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A story by Haritha Sivakumar l Monday Blossoms by BETALES
CHAPTER 2
“S orry. Have we met before?” Priya asked again, as her eyebrows arched higher while a strand of hair danced near her face. Siddanth smirked to himself as he recollected the moments he shared with the drunk Priya on their first meeting in the hotel room. And, the more he thought about the events it became even more difficult for him to concentrate on the present and communicate with a sombre-looking Priya, who isn’t whining or calling out ‘Chingu’ to any particulars that comes across her vision.
Siddanth cleared his throat loudly, suppressing his laughter before replying, “Yes we have.”
“Ah. Really? I don’t recollect diagnosing you. What was your case?” Priya’s face relaxed into a professional calm demeanour.
“Your boyfriend.” Siddanth chuckled.
“Sorry?”
“I am mean, I am not your patient. We know each other in a very strange way,” Siddanth spoke.
“As in?” Priya demanded while narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
“ Let’s say we once spend a night in a room-” Siddanth felt his words coming out wrong as Priya’s eyes widened in shock, but for some unknown reason he enjoyed seeing her panicked face and beaming eyes. “ You shared a lot with me, that night.”
“ What rubbish to say to a stranger!” Priya hissed while pursing her lips tight, and sighing loudly, “ I will advise you to consult a psychiatrist, I think you need a good consultation from professionals like doctors or POLICE.”
“ Haha... I don’t need any help, because I am stating the fact. We shared one memorable night together. It is a shame you can’t recollect them because you had many things to share with me. I became your diary for the day, and embraced every-“
“Oh my goodness. SHUT UP! What drivel are you saying? I am not that kind of a woman to have one night stand with any strange man, especially not with any man in a blue suit.” Priya muttered angrily, as she looked to her sides before storming away while flipping her black hair towards the back.
“Hotel Grand Regency, ten days back. Don’t you remember the night!” Siddanth spoke peevishly as he slowly filled the gap between them with tiny steps. “ Didn’t any of your friends say anything to you about that night, Dr Priya?” By now Siddanth was sure Priya had heard of the story but has no clue about the events because she looked troubled.
“You know my name. “ Priya asked in a strained tone.
“I know more about you, your soul-“
“Don’t you dare take a step closer to me!” Priya warned, while Siddanth broke into small fits of laughter while listening to Priya’s hysteria, “ You are lying! Nothing happened between us that night. You are cooking things up with your loose brains. Weird man!” She shrieked in furry before turning away the second time.
“If I am lying, how come you still have my wallet in your purse?” Siddanth asked.
“There is nothing of yours in my purse because you are lying.” Priya declared and half jogged away, yet she heard Siddanth’s smirk in his shout before getting inside the hall, “ Go check in your purse, you will find a green leather wallet with my identity card, Siddanth Tsering Nurugu. And, then you can wake up from your intoxication and accept that we have actually met. And, just so you know we are definitely going to meet again.”
.
There are only 10 in million times a man’s predictions become true and Siddanth’s predictions were accurate at least in his case of finding Priya. But, which of course for the latter was a displeasing nightmare.
Because Priya Siddanth was some drunk lunatic who mistook her for someone else, she was confident they will never cross their paths again. But little did she know that she was working in his hospital, technically his mother’s hospital.
However that wasn’t the bad part, whenever she wished to forget the awful night along with her previous nights, he has to transport himself before her through some sort of medium that she wasn’t able to identify. Which apparently left her with undying angst of embarrassment, for one she doesn’t remember anything that happened that night, and two, well it’s pretty the same.
Well, that isn’t a bad case either, because the dire event happened one day when there was a call from the receptionist asking for Dr Priya from the Cardiology department to meet the Vice – President.
“Hey!” Priya smiled at the receptionist “ Vice-president wants to meet me? May I know why?” But before the receptionist could respond, another beautiful woman with fair skin and sweat beadings on her face asked while panting “ You said Vice-President wants to meet me? May I know why?” To which the young receptionist looked confused as she stared from a stunning dark-skinned doctor to a beautiful fair-skinned doctor, “You both are Priya from the Cardiology department?”
