Too Late For Atonement – Chapter 1

THE PEN WARRIORS

Read the previous part of the story here at Gauri’s space…..

Too Late For Atonement – Chapter 1

 “Thank you ladies and gentlemen. I hope we are all game and I’m sure the implementation of the agenda will fetch us an even better market abroad. See you all soon. Have a nice Sunday….”

The convivial meeting has come to an end. No body moved, nobody blinked. Without much ado, Tara walked smoothly out of the chair to the foyer. She is in her graceful and sophisticated  black van Heusen shirt and a skirt matching the fabric. Her small diamond earrings sparkle and she is polished and stylish. A lot of eyes whop out as she sways her classy and sassy demeanour.  A solemn silence prevails in the conference room and tack..tack… tack….only her Jimmy Choo echoed. She never commanded respect, she earned it.

The company has been doing effectively well, registering its 10^th successful anniversary this Sunday. The advancement ideally made a lot of eyebrows raise, but may be because of her charisma, aura & personality which she flaunts, the world is under her feet… “Many more to go.” She thought…. She stops by and looks at the chair from where she had started. “Good morning sir, I think my biggest aspiration is to let the world know how much can we contribute as oneself and as a team.” The words might have put the interview board to silence, staring at my confidence. The events that then unfolded sprung a lot of surprise to others, being selected as the creative editor  at Raj Enterprises. Ever since there was no looking back, rising in ranks and becoming the pivot around which the entire office revolved, putting her stamp on anything and everything she did. Here she is, at the top of the company, confident and courageous, modern woman of the new world. Smart, intelligent, charming and meticulous, so much so that it can bring competitors on their knees with her charming looks and attitude. There had never been a look down for her company.

 She smiles and back in the cabin, she takes off her heels and gets into the couch. Walking on high heels can be a pain, thought Tara. Thoughts were cluttering her mind like passing clouds, one after the other. The gentle breeze also could not get her mind to rest….

      What was it??  Why did I…………………….?Why is he….?

She closed her eyes trying to fall into a deep slumber which was hardly drawing near………….

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 Shekhar came into her life like a ray of sunshine, a ray of hope. He still has got the boyish charm around him with appealing eyes that ballyhooed a lot of affection. Ever since we moved in together he has been caring and has always remained as my pillar of strength.

“Wo…uld…. would you like to have a burger? I heard there is an awesome place which sells the best burgers in town?” Though he stammered, his naughty smile and the innocence impressed me.

“Oh yeah, sure. Why not? But only burger? Not even a coffee?

And then it began. Our eyes met and a lot was said over a cup of coffee. They rightly say, Anything can happen over a cup of coffee…

He simply put a platinum ring on my finger. There were no questions, no going down on knees, and definitely no proposal. When all was dark and still, he held me together, giving me support and regain my composure.  He brought me back to life when I was torn and tattered. He filled the missing link in my life, always being a sweet dad to my little girl. I often wonder how well the life was planned in a way that all my suffering should be washed away by this gentleman. He came to my life like a breeze au fait taking away the dark clouds, assuring confidence and bringing me back the competitive aggression on work.

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Ting..ting.. her I-phone rings. As she reads out the reminder, she glances at the photo which is set as the home screen.  Roohi, her sweetheart is smiling cheerfully. She is with her teddy, her solace. It brings back the smile onto Tara’s face. She is a loving daughter who understands her aspiration and career. She never annoyed her, never complained. It is Roohi’s face and presence which energizes her no matter how much stressed or tired she is…no matter how much troublesome her life becomes…she can go long and long…just for Roohi only.  It has been wonderful, a happy family to look forward to and everything going fine…until……

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Read the next part of the story here at Anirudh’s space.

Hop in and read :

Chapter Three by Debosmita Nandy

Chapter Four by Manas Mukul

Chapter Five by Era

Chapter Six by Nibha Gupta

Chapter Seven by Seema Tiwary

Chapter Eight by Dr. Gauri Kekre

Chapter Nine by Manas Mukul