Sifar - A Collection Of Desi Short Stories

🍂UNLESS I'M WITH YOU-4🍂

Fifteen days have passed in the blink of an eye, making things a little easy for Afaf. Team members were being cooperative with her.....note the word cooperative not supportive since the new rule that all should be responsible for the failure of anyone. But the reason for her being pleased is that Roshail didn't come across her except in the usual rounds on staff checking.

She felt so much relieved, at last, she can work without concern. Though she shared professional relationships with most of the staff, it was Kajal who was the exception.

She was placing the thin layer of strawberry cream between pink round macarons when Kajal visits her with someone in the middle of a shift. Her eyes lift to see a young girl in her twenties with so much charisma on her face.

"You are the newly joined one?"  She asked making Afaf cautious. Nodding her head, she placed macarons in an ideal manner on serving trays.

"She is Saliha" Kajal get rid of her confusion. "She is here for giving the order for the wedding cake" She expanded. Afaf quickly greets her after the introduction. Particularly not being judgemental, Afaf's eyes roam around girls' branded white netted dress and black shoes with cut diamonds shining on them.

"Not these formalities, please,"

"Alright ma'am" Saliha looked toward Kajal in her reply who just shrugged her shoulders.

"You can address me by my name"  She tried again seeing her diligently working. "I would be not comfortable with it" Afaf's formal tone wasn't gone as she smiled.

Afaf can feel two ladies looking at her amused, but this formality was deepened in her soul. She was not naive and was aware of class differences, getting too friendly with them gonna bring trouble. Afaf wasn't fond of the clinginess Kajal shows but she start to cope with it. In these fifteen days, she doesn't communicate without work, nor shares even a mini part of her life with strangers. These rich people can only rob off over wealth, but for people like her one mistake and you will be ripped off from everything even life.

For giving up this awkwardness in the atmosphere, Afaf slightly pushed the plate of macarons toward them.

"Would you both like to try some?" Afaf asked which they gladly accepted.

"You have so much flavour in your hands. Well done! " Muttering a small thank you for Saliha's compliment, she replied softly.

"I did the best thing by recommending you to her" Kajal cheekily applauded her as always. "She wants you to customise her wedding cake" She added.

"Perhaps, I won't be suitable for such a big responsibility " Afaf sighed. She doesn't want to reject such an offer, but she fears huge commitments. A blunder of her can ruin her meaningful day. It wasn't that she was confident enough in her skills, but she couldn't believe in the perfection of riches.

"Why not?" Saliha was surprised. "No worries, I won't put much pressure on it being ideal " She comforted her with words. If only actions are easy to say like words!

************

Clicking the pen between his fingers, his eyes darted toward the Projector screen. A dim light illuminated the faces of folks sitting there in the queue. The screen almost blinded him in a trance as thoughts run feral in his head.

He didn't encounter her properly for fifteen days, sensing her discomfort with him being around. She is just plain, very ordinary to create chaos in him like this. She neither has incredible looks nor remarkable traits to dictate his mind. Maybe, it was her accusing grey eyes which affected him. They are like a mystery, forcing him to ponder over all the things he had done. He was horrified to imagine that he had wronged anyone. He is been unfair to someone, and this thought kind of burdens him.