Anju put down her pen on the journaling book after scribbling down her schedules for Tuesday. Her hands paused at the blank space she was supposed to jot down the date, a sense of familiarity crept within her. Her eyes slowly shifted to the computer screen in front of her journaling book. After hesitating for a few seconds her hands reached out for the mouse to the computer, Anju opened her social media account.
She scrolled, clicked on her friend Nisha’s friend’s list, paused right when she saw the name Dhiraj with a default profile picture, clearly indicating that account no longer existed.
She felt a sudden pain in her chest as she watched the name on the screen.
It’s that day of the year again. She thought. As she watched the screen her mind slowly drifted to the past.
Three years ago
“Hey, I was wondering if I …” Anju grimaced at herself in the mirror. She shook her head then took a deep breath and smiled “Again… Hi, what a pleasant surprise….” Her smile deflated. She stared at herself in her office’s employee bathroom mirror. She groaned “Darn it, how am I supposed to ask him for a lift back home like this?”
She stayed in silence for a moment then turned to the window. The glasses were filled with droplets of water and she could hear a calm sound of the pitter-patter of the raindrops hitting the window. She finally looked at herself in the window again, fresh make-up and hair. She took a long breath with determination and said “No… I can do this.”
She took the lace of her side bag and slung it around her shoulder then confidently walked out. It was a dark empty room with computers neatly lined up in 4 rows. She reached the glass door which was still wide open. Web-design department was printed with black on a steel plate which was glued to the glass door. She walked straight to the door opposite to it, the same type of door and nameplate with word web-programmers department. She could feel her heart skipping a beat. “Now, now Anju you are about to ask him out, it's not a crime.” she told herself.
Please still be inside. She prayed.
She pushed the door open and entered the darkroom. The room was identical to the previous room. The work hours had already ended, so the computers were all turned off. Anju paused for a second, hesitant what if he wasn't there too. "Stay positive," Anju said to herself. It took her a straight long walk and a turn sideways before Anju saw Dhiraj’s computer screen still turned on. Anju sighed in relief, he hadn't left. Besides the screen stood miniature figurines of different anime series. Anju was really happy when Nisha had told her about it because Anju also loved Japanese anime series. Anju continued to scan through the desk besides the figurine was a neatly kept pair of chocolates.
She was an intern at the web-design department for S company, Dhiraj on the other hand was a paid worker in the programming department.
Anju had a crush on him but he never noticed her probably because she was watching him from afar rather than talking to him. She was too shy to talk to him. Nisha, her friend, was also working in the programming department. She was Anju’s perfect excuse to get a glimpse of him. That particular day however Nisha had left early Anju knew it but still went into the department because she was going to tell them that she liked him.
The entire room was empty with none of the staff computers turned on. Anju paused for a second, hesitant what if he wasn't there. "Stay positive," Anju repeated to herself again, taking a deep breath. Anju took her a straight long walk and a turn sideways before Anju saw Dhirajr's computer screen still turned on. Anju sighed in relief, Dhiraj hadn't left. Besides the screen stood miniature figurines of different anime series. Dhiraj and Anju both loved anime series. Besides the figurine was a neatly kept pair of chocolates.
"What are you doing here?" Anju froze as if she had been caught in an act of crime, it was Dhiraj behind her. Anju took a deep breath to compose herself then turned back.
Dhiraj was a handsome, polite, gentle and hardworking staff who didn’t mind staying behind to finish the task, this made him popular among the Senior managers of the company. He was a complete opposite of Anju who stayed in the shadows, hardly spoke to anyone and was barely managing to keep up her place in the company. His charming smile was. "I... was working late.... and it rained… Thought it would be a fun idea to explore a little before leaving."
Wait, wasn't I going to say I forgot my umbrella because it was raining and I was looking for Nisha…? Darn it! She cursed herself.
He used to stay behind even after all the staff had left, because he was the type to plan things on the excess sheet. Since the screen was empty, she didn’t know why the screen was turned on today. Anju did, however, know one thing and that was, she was going to ask Dhiraj for a lift back home. After all it was a perfect excuse, it was raining outside that day and he stayed late at the office on purpose.
"Oh. I see. Great timing." Anju looked confused. Dhiraj took the pair of chocolates and handed them to her. "My birthday," Dhiraj said. "No way!! Thank god I didn't leave." Anju screamed in joy internally. "So how old are you? I'm 25." Anju said proudly, Dhiraj looked younger than her. It would be so much fun to tease Dhiraj about that. She had talked to him before too but never asked him about his age. Dhiraj guiltily rubbed the back of his neck and said "30." Anju stared at him trying to register his age. Her face suddenly burnt red with embarrassment."Am I too old?" he asked.
"No..it's fine." Anju used to prefer someone her age but knowing that Dhiraj didn’t seem to phase her. Anju never knew she was interested in older people. Dhiraj dragged an empty chair beside her and asked her to sit on his chair.
He was a gentleman. "So how is your internship coming along?" Dhiraj asked. Anju wished he didn't ask that. She wasn’t doing well at work but she didn’t want to lie to him just to impress him either. "It's not going well. The Seniors told me that I needed to step up my game or I'll lose against other interns."
"Don't worry too much, you'll do just fine. It’s always hard at the beginning." Dhiraj said nonchalantly. “Oh I see. Okay.. Thank you….” she took a deep breath with a smile. It was as if he had given her strength. She smiled brightly and said, “ Even if I lose this internship I'm going to practice and apply again." Anju said determinedly.
Dhiraj gave a loud laugh arching his head back. The large empty room echoed with Dhiraj's voice. While Dhiraj was busy laughing Dhiraj never realized that his knees were so close to hers, she could feel his warmth however it seemed so inappropriate so Anju forced her toes to push her chair back.
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