Nge Michu Chapter 7

Typing the last word of the document, he looks at the phone, expecting a call from Tshoki as it’s already 5. Usually his office hour gets over by 4 but today he has some urgent work that need to be submitted tomorrow. Shutting down the computer, he picks the car’s key up from the table and stands up when his phone rings.

“Where are you?”

Tshoki shouts into his ear, as he gets out of the office, greeting the security guard standing at the doorstep.

“I am coming.”

He hangs up the call and walks towards the car while Tencho suddenly appears from the corner of the building as if he has been hiding there waiting for him.

Feeling horrified by this, his blood running very cold, Khandu asks, “I thought today you left early.”

“Nope, man. I was talking something about tomorrow’s night with the canteen’s aunty. She is also a party freak,” says Tencho, walking along with him, towards the car, the cold evening breeze cooling their ears and now Thimphu is becoming colder day by day.

Walking quietly and Khandu unlocks the door, when Tencho hums, “Hmm, tomorrow is Saturday. Let’s go party.”

Getting inside the car, he checks the fuel indicator and starts the car, looking at Tencho, “I cannot. I am broke these days. New apartment and other shoppping cost me around Nu. 20,000. All savings are gone now. If I file for divorce, I have to pay.”

Reversing the car, he pulls the car out of the parking and heads to Olakha where Tshoki is staying in a new flat. Yesterday, he did shopping, starting from the gas stove as if he is starting a new family. He could not sleep last night.

“You can get loan, man. Don’t worry,” says Tencho, pressing the music player button while Khandu, looking offended, huffs, “I am still paying my car’s loan. My salary will be negative now.”

“I am confused man. Are you keeping Tshoki as mistress? How are you doing with Yangchen?”

Braking slowly, he waits as the car in the front stops suddenly.

“Not going well.”

“Don’t worry. You are a great man. You can get through this. Just hold on,” says Tencho, making an encouraging face, as the car in the front starts to move. Driving for a few minutes, Tencho stops the car and gets out saying, “I have some work in the town. Think about tomorrow’s party.”

Parking the car in front of the building, he gets out of the car, when an old friend of him passes by and on seeing him, he stops and asks, “Hi Khandu, how have you been?”

Forcing a smile, he says, “I am fine. Happy to meet you after many days.”

Shaking his hand, his friend asks, “How is your family? I heard, you a got baby boy.”

Khandu gets stuck when he hears about his family. Face reddened by these words, he stammers, “The—y are ­­­­­gre—at.”

“Catch you next time.”

“Okay.”

He walks up the stairs, thinking about his family. How he would return home from the office, buying chocolate for her daughter, Yuden. Now, he cannot remember even talking with her since he met Tshoki. He cannot remember, Yuden welcoming him home these days. Heart sagged down by these memories, he stands at the door when Tshoki opens the door, “Did you bring the TV?”

Raising his eyebrow up, Khandu shouts back, “TV? Do you think, I am a money-making machine? Money does not grow on trees.”

“You said that you would bring today.”

“My mouth can say anything.”

Showering Tshoki with these words, he walks back down the stairs instead of getting inside as Tshoki stands at the door, looking at him.

At Motithang, keeping her son, Namgay with her mother, Yangchen walks towards the kitchen when Yuden rushes to her, showing her a packet of chocolate, ‘Kitkat’, “Ama, Agay gave me this.”

“Oh, did you thank him?”

“Nope!”

“Go and thank Agay.”

Yuden rushes back to the sitting room where her grandparents are, who arrived from Paro. They were on pilgrimage to attend baza guru dungdrub at Paro for last two months. They will stay here for a few days and head back to village at Trongsa. Getting inside the kitchen, she waits praying for Khandu to be home. She has no phone to call him. Kitchen is empty; no vegetables, no oil. Nothing. Khandu didn’t bother to do shopping this month. For last few days, she borrowed money from her neighbor but she is ashamed to borrow again. Tears filling up her eyes, she bends her head down, closing her ears with hands, controlling her screaming.

“Yangchen?”

