Chapter 10 - A New Friend
It was nine in the morning. Krish was getting ready, dressed in his office suit. He turned strangely in front of the mirror, looking at himself. Suddenly, his eyes fell on the window. He started thinking again about that strange dream from last night. The girl who was calling him—who could she be? Even the memory of her was starting to fade now. He was convincing himself that it was just a dream, yet Krish wanted to hold onto her face because it felt like he had seen her somewhere before.
After that, Krish stepped out of his apartment, hopped on his bike, and headed toward the office. On the way, he remembered he still hadn't met his aunt. He went to Sumit's house first, had a quick meeting with his aunt, and then set off for the office again.
On the route to the office, that same garden came into view once more. Looking at it, Krish decided that on his way back from work, he would definitely go inside and explore it.
A little later, Krish reached the office. As soon as he entered, he spotted Ruby at the main counter. She smiled when she saw him. Krish walked over to her.
Krish said with a smile:
"Good morning… Miss Ruby."
Ruby:
"Good morning! I told you to just call me Ruby."
Krish:
"Okay! I got it, Ruby."
Ruby:
"That's better. So, tell me… how's everything going?"
Krish:
"For now, everything's fine."
Ruby:
"Are you liking it here?"
Krish:
"Yeah, it's all good, but not like the city."
Ruby:
"Why's that?"
Krish:
"I had friends there. Everything felt familiar."
Ruby:
"You can make good friends here too. What do you think about me?"
Krish:
"That would be good for me… maybe for both of us."
Just then, the boss walked in from outside. His eyes landed on Krish and Ruby. He came and stood right behind Krish.
Boss:
"Krish… you're not paid to chat with the office girls here."
Krish turned around and said:
"Sorry, sir… I just arrived. I stopped to say good morning to Miss Ruby."
Boss:
"Then go do your work. And come see me in my office in half an hour."
Krish:
"Yes, sir… I understand."
The boss left. Krish headed to his cabin. The rest of the staff was busy with their tasks. As he walked, Krish noticed a poster on one of the office walls—a girl standing with a laptop. He smiled because she was the same girl, or at least looked just like the one who had appeared in his dream last night. Krish quickly snapped a photo of the poster girl on his phone, then went into his small cabin and sat down. He laughed at himself, thinking it really was the girl from his dream! After that, he started his work.
It was one in the afternoon—lunch break in the office. Krish went to the canteen. Employees were lining up for food. He spotted Ruby there. Being new, he hadn't made any friends yet except her. With the rest of the staff, it had only been work-related talk so far. Krish thought about Ruby—she was older than him, yet she had become his friend. He wondered why. He felt that girls could be selfish, and maybe there was some hidden motive behind Ruby wanting to be friends. Just then, Ruby noticed Krish in the canteen. She walked over to him.
Ruby:
"What happened? Waiting for someone?"
Krish:
"There's still a big crowd. I was just waiting for it to thin out a bit at the counter."
Ruby:
"That's true. Look at them— the moment lunch break starts, they rush here and line up first, like they're at a relative's wedding."
Krish:
"You're right. I was watching them too."
Ruby:
"So, how was the meeting with the boss?"
Krish:
"Nothing special."
Ruby:
"The boss is a good person. If you follow everything he says, he'll treat you well."
Krish:
"Have you followed everything he says?"
Ruby:
"Yes, that's why he gave me a promotion."
Krish:
"That's good. Are you married?"
Ruby:
"Yes, I was married… and then divorced."
Krish:
"That's not good. What happened?"
Ruby:
"It's a long story. That's what happens when you marry the wrong person."
Krish:
"Yeah, that's true. So, do you live alone now?"
Ruby:
"With my mother. I have a five-year-old daughter too. She's everything to me now."
Krish:
"A daughter! That's wonderful. Come on, let's grab our food and sit over there to talk."
After that, they picked their favorite dishes from the counter and sat at an empty table in the corner. They started talking again.
Krish:
"Today's lunch seems better than yesterday's."
Ruby:
"You're right. The menu changes every day here."
Krish:
"So, tell me—who all are in your family now?"
Ruby:
"I have a four-year-old daughter. I live at my mother's place. Besides her, I have two younger sisters."
Krish:
"What about your father?"
Ruby:
"He passed away five years ago."
Krish:
"That's sad. How old are you?"
Ruby:
"I'm thirty. And you?"
Krish:
"I'm twenty-five."
Ruby:
"Time passes so quickly. We don't even realize it, and everything gets left behind. In the end, only old memories remain."
Krish:
"That's true. That's why it's important to create new memorable moments every day."
Ruby:
"You said it perfectly. There's a bit of an age difference between us, and I'm a divorced woman. Does that cause any problem in our friendship?"
Krish:
"No, everything's fine. Anyone can be a good friend if they're a good person. There's no issue there."
Ruby:
"Okay, but what if I'm not a good person?"
Krish:
"I don't think so. The way you've treated me so far, from everything we've talked about and how I've come to understand you—it feels like you're a good person."
Ruby:
"Maybe you're right. But I feel like you're a much better person than me."
Krish:
"And why do you feel that?"
Ruby:
"Just like that—from talking to you."
Krish:
"I can't say that about myself."
Ruby:
"Neither can I."
Krish:
"Want to hear something strange?"
Ruby:
"Yes! Tell me."
Krish:
"Last night, a girl came into my dream…"
Ruby:
"Ah… a girl! That's all that appears in single guys' dreams."
Krish:
"Hey… let me finish. The girl was standing outside the window. She kept saying over and over, 'I called you, but you didn't come…' When I looked down, I realized we were on the second floor, and she was standing in mid-air. I got scared, and that's when I woke up."
Ruby:
"That's a really strange dream. By the way, what did the girl look like?"
Krish:
"At that moment, it felt like I'd seen her somewhere before. But when I came to the office, I saw that it was the poster girl here—the same one from my dream."
Ruby said with a laugh:
"That's hilarious. You should definitely meet that poster model once. She'd have a great time hearing this story."
Krish:
"No, there's no need for that."
Ruby:
"Anyway, has only this one girl appeared in your dreams, or others too?"
Krish:
"Yes, before this… my first girlfriend."
Ruby:
"Then I definitely don't want to hear about her."
Krish:
"Some other day. For now, I think we should finish lunch first."
Ruby:
"Okay, fine. I get it."
Next Chapter…