The
alarm beeps waking up Tshegyel. Irritated by the sound, stretching his arm, he
grabs the phone. Opening only one eye, he looks at the phone. It’s 8.45AM. He
has to be in the office by 9. Now, he is the chairman in one of his father’s
companies. Forcing his sleepy body off the bed, he goes to the window. Drawing
the curtain, wide open, he takes a glimpse of the city. Thimphu is getting
crowded with lots of buildings. He has plan to construct a building but now he
is worried about getting land.
Walking away from the window, he nears the
cupboard when his phone beeps, with a reminder. Taking towel, he goes back to
the bed. Picking up the phone, he reads the reminder. It’s says, 12th
Anniversary. Keeping down the phone, he looks around his room, walls filled up
with photos of Euthra and him. On the tables, the photo frames glitter. Taking
one of the frames in hand, he says, “Euthra, happy anniversary.”
He expects the picture to respond but sadly
it does not. Keeping down the frame back on the table, he cleans it with a
cloth. In it, it’s a picture of Euhtra and him taken on their engagement day
five years ago. This was the last photo taken together. Five years, Euthra left
him at the Semtokha junction. The next day, he found himself in the hospital.
Only after a week, he recovered. Then, he tried to find Euhtra but he could
not. She just vanished. Even her family did not know about her. For last five
years, he always prayed to meet her once but no miracle happened.
The knock on the door wakes up Tshegyel
from his memories of Euhtra. Walking away from the photos, he goes to the door.
Tashi, one of the housekeepers, stands at the door.
“Yes, bro.”
“Sir, Dasho is calling you.”
“Okay.”
Closing the door, he disappears into the
bathroom. Washing face as fast he can, then he gets back to the bedroom. He
wears gho. As a chairman, he has to be punctual. He has to be sincere. Taking
his phone from the bed, he walks out of the room. Walking down the staircase,
he heads directly to father’s room without taking breakfast.
Sitting on the couch, dressed in gho, his
father welcomes him with a warm smile. Greeting him, he sits downs when his
mother appears from the bedroom, dressed in kira. They wear traditional dress
only for special occasions. Which means, are they up to something today?
Standing up, he greets mother and sits
down. Looking at him, his father says, “We are hopeful that you might have made
the decision by now. So, let’s go and meet Yethro’s parents today.”
“Decision?”
Tshegyel asks politely, hiding his anger
behind his fake calmness. Yethro is father’s best friend daughter. Last year,
they had introduced her to him. They met a few times. But, he has made no
decision.
Looking at his silence, his mother says,
“You cannot wait for Euhtra, your whole life, right?”
He does not respond.
Then his father says, “She is gone. Please,
forget her and move on.”
Standing up, looking at them, he says, “I
need time.”
As his mother positions her mouth to say
something, he walks out of the room. Without eating breakfast, he walks out.
Gentle breeze welcomes him outside. Driver greets him and opens the door for
him.
Having travelled for a few minutes, finally
he is in front of the office. Parking the car, the driver walks in front of
him, taking his laptop. Walking into the lobby, he goes to the receptionist. She
stands up respectfully.
“Any words about Euthra?”
She shakes her head. He walks up the stairs
thinking about his parent’s words about Yethro. He has felt nothing for Yethro.
All she wants is Euthra but where is she? His heart says that she is still alive.
There was no accident reported that night on the Thimphu-Trongsa highway.
Finally, he is in front of his office. Before getting inside, he calls the
marketing officer. Asking him about the company status, he walks into the
office. Sitting down, he rotates his chair. Had they been married, by now they
would be blessed with children. A happy family. His friends tease him about the
late marriage.
Knocking the door, his personal assistant,
Lhamo walks in with files in her hand. Greeting him, she keeps the files on the
table. Taking the files, he goes through them and signs. Giving back the files,
he asks, “What is it, Lhamo?”
Bowing her head down, she says, “Dasho, we
received a letter seeking donations for charity.”
“Which charity?”
“It’s from Ani Euthra.”
The sound of this name, startles him.
Standing up immediately, he says, “Where is the letter?”
He stands looking outside as Lhamo walks
out to get the letter. He keeps walking to and fro along the window, catching
his pen in hand.
“Euthra?”
As Lhamo returns with the letter, he rushes
towards her. Taking the letter from her, he reads it. Looking at Lhamo, he
says, “Google about this charity organization and give me the details.”
“We already checked that,” says Lhamo,
taking out her phone.
Then she says, “This charity helps old aged
people those who are discarded by their children. It was started by a nun,
called Euthra. Here are the photos of the organization.”
Taking her phone, he checks the photos.
After scrolling down, finally he gets the picture of the nun. He directly
checks her eyes and it’s Euthra, her head shaved and wearing a red robe.
Story by: Phurpa Dorji (PJIKKS)
Chapter 10 Tomorrow @9PM
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