Attempt

(Na chinta, na fikar, na hai darr)

Sujata paced the dimly lit corridor. Uneven breath, hair askew, muffled sound of slippers and the ticking of the clock. She kept pulling at her worn but favorite sweater every few minutes. It's almost like I'm a ghost roaming in a haunted house! Where is he? She paused abruptly, craning her neck towards the door.

The clock ticked audibly. 1:30 a.m.

***

"We're already late….our brains are not working anymore", muttered Vikas as he shuffled from one monitor to another. Rajan’s body was taut, his shirt slightly wrinkled. His eyes, red from staring at the screen, blinked faster than usual. Just then, Deven peeped into the room and said,

"It's no use wasting more time over it... just send the report to me, whatever you've managed."

A little more shuffling after which Rajan hit the Enter key and Vikas let out a sigh. Rajan looked up at Vikas and tapped at his watch.

"Damn! It’s already past eleven! My wife’s gonna kill me." Vikas sprang into action, gathering files, loose papers, and shutting down his system. He opened a cupboard, dunked the files into it. Sweeping his desk clean of papers, he tore some throwing them in the dustbin. He put some on Rajan’s table. Quickly scanning his neat, quiet desk, he picked up his bag, glanced where Rajan sat and before shooting off floated a "See ya tomorrow!" in Rajan’s direction.

***

“The number you have called is currently unavailable. Please-” she disconnected the phone. Sigh. The fake happy voice of the woman was grating to the ears. Where could he be? The office phone is ringing, ringing, ringing relentlessly. His cell is unreachable. Where the hell is he! Sujata paced the dimly lit corridor. Hands cold, the muted sound of an odd vehicle going by and the relentless ticking of the clock.

She drank a glass of water, went into the bedroom and lit a small lamp. Slowly, deliberately, she pulled the quilt above herself and curled up next to the cold pillow.

She did not close her eyes.

***
Vikas headed out of the office building, helmet in hand.

"Oh she’s going to kill me. I better call her!" he muttered under his breath as the cold outside hit him like a fly hitting a glass window. He reached into his pocket, thankful for the warmth, and took out the cell phone. Pushing a few buttons revealed a ‘low battery’ beep.

"ooof! Now she’ll really kill me!"

Putting the mobile back, he started walking faster to reach the parking lot. Within ten minutes, he reached his bike; panting from the cold and the short run. Soon he was out of the parking lot and zooming home.

***

The four-lane road was wide and silent. On both sides were wide strips of green grass and rose bushes. The smoky looking, sleepy lilies in the morning visible at the fag end of the grass were his personal favorites.

“Na chinta, na fikar, na hai darr” sang Sonu Nigam into his ear as he accelerated out of habit. A small quiver of thrill shivered up his spine. Ooh! The speed of the gods! He smiled to himself. He could almost see the roundabout ahead. Three more turns after this one. He checked off his mental list. Almost there.

Something glinted on the opposite side of the road. He was momentarily blinded.

***

"The number you’ve dialed is currently unavailable. Please-"

The lilies found themselves covered with a new color of dew in the morning.