Her mother calls her, when she wipes off her tears and walks inside.

“La, ama?”

With her son sleeping on her lap, her mother asks, looking very serious, “Where is Khandu? Is he on tour?”

Sitting next to grandfather, Yuden, says, “Apa does not come home these days.”

Turning her head to Yuden, her eyes looking suspicious, her mother asks, “What do you mean?”

Walking towards them, Yangchen sits down in front of them saying, “He has been on tour these days, he said that he will be back today.”

“Oh!”

She stands up and walks towards to the door, thinking about how to borrow the money from her neighbor to buy vegetables. As soon as she reaches the door, the doorbell rings. She opens it excitedly, expecting it to be Khandu.

Story by: Phurpa Dorji (PJIKKS)

Chapter 8 Tomorrow @9PM

Nge Michu Chapter 6

Waiting outside the Director’s office, with his hands on his head, Khandu looks around the office trying to figure out why his days are not going well. His friend, Tencho is inside the office, talking with the chairman. Last night, he had a very bad dream. He saw that he was being killed by someone, waking him up drenched in sweat when Tshoki slept peacefully nearby him.

The door creaks and Tencho walks out smiling, driving away his last night’s memories. Tapping his shoulder, Tencho says, “Good luck.”

Lowering his head, he greets him, as the Director looks at him saying, “Khandu, considering your hard work and dedicated service to this company, you will be given a weeklong tour to Japan.”

“Thank you, sir.”

He thanks him and walks out taking the office order. Waiting outside, Tencho asks him, “What happened?”

“It was about a tour to Japan.”

“Congrats.”

Making a sad face, Khandu looks around the office and says, “I will not be able to go.”

“Why?”

“Let’s go to canteen and talk.”

Taking the paper in his hand, Khandu walks along with Tencho towards the canteen, when a lady passes by.

“Try her, man! I heard she is single,” says Tencho looking at the lady as she walks upstairs.

Getting inside, he sits down letting out a sigh of relief, “I am dead.”

Ignoring his words, Tencho stands up and gets two cups of coffee from the kitchen. Placing them in front of him, he sits down, “What happened?”

Dragging the cup towards him, fixing his eyes on the coffee, Khandu says, “Tshoki wants to stay with me. I have to look for a new apartment. Therefore, I cannot leave her here and go to Japan. She says that she will commit suicide if I leave her.”

“What?”

Tencho spits out the coffee on the table. Taking a napkin, cleaning his lips, he says, “Just use and throw. Forget about her suicide.”

Keeping the coffee cup down, rubbing his head with hands, Khandu replies, “She is blackmailing me with a videoclip. She is going to accuse me of the rape.”

“What?”

“Yeah. That’s the problem.”

Getting out of the city bus, Dema looks back when Dorji calls her from the bus window, “Can you call me, when you know where Tshoki is?”

She nods and runs across the parking hiding her face through the crowd. Walking up through the buildings, finally she calls Tshoki.

“Where are you?”

“Hotel Druk.”

Reading the hotel names, she walks along the street and at last she waits in front of Hotel Druk, when Tshoki rushes outside running down the stairs. Walking away from the hotel, they head towards a restaurant. Getting inside one of the restaurants, sitting down, Dema asks, “Where have you been?”

“I am staying at Hotel Druk.”

As the waiter comes and stands in front of them, Tshoki says, “Tea and momo.”

Looking around for other customers, finally Dema says, “School is talking about you. They say that you ran away with a man.”

“What?”

She tells Tshoki about her sister who came to her house last night and cried asking about her.

Not believing this, Tshoki asks, “What did you tell her?”

“I just said that you are with Khandu.”

“What?”

Tshoki shouts, tears clouding her eyes, when Dema says, “Just kidding. I told her that you are at friend’s place. She is very worried. Meet her once, before you decide to stay with Khandu. After all, she is your sister.”

The waiter returns with momo, when Tshoki says, “I cannot meet her.”

“Please, Tshoki.”

