“Amy beta (child)?” Saras came out from the backroom as soon as he heard Amy pottering around. It was a few days after she’d thrown away the eviction notice.
“Tum mili us aadmi se? (Did you meet that man?)”
Amy didn’t even have to think to know who Saras was talking about.
“Woh agent? Humein nikaalne ki baat kar raha tha. (That agent? He’s talking about throwing us out.)”
Saras shook his head. “Usne humse bhi baat ki (He spoke to me too).”
Immediately, Amy’s head shot up. “Kya bola? (What did he say?)”
“Bola humein nikalna padega. (He said we’ll have to leave.)”
“Kaka ne jagaa bhaade pe dene ki baat kit hi us se. Isiliye ab humein nikaalna chahta hain. (Uncle had spoken to him about renting out the place. That’s why he wants us to leave now.)”
Saras shook his head. “Sab ladke pareshaan hain. (All the boys are worried.)”
“Humein koi nikaalne wala nahi hain, Mamu. Yahi humari jagaa hain, yahi rahenge. (No one’s going to throw us out from here. This is our place, we’re staying.)” She said confidently.
Saras kept quiet, saying nothing further. He’d meant to break it to Amy gently, but she didn’t read between the lines and understand what he was trying to say, so he let it be. She’d have to go to the backroom herself to see what was actually happening.
And when she did go to the backroom, on her regular check, she was appalled.
Appalled, because there was nothing to check. No one had baked a single thing. In fact, there was nobody in the backroom.
“Saras bhaiyya? (Saras?)”, She called out. He came in slowly, hesitant to see her expression. “Kaha gaye sabhi? (Where is everyone?)”
“Chale gaye. (They’ve left.)” He said sadly.
“Chale gaye matlab kya?! Chale kaise gaye? Kaha gaye? Kyu gaye? (What do you mean they’ve left?! How did they just leave?! Where are they?! Why are they gone?)”
“Woh aadmi. Who aadmi aaya tha, yaha pe. (That man. That man had come here.)”
“Uska isse kya lena? (What does he have to do with this?)” She frowned.
“Usi ne baat ki hum sab se. Paise bhi laaya tha. (He spoke to all of us. He even brought money.)”
“Nikalne ke liye tumhe paise diye? (He paid you to get out?)” She said, shocked.
“Nahi. (No.)” He hung his head in shame.
“Toh fir paise kis liye? (Then what’s the money for?)”
“Strike pe jaane ke liye. (To go on strike.)” He said, delivering the final blow as Amy sank down to the floor, her head in her hands, unable to take it all in.
“Tum nahi gaye, strike pe? (You didn’t go on strike?)” She wondered aloud.
He scoffed. “Hum paiso ke liye rishte barbaad nahi karte. Humara bhi is jagaa se rishta hain. Tumhare Dadaji ki tarah hum bhi yahi rahe, saalo se. (I don’t spoil relationships for money. Even I have a bond with this place. Like your grandfather, I too have stayed here for a long time.)”
She smiled at him softly. If only the world had more people like him and Grandpa, and less people like Armaan Malik.
“No fucking way.” Zahaan looked like he didn’t believe a word out of Amy’s mouth.
“They have! They actually have gone on strike!”
“That bastard paid them to go on strike?!” He said, getting angry now.
“Yep. And they bought it. I shouldn’t have bothered doing this whole thing, seriously. It’s going to be an utter waste. I’m literally standing alone now.” She sighed, putting her head in her hands.
“Okay then, I’ll be going.” Zahaan stood up.
Amy’s raised her head and looked at him funnily.
“You said you’re all alone. What am I doing here, then? I should be going too, right? Because Grandpa left, and my Dad left and your family left and now the workers left and boohooohoo, now it’s my turn to leave!” He fake cried.
She chuckled, and then sighed again. “I’m sorry, okay? Just sit down and help me!”
“You’re never going to be absolutely alone as long as you stay in this city. I don’t buy the crap about people being in each other’s hearts even though they’re miles apart, so no promises if you go back to New York. But as long as you’re here, you’ll always have me, cool?” He said, sitting back down.
She nodded, too tired to smile. “Cool. Now help me, bitch.”
“Don’t call me that.” He frowned. “I’m the only one with you, remember?”
“First, we need to get Saras out of there.” Zahaan put forth his thoughts. “That asshole Malik will come back for him, I know it. He can’t stay alone at the bakery.”
“Fine, I’ll go back and get him after we’re set with a plan.” She nodded. “Also, we need to go and talk to Malik.”
He shook his head. “Useless. That’s useless. He will never admit to it, of course. He’s just playing dirty with us because we stole his papers.”
“Then there’s nothing I can do about the workers going on strike?”
“You sack them.”
“Are you crazy?! Who’ll do the work then?!”
“You find new people, and brainwash them. Feed them anti Malik propaganda.”
“You’re making me feel like I’m a terrorist gang kingpin. Feed them anti Malik propaganda, then go and place a bomb in Malik’s office, tear Malik apart, hoo haa!” She smirked.
He rolled his eyes. “You’re an idiot. What made you think you could take on a bakery? You should be learning ABC with the kindergarten kids, that’s how much your brain development can handle.”
She glared at him. “You’re the worst cousin ever.”
“And, I repeat, you’re an idiot. But that’s not the point. The point is, we need new workers.”
“Saras!” She brightened.
“Uh, what?” He frowned.
“Saras can get us new workers!”
He thought about it, and a slow smile spread over his face. “Holy shit, that’s actually one of the smartest thoughts you’ve contributed to this conversation, Ames! Good going!”
She gave him an annoyed look. “How are you eve-“
“Amy?” The door slammed open as Aunt Silloo walked into the room.
Ha. Haha. Hahaha. Cliffy XD
God, I love those :P
Vote comment and share this please!
-Hera (:
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Sugar and Spice And Everything Nice
Short Story*VERY quick updates* Sugar And Spice, the famous bakery, has been in Amy's family for four generations. So when unavoidable circumstances arise and her family decides to sell it off, Amy is heartbroken. The little bakery is where she's had her favor...
