7.3

 03 november, day 3

“Tea? Coffee?”

Our pantry help Deepu broke the spell with his question to our visitor, while setting my usual black coffee in front of me. “Nothing, thank you” she smiled.

As soon as he left the room, she turned to me again with barely controlled agitation. “You drink coffee now? How? Isn’t the caffoxin affecting you any longer? I need you alert and active, not lethargic and lazy.”

I must have used the word “mindfuck” hundreds of times before. It was only then that I fully appreciated the meaning and heft of the word. No other word could have described what I was feeling at that moment.

What the hell was caffoxin? And why would coffee make me lethargic?

I forced myself to take a deep breath. “Look lady, I don’t know who you are or why you are here or what caffoxin is. Either you explain yourself really fast, or I am leaving the room and Security can escort you out. Your choice.”

She walked to the window, giving me a view of that saree clad back again. After a moment, I could see her shoulders drop as she sighed.  

“Well?” I asked, “What’s it going to be?”

She walked over to my side of the table and sat next to me. She looked smaller now, almost as if she was deflated.

“I didn’t think it was possible Jai. The Grenog warned us this might happen, but you know me, I thought you… I thought we were stronger than that.”

I waited for her to clarify.

She continued “You volunteered for this mission to Lapis… I mean Earth. Fulgere, your home, your home planet, is on the brink of destruction. You are Liber, son of Atticus. You are one of the nine warriors who can time travel, so am I. You are here to search and bring back Spumen, at least 28 mingels of it, so we can build a shield and save Fulgere. You have been gone for too long, so they sent me to bring you back. I am Lilium, your dearest friend and partner. Is that clear now?”

Of all the words I could think of, “clear” did not make the list.

“No” I said. “I am Jaiveer Joshi, I have lived all my life in Mumbai. I travel from Bandra to Churchgate, not from one era to another.  I have no idea what’s a spumen and what’s a mingel. My partner, no, my ex-partner is Maansi and she’s left me to travel and find herself. My closest friend is Roshan. My father is not Atticus…. that’s the lawyer guy in that novel. My father is…” And I stopped abruptly.

I drew a blank.

My father? What was his name? Why couldn’t I picture his face?

She smiled at me. “That’s the glitch the Grenog couldn’t fix, remember?”

(c) Shilpa Chitre

7.2

02 november 2022, day 2

“Jai, there’s someone at the Reception for you.”

If only I had known these words would change my life permanently! I have rewound and replayed all that happened, so many times since, and this is literally where it all started.

I was at work looking through some of the purchase orders my team had put in over the last few days and approving the ones that were in line with approved budgets. I was not expecting visitors that morning. But salespeople, especially the ones who are trying to get a new relationship going, often drop in hoping to meet someone in Purchase or Procurement who will be open to try them out.

It’s a nuisance sometimes, but they are just doing their jobs and hey, I am a nice guy.

So when Preeti, our Receptionist, told me there was someone at the Reception for me, I found nothing out of the ordinary.

“Yeah ok”, I said. “Find him a meeting room and I’ll see him in a few minutes.”

“It’s a she” Preeti said.   

When I walked into the meeting room a little later, I saw a saree clad back and an impossibly tight bun staring out the window. What intrigued me was that this woman seemed old; her hair was completely white. Now there are all kinds of business development folks, and salespeople come in all shapes and sizes, but I had never met a white-haired woman who was here to sell me something.

“Hi, were you looking for me?” I asked.

She turned around.  She must have been a looker when she was young, her eyes were something else. I’m used to dealing with the pretty young saleswomen, but they are usually groomed and made-up in a cookie cutter look. This one was the OG.

“Liber, we meet again! Where on earth have you been? I had a hard time finding you” she said with a tight smile.

Smooth single malt, not marred by even one ice cube. Rashid Khan singing ‘Aaoge jab tum saajana’. Maansi’s fancy silk sheets. Her voice was just that, pure pleasure.

“Are you ready Liber? We’ve lost so much time just finding you” Her urgency brought me back with a thud. She was staring at me, gripping the table edge.  

 “Sorry, what’s Liber? I am Jai”  I said.

She sat down heavily. “That’s how you want to play it? You haven’t forgiven us?”

I frowned in spite of myself. “What are you talking about? Who are you ma’m?”

She leaned forward, staring at me. “We have no time for this. I’ll apologise again. And again. And I will call you Jai. But can we leave now? They are waiting for you. Let’s go.” 

“Listen” I said “I have no idea who you are, what you are talking about, or what you want. Is this a prank? Or are you confusing me for someone else?”

She rolled her eyes. “Please. How could I ever mistake you for someone else? We practically grew up together. And have you forgotten our time at Nusquamia?”

The room swam around me.  

I had a sudden flash of a sunny meadow, laughter, excitement and a deep baritone saying “Welcome to Nusquamia”.

And then the room came back into focus. What was happening? Who was this woman?

(c) Shilpa Chitre