The door was knocked twice.

Shivaji... calculated a trillion times if he should actually answer, or if he was really thirsty anymore....
finally at the end of which, he peeped  through a slit he managed to create by opening the door as tiny as he could.

Goodness!! He almost fainted.

Kalpita herself stood with two jugs in hand.

She gestured him to open the door completely. He did, like an obedient student. He had no option either. This lady looked like a dictator.

Kalpita thumped past him, while he stood scratching his stubble.

She placed the jugs on the bed side table. And turned to him, crossing arms across chest.

" There's this bell. Beside your bed. See this? "

Shivaji walked towards her, and shrinking his eyes, nodded when he discovered the bell signed switch.

" Press it as soon as you need anything. And if no one answers, which is quite possible as to how worthless they are, dial 507 through the intercom. " , she pointed at a phone.
" Either me or mom will answer you. "

Shivaji nodded as promptly as he could.

Kalpita stretched her arms.
" It's five thirty now.
Do you drink coffee? "

" Huh? " , Shivaji somehow spoke.
Continuing a conversation was a beyond impossible task for him.

Kalpita rolled her eyes.
" Coffee - a beverage made by blending powdered brown colored beans, milk and sugar by choice.
Heard of it ever? "

Shivaji felt insulted. Hence he blinked his eyes several times.

" No...  " , he stared at the ground.
" Err.... Aamm.... I mean, I don't drink....coffee.. "

" Fine.
Tea? Juice? Coke? Beer, wine, vodka, we have everything.... "

" Haain!!! 
No no!!! Hare Krishna, alcohol.... Chhi Chhi!! " , Shivaji found his head spinning.

Kalpita shrinked her eyes and squeezed her brows.
" Fine if you don't drink! But who gave you the right to behave as if those who do are sinners? Like literally? Chanting Hare Krishna and stuff? "

Shivaji was unnerved again.
All he wished for was to go and hide behind the curtains now.

" Nn... Nnoo.... I... I didn't mean... I...mean... 

Tea.... I can... " , he lost his brain again.

Kalpita, suddenly was hit by a wave of sympathy, for the man who stood typically panicstricken right in front of her. His face lacked the dumb element, even after everything. It was rather, too simple.
'Please take care of him. Be his saviour. ' , a voice invisibly hit her eardrums, quite unusual of Kalpita Chatterjee.

She controlled herself. And drew a smile across her lips instead.
" It's alright. I was kidding.

When I have night shifts I usually sleep for long and skip lunch. Wake up and have coffee or tea with mom, or friends.
Today, you can accompany me. "

" Haain??! " , Shivaji immediately fell from another galaxy it seemed.

" Yup. I'll call you. We'll have tea together in the balcony. " , Kalpita exited without looking back.

Shivaji now wished to hide in the closet and never come out again.

He hardly knew, who on earth he should curse for the situation he was in, right now. He almost ran towards the bed, jumped on it, and sat swaying back and forth, rhythmically chanting not only Hare Krishna but all sorts of gods he had ever heard of in life.

_____

" And this is another guest room. " , Kalpita ended the tour around their house, with Shivaji following her like a duckling following the mother duck.
" End of it. " , she crossed her arms.

Shivaji obediently nodded.
He was too cautious. Even while breathing behind her, he made sure it hardly made sound.

" So, tell me.
How many rooms in all, in the ground floor? " , Kalpita interrogated.

Shivaji immediately grew terribly attentive. His eyes widened, and he blinked several times, as he mentally calculated.

" Mmm... Mmm....

*Cough*

Office.... Kitchen... Washroom...
My room.... Two... Guestrooms.... Library.... Storeroom.... Mmm....  " , he was pretty sure he had missed something, and he would be slammed soon.

Instead, Kalpita broke into an immense feat of laughter, confusing Shivaji upside down. He kept staring at her, frowning.

" My goodness! You're such a kid!!!!
Like literally?

I was kidding!!! Didn't you really get that? Who doesn't remember rooms shown seconds back? You ain't mentally retarded right, that your IQ needs to be tested this way!!

I thought village people are simple, but you're a baby!!!

Oh my god!!!!
You really answered that, you should have just said, 'Are you kidding me? ' "

Kalpita walked on towards the balcony, still carrying the laughter stretch along.

Shivaji kept standing, dumbstruck.

How complicated were city people?
How would he know, when he was expected to reply, and when not?
Wasn't she the same person... shaming him upon sentence formation in the morning?

Irritated big time, Shivaji walked over to the balcony, most unwillingly.

Kalpita had already picked up her cup. She put forward his. Shivaji took, with a bitter gourd face. Not a tinge bit was he wishing to stand beside her at the moment.
Neither did he know, why he was doing this.
He would be the happiest if he was fired even before officially starting the job.

