“Sir, the contract between you and your brother about the apartment”, manager from the legal department handed over a file to me.

“As he is no more there, what should we do? Advance rent for the first three months is paid. It’s just fifteen days after signing the agreement. The agreement involves one more person. Moreover, the term for the contract is 1 year, we should not terminate the contract without any strong reason.”

“Prove that the other person will not be able to make the payments and terminate the contract. I don’t care if she goes to court.”

“You can schedule a meeting with her once, may be.”

“No need. I don’t want any communication with her. Don’t give her my direct contact. Inform the reception that I don’t wish to receive her call.”

“Yes.” He left.

“Sir, this is the proposal draft for the sea-side resort chain that is being planned along the Konkan Coast of Maharashtra,” my assistant handed over a file to me.

“Thanks. Book me tickets to Pune. Arrange a cab there. I will myself drive to the proposed locations from there.”

“In this season, it will be difficult. It rains heavily there.”

“Its already late September. I think it will not be so bad. Moreover, I will get an idea about how bad the weather is.”

Two days later, I was driving on the narrow and beautiful roads of the Western ghats. The past events and the thoughts seemed to follow me everywhere. I remembered my parents’ death. Inheritance made me CEO of a listed company. My brother flatly refused to take any responsibility of the company stating that it is not his cup of tea. He was being honest and I accepted it. He was too techy to be in management.

He died a fortnight ago. “He was traveling on J.M.Road, when a speeding car hit his bike. We are trying to find the culprit”, the police stated. I was completely devastated. After my parents, he was the only family member alive. Now I was all alone. I cursed his girlfriend, because he went to drop her and then only this happened.

I didn’t have a good opinion about girls. After becoming the CEO, I saw many girls approaching me emerging out of nowhere. I was sick of their hypocrisy and took that impression for all girls. When my brother told me that he is going to live with his girlfriend, I cautioned him. Considering that he is going to inherit a fortune sooner or later, any girl would find herself lucky to get engaged to him. But he was adamant that his girlfriend is different and that I am wrong. They were planning to buy a house together and I again warned him. “Where do you plan to buy an apartment.”

“I am thinking of Golden Gates.”

“Golden Gates!”, I almost screamed. “I don’t want you to pay for your entire life and slog in that office for nothing.”

“Come on, bro. Take it light. Even she is going to contribute.”

“She won’t, I am telling you. She will make all sorts of excuses and make you pay the entire amount.”

“Bro, will you shut up now! I told you my plans. I am not asking you to pay a single penny. It’s a dream for us together and we would like to fulfill it.”

“OK. I won’t say anything. But I don’t want you to slog and pay that unreasonable interest all your life. Let’s make a deal.”

“What deal?” “I will buy the house for you and you become my tenant. Your rent will be equal to your EMI and once you have paid off the entire cost you may have the documents. It will take only half the tenure to pay the principle. OK?”

“The house will be owned by both of us.”

“You are sick.”

“Can’t help.” He smiled mischievously.

“Let her be nominee. Rent agreement will have both of you as tenants.”

“Thanks bro. It’s a major relief.”

“You can just join in as a CTO and things will get resolved.”

“I will do that too. But not now. Later.” He hung up. Two days later, I flew to Pune and we bought the house for him and made that contract. I got everything done without the actual presence of his girlfriend. So, he took that as an offense.

“I really wanted you to meet her. She is such a wonderful person.”

“?”

“Well, that’s love.”

“No, that’s infatuation or your stupidity.”

“This is too much.”

“OK, let’s not fight.”

“Come with us, let’s celebrate.”

“Some other time. I have a teleconference scheduled today evening. See you later.”

“Sure, Mr. President. I will take an appointment now on wards.” We had a hearty laugh and he left.

Same night I received a call from Police asking me to recognize a body. It was him.

My phone rang and I was back to present. It was drizzling and I felt the air damp.

“Yes.”

“Sir, I recently found that the person mentioned in the agreement was also injured in the accident with your brother. She was unconscious for almost 4 days. She tried to contact you at office a few days back, but you were unavailable. She left a message that she wants to talk to you.”

“OK. Try contacting her and ask her what it is. As I already mentioned, I don’t want any direct communication with her.” I was still mad at her.

