“Good morning, Boss!”
“Jatin! What are you doing here?”
He smiled, looking a little abashed. His hair was ruffled and his clothes disarranged, as if he had awoken in haste.
“That’s the latest style, Boss,” he said hastily, as he saw her eyeing his shirt.
“Half tucked out?”
“Half tucked in! And anyway, Naina likes it.”
Before she could open her mouth to comment, Jatin dragged a girl forward.
“Boss, this is Naina. I wanted you to meet her.”
“Oh!” Sonia turned to face the newcomer and stared.
Going by Jatin’s lover-like ramblings of how pretty his girl-friend was, Sonia had mentally braced herself to make allowances. But nothing had prepared her for this. Naina was of medium height with a slightly curvaceous figure. But her face was one of the loveliest Sonia had ever seen. Soft, rosy complexion; pink lips and almond-shaped black eyes; a waist-length, shiny mane of hair; and most importantly, an enchanting, shy smile. Jatin had not exaggerated. She truly looked like an angel. And this angel loved Jatin?
Jatin awaited Sonia’s reaction with bated breath. He looked young and innocent with his tousled, cropped hair, and he was, in his own boyish way, rather attractive. They suited each other quite well, Sonia decided.
“Hello, Naina!” she greeted brightly. “Why in heavens did Jatin drag you to the station this early?”
Naina’s smile broadened as she flashed an affectionate glance in Jatin’s direction. “He’s so impulsive.” She spoke in a lovely voice which matched her face. “He insisted that I had to meet you right away.”
“Actually, I checked my horoscope in the newspaper and the reading said that it was an ideal day to create good impressions,” Jatin added by way of explanation. “So I decided that I wouldn’t waste any more time and get done with it - I mean, get done with the introductions. I would really hate it if you disapproved of Naina, Boss, so I’ve been unfairly postponing the introduction. But not anymore. Boss, your opinion matters immensely to me. You do know that, don’t you?”
Sonia was speechless. Her Assistant amazed her. “Thank you, Jatin,” she managed.
The blue-and-white train hooted. The Deccan Queen loudly announced its arrival as it entered the platform and its passengers readied to get onto the train.
“I’m glad we finally met, Naina. I know we can’t talk now, but we will soon.” Sonia flashed both of them a warm smile.
“There’s something else, Boss. You’ll be able to read it in the Pune supplement of the paper.” He indicated the newspaper in her hands. “There’s a small bit of news about some ghostly figure in white being spotted around our office a couple of days ago. Some of the area residents witnessed this ‘ghost’ when they returned late from a party. The figure ran out of the Office premises and straight into their path, almost colliding with their vehicle, and then it vanished.”
“Are you sure it’s our building?”
“It definitely says the Stellar Investigations Office. We’re quite famous now, Boss,” he smirked. “Everyone knows our Office. But what do you think of it? Is there really a ghost lurking in our building?”
“Of course not! But we’ll have to look into the matter. We’ll talk about it when I return, Okay? I really must go now. Goodbye, Naina.”
“Bye, Soniaji. It was a pleasure meeting you,” the girl responded with a beautiful smile.
“Boss, do you want me to find your seat or carry your luggage?” Jatin offered.
“I want you both to go home and continue your Sunday beauty sleep. Go on. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Sonia waved to the happy young couple, scooped up her bag, and moved towards her bogey.
The wedding had gone off well, she thought, as the train chugged out of Dadar Station and headed out of Mumbai. Except for the rain, which had created relentless hurdles from the moment she had arrived in Mumbai, she’d had a good time, despite the many problems. The train had halted way out of the station, as water had flooded over the tracks and the passengers had to descend prematurely at a relatively dry spot. No taxiwala had agreed to head toward Bandra - a suburb in Mumbai - since even the buses had been swept half underwater. Finally she managed to convince a brave soul to accept her offer of paying double the taxi fare. But halfway to Bandra, water had seeped into the taxi almost up to her waist and she had experienced a moment of extreme panic. At last, drenched and bedraggled, she had landed at her Aunt’s doorstep and had scrubbed herself for an hour in the bath!
Fortunately, the rest of her visit passed uneventfully. But Sonia felt immense relief when she was safely in the return train to Pune. For all the opportunities in Mumbai, she would never ever leave good old Pune, she decided.
She settled comfortably in her cushioned seat and watched the high-rise buildings of Mumbai vanish and lush fields replace the backwaters of the creeks. The rain slithered and sizzled, draping the rich green scenery with a glossy sheen. Hills rose gently on one side and rice fields stretched out on the other. Sonia sighed with pleasure. It was breathtaking. Mumbai-Pune travel during the monsoons was always a picturesque affair.
As the movement of the train lulled her senses, she wondered what Mohnish was doing at that moment. Working on some documentary, most probably. Considering she had associated so closely with him this past year and half, it was amazing how little she actually knew about his whereabouts and his doings. She really ought to do some background research on him. Before she found herself too deeply linked - at least in thought - to him!
Automatically, as a sequel to that notion, her imagination conjured a pair of blue-green eyes. The Owl.
