A Day in the Life of Shreya
Chapter 1
To say that Shreya was having a bad day would seem an understatement. Her day was turning out to be worst since morning. To begin with, she had overslept when she had to catch a flight to Bombay to report on her job two days later. Plane journeys always made her feel queasy and she had decided to sleep early the previous night in order to get some rest.
Her faithful alarm clock had woke her up at 6 o' clock but she had promised herself that she would wake up in another two minutes. The snooze function had failed to perform its duties and the consequences had turned out to be disastrous. She had jerked awake from her sleep from the shrill ringing of the cell phone to find that it was quarter to seven. And she had to reach the airport by Eight.
Still feeling drowsy, Shreya picked up the call.
'Are Shreya kaha ho aur darwaja kyun nahi khol rahi?' asked her father irritably.
'Dad? Aap kaha hai?' asked Shreya.
'Are main ghar ke bahar khada hu pichle dus minute se bell baja raha hoon!' said her father.
'Oops! Sorry dad main so gayi thi!' said Shreya and ran to open the door.
Funny how it always happens when you are sleeping in your warm and comfy bed and you close your eyes for one minute; an entire hour passes when you reopen them.
'Jana nahi kya Bombay? Thodi toh sharam karo Shreya! Tum CID me naukri karne wali ho. Subah uthne ke liye bhi alarm lagana padta hai kya?' asked her father.
'Dad maine sorry bola na kyu daat rahe ho mujhe? Accha main nahane jaa rahi hu' she said.
Then she slipped in the shower and ran out of cereal for breakfast. Later in all the last minute hurry, she had put the key in her suitcase and then locked it with press lock. Breaking the lock after that had been a tiring task.
'Pata nahi akele kaise sab kuch manage karne wali ho tum Mumbai me! Dhyan kaha rehta hai tumhara pata nai. Isiliye main keh raha tha ki waha jane se pehle koi accha ladka dekhkar tumhari engagement kara du. Atleast mera tension toh kam ho jata' said her Dad as she ran around the house getting ready.
'Dad! Phir se shaadi ki baat! Main arrange marriage nahi karne wali! Mujhe koi aisa chahiye jiskr saath mujhe rehna accha laga, baat karne accha lage, jo na bohot hi handsome ho dikhne me aur strong bhi ho -'
'Bas bas. Tumhari list dekhke wo ladka bhag jayega' he said.
Shreya laughed.
'Aisa ladka kaha milne wala hai tumhe?' he asked.
'Pata nahi. Mil hi jayega koi na koi. Aur mujhe toh lagta hai ki koi Bombay wala hi hoga' said Shreya dreamily.
'Bas bas. Wo jab milega tab dekh lenge. Filhal tum jaldi karo. Late ho jaogi!' he said.
Ten minutes later, her luggage was packed and finally she was ready to go.
'Aap khayal rakhiyega apna! Dawai time par kha lena' said Shreya.
'Meri chinta mat karna. Main yaha thik hoon. Tum apna khayal rakhna. Don't overwork yourself. Aur hum Skype aur phone pe toh baat karte hi rahenge na!' he said.
'Haan dad! Par main aapko bohot miss karne wali hoon' she said tearfully.
'Main bhi tumhe bohot miss karunga Shreya! Par CID me kaam karna ye toh tumhara sapna tha. Aur ab tumhe job mil gaya hai toh tum ro rahi ho?!' said her father.
'Haan ye sach hai ki main bohot khush hu. Mujhe bohot accha lag raha hai ki mujhe CID Mumbai me job mila hai. Par apko akele chodke bhi toh nahi jaa pa rahi hu...' said Shreya.
'Maine kaha na tumse tum meri fikr mat karo. Okay ab rona band karo chalo aur jao jaldi warna late ho jayega!' said her father.
With the last quick hugs and final tearful goodbyes, Shreya threw her handbag over her shoulder and carrying a huge suitcase in her hand, Shreya stepped out of her apartment. She was running late. The taxi which was going to take her to the airport was already waiting for her.
To add to her already existing woes, it was pouring outside. Stumbling slightly and jumping over a few water puddles, she got inside the Cab.
Just when she thought everything was going to be fine, she let out an exasperated sigh. Her cab was stuck in a traffic jam! She could see long rows of vehicles ahead of her.