“Yes, Sir. I’ll get back to you.” I was almost near Dapoli – a place well appreciated and equally despised at the same time. It was raining now and I was enjoying the drive. Such a scenic way! My phone rang.

“Sir, her number is out of coverage area. The receptionist said that it has been like that for almost a week now. I will try again.”

“Yes.” I hung up. I was expecting this to happen. The legal department must have issued a notice and she would have fled, unwilling to face the reality of her poverty. I felt sick. I took the next right and was waiting for the rains to subside. But it started pouring heavily. Winds added to the inconvenience. After some time, I realised its all forest. I was lost. No signal. No sign of movement. I continued to drive further to find some shelter. Then something happened.

**

When I regained senses, I was in bed. My clothes were changed and I was surrounded on one side by my luggage and on the other side, there were many small bowls containing something like traditional medicine made of some natural ingredients. I tried to get up, but I couldn’t. I winced.

“Oh! You woke up.” A girl spoke as she heard my voice. She hurriedly came to me. I winced again.

“It’ll hurt for few more days. I have put on some medicine. It’ll cure now.”

“What time is it?”

“Seven in the evening.”

“What place is this? Who are you?” I tried to move, but couldn’t. The pain persisted and I had to keep aside my efforts.

“Since, last two days you are here. You were mostly unconscious. It’s raining heavily since you are here.” I tried to recollect what happened. But couldn’t. She got me hot food. But I needed help in eating as I couldn’t move my hand. She helped me eat food. I felt much better. “You brought me here?”

“Two days back you met with an accident. The vehicle dashed a tree. We were coming from the town on the same route. We brought you here. There is no electricity since last few days. You’ll have to stay in dark. So sorry for the inconvenience.”

“Why didn’t you inform anyone? I have emergency number in my mobile.” She showed me my mobile. It was all crushed.

“The vehicle was heavily damaged. We got all your belongings that we could. Due to heavy rains, the bridges were getting risky for transportation. We crossed the last one by sheer luck. Water was already over the bridge. No one could have reached you. Also, there was no signal to the mobile. Hence I could not inform police or take you to doctor.”

“–” I blankly stared at her.

“Please take rest and get well. Wait for the rain to subside and you will be able to go back within a week’s time.”

It rained for three more days. It was the first time for me to be in an unknown place, with a stranger, without work and electricity for such a long period. I lost sense of time due to the cloudy weather. Appetite and the auroma of food made me aware of it.

“You cook really good.” The dishes were simple, nutritious and very tasty.

“My granny taught me to cook. She herself was a very good cook. My friends liked her cooking very much. They used to eat everything that I used to carry and never gave me anything.” She complained nostalgically and changed the topic.

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

I pulled myself together and said, “Ah, it’s nothing. Just something related to work.”

“Do you curse your employees for being inefficient? ”

“How do you know that I employ people? Spying?” I took a look at my stuff and everything was untouched. She gave a weary smile.

“I wish I had that much time. I would have done some more work and earned a few pennies more.” Pointing to my clothes, she said,”Your clothes have finally dried.”

“You shouldn’t have taken efforts.”

“Now it’s done. So, no issues.” She smiled. For the first time I realized clothes actually can reveal too much.

“Tomorrow I have to go to the village to perform last rituals for my granny. I will cook for you and leave. Please help yourself then.” She said as if she was feeling sorry to have me take pains for my meal. ‘So innocent’, I thought.

On the sixth day, finally it stopped raining. “It has stopped raining, I should be able to leave now.”

“It will take some time for the river water to come down and the bridges to be cleared off the waste. The villagers will do that in next few days. You may leave after that.”

“Do you want me to spend some more time with you?” I teased her. Actually, it was me who didn’t want to go back. I expected her to respond willfully. “I will look after you and will cook for you as long as you are here.” The words were satisfying but only meant duty towards the guest. I felt hurt. I was expecting something and the response didn’t sound the same.

“Chanu, O Chanu. I am here to take my auto. The grandpa over the other side of river wants me to take him to the town.”

“She is out in the farm, I guess.” I spoke as Satish Kaka came inside.

“Oh, you look really good. She has taken good care of you. That day when we brought you here, you were all drenched in rain. The river down side was flooded, hence I could not take you to my house and could not even come to see you. I could only help to get you in and then I left. Now you look much better. How come you sustained these injuries, it’s a miracle.” I smiled. He had a very typical village accent.

