The Fault - Part 4
Rekha likes quiet early mornings, where there are no man-made sounds, but just cute discussions of the birds about world affairs in a secret language. She has been demanding more solitude for herself recently.
After doing the daily chores, she looks for the status of the applications at various companies. It's been about a month since she left her job. She wonders how she had to leave the job even though it was not her fault.
She was trying to be herself. She said she wanted to be herself. But her colleagues had not understood it. They thought she was bossy. They thought she was selfish. They did not realize they were contradicting their own definition of freedom, as if it was not applicable to women.
They wanted to control her. They showed that they would control others against her. But her colleagues had not understood it. She did not ask them to treat her in a special way. She was asking to leave her alone as and when she wanted. Instead, they shamed her. They judged her. She wondered how people easily could do that.
Amongst the fears of not wanting to work at the office, she applied because she wanted to socialize. She wanted to hold on to the hope that not all offices are the same. She even did not tell during any discussion that she was ill-treated. If she has to say it to be treated with care, then she would rather leave the office.
***
It's been a few months since Rekha started attending this new office. She has to work along with Sumit. Unlike her previous company, she is liking this company. To be more specific, she is liking Sumit more than her previous colleagues.
In the initial days, he was very dead calm. It was as if he would speak only if there were a fire emergency or an earthquake. But recently, he is improving. He is becoming more respectful, and more normal. The kind of normal that she or any average woman can expect. As if he is becoming aware of the things.
He tries to make her laugh, does not involve much in her matters, gives her personal space, neither shares any rumours about anyone with her, nor shares any gossip she tells him with others.
But sometimes, he feels lost while looking at something on his computer. For some moments, he goes back to the dead serious mode. She wanted to know sometimes what he was reading or watching in there, but she did not dare it. But one day he told her that he wanted to say something.
"Hai, Rekha.. will you be free today evening?"
"Yeah, Sumit. What happened?"
"I just am thinking of sharing something with you. I don't know actually." He was little sweating.
"Oh is it? Yeah sure. You can tell me anything. It's okay as long as you are okay to share it."
"Thanks, Rekha. Will let you know about it then."
That's it. After that, he did never bring up that topic. Neither she asked for it. Maybe he forgot about it.
***
Every morning, while being alone listening to the bird sounds, she has been thinking of Sumit. She wanted to have someone like Sumit, as a companion. But she was not sure of his relationship status. She thought to make the first move, at least to know his interest. She did not want to disappoint herself with hope. But at the same time, she was sure that he would probably say yes. She could not explain why, anyways.
She did not want to call him. She did not want to say to his face either. So she asked for his free time after office and thought of sending a voice message.
She saw Rohan preparing to leave when she is leaving the office. She reached her room, got freshened up, and waited for some time, preparing what to say. Once she checked the time after she is done with the message, she wanted to send the message. She was sure that he would be settled by now.
She started recording the message:
"Hello Sumit, this is Rekha. Well, actually, I have no idea how to say this or when to say this...."
She sent the message. After a few minutes, she saw that the message was read, but there was no reply yet. Of course, she was not expecting one. He would need some time before saying anything. This also could be very sudden to him. So she ended the day being impressed with herself. Now she would not have the regret of not talking to him about her feelings.
But bad luck tapped her sleep. She suddenly remembered the fact that he had wanted to share something with her. Now she gave a thought about it.
Was it related to his relations?
Was he already married?
Someone was loving him?
She then decided to ask about it first thing in the next morning. If that could be important, she needed to know about it before she could take any decision. Also, she decided to ask why he was so seriously looking at the screen sometimes? She hoped he would not get offended. They were quite good friends now.
Was he alright?
Was he in depression?
Was he kind of...
She decided it better to stop those thoughts and sleep. Brains perform an extraordinary job of exaggerating situations, especially when they detect we are in a low confidence zone.
***
On the next morning, after she got refreshed, with a bit of hesitation, checked her mobile for messages. Indeed there were messages in the office members' group. It's from the top management:
We just came to know that our employee Sumit Thakare was hit by an accident...
She could not believe what she was reading. She is losing her balance.
..happened last night, while he was returning from the office...
Her mind is starting to blur. She gathered herself to read the further messages regarding the hospital location. No one replied to the messages. Maybe no one saw them yet, she thought. She rushed to the hospital.
***
"Excuse me, can you please tell me the room number of the patient Sumit Thakare?" The receptionist, without checking the details on the computer, directly said to go to the first room to the left of the elevator on the fourth floor.
She could not wait for the elevator to arrive. She swiftly ran along the steps to reach the fourth floor. She checked for the elevator and located the room.
She stood frozen at the entrance. There he was, motionless. The Sumit, who always tried to make her laugh, now not doing that. She entered the room with heavy steps. She could not believe it was him. To her right, there are a few visitor chairs. On the far most chair, she saw a woman sitting.
The woman noticed Rekha and started walking towards her. She is wearing a black dress and her eyes seem slightly wet.
Rekha walked forward and introduced herself.
"Hello, I am Rekha. I am a colleague of Sumit. Just before I have seen the message that he met with an accident.." The woman recognized the concerned eyes of Rekha.
"Hai Rekha, that's sweet of you to come at this early hour. But no need to worry now. Doctors said he is out of danger." Rekha felt relieved.
"Oh, sorry, I did not tell you about myself. I am Tara, a friend of Sumit."
**end of part 04**
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