~•~•~•Five years later~•~•~•

*Aslesha*

"Sheetal, please can you get me the marinated chicken" I say to my co-worker. She smiles and nods.

I add on the spices to make the gravy.

"One Caribbean tropical salad and Goan chorizo bao for table eleven" Andy, who is one of the waiter, announces when he comes into the kitchen.

"I'm already busy with table numbers eight's order. Urmi di can you take this one?" I call out to Urmi di who is the head chef here and a really sweet friend of mine.

"Onto it!" She announces and I continue with the job in my head.

Working in a restaurant is hard. When it's the most famous restaurant in Goa, it's harder. And if it's a Sunday, it's the hardest.

I retie my apron which has become a little loose and see our restaurant's logo on it.

'Goan Accent'.

It's been a year since I'm working here. I always wanted to run a restaurant of my own, I hope one day I will, but for starters this place is good. It's better than good. It pays me well and I get to do the job that I love.

I'm a chef now. Just last month I got promoted. Before that I was a trainee.

After junior college, I got my degree in hotel management and also the food craft institute.

The owner here, Mr. Robertson, had come to our college to judge a cooking competition. I had taken part and won the competition after which he offered me internship here.

He's not mostly here. Just comes once or twice a year. He stays in Delhi. But I've heard that the way he's fast in hiring people, he's also fast in firing them.

I garnish the dish and smile. Shahjahani chicken tikka. Looks good. Smells good.

I wave at Andy telling him the dish is ready and he comes towards me and winks. I roll my eyes but smile anyway.

This guy! Always flirting.

I look at the time. 9.30 pm. My shift is over. I remove my apron and go to the staff room to take my belongings from the locker. I look at my cell phone and see two missed calls. One from my mobile company and the other one from Paro.

Koi mujhe yaad kare na kare, meri mobile company mujhe har ghante yaad karti hai.

Paro. That bitch is getting married.

Rudra proposed to her a few months ago. They've been engaged for a long time now but Rudra wanted to get married after he secured a proper job. He is in advertising. To say that Pari was ecstatic is an understatement.

Just when I'm about to ring Paro, Sheetal comes rushing inside the staff room.

"Thank God you're still here" she says blowing out a breath.

"Kya hua?" I ask.

"You know that famous singer guy. Jo Robertson Sir ke bhai ka ladka hai. He has an urgent order. And it's the seafood platter. You make the best seafood dishes so Urmi di was asking for you." she says and I sigh.

It's way past my shift time. But Urmi di ko na nahi bol sakti mai. Wearing my apron again I step inside the kitchen.

It's a delivery order so I pack it properly when I'm done and give it to our delivery kaka.

Khana banana mehnat ka kaam hai sahi me. Ek ke baad ek dish banate jaao, jo khud ko khaane bhi nahi milti. Such disappointment.

Also jab sab chhutiyaan manaate hai tab humara kaam double ho jaata hai. Holidays are the most hectic.

I smile and open the veggie wrap that Urmi didi made for me while leaving. She takes a lot of care of me. Of everybody working there. Everyone in Goan Accent is good so all the mehnat is worth it.

The restaurant is twenty minutes away from home. It's a rooftop restaurant.

I can't wait to eat it till I reach home so I go and sit in the balcony of the staff room looking at the sea in the distance and all the twinkling lights below me.

I love this view.

Just when I'm about to leave I see some of my co-workers leaving too.

"We should definitely go. Bookings online shuru ho gayi hai. Match teen mahino baad hai fir bhi agar tickets chahiye toh abhi nikalne padenge" Sheetal says.

Match?

"Tum bhi chalogi na Aashi" Andy says as we get inside the lift together and I frown.

"Aashi ko kaha cricket pasand hai. Infact she's the only person I know who doesn't watch cricket at all" Sheetal says rolling her eyes.

Not again!

"Aree ha.. But come na Aashi. Maza aayega. Kuch din Mumbai darshan karenge aur match bhi dekh lenge Wankhede me" Sheena, another waitress from the restaurant says.

"Vo Ronnie ko hi dekh lo. Usse cricket ka C bhi nahi pata. Fir bhi vo apne vo hottie ko dekhne milega isliye fatak se ha bol di" Sheetal says and the girls start giggling.

"Kon hottie?" Andy asks.

My heart beat quickens as we finally reach the ground floor.

"Arre Vi-"

"Guys I'm really not interested in cricket. Toh you guys plan it. Mujhe late ho raha hai. I'm leaving" I say and without hearing for their reply, leave the premises.

I sit on my scooty, babydoll. She's become so old but I'm not ready to give her up. I can afford a new scooter now but I don't want to buy one. How can I betray my babydoll like that? Aur waise bhi bahot achhe haalat me hai ye ab bhi. Koi taklif nahi deti.