Story by: Phurpa Dorji (PJIKKS)

Chapter 7 Tomorrow @9PM

Nge Michu Chapter 5

Picking up the remote from the table, Khandu changes the channel when Yangchen’s cousin brother, who arrived this afternoon from Paro, sitting on the sofa beside him stands up and walks towards the toilet when Yangchen walks towards him from the bedroom. She stands in front of him, when he ignores her and keeps changing the channel.

“Ummm, can you please get chicken for dinner?”

She asks hesitantly, when he pretends not to hear. She keeps standing when he finally looks at her angrily.

“He is your cousin, right? Get it yourself.”

Making a very sad face, she pleads, “Please, Khandu.”

He is about to shout when the cousin gets out of the toilet. Khandu forces a smile when Yangchen goes back to the bedroom. As the cousin sits down, Khandu’s phone rings. It’s Tshoki. Picking up the phone, he gets up giving the remote to the cousin. Receiving the call, he goes to bedroom when Yangchen looks at him.

“Where are you Tshoki? Why are you crying?”

Listening to the phone, he says, “I am coming, right away. Just wait there.”

Keeping his phone down on the bed, he goes to the bedroom and changes dress. Then, he looks at the mirror, when Yangchen says, “Where are you going?”

He turns back looking very irritated, “Who are you to ask me?”

Yangchen stays silent when he walks out of the room, grabbing the car’s key from behind the door. The cousin looks at him, when he forces him a smile and says, “I will be back soon.”

Driving to Taba, playing his favorite song, he checks his hair style in the mirror when his phone rings again.

“I am coming, Tshoki. Just wait there.”

After a few minutes of driving, on seeing Tshoki sitting above the road, with her head on her knees, he stops when she rushes towards the car. Getting inside the car, she cries out loudly.

Looking very surprised, he asks her, “What happened, baby?”

“My sister beat me and chased me away. She is very rude,” says Tshoki, making a baby face as if asking for mother’s milk.

Taking his hand on her back, he takes her head on his chest compassionately.

“Don’t worry, I am here to look after you.”

He starts the car and drives towards the town when a boy approaches the car. Lowering his window down, Khandu stops the boy and asks, “Hi, Dorji. Where are you going?”

Dorji stops walking and looks back, “Town, uncle.”

Tshoki hides her face and fortunately, Khandu drives past him before he can see her. She has no idea about how they are related.

Surprised by this, she asks, “Who is he?”

“Oh, bother of my sister’s husband.”

“Oh!”

On reaching the town, as they drive past the movie halls, she asks, “Shall we watch a movie tonight?”

“Okay.”

Back at Taba, Tshok’s sister checks time and looks at her husband as he gets inside the house. Looking at her worried face, he asks, “What happened, Lhaden?”

“Tshoki ran away.”

“What do you mean?”

“I slapped her.”

Going near to her, he says, “Call her.”

“Her phone is with me.”

Getting up, she walks out of the house, towards Dema’s building which is a few meters away from her, thinking that she will be there. What if she commits suicide? These thoughts running in her head, she runs towards the building crossing the road. Ringing the bell, she waits when Dema opens the door.

“Umm, Dema. Is Tshoki here?”

Looking surprised, Dema says, “Nope. What happened?”

Going inside, her heart beating very fast, she looks at Dema, “I know, Dema didn’t go for watching movie. She was lying. Please, tell me. Where was she last night?”

Dema stands silently and finally says, “I didn’t know. She came here and left soon after changing her dress, keeping the phone here with me.”

Confused by her words, Lhaden cries, “Please, Dema. Why are you lying? I know, you know everything about Tshoki. She is my youngest sister and I don’t to lose her. I think, she is getting spoilt. Please, help me.”

Dema stands touched by these words but she does not say a word, when her mother stands beside her.

“Dema, speak the truth.”

“Act-ua-lly!”

Dema stammers, when her phone rings from her bedroom. Her mother goes there and comes back with the phone. It’s a new number. She knows, it’s Tshoki’s new number.

Showing the number to her, her mother asks, “Who is this?”

Story by: Phurpa Dorji (PJIKKS)

Chapter 6 Tomorrow @9PM