“Argh! Well, then our question should be which Priya the Vice-president wanted to see?” Both the Priya’s asked in unison while smiling.
“Arghh?”
“Is it Priya Chandran? That’s me.” Priya spoke while flipping her hair back, and then pointing to the fair-skinned doctor next to her, “Or is it, Priya Shukla?”
“ It is Dr Priya Shukla that I wanted to meet, but I am glad that I got to meet you again, Chingu.” Siddanth addressed the women with an alluring smile, to which Ms Shukla looked flattered while Dr Priya Chandran just rolled her eyes, ‘ Not this guy again’, Priya whispered to herself.
“Aren’t you pleased to meet your Vice-president Ms Chingu?” Siddanth whispered to Priya.
“I will kill you if you call me Chingu, again” Priya mumbled back to him, as he straightened up with a sneer on his face.
“Do you guys know each other?” Dr Shukla asked quizzically.
“Unfortunate events happen in life, and we shouldn’t keep a count on them,” Priya answered impassively.
“Huh?” Priya Shukla stared from Siddanth to Priya quizzically, before Priya started speaking again. “ As now we have understood who the Vice-president wanted to meet, I will excuse you myself. And, just for your reference, next time be clear when announcing the names, Dr Priya Chandran and Dr Priya SHUKLA, Okay! I just don’t want to be in the presence of strange people.” Priya informed the receptionist who visibly looked very uncomfortable between the doctors and the Vice-President of the hospital, yet she meekly responded, “Yes, ma’am.”
“Thank You.” Priya said and started walking away, when she heard his pity scoff smothered with laughter, “I would not mind meeting you again, Chingu.”
“I will kill you !” Priya mouthed the words before walking into the pharmacy.
Though Priya Shukla and Siddanth soon found out through their five dates that they weren’t compatible and couldn’t find the connection they were looking for their partners, they were never appalled by the thought of staying friends. Hence, as a token of last merriment on their last date with each other Siddanth revealed to Priya Shukla, the thirty-minute mishap that happened before they met at the Golden Regency Hotel. And, expecting less Siddanth soon joined Priya Shukla while she broke into the hysteria of laughter before they wiped their tears of laughter, before heading back to their homes.
But, this merriment became a nightmare, when this piece of information instead of staying enclosed within her mouth and heart started spreading like Corona Virus contracting one department after another, leaving Priya to become a laughing stock among her colleagues for many weeks, and for many weeks that followed.
But, that wasn’t the worst case either. Have you felt the pang of treachery when you get to know that your science teacher is on leave so you will get a free period, but at the last minute of your math class, your math teacher announces that she is going to continue through the science class also? Priya felt the very same pain when she came to know from her roommate and friend, Shefalika that, Siddanth Nurugu was her Boss as well as her boyfriend’s best friend.
And, that night Priya didn’t sleep at all.
Well, that wasn’t the worst at all, so the awful thing happened on a Sunday mid-morning, as Priya was helping her childhood friend and roommate, Kavya in preparing lunch while speaking to her mother over the phone.
“Is that what you wanted to talk about?” Priya seemed irritable as she faces timed her mother.
“Why? Can’t I enquire about your personal life, and know how you are doing in your life?” Ankita, Priya’s mother sounded equally irritated as the duo continued their banter, “You are my daughter if you remember that.”
“ It would have been more convincing if you actually believed and behaved what you said. Moreover, we broke up like six months ago and now you are calling me up and asking, ‘Why did you break up?’ The crows in Kerala might be knowing the reason for the past six months. Also for your kind information, my relocation has nothing to do with Aadithya.” Priya replied with an intended scorn.
“But I heard you got transferred to the same hospital in Mumbai-” Ankita said.
“Glad to know you are keeping yourself updated about me with the help of your little birdie,” Priya muttered.
“Priya, don’t scoff at me. I am your Amma. I am worried about you.” Ankita said while leaning forward to the screen.