Her wristwatch now read 7.45 am. How on the earth was she going to reach the airport in time?
'Are bhaiya jaldi chalo!' said Shreya impatiently.
'Hein ye kya baat hui madam ji? Ek toh aap ne late kar diya aur aap mujhe jald bazi karne ke liye bol rahi hai' said the driver.
'Haan pata hai mujhe late hua tha! Isiliye toh aapse bol rahi hu jaldi chalne ke liye!' said Shreya
'Are madam aapko traffic dikhai nahi deta kya? Aab kya gadi upar se leke jau? Aap aaram se baithiye piche. Main aapko sahi salamat chod dunga airport.
Clicking her tongue irritably she plugged in her earphones, turning up the volume so that she wouldn't have to hear the honking cars around her. She closed her eyes, tapping her feet to the beat.
Paving through the traffic, about half an hour later, the taxi turned round a corner smoothly, and without even opening her eyes Shreya knew that they had reached their destination.
As she made her way through the automated glass doors, she was pushed into crowds of people walking, jogging or running with frantic eyes trying to catch their flights.
She groaned looking at the long queue of passenger of checking in the luggage. Finally when she was done with the formalities, she took a seat nearby her boarding gate and let out a relieved sigh. She surveyed the busy airport watching couples talking amongst each other, children chattering away endlessly, businessmen working on their laptops, and women reading magazines.
Shreya let out a yawn and flipped open the daily newspaper. She scanned the news section for headlines, then passed on the sports section quickly (they did not interest her at all)
She stopped on the second last page.
The heading on the top read 'Horoscopes'.
She was not a horoscope believer. But they interested her as sometimes her predictions came true.
She spotted her sun sign. The Daily horoscope read: Things might not go according to your wish. Expect the unexpected. Don't be surprised if something completely out of the ordinary happens today. Love is on cards as you might meet a handsome stranger.
'Hmm sahi baat hai. Aaj subah se kuch bhi to thik nahi hua. Handsome stranger se mulakat? Mmm... Interesting' she muttered to herself.
O-o-o-o
Just as it was getting close to boarding time, an announcement was made into the speaker that had Shreya reeling with disbelief.
'Ladies and gentleman flight no 507 bound for Mumbai and flight no 789 bound for New Delhi has been delayed due to extreme weather conditions. We apologize for the inconvenience caused by such short notice. The status of the flights will be updated shortly. Kindly be patient. Thank you.'
'Wow! Just what I wanted! Kyu ho raha hai mere saath aisa?' she thought angrily.
She scrutinized the ever-growing line of disgruntled travellers ahead of her and looked outside. The weather was atrocious. It looked as if a thunderstorm was on its way.
Shreya got up and went towards the café to fetch herself a foaming mug of hot chocolate to kill time.
'That would be five hundred bucks' said the pretty lady at the cash counter.
The man in front of Shreya paid the money and waited for his coffee to be served. Shreya looked to her left to watch a woman trying to silence a whiny kid.
A minute later the man turned and - BAM!
He had bumped into Shreya who was standing right behind her spilling hot coffee on her light blue shirt.
Shreya could feel her skin burn as the hot liquid seeped inside the fabric.
'Oh my god! I am so sorry!' the man shouted.
'Andhe ho kya? Dekh kar nahi chal sakte?' she yelled angrily.
'I am really sorry! Par tumhari bhi utni hi galati hai! I mean thoda piche bhi toh khadi reh sakti thi na tum?' he said in an agressive tone.
Shreya looked down in horror. The coffee had left a dark stain on her favourite shirt.
'Besharam kahi ke! Ek toh Coffee gira di upar se meri galatiya nikal rahe ho? Ab main kya karu ha?' she yelled.
People around them were starting to stare at them with amused expressions on their faces.
'Dekho yaha public me scene mat create karo. Washroom me jaakar saf karlo. Sab thik ho jayega.' he said trying to keep calm.
Without a word to him Shreya stormed into the washroom in the opposite direction.. Daya followed her silently and waited till she came out. She was now wearing a jacket which was hiding her coffee stain.
'I am sorry' he repeated as she looked at him.
'It's okay. Ab kar bhi kya sakte ho tum? Aur ab please jao yaha se' she said curtly.
To her annoyance, she saw that the man had followed her near her boarding gate.
'Mujhe follow kyu kar rahe ho?' she asked.
