UNDER THE SKY LANTERNS - PART 1
By Archana Vinod
A residential colony
in the heart of Ahmedabad city.
The hot summer
morning begins to take its toll on its inhabitants as temperatures soar above
35 degrees C.
However, this does
not bother Roli much.
ROLI DWIVEDI, late
20's, just moved into an apartment in the city a few weeks back with her
parents Jamanlal and Meena. And she loves it already! The city is always full
of life irrespective of the time of day. They have easy access to everything -
bus stops, railway stations, hospitals, schools, shops, malls etc. The city
streets teem with vehicles all day and most of all, there are a lot of places
to hang around!
Today, Roli is very
much excited. She is all dressed up for a job interview! She checks herself out
in the mirror one last time before dashing out with her handbag and a neat
file.
She hurries to the
living room. Her parents, Jamanlal and Meena are at the dining table already
digging into some breakfast.
MEENA: Come dear,
have a spot of breakfast before you go.
ROLI: No Maa! I'm
late already!
MEENA: Arrey! You
must have a bite at least! Never leave home on an empty stomach.
Roli regrets giving in
to her mother's compulsion as she almost chokes on her food!
MEENA: (pats on her
daughter's head) Calm down!
Roli hastily gulps
down a glass of water and begins to rush.
MEENA: A bit more.
ROLI: No Maa,
please! I'm getting late.
She almost bolts out
of the door, but...
MEENA:
Wait-wait-wait! A word of prayer first!
Roli pauses quickly
and closes her eyes. Hey Matarani, she prays, help me to get through the
interview today. She's off again.
MEENA: Took
everything?
ROLI: Haan Maa.
MEENA: CV?
Certificates? Etc. etc?
ROLI: (irritated)
Haan Maa! Haan!
JAMANLAL: Call us
when you're done! (beams and gives her a thumbs up) All the best!
ROLI: Thank you
Papa, I love you you! Bye!
She plants a quick
kiss on her parent's cheeks before dashing out of her apartment and bolting
towards the elevator.
She glances around impatiently
as she waits for the unbelievably slow elevator to trudge its way up the
floors. The building is a mess with its poor maintenance. Garbage bags and
other litter are strewn here and there carelessly. To top it all off, it also
stinks to high heaven! Roli is disgusted.
The elevator is
still at level 3. Three more floors to go!
ROLI: (mutters to
herself) Why the hell is thing taking so long?
She jabs on the
elevator's call button irritably.
A few minutes later,
it finally screeches to a halt on the sixth floor! She darts in and shuts the
door.
BOOM! SCREEE... The
ancient' elevator begins to slide down noisily before stopping at the 5th
floor. She is egged up.
A man enters. The
lift begins its downward slide again. SCREEE!!!!
BOOM! It stops at
the 4th floor!!! Roli is really annoyed now!!! Hey Matarani, I'm
seriously going to be late today!!! She gnashes her teeth as she tries to
contain her anger.
Another person
enters. It stops at the 1st floor again!!! God!!! Why can't people
use the stairs!!! She doesn't bother to wait around anymore. She just walks out
and takes the stairs.
In a few minutes,
she's out on the streets. She flails wildly at a couple of autos and taxis
passing by. After so much of jumping and waving, she finally gets one.
TECHSEARCH
CONSULTANTS - MUCH LATER
Roli waits her turn
amongst many others. A while later, she is called in.
She walks in to her
interviewer's cabin, shakes hands and smiles warmly.
The interviewer, VIKRANT
MEHTA, a tall rugged looking guy in his early 30's, sits behind a large oak
desk with a warm smile on his face.
A metallic name
plate reads: VIKRANT MEHTA, DIRECTOR - TECHSEARCH CONSULTANTS
VIKRANT: Roli
Dwivedi? How are you today?
ROLI: Very well sir.
Thank you.
VIKRANT: Shall we
begin?
ROLI: Sure sir.
VIKRANT: (smiles)
Call me Vikrant.
OUT ON THE STREETS -
MUCH LATER
Roli heads home jabbing
all over her phone's touch screen. She looks mightily pleased with herself as
she dials up her father and waits for him to answer.
ROLI: Papa?
JAMANLAL: Haan beta.
How did it go?
ROLI: (punches the
air) Success Papa! Success! I'm selected!
JAMANLAL: (laughs)Wow!
Congratulations! Very well done!
ROLI: Thank
youuu! I love youuu!
JAMANLAL: So where
are you now?
ROLI: On my way. I'll
fill you in with the details once I get home.
JAMANLAL: Sure. Be
careful.
MUCH LATER
She finally reaches
home sweet home. Whew! What a day!
As she walks into
her building, she notices a guy go in to the elevator. Might as well use the
lift, she thinks, anyway it's here. I'm busted as it is! Really not in the mood
to climb the stairs!
She hurries to the
elevator before it shuts up, but the guy notices her coming and holds the door
open for her.
ROLI: (smiles) Thank
you.
The guy, quite tall
and charming smiles back and look away. He almost fills up the elevator with
his huge physique. He is SIDDHANT BHARADWAJ, early 30's.
SIDDHANT: Which
floor?
ROLI: Sixth.
SIDDHANT: (smiles
and presses 6) I'm headed there too.
BOOM!!! SCREEE...
Siddhant almost
falls down. He is startled at the jolt and explosive sound.
Roli, who has been
watching him from the corner of her eyes, smothers a laugh.
SIDDHANT: What the f"
He stops,
embarrassed. He had almost begun to cuss!
The elevator screams
painfully as it heaves itself up.
ROLI: (an amused
smirk) I think you're new.
SIDDHANT: Yeah. Just
came in to see a friend.
ROLI: Ahhh! No
wonder!
SIDDHANT: (confused)
I'm sorry?
ROLI: Well... If you
were tenant in this building, you would have been familiar with this notorious
elevator.
SIDDHANT: Why? What's
so special about it?
ROLI: Oh. That's a -
BBOMOOOM!!!
Without warning, the
lift lurches to a grinding halt!
The lights flicker
for a moment and then go off!!!
It's pitch dark!!!
... TO BE
CONTINUED
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