“Oh please! You never even asked me ‘How I am doing’ even through a text, and you didn't even know I shifted to Mumbai like a month before. Yet, you have the brilliance to call me and declare your love for me. But, I am sorry I reject it, and, please uphold my second apologies in your heart as well, because I am in no mood to entertain you. After all, you are dampening my quality time of sitting idle.” And with no hesitation, Priya disconnected the call and threw her phone on the couch while resting her head on the couch.
“Dude you know, your mother is a single piece in this whole universe,” Kavya said while peeling the carrots and turning off the mute button on the Television and soon the whole room filled with the voice from a K-drama. “ But, still why didn’t you inform her about the relocation.?”
“Initially I didn’t then a month back I texted her like the usual, and she didn’t reply like the usual,” Priya said while yawning. “ By the way have I ever informed her about anything? I didn’t even tell her about our school trip to Wonderla, which is the only thing I regret the most.”
“Ya, I accuse you of not doing it. If you had asked got your permission from your mom or your dad-” Kavya stopped in between her sentence, and broke into an awkward smile when she got under the radar of Priya’s stare, “ Sorry, I meant your step-dad. You could have joined us all for that fun trip. Do you think your Amma called my mother and came to know about all these things?”
“Of course! Is that even a question? Looking at our past events and scaling my and my family's non-existent relationships, and me spending most of my days at your home. Your mother is the only feasible way my mother can get information about me, whenever she remembers my existence in her life.”
“Should I ask Amma to stop informing your mother about you over the phone?” Kavya enquired.
“Oh. Let it be, or else she will end up coming here. And, please in this break-up recovery stage, I could be free from one headache, moreover, they kind of enjoy each other’s company, let the old women bond, at least in the name of gossiping about me.” Priya answered exasperatedly before the two friends broke into a burst of hearty laughter, which was soon followed by a loud smacking noise joined with a cry from Priya. “KAVYA!”
“I am so sorry!” Kavya apologized as she tried soothing her friend’s right thigh where there were hot red imprints of her fingers.
“Oh you and your habit of slapping people while laughing, jandhu!” Priya scolded her friend before walking to her room and tripping over the mat and landing on the floor loudly while hitting and shaking the hell out of the nearby table. And, as if this wasn’t enough to add remorse, the bags on the table all toppled over head while scattering things around the floor.
“Argh!” Priya cried in pain as she sat upright and looked through her mishap while massaging her head. “Where did this all mess come from?” She questioned herself, while she picked up her cream-coloured handbag with an open zip, she peered into it and found a month-old Arman Manlik’s concert ticket, a half-eaten lays packet, and a green leather wallet.
“ I really need to start cleaning my bags. Is this still good?” Priya was about to peer into the Lays packet when Kavya came. “Are you alright? I heard a cry.”
“Yes. I am. I just tripped and this followed.” Priya spoke while dramatically stretching her hand with the Lays packet and the green wallet.
“Do you still have Aadithya’s wallet with you?” Kavya enquired in astonishment.
“No. This isn’t Aadithya’s.” Priya answered.
“Then who's it is? Not yours I guess.”
“No, it isn’t mine either, I wonder whose it is.”
Kavya snorted while speaking again, “What if it is Siddanth’s? You remember he has been pestering you for the wallet for such a long time. It will be ironical to see you have them after asking him to piss off.”
“Come on, it can’t be his. My life can’t be cruel like the mathematics teacher to me, at least no-“ Priya’s words fell short as in the inside of the wallet, Siddanth’s Identity Card smiled at her peevishly, “ This man is not going to let me live a peaceful life.”
“Is it his?! Oh my god!! Haha..” Kavya started taking a step, when Priya bellowed, “ Don’t you dare come near me and hit me, find your boyfriend or that door who did all this mishap.” Priya barked in anger and emotions she could not explain before she slapped the wallet on her head. Because she knows after yelling at him and cursing him for being a nonchalant pervert she can’t expect him to ask for the wallet again. So, it was her who needs to message him first.
Priya loathed the very thought of it.
(to be continued)
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