'Mujhe koi shauk nahi hai tumhe follow karne ka! Mera boarding gate A2 hai isliye yaha baitha hu' he snapped.
Shreya pursed her lips and sat down opposite him. She shot a glance at him to find that he was indeed very good looking. He was very tall and broad shouldered.
He observed her too, shooting glances at her now and then from behind the newspaper when she wasn't looking. He observed that she had a slim figure with shoulder length black hair and a pretty face.
Minutes stretched into hours as they sat reeling in boredom waiting for their flight to get scheduled for boarding. The man was bored to death. Looking at the girl sitting opposite him, he spoke, Tum bhi Mumbai jaa rahi ho?'
'Haan' she replied.
'Pata nahi aur kitna late hoga. Char already baj gaye' he said.
'Hmm' said Shreya.
'Tumhara naam kya hai?' he asked.
'Excuse me?' she asked.
'Naam pucha maine tumhara. I am Daya' he said.
'Main apne naam tumhe kyu batayu?' she asked.
He could sense that she was still very angry with him.
'Ab hum pichle kuch samay se baatein kar rahe hai toh maine socha naam toh pata hona chahiye na?' he said.
'Baatein main nahin tum kar rahe ho' snapped Shreya.
'Ok whatever. Nahi batana hai toh mat batao' said Daya shrugging.
A minute later Daya smiled when he heard her say - 'Mera naam Shreya hai'
'Actually accha hua na maine coffee gira di tumhare upar' said Daya instantly.
'What?' she asked.
'Mera matlab hai ki agar coffee nahi girti toh hamari mulakat nahi hoti aur dono aise hi akele bore ho rahe hote. Ab at least hum ek doorse se baat to kar sakte hai na' he said.
'You are impossible' Shreya muttered and she went back to being silent once again.
O-o-o-o
Three long hours later, Shreya was sitting in the airplane. The weather had been declared clear for flying and they were now ready to take off.
Shreya had a window seat and all seats next to her were empty. She hoped she would be lucky enough and the seat next to her would remain empty. She stretched her legs as far as the seat in front of her would allow her to, watching the people shove their luggage up into the tiny compartment overhead.
Shreya hoped desperately that the plane would take off soon. She prayed inwardly 'please ab aur koi problem na ho. Bohot ho gaya aaj ke liye. Subah se bas musibatein aati hi ja rahi hai! Please god ab aur koi gadbad mat hone do mere saath'.
Little did she know how wrong she was!
As the airplane gradually filled up with the passengers, the air inside grew stuffy. She couldn't even remove her jacket - thanks to Daya for that Coffee Stain.
She had lost the sight of him since she had boarded the plane and she was glad.
But it seemed destiny had something else in store for her. As the flight attendants rushed past helping people with their petty troubles, she saw Daya making way towards her down the aisle. His boarding pass held between his teeth, he was eyeing the seat numbers looking for his seat.
Shreya watched in horror as he came closer and closer.
He saw her watching him and she could see a triumphant look in his eye. Shreya stooped low and ducked behind the front seat. Crossing her fingers she mumbled, 'Please not next to me. Please not here' But somehow she had a strange feeling that he was destined to be sitting right next to her.
And sure enough he arrived by her side a minute later.
He sniggered at her sight and said, 'Chupne ne koi fayda nahi. Main tumhe already dekh liya tha! Aur meri seat bilkul tumhare side me hai'
'Main chup nahi rahi thi. Mera phone neeche fir gaya tha' said Shreya.
Few minutes later the flight attendant began talking through the speakers, announcing that it was almost time for boarding and requested the passengers to fasten their seat belts.
Daya fastened his seat belt and looked sideways at Shreya. Her seat belt was stuck and she was fumbling with it in order to fix it.
'Tum ek kaam bhi thik se nahi kar sakti kya? Ruko main kar deta hoon' he said and bent over her.
'Kya kar rahe ho tum?' she asked pushing him away.
'Tumhara seat belt thik kar raha hoon' said Daya.
'Mujhe tumhare help ki jaroorat nahi hai' she said and pressed the 'Call Flight Attendant' button.
A flight attendant came a minute later looking slightly flustered.
'Yes mam? Can I help you with something?'
'My seat belt is stuck. It is jammed and it won't move' said Shreya.
