“How are you holding up? It must have been a shock to suddenly hear about Yeshe passing away”, said Mr. Shaikh. The man sitting across Tashi had a gentle expression on his face. He had been her uncle Yeshe’s lawyer. His sparse hair was brushed back and he was wearing a well-worn navy blue suit. He must be in his mid fifties, so near her uncle’s age. Tashi shrugged as a reply. “Hmmm... Well, as I mentioned on the call, I need to discuss Mr. Yeshe’s will with you. Did he ever talk to you about his business?” asked Mr. Shaikh. “His business? No, that never came up. I guess we only ever talked about me.” Tashi felt a mixture of shame and sadness as she said this. He had always been curious about her. So their correspondences had always been about what she was up to and how she was doing. Now that she thought about it, she knew so little about him.

“Ah, yes. Well, your parents’ accident had really shocked him. He was always worried if you were doing OK.” Mr. Shaikh smiled gently.

Her parents had passed away in an accident just before she started college. They had gone on a weekend trip and were on the way back when a truck collided with their car. The driver had fallen asleep on the wheel. Tashi hadn’t gone with them. She had wanted to spend as much time as possible with her friends before starting college, so she had stayed behind.

That time was such a blur in her memory, she remembered being at the funeral but it was as if she was watching everything from a distance. Mr. Shaikh had taken care of everything. Uncle Yeshe had sent him since he hadn’t been able to come himself. They had started communicating through letters afterwards. Uncle didn’t own a cell phone or a laptop.

Mr. Shaikh had stayed behind to help her with the legal and financial matters that followed. She remembered receiving a courier marked ‘urgent’ with a letter inside, a day after she had mentioned that she was thinking of selling her home and moving into a 2 BHK apartment to Mr. Shaikh. She had wanted to pay off the loans and still have some left over for college tuition. But uncle Yeshe had written back asking her not to worry about anything and that she needn’t sell the house. She remembered being moved by his letter and writing back to thank him. However, since she would feel too lonely living in the family home by herself, she wanted to sell it. She had assured him that she would reach out if she needed any help. She could tell that her uncle’s concern was real, but she hadn’t wanted to become a burden. She had even taken up a part-time job as soon as she started college without her uncle’s knowledge.

“He has left the BnB to you. Well, a part of it at least. There’s another partner, who holds the majority stake, sixty percent while you hold the remaining forty.” Tashi was brought back to the present. She hadn’t known that her uncle ran a BnB. “A BnB?” she asked. “Yes, it has been in your family for generations. You have to sign this document first”, said Mr. Shaikh. “For generations?” Tashi was surprised. She had known very little about her mother’s family, just that she was from a small village in the mountains. “But surely you are not asking me to run it?” “Well, not exactly run it yet, you’ll have to learn the ropes first, won’t you?” He was smiling for the first time since they met that day. She must have looked as bewildered as she felt.

“Here, just go through these documents and sign here.” He pushed the documents towards her. “You don’t have to worry too much. Isn’t this the perfect opportunity? Didn’t you say it was getting too much at work and that you just wanted to quit?” Ah, I didn’t even tell uncle Yeshe that I finally quit, she thought. It had already been a couple of months since her last day at that place. That day, when she had finally put down her papers, it was because she had felt that she would really die if she didn’t. But she hadn’t been able to bring herself to tell anyone about it as she didn’t want to face their concern. Much earlier, she had thought that perhaps it might get better if she just switched to a more laid-back role. But later, she felt that something else needed fixing as well beyond her work situation. She had spent most days at home curled up in her bed or in front of the TV after quitting.

“Goodness, it will be fine. You will be trained first obviously. The BnB has experienced staff who will help you out. You get a salary as well and here, read this part. There is a lump sum payout every couple of years that you work at the BnB.” Tashi began to read the document. The BnB, called ‘Tsungrem Bed and Breakfast’, was located in Jingsuk village. Tashi vaguely remembered her mother mentioning the village. She didn’t want to think about it so she quickly turned to the compensation page. She frowned as she went through it. “The monthly salary is quite reasonable but the payout every couple of years is quite something.” She looked up from the documents to see Mr. Shaikh smiling widely at her. “It is, isn’t it? Well, what do you think? Why don’t you give it a go?”

That night when Tashi lay down to sleep, she couldn’t help but go over the meeting in her head. Would it have been better to have asked to sell off her stake? How did she end up making the decision so quickly? She couldn’t believe she had signed the documents without even visiting the BnB first. Well, it was already done, no point ruminating over it now, she thought. But she couldn’t help but feel warm in her heart. Her mother’s village and a family BnB. She realised that she was actually looking forward to this new adventure.