Team: Tete a Ten
The car was returning home carrying with
itself a child who was reunited with its parents and the parents who were
reunited with each other. As Shekhar smiled inwardly, half lost in his musings
and half lost behind the steering wheel, Tara logged into Facebook.
Her timeline was deluged by messages from
friends, from strangers, from known and from the semi-known. Though some of
them were mere perfunctory formalities, she generously shared her gratitude
with everybody, thanking each one for being by her side in her moment of
terror.
She also ran an eye through the inbox and
it was then that Jennifer's message resurfaced.
"Did you inform Jennifer," she swiveled
her quizzical eye at Shekhar who was driving languidly, his face writhing in
joyful relief of the kind only a father who has lost and regained his child can
experience.
"Jennifer? Ah no, I think you should
personally call her and let her know dear. We owe our Roohi to her-"
"Yes Shekhar, we owe our life to
her," said Tara almost cutting him short. For a moment, she felt shaken
but it was not the kind of quiver one associates with terror or with pain but
the kind one associates with an orgy of unexpected happiness. It was a universe
later that Shekhar had called her 'dear' and perhaps without even realizing so.
Partially drowned in her reveries, Tara dialed
Jennifer's number. It was a peppy song intended as a ringtone that somewhat
pulled her out of her reveries.
"Hello. Yes Tara, did you find
her," Jennifer rushed straight to the point without wasting precious
seconds over pleasantries. "I am trying to share the picture with as many
people as possible. I hope to-
"You can relax Jennifer. We have found
her. We have got Roohi. She is sitting by my side. Oh no, she seems to have
fallen asleep. Poor child. I am so thankful to you Jennifer. Shekhar says hi
too. He will call you once we are home, he says. Tell me Jennifer, what can we
do for you," Tara felt a rush of kindness for this new woman in her life.
She was a God-send, she kept telling herself.
Tara spoke some more during which the
person on the other end of the receiver took the good news in.
"I am so glad and relieved....and
happy that you found her," Jennifer finally found her voice. It was a
happy shock which had kindled in her a bubble of new-found energy.
"But, is Roohi okay," Jennifer's
tone suddenly turned grave. "Who was that man? A kidnapper? Did he harm,"
she let the sentence float in the air unfinished.
But Tara soon quelled her fears. Over the
next few minutes, she recited the story. "So you see, Cyrus is not the
criminal type. He just happened to be there. On hindsight, I am glad he found
her instead of some mad man getting hold of our Roohi."
Some pleasantries later, they disconnected
and while Tara returned to her tranquil world inside the warm car, Jennifer
hung up still feeling jittery. "Is the man truly what he shows himself to
be or is there more to it than what meets the eye," she soliloquized.
Roohi seemed fast asleep, back to her quiet
dreams which a child of her age is entitled to. Meanwhile, Tara found herself
leaning closer and closer to Shekhar till her head rested on his shoulder. Her
hair bristled against his face, triggering a reaction which had erupted after
several years. Two lips found each other and much like Roohi, Tara slipped back
to some much-needed dreams. A kiss later, they kissed again which was followed
by another long kiss.
Tara was privy to the message which beeped
on her phone. But the reply she sent was quick and short as Dr. Aryan Ahuja
found out leaning back into his heavy armchair in the deeper confines of his own
home. The doctor was another lone figure in this obstreperous world. His
admiration for Tara was silent but strong. Tara too had found solace in his
warm words during her years of marital exile but their relationship had always
been strictly platonic.
As Dr. Ahuja was reflecting about Tara, his
pensive recollections were rudely intruded by a call from the hospital.
"Sir, some lady by the name of
Jennifer is trying to contact you desperately," said the receptionist over
the phone.
"Who? Jennifer? Okay, give me her
number."
A few seconds later, Jennifer's phone
screamed.
"Hello. I am Dr. Aryan Ahuja. Am I
speaking to Miss Jennifer."
"Umm... yes. Jennifer here. Hello, Mr.
Ahuja. I was trying to reach out to you-"
"Yes, tell me. How can I help
you," the doctor politely enquired.
"I wanted to enquire about this man.
Umm... Cyrus is his name. Do you know him?"
A pregnant pause ensued. Courtesy was gone
when the doctor spoke next, "That's none of your business."
The call was disconnected. Jennifer
continued to hold the phone to her ears for some time, quite dazed by her own
thoughts.
-Ritesh Agarwal
