{"id":356,"date":"2024-03-02T11:13:50","date_gmt":"2024-03-02T11:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/subramaniansairam.com\/?p=356"},"modified":"2024-03-02T13:14:24","modified_gmt":"2024-03-02T13:14:24","slug":"short-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/subramaniansairam.com\/?p=356","title":{"rendered":"Short Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sanjay stepped out of his house in Janak Puri, when he was greeted by Nita aunty who was on a morning walk with her daughter Bubbly, of marriageable age.  He managed to answer with a slight nod and a bleak smile escaped his lips looking at an eager Bubbly, who measured him from bottom up with a look of infatuation. His family was still recuperating from the tragedy but life must go on<\/em> his father had said and pressured him to attend his interview. Sanjay had received confirmation of him being shortlisted for the position of Cabin Crew, while he was standing in the cremating ground looking at the body of his only elder brother vanishing into ashes and smoke. The news had meant nothing to him that day. A sudden loud honking of a horn brought his senses back to where he was standing, in the middle of the one-way road outside his house. Sanjay quickly moved to his car, a Maruti 800, prized possession of his deceased brother. He jiggled the bunch of keys to find the one for the car and found himself driving towards Chanakya Puri. It was early November and the streets looked misty with the morning fog. Sanjay had left early and the traffic on the roads was sparing. He wanted to have his quick fix breakfast of Chole Kulche and Chai at Dhaula Kuan before the interview, his coping mechanism for stress. Sitting in his car, Sanjay switched on the Sony car stereo and pushed in the cassette tape that he grabbed randomly from the car dashboard. The stereo, a copy of the real, bought from Ajmal Khan market at a throw away price played his brothers favorite collection of songs from Kumar Sanu. Abhishek his brother had suddenly shifted from listening to Anup Jalota in the morning to Kumar Sanu, raising suspicion, further investigation of which led to the discovery of a sudden love interest in his life. For about last four months Abhishek had crawled out of his stressful job as a ground staff in an airline and found a new zest for life. He had decided to shift their family from a rental home to own mortgaged house and bought a car to travel to work. The biggest shock for them, was that he became a regular at the local gym and quit non vegetarian food. He started spending few nights, every week, purportedly with friends. The parents, ignored these minor transgressions of adult life while Sanjay felt happy as a precedent was being set for him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then suddenly, he had left them, just like that, as if they didn\u2019t mean anything. There were signs that he was in stress and looked desolate, but blamed his work. It became apparent to Sanjay\u2019s family that Abhishek had a rough breakup and had got himself entangled with a girl who worked for some sort of a racket. Sanjay dismissed these memories raging through his mind as he emptied the last sip of tea and threw the remains of his breakfast to a loitering dog, circling his car in expectation. He had to reach the venue before traffic swarmed the roads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sanjay looked at his watch, it was 8:30. He had managed to reach just in time. He quickly parked his car on the side of a tall old tree, that looked at the Azaad complex with disdain. Azaad complex was way past its prime and had a fall of fortune from being one of the premium office complexes at one time to now being a shady building with small time businesses struggling to survive. \u201cOhh God, save me.\u201d Sanjay blurted out as he accidently stepped on a lemon covered with vermilion while getting out of the driver\u2019s seat. Not that Sanjay believed in superstitions, but mannerisms of parents often reveal themselves through their children during unexpected situations.  He looked at the mirror and adjusted his dark grey tie once again and rushed his palm through his wavy hair. Of the seven applications to different airlines this was the only one that had progressed. Sanjay was the most handsome guy in his colony, or at least that was his mother\u2019s belief. Nevertheless, he knew \u20185.4\u2019 in height could at best get him a position of ground staff in an airline. Still his application to \u2018Eagle Airlines\u2019 had been shortlisted and he had been called for final interview.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sanjay walked into the reception, ensuring his suit and tie was in order and approached the receptionist with a certain bounce in his steps. Receptionist looked back at him with an appreciative glance and suggested he wait with other candidates on the sofa. Sanjay had mixed feelings when he saw other candidates. He considered the three male candidates to be in short height and average in looks. On the contrary the five young women were quite attractive. He saw space between two of them and neatly seated himself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHi I am Aakriti,\u201d the one on his right with hair tied in a bun, introduced herself. Sanjay noticed, she was probably a year or two younger and taller. They spent the next few minutes chatting while one of the male candidates was called for the interview. Sanjay noticed that the girl to his left was perspiring. The sockets of her eyes were sunk and the periorbital skin was pale dark. \u201cEven with makeup, she looks underprepared for the interview,\u201d he thought. She repeatedly pulled the cuffs of her wrists towards the palm, looking at others suspiciously. Sanjay stood up, grabbed a glass of water from the table in the corner and offered her. Her hands trembled when she received the glass and while she emptied it. Sanjay and Aakriti moved closer to her and introduced themselves. Shefali lived alone in the city, hunting for work while her family was in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. She was at the boundary in terms of age eligibility and older than Sanjay and Aakriti. While Shefali was speaking she looked at Sanjay in a peculiar way. \u201cI think, I know\u2026, \u201d before she could complete, Sanjay leapt towards the door with his ringing phone. \u201cDon\u2019t take that call..,\u201d Shefali said but Sanjay was already out of the door. It was Sanjay\u2019s father on the call<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSon, the collection guys from the Bank have come to repossess the car. They have also sent a notice for the house loan repayment. They will come again tomorrow. We are praying that you get the job.