I reach home after 11 and see papa sitting on the couch, dozing off with the TV on. He was waiting for me obviously. He always does this.

I go and take the remote from his hand slowly but he wakes up. "Sorry I didn't mean to wake you up" I say.

"Arre tum aa gayi" he say squinting his eyes and looking at the clock.

"Aap soye kyu nahi? Kal subah aapki flight hai na" I say and sit beside him.

"Flight me toh sona hi hai" he says.

"Packing ho gayi?" I ask and he nods.

Vo kal subah Hong Kong ja rahe hai. Pichle saal se jab mai kamaane lagi, tab se savings jyada hue. I remember how it was always his dream to travel. So last year, unhe bahot force karne ke baad, he went to Dubai. This year it's China.

He'll be going to Disneyland and Shanghai and many other places. There's this club that he joined and all of his friends there make a group and travel.

"I hope you took that Mickey mouse print t-shirt that I bought you. You'll look dashing in it" I say.

He laughs. "Ha ha le liya" he says and looks at me closely for a moment and his laughter subsides completely.

"I wish you'd come. Tum bilkul bhi chhutti nahi leti. Bass kaam kaam kaam. Take a break bachha. You need it" he says.

"Mujhe kaam karna pasand hai papa. You don't worry about me. Just have fun" I tell him.

"You're the best daughter" he says pulling my cheek.

"And you're the best father" I say.

"Ab so jaaiye warna subah you'll be sleepy. Good night" I say as I walk to my room and he walks to his. I sit down on my bed and fall back.

I stare up at the ceiling. I'm tired. I don't even feel like changing. But somehow I drag my feet to the bathroom and have a bath and change. I shuffle through my t-shirts and my hand stops on it.

His t-shirt. His jersey.

His college cricket jersey which he had given me on the day he said that he loved me.

I close my eyes and try to suppress the memories that come flashing back in my head. I push the t-shirt back in the corner of my cupboard. Along with my thoughts

I should probably throw it. Burn it. Hug it.

No!

I quickly wear another t-shirt and get in bed.

Paanch saal kisi insaan ko bhulne ke liye bahot jyada hai na. Bhulne wale toh paanch din me bhi bhul jaate hai.

But meri case different hai. Mai jisse pyar karti thi, emphasis on thi, vo ab India, nahi nahi, world ka one of the best sportsman hai, jiske peeche duniya pagal hai.

Cricket dekhna chhod di so that vo na dikhe. But fir vo ads me aane laga. Fir TV hi dekhna chhod di. Paper padhti tab bhi vohi dikhta tha, kabhi records break karte hue, kabhi kisi nayi ladki ke saath spot hote hue. Paper padhna bhi chhod di.

Fir raste me uske hoardings dikhne lage bade bade aur realise hua ke it is impossible. Ye ladka mera peecha nahi chhodne wala. Har ek indian ka favorite hai vo. Ladkiya usse date karna chahti hai aur ladke uski tarah banna chahte hai.

Kaise bhul sakte hai aise insaan ko jiska chehra aapko har jagah, har waqt dikhe.

Mera coping mechanism? Ignorance. Pretending that I never knew this guy. That's easier.

Humari story bataane jaau toh log mujhpe hassenge. That I was so stupid to have let him go like that. Hassna toh fir bhi dur ki baat hai. Log believe bhi nahi karenge. Mere jaisi ladki kaha uss jaise ladke ke saath..

Just a limited number of people know. My friends, Papa, aur kuch college ke log jinhe yaad hai. Viraj ke success ke aage ye fuddu si chiz bhi kya yaad rahegi.

Stop thinking Aslesha. Go to sleep.

Kabhi kabhi uski bahot yaad aati hai.

Who am I fucking kidding? Kabhi kabhi? I miss him every day. Every moment.

Does he miss me too?

Probably no. He just hates me.

Vo toh waha khush hai apni duniya me. Kitni saari ladkiya bhi aake gayi uske life me. Kabhi models, kabhi actresses. Mai hi pagal hu jo itna sochti hu. Itna miss karti hu usse. And this is what terrifies me the most.

I have this constant fear ke mai usse kabhi bhul nahi paaungi. The way his blue eyes pierced mine and how his goofy grin made my heart beat ten times faster. It's been five years and I can't forget him. Five fucking years.

And it sucks.

It sucks because kabhi kabhi mujhe lagta hai ke finally mai usse bhul rahi hu. Finally mai khush hu. And then my memory of him comes back.

Aur aadhi raat ko jab sab so rahe hote hai aur sab shaant hota hai, tab mujhe uski yaad aati hai. Even if I don't realise it he finds his way back into my memory to the point where it makes me sick to my stomach and I can't breathe because I don't want to love him anymore.

Aur fir mai mere kamre ke kone me baith kar ro rahi hoti hu, tears pouring down my face. Internally screaming at myself to forget him.

