A Wedding Against All Odds
19
Now that
the wedding was over and everyone was happy, it was time for life to happen. On
the third morning after the wedding, Anjali woke up just after sunrise to find
that Sameer was not on the bed or even in the bathroom. “Sameer? Where are
you?”
She didn’t
get a reply. Maybe he was in the living room.
She bathed and went to look for her mother-in-law. “Mom, have you seen
Sameer?”
“Yes, he
left about an hour ago. Said he had something urgent to finish.”
“Strange.
He didn’t tell me anything about it. He could have at least woken me up.”
Just then,
JD too came in for breakfast. “Oh, you ladies, stop it. He isn’t a child. Try
calling him again. I’ll do the same from the office. Bye.”
JD walked
into his office and lo! There, his son was, already pondering over the files on
his desk.
“You girls
are sick with worry, and you’re at work?”
“Like I
said, Dad,”
“Boy, am I
a proud father today or what! But please call your wife. Why have you switched
off your phone?”
“Oh, that.
I forgot. Battery issues. I’ll call them soon.”
And thus
began Sameer’s new life, one filled with hard work, commitment, and
dedication. Gone were the days of reckless partying and wasting time – his
marriage had changed his life. Anjali and his mom were incredibly happy at this
change, especially Anjali, who could now tell this to her father proudly.
About a
week later, as they all sat at the dinner table and waited for him, Sameer
walked in.
“Sorry I’m
late, I know. But I had to pick up these tickets on the way and got delayed.”
“What are
they for?” Usha asked, surprised.
“Are you
two kids going for your honeymoon finally?” JD asked.
“Well, that
can wait. This is for you, Mom and Dad. You’re going to New Zealand,” Sameer
said. “You worked all your life to raise me, and I have never seen you two give
yourselves the time you deserve. It’s your chance to rest and have fun now.”
“What? Why
us? You two should be going.”
“We have
time enough for that. You two have given your lives to me. It’s time to
take some rest, Dad. I am here now, the business will be fine.” He placated his
father’s worries.
“I agree, I think this is
fantastic,” Anjali chipped in.
After much insistence and
assurances, the parents agreed. Later that night, as Anjali got into bed with
Sameer, she whispered, “Who said we can’t have a honeymoon here?”
Plane crash
20
JD and his
wife left for New Zealand, and Sameer and Anjali settled into a comfortable
post-marital routine. All seemed perfect. Sameer was settling into his
business and hoped that the week would go by without glitches.
The news of
Sameer’s taking over of the company spread in the industry circles. Raj and
Rahul sat at their cabin, discussing this new development.
“Sameer’s a
beginner. It’s a good chance to take your revenge.” Rahul knew of Raj’s need
for revenge.
“I know.
Let me think. Do one thing. Through our sources, buy five lakh bags of JD’s
cement from multiple cities. Ten or twelve. And make sure you don’t buy from
the main dealers in the city. Buy retail, and get them all in our warehouse
here.”
“This is
crazy. It’s going to only benefit them. Why?” Rahul looked at his face.
“Well,
you won’t understand yet. Do as I say and get going. And don’t forget, not a
single word of it to anyone.”
***********
Sameer
handled the work at the office well while his parents enjoyed a much-deserved break. The father and son would speak every day, and Sameer would report on the
daily proceedings. There were some problems, and he sought advice, and JD was
proud and happy that everything had worked out all right.
Rahul and Raj, on the
other hand, had begun their plan of sabotaging Sameer. The cement was being
carefully but swiftly brought from various cities in the country, in
ridiculously small quantities. Raj through his full weight behind this
exercise. The demand for JD’s cement grew to the point that there was a supply
shortage. Sameer truly could not believe how swiftly the changes had happened
under his command. Neither could JD.
Now, Raj’s plan was this –
he planned to adulterate this cement and release it back in the market. Each
packet was carefully opened, and half of the cement was replaced with a mixture
of soil and fly ash. Thus, he prepared twice the number he had originally
purchased and kept them ready to be sent out.
When the
elder Patils returned, they first headed to Bangalore, where JD had to attend a
meeting. The weather in the southern city was unforgiving, and the flight,
scheduled to land at 3 am, met with a crash. The young, inexperienced pilot could
not deal with the storm that had been rising in the gulf, and the fog greatly
reduced visibility, leading to a crash with a boundary wall at the east end of
the landing patch. No one survived the crash.
The media
was already onto the story, but not until five in the morning did Sameer get
the news. He woke up to the sound of continuous buzzing on his phone. He only
heard four words,
“Plane
crash, Bangalore to New Zealand. Check the
news.”
Sameer
could not believe his ears. He switched on the TV and saw the fire and chaos
and rescue teams and crowds and the tears and he broke down. Anjali sat next to
him, holding his hand. The news
presenter was not sure if there were any survivors.
“Don’t
worry, Mom and Dad are going to be all right. I can feel it.” She tried to
sound confident, but the tears were already forming.
The two
caught the first plane out of the city that day and reached straight to the
scene of the accident. The officials were either not answering or ignorant, and
Sameer ran from one official to another before he finally found that there were
eight survivors and 149 dead passengers. Someone told him the name of the
hospital, and they rushed there. He first checked the eight survivors, who were
kept in critical care, but their photos had been displayed.
And then,
not finding his parents among those eight, he walked over to the aisle where
they were lined. After about ten bodies, he saw the one face he was dreading, and Sameer let out a scream.
“Moooooomm…”
He hugged her and wept like a child. Anjali stood there, silent tears streaming
down her face. She asked an attendant passing by, “There was a man with her.”
“He’s down
the aisle at number 38.”
The bodies
were brought to town, and a grand funeral was held for his parents. If this loss
wasn’t enough, the company shares went down 15 per cent that week. Sameer was
in hot soup.
************
Sameer’s days and nights
turned into a living nightmare. His parents were gone, his company in a downward
spiral – he blamed himself over and over again. He wept and slept and wept and
slept and did little else. He knew he must get back to work, but he couldn’t get
himself together.
Three nights later, Anjali
walked into the room after a long day and saw Sameer exactly as she had left
him a few hours ago. “It’s all my
fault,” he mumbled.
“Don’t blame yourself. It
was an accident,” Anjali explained.
“I need him, Anjali, I need
them right now. How will I go about without my father’s advice?”
“We can’t fill this space.
But baby steps, my love. We must take baby steps.”
“I can’t bear to go to the office. His empty chair, the staff, his voice over the phone – it’s going to
haunt me,” Sameer said. Anjali wiped his tears and kept her hands on his
shoulder.
“We are going to miss them
terribly, Sameer. There is no doubt about that. But it would be no way to honour
them by giving up on the very work they prized so much. Nothing would make your
father happier than you taking his business forward. That’s what he always
wanted.”
Sameer didn’t reply. He
looked at her face for a few moments, the expression in his eyes as blank as
ever.
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