A young executive was nervously biting her nails. She had been through this multiple times. But this time it was different.
Really, did she see it happening? Probably, It would remain a story.
She shut the door - she wished she could shut out the thoughts in her mind too, right at that moment. She had always wondered what it would be like... how will it affect the person.. do the moments get engraved forever creating a dizzy feeling every time it flashes in the memory. It struck her suddenly that she had been chosen methodically. She had been observed for quite some time– always from behind the drapes.
Back at her desk, she closed the drawer - it reminded her of too many things. Outside, the sun had set signaling the start of the weekend. The light was becoming dim and it would soon be dark. She left hurriedly. Usually the chair would have been tucked neatly between the desk's legs, the pencil kept on one side and the telephone decked on the top-left corner of the table. Today they went unnoticed.
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North of Bangalore, Kalirwad had been a small place where the vagaries of city life did not exist. Here haystacks and ploughing were part of everyday life much like sun-rise and sunset. Her parents took pride in their farms, the produce of which helped the family of four survive. The money income was meager – just enough to provide basic education for the children. But living on the farm taught them a lot. The timeliness of seasonal cycles, the diligence to sow the seeds, the patience to see your crop grow, the feeling of content at harvest time, were imbibed in her and her brother. But she wanted her family to lead a better and comfortable life.
Medical help was unavailable in the village. Few years back when her mother had fallen ill, they had resorted to ineffective traditional medicine which cost her the ability to walk. The village regularly had casualties - but they went unaccounted. She had been to Bangalore two times before with her father to sell their corn produce. On one such trip she witnessed an accident. As unfortunate as it was, the response to the incident had been immediate. Help had arrived fast, police were swift, and the ambulance was efficient - all added up to help save a precious life. That day, her dream had started.
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She joined this company on May 2010. The first day had been uneventful. Joining formalities, meeting new team mates, a dinner party with drinks - all facets of life that she had not frequented much. "These are my stepping stones ", she had thought and firmly reminded herself not to get lost in this maze.
She had learnt the trade quickly. Learnt how to deal with customers, get the numbers flowing, built healthy relationships with colleagues and crafted her path through the mess. She had blossomed into a confident young woman. Her boss had seemed happy and proud to have selected her in the first place. The boss would periodically come to her desk, sit next to her and review her work. Last ten months, she had noticed this happening more often. The tasks seemed to take her more time, stretching into the evening and most often or not it will be night time when she stepped out. The Office would be empty - the only solace was the light from her boss's cabin.
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The mail arrived.
“Chairman's award on being the best perfomer in the marketing division”. The prize money was 2 lakh rupees and she had been earmarked for a company sponsored International business course. The mail read that the Friday's interview had been fabulous. The panel was strongly convinced with her abilities and had decided to make her a part of the company's leadership program.
Her boss was already at her desk, with a huge smile that exuded a mentor’s pride and ‘that’ successful moment. She shook her hands and gave her a huge hug.
She closed her eyes and let the moment sink in.
Today, everyone will know her name. A name that will make her parents and brother proud. A name that will give back to her village and society as much as it wanted.
This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda
