It was one of those lazy days which later turn into a series of exciting
events and then you reminisce on how unexciting you had anticipated your day to
be, and how everything turns topsy-turvy within the spur of a moment. It is
akin to taking a leap of faith to seek the unknown and at the same time, to expect
the worst. It’s either a step towards an adventure or one towards a big
mistake. There are only two ways to it.
And, if you are a girl, either way you’d be touched or at least tried
on. But that’s ok! We do learn what to expect and how to handle it, as we grow
older. Guess it’s time for an awkward pause.
I was taking my customary stroll. It was a hot April day in Delhi. Often
elderly women on the road pointed out the missing umbrella on my head, telling
me that I’d fall sick under the Sun. Little did they know, it was only because
I had always hated carrying the umbrella! Anything that cannot fit itself into
my bag is just isn’t worth carrying!
What if I got engaged in some other activity and forgot about it? I’m
swayed away by people and places all the time, saving an umbrella might just be
the last thing on my mind! So I had prevented the mishap altogether. I had left
the umbrella at home!
The white, slightly heeled welt of my shoes were starting to look brown
with dirt. My steps had synced in with the Micheal Bubble song that was playing
and I had almost started to tune in to the rhythm, when I saw a cloud of sand
fly across from my feet. A car had just stopped next to me.
It was a Skoda and the situation was strange, as I didn’t know many
people in the city. He had probably just stopped for directions. Isn’t that a
possibility? So, I looked in through the left front seat window which he had
lowered in order to get a view of my face. He was a man in his twenties and
looked decently dressed. He was in a grey suit and a mauve tie. His big, intense
eyes scanned my face like he was trying to see through me. He looked like he
was having a hard time bringing himself to trust me. His urgent eyes and
restless gestures startle me a little and he says, “Did I hire you for an ad in
our company before? Are you Meera?”
Now, in this situation, a million things may cross one’s mind. Is he
trying to hit on me? Is he someone dangerous? Do I really have some distant
doppelganger?
But then reflex takes over and I go “No! Sorry you are mistaken.”
He looks around in a frenzy and says hurriedly “You shouldn’t be walking
in the Sun like this. Do you want me to drop you somewhere?” He looked quiet scared,
quite desperate.
“No, I’m fine thanks. I’ve almost reached my destination.”
“Can you come inside the car? I want to talk to you.”
“No. I’m getting late. I’m sorry.”
“Please help me. If you do, I will offer you a business deal.”
At this point, most women would have taken the highway. Some would even
have called the cops, but I for some fucked up reason, stood there for a while
for him to speak on! God I can surprise myself!
He looked very wary about his
surroundings. Now help has always been something I could never refuse. I need
help once in a while! It must work on both sides, you know. You have to help in
order to be helped. You need to care in order to be cared about.
“What is with this man?” I thought to myself. Maybe I was looking for a new
story, a new adventure! By then I had realized, that this was not going to be just
another day.
“Come, please sit fast! I can’t be seen. Everybody here knows me!”
His urgent tone rang on my ears as he opened the door, gesturing me to
sit. “Just 5 minutes. I just want to talk to you.”
I never realized when I actually sat in that car. But within 30 seconds
of him persuading me into helping him, which seemed like a good 5 minutes to me;
I found myself sitting beside him. He was frantically trying to read through
me, like he was trying to look for something that he thought he might find in
me. His gaze was very gripping and it looked like he was in need of help.
“I’m Varun, the managing director
at Padmini jewelers. We have branches all over the world.” I felt my eyes widen
a bit until I decided to shake off the disbelief that was creeping inside of
me. He took out his card, showed me but he just wouldn’t hand it over to me! It
was annoying.
“People misuse my contact. I’ll give you my card only if you promise not
to misuse it”, he says. I didn’t understand how I could misuse his Business card,
but I promised him anyway.
He wasn’t really driving as much as he was talking or asking me
questions. During that conversation, I had recognized a few intricacies of
leading a so called “high-class” life in India. No matter how much these people
boast about their sophistication or elitism, they are always a bunch of lonely
people who strongly feel that they are only wanted or contacted for money. They
feel they have no real connections or friends. Everything is a business deal to
them, even relationships!
Two hours into driving and obsessive talking, he was beginning to see
the harmless girl in me and he started to break the walls of insecurities that
he had built around him. He decided to be bold and true to me. By this time he
had it all figured out in his head about what he really wanted to do with me. He
had started to fall for me and he wanted to take me with him. “You are rare as
a diamond and I am going to possess you.” He says with a Delhi-ish accent.
“Do you see that suit case on the back?”
There was a massive blue suit case on the back seat.
“It has 40 crores in it. My house got raided this morning. Can you keep
the money safe for me? I’ll give you everything you want. Just name your dreams
and you will have them all. I will take care of you. But only if you save me
today.”
Call me a pussy, Call me stupid, but I just couldn’t say “Yes” to flying
with him to Canada the next morning! He was literally suggesting that! So it
was given that I would not take the money with me. Honestly, I am a happy-with-minimal-things-in-life
kind of a person. I’m the last person you should be offering a big bag of
illegal cash to!
I never opened that suit case though. I guess I was too unprepared for
what I might see inside. It’s not a regular view for me, a suit case full of
illegal money.
That day, I made sure I return to my freedom, my music and myself; and
end that day as it was meant to end in the first place. Yes, I ran out on him
at the restaurant. I paid the bill and I walked out.
It was really good to find my way back home.
