handing out tissues."
"I guess that's not the case in real life, huh?" He questioned and signaled the caterer to bring him a plate too. It looked he was going to be there for a while.
"In real life, like for example now, I have to find out a way to return gifts I received from my well wishers, figure out what needs to be done with so much food, get this place cleaned up etc. Just because my engagement got canceled things doesn't stop there you know."
He knew about that part very well being in that position a few times on his own. Before he could respond, the caterer placed a plate with assorted items in front of them.
"Dig in", she simply said and started eating without looking up. He didn't know the woman who was eating as if her life depended on it but he felt a surge of pity for her. She was trying very hard to hold herself up amidst the massive disappointment which resonated from every part of the backyard. He wanted to hit Dev for the sheer carelessness in the way he had handled the situation. He really had no idea that Dev was seeing a girl and it was this serious. Had he known before that Dev was sending him off to break his own engagement he would have ignored the whole thing completely. It was too late to dwell on it now but he would sure give Dev an earful after listening to his part of the story.
He slowly ate not taking his eyes off Geet who wasn't sitting in some corner and sobbing but was eating and perhaps even thinking about things that she would have to take care of. Only then he noticed the oddity of the entire situation.
"Where are your parents and other family members?" He asked. He looked up from his plate when there was no immediate response.
"They are not here", was her quiet response. He nodded his head and decided to leave it that. Obviously it was a touchy subject by the way she reacted to his question. She hadn't even looked up from her plate for the entire duration and he didn't blame her. The woman was still trying to get a handle on things and get all things around her resolved.
They finished the rest of the meal in silence.
Once done, she started giving instructions as to what need to be done with decorations et al. The detachment she showed towards the situation made him wonder if she was truly this strong or was she hurt repeatedly in her life to arrive at this level of cynicism. He couldn't move from the spot even if he wished to and watched the woman wander around the backyard giving out orders, making phone calls and writing down things in a small book.
He was mesmerized by that sight.
She sat down on the chair which she previously had discarded after finishing her meal. She sighed and looked wearily at the untouched food still being gently heated.
"I worked in this cafe you know. The food for today's party was a gift from the kind couple who own this place", she said softly her hands tracing patterns on tablecloth.
Before he could stop himself, he blurted out.
"I know of an orphanage which might accept food without prior notice. Would you like me to find out?" He wasn't of the interfering variety unless specifically asked. In this case however it felt natural to do so. She nodded in response.
Thirty minutes later the caterers had loaded packed food to trunk of his car.
"Thank you for doing this", she said sincerely.
"It's not a problem", he replied.
"I am sorry but how do you know Dev?" She asked realizing that they never got around full introductions.
"I am Maan Singh Khurana and I am Dev's colleague and a friend", he responded.
As he drove slowly and merged into traffic, he could see her lithe frame standing in the same stature as he had left her. Once that picture became blurry and then totally disappeared, only then he took his eyes off the rear view mirror and looked back at the road.
To be continued.
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Naagin 7