“Chanu is really a good girl. Her parents died when she was a little child. Her mother’s mother brought her up. Now even her granny left her. She won’t even remember her parents’ face. Still, she wants to get back the mortgaged house of her parents through her own earnings. Poor thing. Too innocent to face the shrewdness of these people.” He hid his sorrowed face. “I’ll be late. I better go.” He left without another word.

“Chanu, that’s your name right?” I said when she came back.

“I guess Satish Kaka was here.” She said smilingly. “How about you? Didn’t even ask your name.” I didn’t know whether to tell her anything about me. If she gets to know that I am rich, she may not like to be acquainted with me. I thought of giving her a surprise when I would leave. Till then I decided to be ‘Rakesh’, working in an IT firm in Bangalore.

After hearing her story, I wanted to help her. All weird things came to my mind. It started from an employee somewhere to my personal assistant. I was asking her questions to check her capability. Once I saw a Maths book there and asked her, “Can you help me solve this problem. It says, if a tank of capacity 100 litres is being filled with water at the rate of 10litre per minute and because of leakage it is draining water at 3 litre per minute. Then how much time will it take to fill the tank?” “I will fix the leakage than waste my time solving the problem.” I shut my mouth. She was really smart.

“You must take rest. I will apply the medicines. Most of the wounds are about to heal.” I was expecting her to be happy giving me services. After all I was a rich guy and one doesn’t run into rich and friendly guys now and then. But she was calm. It was more of a duty for her. This somehow disappointed me. I soon realized that it was difficult to convince her to take any help from a stranger. She had a high self respect and wanted to do things on her own.

It was a bright sunny morning. I was basking in the Sun. She came with some hot porridge and handed me the bowl. In a very calm voice she said,”You should contact your family now. It has stopped raining, the roads will be clear now.”

“Do you want to get rid of me so fast?” I was enjoying her company and wanted to be with her and she was asking me to leave at once.

“With these injuries, you cannot leave them untreated for long. Here I could use only the traditional medicines. The wounds have healed to a great extent, but there might be more. It is better that you visit some good doctor.” That evening we roamed around the river in search of signal. It was painful and tiring. Finally, at some inconvenient spot, I got the signal and spoke to my assistant. He was beyond joy to hear my voice. We came back.

While having dinner, I expressed myself. “Chanu, thanks for everything. Had you not been there, I wouldn’t have been alive today. In that sense, I owe you my life.”

“Why say that? I must be having something to repay and hence all this happened. Otherwise, why someone living in Bangalore would get lost just to reach my home.”

I was hurt to hear that. I wanted to tell her something and all she was responding to me with a sense of mere duty or a friendship that she didn’t want to keep. “In case you need anything, any time, just let me know. I’ll try my best to help you.”

“Sure, Sir, Thank you very much.” Her gratitude was nobler than mine.

“Does courier reach this place?”

“No, Post works. Why?”

“Then we’ll be in touch with each other through post.” She smiled.

I was happy within. Finally, I could contact my office and a pickup from Pune was arranged. I was looking forward to get back to my world. But, somehow I was also sad to leave the premise.

“Can you explain the driver where to come? We will make the call when we go for a walk in the evening”, I asked her.

In the evening when we went out she said, “Sir, I will ask him to come to some place near the next village. We will go there by Satish Kaka’s auto.”

“Do you want me to suffer a little more with these injuries?” There was hurt and anguish in my voice.

“Sir, please understand. People here live a very simple life. They will surely be affected by the extravaganza. I am afraid that my association with it will cause some ripples.” I had to agree. But the word ‘extravaganza’ did hurt me because I actually wanted to make a show off. I wanted to make her feel lucky to have me as her friend. But she politely declined. I still had hope. “You will come to bid adieu to me, right.” “Of course.” She smiled. When we got out of the auto, she took my belongings and we started to walk. After a brief turn, I could see see a car and figured out my assitant who was waiting for me. After a few steps she stopped.

“This is your journey, Sir. Please continue.”

“Won’t you..” Her head shook before I could complete. She saw someone hurrying towards us and she quickly left without a word. My assistant was very glad to see me. “So glad to see you safe, Mr. Prasad.” I was also glad to see him, but what Chanu did really hurt me.

“The police thought it’s a kidnaping case. But couldn’t look for you in the heavy rains. After your call, everything got resolved.”