\u201d Abhishek\u2019s suicide under mysterious circumstances had left a mortgage on the house, loan on the car and personal loans. When Sanjay walked back into the reception hall, he saw Aakriti and Shefali chatting, Aakriti\u2019s demeanor had completely changed. Her legs were restless and eyes were glued to those of Shefali. The three male candidates had completed their interview and were waiting in an adjoining glass walled conference room. Aakriti wanted to tell Sanjay something, desperately. Sanjay excused himself and went to the washroom. As soon as he entered the washroom, he felt dizzy. When he relieved himself and got up, he felt as if he saw the commode lid close by itself with a loud cracking sound of the plastic hitting against the base. His head felt heavy and he sat back on it. Someone was speaking inside his head. He felt his brother Abhishek next to him, inside his head. Then he saw his image clearly. Sanjay lost his physical consciousness and slumped back on the commode tank. A conversation started in his head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cAbhishek, is it you? Why did you leave us?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abhishek didn\u2019t respond, he just lowered his eyes in despair. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre you in peace, we did all the last rites as per Panditji?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abhishek nodded. He then tried to tell Sanjay something and suddenly a loud knock on the door shook Sanjay back into his consciousness. He opened the door and stepped out. The receptionist indicated that he was next. Sanjay wasn\u2019t sure what had just happened with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he sat for the interview, he met a panel of two men and a woman. While the two men were dressed in suits and the woman draped a saree, their mannerisms didn\u2019t befit those of a recruiter from an international airline. After asking the usual introductory questions, they started probing more deeply into his background. They seemed extremely professional and told him that the chances of him becoming a cabin crew were weak, they however had positions for ground staff. Sanjay knew he didn\u2019t have a choice. He agreed. They however had a condition. He had to sign an offer letter immediately and then fly to the training center in Chennai the same night. Sanjay requested them a weeks\u2019 time for him to settle things at home. They said that the next batch was in six months and that he could be back home in fifteen days once the training was over. They concluded the interview by asking him to speak to his family and share his decision by waiting in the glass conference room if he was taking the offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Sanjay exited the room, he saw Aakriti packing her stuff in a hurry. She was visibly frightened and was about to leave the reception. Sanjay grabbed her by the wrist and looked at her enquiringly. \u201cSanjay, I am leaving. You have to leave with me too. Immediately,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat, Why, What are you saying?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is no time Sanjay, let\u2019s go down.\u201d She grabbed him by his arm and pulled him out of the room. They heard the receptionist calling them as she pulled him into the lift. They heard the footsteps of the guard as the lift door closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy Aakriti, I need that job. You don\u2019t know my situation. I am going back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLook here,\u201d said Aakriti and pulled out her phone. She started swiping pictures and stopped at one that she had taken with Shefali. The photo had Aakriti\u2019s face captured perfectly but Shefali\u2019s face was distorted.   Shefali\u2019s lips were contorted towards the side and her eyes were almost faded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour phone has some issues,\u201d said Sanjay. Aakriti continued scrolling and showed him few more pictures, all had similar pattern. Then she stopped at another one. \u201cLook closer,\u201d Aakriti pulled him closer as they sat on a bench outside the building under the tree. Sanjay could see a shadow in this photograph right in front of Shefali\u2019s face, he knew the shadow. It was Abhishek\u2019s face.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSanjay, I know it\u2019s difficult to believe. Shefali is not normal. I heard a man\u2019s voice from within her. He asked me to get out. He asked me to take you with me. There is something seriously wrong here.\u201d Sanjay saw the lemon while getting into his car. On the way he dropped Aakriti. He wasn\u2019t sure, what he was going to tell his parents. How they were going to deal with the loans. A voice within him urged him to go back and take the offer but then he recalled Abhishek\u2019s face. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next morning Sanjay woke up to the sound of a loud knock on his door. His father got in with the newspaper. On the front page was the news of five missing persons reported by their families, who had vanished after going for an interview, three men and two women. The police had raided the interview venue and found it abandoned. They suspected that it was case of human trafficking for organ trade but were still investigating. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sanjay stepped out of his house in Janak Puri, when he was greeted by Nita aunty who was on a morning walk with her daughter Bubbly, of marriageable age.  He managed to answer with a slight nod and a bleak smile escaped his lips looking at an eager Bubbly, who measured him from bottom up with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tpgb_global_settings":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"tpgb_featured_images":null,"tpgb_post_meta_info":{"get_date":"March 2, 2024","get_modified_date":"March 2, 2024","category_list":{"category":false,"post_tag":false},"author_name":"sairamsubramanian","author_url":"https:\/\/subramaniansairam.com\/?author=1","author_email":"sairamfiction@gmail.com","author_website":"https:\/\/subramaniansairam.com","author_description":"","author_facebook":"","author_twitter":"","author_instagram":"","author_role":["administrator"],"author_firstname":"","author_lastname":"","user_login":"sairamsubramanian","author_avatar":"","author_avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4db50c33cf160569a1f58c2c7e9b81cfba938b244485d2d1f474df9ee033df8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","comment_count":1,"post_likes":0,"post_views":0},"tpgb_post_category":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/subramaniansairam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/subramaniansairam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/subramaniansairam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/subramaniansairam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/subramaniansairam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=356"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/subramaniansairam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":382,"href":"https:\/\/subramaniansairam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356\/revisions\/382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/subramaniansairam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/subramaniansairam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/subramaniansairam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}