And I hope that I will.

~•~•~•~•~•~•

The next day I wake up at six in the morning to prepare breakfast for papa. I get ready and make dhokla. After an hour papa wakes up and we have breakfast together.

We reach the airport by eight. There was not much traffic. Achha hai sab time pe ho gaya.

His friends are waiting for him and we walk towards them.

"Hey Aashu. Kaisi ho?" One of his friends, Mehta uncle asks. "Bilkul thik. Aap bataao. Sab ready? Excited?" I ask.

"Arre sab ready. Bahot maza aane wala hai" he says hugging papa sideways and I laugh. They look like little kids.

I talk with the others for a while as we wait for Hemant uncle who is late as always. I actually want to escape before he comes. He is always trying to pair me up with his son and it's always really awkward.

"Lo aa gaya ye" papa says and I turn to look at Hemant uncle coming towards us along with his son, Karan. I internally groan. Ugh.

"Sorry sorry late hua" he says blowing out a breath. "Arre Aashu beta tum bhi aayi ho. Dekho Karan, Aslesha bhi aayi hai" he says looking at his son with a smirk.

Oh no.

"Hi Aslesha" Karan says. He too looks awkward.

"Hi" I say.

Everybody starts talking with each other and I and Karan just stand there.

"Aaj itne reporters kaise airport pe" he says suddenly looking behind me. I turn and see two cameraman.

"Airports pe usually rehte hi hai. Kya pata koi celebrity ya politician aa rahe honge" I say.

He nods.

I nod.

Oh god.

Finally the announcement is made. I walk towards papa and hand him the backpack.

"Dawaai rakh li?" I ask.

"Ha".

"Phone ka charger?"

"Ha".

"Chashma?"

"Ha. Don't worry. Bolo tumhare liye kya laau?" He asks.

"Umm.. kuch bhi laao. Aapko meri pasand toh pata hi hai" I say and hug him tightly.

"Phone karna ok roz. Sambhal ke jaao" I say. "Bye everyone. Happy journey" I wave as everyone goes inside and finally disappears out of sight.

When I turn around, Karan is standing right in front of me and I step back.

"Oh sorry" he says. "Um.. coffee?" he asks.

"Karan. You're really sweet but I gotta go now. Actually I'm meeting a friend of mine" I tell him and he nods. He walks away and I sigh.

I'm meeting no one but I just don't want to lead him on and give him any expectations about us being a thing.

Suddenly there is a lot of commotion in the distance and I see a group of cameraman and reporters surrounding someone. I feel bad for him.

I put on my earphones and look at them trying to see who it is. But the people are all over him. Bichara. Abhi abhi flight se utraa hai saans toh lene do usse. Whatever. I shrug and walk to my car and leave.

When I reach home, I call Pari but she doesn't pick up. So rahi hogi maharani ab tak. Aaj Monday hai so meri bhi chhutti hai. I decide to sleep. I don't have a life waise bhi.

~•~•~•~•~•~•

I wake up and see that it's around 3pm. I yawn. Itna so ke toh mai thak gayi. Aur sona chahiye mujhe.

Bloody hell, I'm so lazy.

Bhook bhi lagi hai zordaar. I take my phone to see if there's a call from papa.

47 missed calls!

My heart starts thumping in my chest. What the fuck.

I see that all the calls are from my coworkers except one which is from Pari.

I quickly call Urmi di. Are they firing me? Mera khana kha ke koi bimaar padd gaya kya? Ya marr gaya?

Oh god!

"Aslesha where the hell are you?" she says as soon as she picks up.

"I'm sorry mera phone silent pe tha and I was sleeping. Kya hua?" I ask getting more and more nervous by the second.

"Mr. Robertson is here and he needs you urgently. Jaldi se abhi ke abhi yaha aao" she says.

"But kya hua?" I ask.

"Aao bass tum" she says and hangs up.

I look at the phone for a few moments and then get on my feet. Kya hua hoga? Mr. Robertson is here? Itna kya ho gaya ke unhe yaha aana pada. I quickly lock the door and leave.

When I reach the restaurant, Urmi di pushes me inside the main cabin and I stumble in to see Mr. Robertson inside on the phone.

"I'll call you later" he says and hangs up and then looks at me.

"Aslesha Mathur. Sit" he says, more like orders, and I quickly sit in front of the huge desk.

"Dekho mere paas jyada time nahi hai. So lets get it done quickly" he says and I gulp.

Hey bhagwan.

"Yesterday you made the seafood platter for my nephew" he says, doesn't ask.

I nod. "Well he liked your dish a lot and wants to interview you to become his personal chef at his house. He's like my son. You'll get double the salary. The work load will be less. It's a win win situation. Also he just comes to Goa a few months a year. Only for that period you have to work there and then other days you can continue your work here" he says with a straight face and I just look at him with wide eyes. I'm confused and shocked and... What?

