It was Shreya,
Shreya Chauhan!
17 Nov'16
‘’Smoking’s bad, It’ll Kill you”, Tanay heard a lady as he lit his
Marlboro Red.
“I know”, he replied and ignored to enjoy his moment of peace outside
the tall building of the MNC he worked for.
“Then why don’t you quit smoking? The time is now “She continued even
after his disinterest in the conversation” I work for a firm that encourages
people quit smoking & that’s why I’m here”
“Listen, Lady!”
“Sorry I forgot to introduce myself, I’m Shreya from Quit Now.” She
continued with more confidence “Our firm has developed a new therapy which
helps people quit smoking & its effective.”
It was his eleventh hour at office and he had to stay a couple more.
Tanay was impatient by now. He had to submit the onboarding documents from a
very big client in the next half an hour.
“Hey! I totally get that you’ve to get new clienteles but you’re wasting
your time here. I’ve no interest in quitting and I surely don’t have a penny
waste enough to attend your urban therapy” Tanay told her, point blank
"and thanks for ruining my smoke time” ,Tanay mumbled and left.
He went straight up. It was midnight by the time he finished his work.
Leaving for home as he drove past the office building in his shining
posh Mercedes, he saw Shreya sitting on a bench with a bundle of pamphlets in
her hands. Tanay stopped the car. He sat and stared her as she gave them to
every passerby. She looked radiant but dull, like the moon on a cloudy night
with moonshine coming in & fading away.
He walked to the bench.
It was almost midnight. A girl sitting on a bench under a lamp post
looked like a scene from movies.
“Can I have one?” Tanay said in an apologetic tone.
“I thought you didn’t have money for urban therapies.” Shreya mumbled as
she handed over the pamphlet.
“Well, Let’s just say today’s your lucky day” Tanay tried to lighten up
the heat.
“Yeah well, you
begin saving the world by saving one man at a time; all else is grandiose romanticism
or politics.’ She said as she looked Tanay right into the eyes.
“Bukowski! Do they train to quote Bukowski for selling products?”
“Call on the numbers given if interested, I don’t think you will but
it’s my responsibility to tell.” She said as she packed her bag and walked
away.
Tanay was dismayed with the reaction. A salesperson wants nothing but
sales. Why would she react this way? He thought the reason might be what
happened in the afternoon.
Day 2
It was 7 in
the evening, Tanay was just taking off from the office when he got a text from
Karan, his college friend who used to live in solitude but has been finding his
best friend in Tanay since college days.
"I'll be at
Gaur's Coffee House at 7:30, see you there", the text read.
"Asshole",
Tanay murmured as he turned his car towards Gaur's.
Tanay parked his
car and was walking to Gaur's when he noticed someone walking with loud foot
noise behind him. He looked behind and there she was, Shreya, walking with a
clear glimpse of panic on her face.
Tanay stopped as
she walked past him without noticing his existence. Tanay kept on looking until
she was out of sight as she took the elevator to the ground floor. He took out
his phone to check if Karan reached only to find out 4 missed calls. It was Karan
who kept on calling and at last drop a text that he couldn’t make it tonight.
Tanay reached the café and ordered the usual. He spotted Shreya on the
corner bench sipping her coffee and staring into nothing.
Tanay walked towards Shreya.
“I think we should peace out”,Tanay chuckled as Shreya looked at him
with a blank expression, “May I if you don’t mind?” He pulled the chair and sat
right next to her.
“I used to work for ‘Modern Day Bukowski’
as an editor, they don’t train a salesperson to quote Bukowski” Shreya said as
she stirred her coffee and slowly looked above.
“Then why Quit Now? You’d have obviously got better
offers, surely better than a sales job.” Tanay asked curiously.
"Life’s
short and it sucks. There’s nothing you can do about it”, Shreya sighed.
“This might sound awkward and creepy but will you go
out on a date with me?” Tanay wanted to ask Shreya.
“You don’t know me. A day ago I was selling a service
to you and now you want to go out with me?” He thought Shreya would say.
“I’m sorry! But I got to leave.” Shreya humbly told
Tanay as she got up and started packing her wallet,” & the less you know
the better” and she left leaving Tanay in confusion.
Tanay could spot Shreya daily in the area near his
office where they first met. He could see her distributing the pamphlets and
registering new people for Quit Now.
Tanay tried to strike a conversation again but she
would ignore. He wanted to know the girl who quoted Shakespeare and Bukowski
but was selling Quit Now services.
Tanay liked Shreya’s presence around even though they
didn’t talk. He would stare at her motivating people to quit smoking. He always
tried to strike a conversation. She had him at a point where he’d have left the
entire world for her.
That day he couldn’t spot Shreya. He tried to enquire
around but no one knew the whereabouts.
Six Months Later
Tanay was browsing Facebook as he saw Shreya’s picture on the Quit Now
Page.
The caption read:
“Shreya Chauhan, the beloved volunteer for Quit Now, passed away fighting with Lung Cancer. She dedicated
her last times help people quit smoking after she left her lovable job as an
Editor for the much acclaimed national magazine, ‘Modern Day Bukowski’. May her
soul rest in peace”
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