The flight attendant was finding it extremely difficult to reach towards Shreya as she had to squeeze past Daya. She had barely managed to reach Shreya's seat when a sharp cry filled their ears.
'Not again! That kid is giving us a headache' she muttered angrily.
Then she turned to Daya and said, 'Sir, can you please help with the seat belt? I have another urgent job to attend to'
Before Shreya could protest, Daya had said 'Sure. No problem' and the flight attendant had marched off.
He looked at Shreya with a sly grin and asked, 'May I?'
Seeing no other option, she nodded.
Daya bent over her to free her seat belt. His arm brushed against hers which made her go red in face.
When he was done, she muttered thanks without looking at him.
The plane took off and within minutes they were in the air.
They sat in silence as Daya flipped through the pages of the in - flight magazine.
Some time later he glanced at her to find that she was sleeping peacefully in her seat. Her head was tilting towards the window. Daya watched her closely when suddenly her head hit the window and she jerked wide awake.
'Oww!' she said massaging her head and Daya giggled.
'Kya hua? Mujhe kyu ghur rahe ho? Bohot hasi aa rahi hai tumhe?' she asked him frowning.
'Tumhe thodi na has raha hu! Tumhari problem kya hai? Tumhe aisa kyu lag raha hai ki main tumhe dekh raha hu?' he asked.
She nodded and looked away but he saw her flushing slightly.
Five minutes later, Daya saw that her head was once again tilting downwards, this time facing the floor. Gradually it tilted towards him.
Not wanting to disturb her sleep, Daya leaned towards her making it seem like he wanted to look out of the window. After a minute as Daya rested back against his seat, Shreya was resting her head on his shoulder, still fast asleep.
Daya smiled, looking at her. He couldn't stop admiring her beautiful face. But his happiness was very short lived at a few minutes later, their flight hit the cloud. The plane began to shake violently and Shreya jolted awake.
'Oh I hate you airplane!' Daya muttered and looked away as Shreya opened her eyes.
She realised that she had been sleeping on Daya's shoulder and she cast an awkward glance at him but he wasn't looking her way.
The flight attendant announced over the intercom, 'We are facing a minor turbulence due to extreme weather conditions. Request the passengers to please remain seated and keep your seat belts fastened. Any inconvenience is regretted'.
The plane was almost bouncing in the sky and Shreya grabbed both the arm rests shutting her eyes tightly and chanting something in a low voice.
Daya's eyes watered and he let out a yelp which went unnoticed over the roar of the thunder and the airplane. The reason? Shreya had held his wrist tightly apparently thinking it to be the armrest.
'Relax. Kuch nahi hoga' he whispered in her ear.
Shreya realised what she had been doing and muttered an apology looking embarrassed. Daya chuckled to himself.
They landed in Mumbai at 7 pm. Daya walked to take his luggage. He saw Shreya walking in the opposite direction and when he tried to point it out to her, she told him to "Mind his own business and leave her alone"
Sometime later much to Daya's amusement, Shreya was standing next to him wearing a frown on her face. She had indeed went in the wrong direction and had realised that Daya had been right. She was feeling embarrassed due to her own clumsiness.
'Main yahi batane ke liye tumhe bula raha tha ki tum galat direction jaa rahi ho lekin tum ho ki' he said as they waited next to the Conveyor belt for their luggage to arrive.
'Mujhe - mujhe pata tha Conveyor belt yaha hai. Main washroom gayi thi' said Shreya.
And when Daya opened his mouth to interrupt, she said - 'Ab please kuch mat bolna. Mujhe tumse baat nahi karni hai'
Daya kept quiet knowing that he had touched a nerve. Then Shreya saw a familiar maroon coloured suitcase. She pulled it off the Conveyor belt.
'Waise thank you meri help karne ke liye' she said to Daya and marched off.
The Cab took her to the rented apartment. Once inside, she tossed her jacket to one side and went to open her suitcase. It had no lock. Shreya found it strange as she remembered she had locked it. She opened the zipper and looked at its contents in shock. All it contained was a shaving kit, a torch, jeans and few men's shirts.
'Ye kiska bag hai?' Shreya wondered aloud as she removed the contents of the bag one by one.
She almost fainted as she realised what must have happened - No please! Let it all be a dream! Please! But unfortunately it wasn't. Shreya had got someone else's suitcase by mistake from the airport.