"Sir I need time to think about it" I say playing with the hem of my top.

"Oh no no dear. Time vagera kuch nahi. You say yes or you're fired" he says casually and now I almost fall off my chair in shock.

Ok think about it. It's just like a internship for a few months. Then you'll be back here. And do I even have a choice now?

Upar se double the salary. I think I should take it.

"Ok sir" I say.

"Very good. Ye lo chocolate khaao. Europe se hai" he says.

Itna bhayanak mood swing?

"Err no. Thank you" I say.

"Aree khaao khaao. Tab tak mai usse phone karta hu" he says and hands me the chocolate. I take it but don't eat it.

"So I talked to Aslesha Mathur and she has agreed. Kya mai usse tumhara address du? Would you like to meet her now?" He says and then pauses to listen to the other person on the line.

"Hmm hmm okay. Fine" he hangs up. Actually it's his friend that's liked your dish. So you have to go to his place" He takes a paper and writes down the address.

I take it get up.

"Aslesha. Koi galti nahi chalegi. If he fires you then you're fired from here too" he says and I nod nervously.

What the hell!

Then suddenly he smiles. "All the best dear. Now go".

Ye kaisa aadmi hai. Itne mood swings kisi pregnant aurat ke bhi nahi hote.

When I'm finally out I look at the paper. No name written on it. The address says that the house is located on an island. Divar island.

What the fuck? Yaha se ferry leni padegi. Roz mai kaise itna up down karungi. Shit.

Divar island.

I went there once before. With him. Bungee jumping. Where I had my first ki-

Stop stop stop. Din me bhi rona shuru karna hai kya? Raat ke liye hi sahi hai ye memories.

Urmi di gives me words of encouragement but that does nothing to calm my nerves. I'm getting an uneasy feeling in my stomach.

Why do I feel like something really bad is going to happen?

On the way I get a call from papa and talk to him for a while. I don't tell him about this whole thing. It's not like I'm fired. Not yet.

On the ferry I take babydoll with me and all the memories come rushing back. That day was one of the best day of my life. Within 15 minutes I reach the other side.

When I reach I open Google maps and drive to the location. The place is just as I remember. Many ancient churches, beaches, some old houses and trees trees and trees.

It's a beautiful place. Nothing's changed here. But with me everything has.

I reach the location and.. Oh. My. God.

It's a beach house. Such a beautiful beach house. Itna achha ghar maine kabhi nahi dekha. But kya mastermind hai jisne bhi ye ghar liya. On an island, away from the world, koi shor nahi. So peaceful. Wow

The sun is just setting and the sky is painted in a beautiful combination of blue, pink, purple and orange.

The house looks like it has just been renovated. Or built. Because everything is just too perfect.

There is no name plate. I can smell the fresh paint on the house. Koi toh naya insaan aaya hai rehne. I press the door bell.

Itna bada ghar. He'll be in his late 30s or 40s I guess. Warna personal chef, ye itna bada ghar kon afford kar sakta hai. Maaldaar party hai ye toh. I guess family bhi bahot badi hogi and this is their house for vacations.

Goan Accent ka rooftop view toh kuch bhi nahi hai iske saamne. Ye sab views ka baap hai.

My thoughts are broken when an old woman opens the door. She has a wrinkled face but kind eyes.

"I'm Aslesha Mathur. Robertson Sir from Goan Accent ne mujhe yaha bheja hai" I say nervously.

"Oh yes yes come in. Sir is waiting for you" she says ushering me in.

I enter inside and there are just boxes and boxes everywhere. Naya ghar definitely. Ab tak furniture set nahi kiya hai. Fir toh interior bhi kitna achha lagega.

"He's is the last room at the ending of this passage" she says pointing towards the door. Yaha aur koi dikh bhi nahi raha. So my guess about the big family was wrong.

Koi criminal toh nahi hai. What if I get murdered, raped? My heart beat gets so loud that I can hear it in my ears. Ab wapas bahot darr lag raha hai. Pepper spray hai. Don't worry.

I hope I don't die.

Thank God I wore sneakers. Bhaagne me aasani hogi. I look at my attire. Yellow sleeveless top and jeggings. My top is crumpled din bhar bhaag daud kar ke. And I'm so damn hungry. Subah se kuch khaya bhi nahi.

I put my hand in my purse and clutch the pepper spray tightly. With the other hand I knock lightly.

"Come in" comes a voice.

That voice.

His voice.

Hearing it, my legs turn to jelly and I put all of my weight on the door which is unfortunately open.

The door opens fully and I fall flat on my face inside.

Fuck!

~•~•~•~•~•~•

5 YEARS???

Kaisa laga? Hehehe.. Please please vote and comment to let me know how you feel about this chapter. Ily :)