“How’s work? How did this reflect on our stocks?”

“We didn’t disclose your disappearnace. Now three people on the Earth know about your whereabouts. That includes me and your host.” “Who is the third person?” “You.” I couldn’t help laughing. While traveling back to my world, I was just wondering about Chanu’s behavior. She was really stubborn. It came to me that I should have at least asked her for any contact or possibly her resume, but because she acted so weird, I thought that it happened for good. I was mad at her. Thankfully she had my home address.

I was happy to be back. As soon as I resumed office, the share prices rose. To compensate for the last week’s absense, I became very busy and forgot everything else. But when I went home, I was so lonely. I strove hard to accept my brother’s death. One thing that always made me wonder was – I didn’t seem to question my fate when I was at Chanu’s place. I was ready to accept it. I wanted to relive those 8 days just to help me come out of this loneliness. It was repeatedly coming to me – ‘I will look after you and will cook for you as long as you are here.’ I felt depressed. I gave myself to consuming alcohol.

“Sir, the lady we were trying to reach, regarding the Golden Gates apartment, is on the line at reception. She is asking if she can keep the contract for another three months. She would arrange the money in a month’s time.”

“Pass on the call, I will talk to her.” “Listen lady. I know you are a petty begger. You played tricks and got my brother emotionally involved with you. Then you made him buy that house. You killed him and now you want to keep the house for yourself. I clearly understand your intention for making this call. You want to act smart. I am warning you to vaccate that house immediately, otherwise I will be very brutal.” I hung up. Raghav’s memory filled me with grief. I called my assistant. “Take possession of the flat at Golden Gates. Seal it. Pack the stuff and let it be outside the flat.”

“Sir, the lawyer said we can’t do it. We need to wait for at least three months for which the rent is paid.” My mouth twitched. “Do it the very next day.”

“Sir, the post that were sent on this address -I have been tracking them – they have returned stating ‘owner moved out’. They must have come to your home, as your home address was mentioned on it.” The junior assistant in the logistics department informed me. Later at home, the maid handed over to me all the parcels that were sent to Chanu’s address. I didn’t know what to do. I felt helpless. I wanted to get back in touch with her, but she wasn’t there. I felt like crying. It seemed I was losing on every other thing that I wished to have – my parents, my brother and now the peace of mind that Chanu’s presence gave.

“Sir, last week we tried to vacate the house at Golden Gates. There was absolutely nothing in the house. Just this piece of paper,” my assistant was puzzled. It was a restaurant bill from July. I was wondering, if Raghav and his girlfriend went out for a meal. In beautiful writing, across the stamped letters ‘PAID’ it was written – ‘with a promise to be together forever’. I kept it on the table.

“Nothing else?”

“Sir, the packers and movers’ employee send some pics. It seemed like the house was never occupied. The security guard told that a girl was visiting the house over last few weekends. She would come over the weekend, spend some time and then leave. They didn’t see her over the last weekend.”

“I see. Any communication with her?”

“No, Sir.”

“Try reaching her. I would like to speak with her.”

“Yes, Sir.” He left. “We tried reaching the other tenant since last few days. She is unreachable,” my assistant handed over an envelop to me, “this was delivered last evening.”

I read my name and address written on it. The same writing – neat and beautiful.

‘Dear Sir, I am sending the copy of rent agreement and the apartment key to you. As Raghav’s brother, I would like you to know a few things. But I understand that you are unwilling to communicate with me, so I will be very precise. Raghav had given me an engagement ring, which is rightfully mine. But just for my satisfaction, I am attaching the bill and also the Demand Draft paying you for the ring. I do not wish you to think that Raghav chose someone who is a petty beggar. I expect no further communication.

Regards,

(Signed).’

I saw the attached draft. Seventy-Two thousand only. I felt as if I stabbed Raghav. This was worse than accepting his accidental death. Later at home, the maid handed over to me a small postal envelop. I was shocked to see the same neat wrting on it. I was wondering what made her write to me yet another letter. I opened and read:

‘Sir, I got to know that the parcels you sent were returned back as I was away. I wanted to inform you that I had to mortgage my granny’s place for some reason. So, I will not be living here till the mortgage is paid off.

Regards, Chanu’

Never ever in my life was I so ashamed of myself and felt so miserable.