Yet, he kept standing, because he hardly disobeyed people in life...

Also.....the empty room...was going to engulf him anyway..

" So, how did your parents die? " , Kalpita asked, casually sipping her tea.

And here, the cup almost fell from Shivaji's hand.

His eyes widened, his heart raced, his hands and knees grew weak, his throat went dead dry.

He stopped breathing, and kept standing like a statue, staring lifelessly at the city below him.

Flashes reflected before his eyes, and he closed them, as tightly as he could.

Kalpita was hardly noticing any of these, until she realised, their was no sound beside her for a long time now. She looked at Shivaji, and what she witnessed on his face, immediately made her realise she had committed a big blunder.

Being a doctor, she knew extremely well, how, to some, deaths of near ones could become a tremendous phobia to be talked about, more to strangers...

And to a timid self like Shivaji, this was evidently manifolds. So much so that, probably it was one of the reasons, the wise old man had decided to shift him from Digha to Kolkata.

" Please excuse me... " , Shivaji spoke after a momentary mind block, and left the place leaving the intact cup on the table.

Kalpita kept standing, shrinking eyes.

He deserved an apology on her part. She should have never asked it on face.

But the question was, could she really do that? 

_____

" Sit. "

Devendra gestured to Shivaji.
He slowly took seat before him, at his office.

" Hello beta. I'm Suchandra. Devendra's wife. "

A very attractive elderly woman sat on the settee beside, munching potato chips.

" She's a professor in comparative literature, in Jadavpur University. " , Devendra added.

Shivaji could hardly smile, however he tried to.

" So, I'll just brief you about the.... "
Devendra couldn't end, and Kalpita appeared at the door.

" Mom, Dad, going to Mahima's place for group studies. Won't return for the night. "

Shivaji stiffened. He did not even move his head to look in her direction.

" Okay! " , Suchandra kept munching.

" Okay? Wow!!
Are you really going to study whole night? " , Devendra sounded evidently disturbed.

" Nope. " , Kalpita walked in.
" Study, movies, food, fun.
By the way, what's going on here? Interview part 2 ? "

Shivaji shut his eyes tight, praying for her departure as soon as possible. She was too...straightforward, if that was it, for him to handle. At least, for today.

Devendra Chatterjee observed Shivaji.

And then looked at his daughter.
" None of your business.
You should actually go for the group study. That's a great idea. Isn't it Suchandra? "

Suchandra suddenly grew attentive, realising something was cooking that she wasn't aware of.

" No.
I just changed my plan. I will rather preside over the interview again. "
Kalpita settled on another chair, fixing her gaze on Shivaji.

Shit!
Shivaji's face was about to squeeze, but he controlled hard. Real hard.

Devendra stared at her, cold eyed.
" Why even are you after this poor chap? I know you have plans of messing him up. I can read your eyes. " , he spoke this time.

" Hello, what's going on ? " , Suchandra waved her hand.

" Your daughter is being mischievous.
But, everything needs time, isn't it? " , Devendra frowned.

Shivaji kept staring at the ground, breathing hard. He didn't wish to react anyway, nor was he able to.

" Is it?
And are you protecting him from your daughter? Do you even know that the other gentleman who had accompanied him, has rather told me to ... " , Kalpita ate back her words, or rather she was stopped, both by Shivaji's immediate glance at her, and her dad's words.

" Okay, do whatever you want. Sit, stand, dance, sleep, but don't disturb us. " , Devendra warned her.

Kalpita got up instead.
She walked over to Shivaji, who stared at the ground again.
She snapped fingers before him.
" Why are you afraid of me?
Do I look like a witch or a sorceress to you? "

Shivaji's jaw dropped, as he began blinking his eyes big time, shifting gazes from her to Devendra. The later frowned even more.
Suchandra placed her chin on her palm, and watched everything quietly.

" Kalpita.. Leave! " , her Dad ordered.

" I am!! I was anyway not staying.

Just that.......sorry. "

Kalpita threw the last word at Shivaji.

And Shivaji didn't even realise that, because he was staring at the ground.

" Better . " , Devendra murmured.
Kalpita left the room.

" By the way, what did she apologize to you for, Shivaji? " , he asked.

Shivaji looked up, extremely surprised.
" To....me?
I.... Don't....know.. "

Did he know? Shivaji wondered. She looked quite unapologetic a woman. If at all, she might have been sorry for asking him so abruptly about his parents'.....
He stopped thinking.

" Have you ever seen her apologize, by the way? " , Devendra looked at Suchandra.

Suchandra got up.
" Not really. But I don't believe I won't see changes ever, unlike you. "

She smiled, and walked out of the room.