Vigilance (Part 1)
“Wisdom is wasted on the old, and youth is wasted on the young.” ― George Bernard Shaw
A polka dotted cotton midi dress was the pick of the day. For sane people, it’d have been an odd choice on such a chilly day, but for the woman living in the attic, it was very on brand. She gave a last look over to her image on the IKEA floor-length mirror, and satisfied with what she saw, headed upstairs to conquer the day.
As soon as she headed for the door, the landlady’s door opened up, like clockwork. Every single day, the landlady would come at the door at the exact time when the girl left the house. She wasn’t a relative, but the invasiveness reminded the girl of at least one of the nosy aunts in her distant family. Pleasantries would be exchanged, and somehow, the landlady, Mrs. Gupta, would inquire about her plans for the day.
“When will you be back home?”, followed by, “Isn’t it a bit too late for you? You know how tired Mr. Gupta gets. The ruckus disturbs him. Did you bring someone over last night? No, no, of course you can. I don’t mean to pry, but you know how dangerous it can be for you.”
On and on, the tirade of feigned concern went, ruining a day that hadn’t even started. And Mr. Gupta didn’t even exist, just someone she referred to, a denial of her extreme loneliness. It was a harsh judgement, but Anushka was tired of the endless invasion of privacy. Her limited budget was making it difficult to move to a better place that offered the amenities she already had here at the cost of her solitude. Yet she was determined to move out as soon as possible. When the questions started dwindling and Mrs. Gupta fell into a moment of silence, Anushka dashed out of the door and forgot about her for the rest of the day.
It was a big day for her. Her best friend was getting married in two weeks, and rightfully quite busy. But they had decided to meet today and discuss more about the events at the wedding. She wasn’t the one getting married; in fact, far from it, but for her closest friend, she was jittery and over the moon. Not only did she save up as much money as possible for bff’s big day, she vowed to see the event through and help in every way she could. As she made her way to the brunch place they were supposed to rendezvous, she checked all the boxes in her head to discuss with Preeti.
Per usual, Preeti was running late, but it didn’t bother her. Reaching the restaurant, she made a beeline for their favorite spot, and ordered herself a lemonade while waiting for the bride-to-be. The table they habitually picked was perfect for brunches as it had the most gorgeous window surrounded with green and yellow climbers, so come what may, the view was ordained to be spectacular. A rushed Preeti made her way to the favored table. Already getting ready for a huge and most awaited hug, Anushka got up from her seat, and Preeti engulfed her in a tight hug. It was likely the marriage nerves, but Preeti looked as if she had aged a few years.
“Anushkaaa, you don’t know how happy and relieved I am to see you. It’s been a fucking week, and the wedding is nowhere close to planned. I’m STRESSED. I can’t sleep. My hair is falling out. How am I supposed to get married like this? Help babe, help.”
Anushka couldn’t help but feel for her friend. Consolingly, she said, “I know it’s a lot, but we’re all here for you. Tell me whatever you need. I’ll do as much as I can. In fact, why don’t you ask Sahil for some help as well? He should be relatively free.”
Clearly, it wasn’t the right thing to say because Preeti’s face crumbled more and she looked almost on the verge of tears.
Anushka tried to backtrack and said, “I mean, of course, he’s a little busy, I’m sure, but not as much as you! Please, let him take a few things off your plate. You don’t have to tell each other’s parents or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Preeti appeared to consider it, which was more than Anushka could hope for. She took a sigh of relief and resolved to distract her friend from her woes. She convinced her to forget about everything for one hour and eat peacefully. It wasn’t the easiest. In fact, while ordering from the menu, Preeti’s thoughts kept wandering to catering for all the events, and that was a segue Anushka didn’t want at all. So she navigated her back to the task in hand and got some delicious food for her to make her momentarily forget her obligations.
When Preeti started talking about something related to the venue, Anushka realised how worrying her friend’s situation was. She couldn’t comprehend why they’re putting things like this on the bride. She decided to visit them the next day. Preeti’s parents, as far as she knew, were quite excited for the wedding, and last she heard, uncle was definitely going the mile on organizing everything on time. Preeti has also been a well pampered and only kid. Not spoiled by any means, but well cared-for, way before they met. So the present circumstances made no sense to her. Well, she would find out soon enough. Within the hour, they had devoured everything and were ready to go. Thankfully, Preeti looked much better than before, and Anushka was pleased by the temporary progress. Before she could fix everything, this would have to do. They said their goodbyes and made a point to meet shortly within the week.
While walking towards her place, she called Sahil.
He promptly answered within a ring and exclaimed, “Anushka, heyyy! It’s been a while. How have you been?”
Anushka tried to mask her frustration at his cheery tone, which was a huge contrast to what Preeti had been like, and said, “I’m good. But listen, I want to talk about what’s up with Anushka. Do you know why she’s worrying, like everything is falling apart when there’s still time for the wedding? I figured she had all the help, and if nothing, you’d at least try to help in any extreme situations. Frankly, I’m not happy with how this whole thing is turning out to be, and I didn’t expect her to be this stressed.”
She hadn’t planned on saying so many things, but she couldn’t stop. This was supposed to be both of their responsibilities. He has to know that.
Sahil was stunned into silence for a second, then he said, “I get it, Anushka, but it’s nobody’s fault. Not one person has forced her OR let her take any responsibility. She’s not the point of contact for any of the vendors, or supposed to be arranging anything. All that’s needed from her is what she wishes, you know, like the type of flowers etc. I’m as clueless as you as to why she’s stressing so much. I’ve tried everything, and I’m worried as well. Maybe you can talk some sense into her?”
This was not a reply she anticipated, yet it didn’t completely surprise her. She gave some faint agreement to look into it and greeted him goodbye.
Her mind was reeling back to the past, and suddenly her friend’s current behaviour started making sense. When they both were in college together, and the time when they actually grew close, Anushka had acutely observed a different phase that would descend on Preeti during the semester's end exams. It wasn’t uncommon to see students freaking out over the period of exams, but Preeti would get downright disturbing. She would stop eating, sleeping, or functioning exactly twenty days before the exams would begin. When it happened for the first time, Anushka chalked it up Preeti not being prepared or overwhelmed by the first ever semester exams, but eventually, she was sure that any huge stress-centered occasion in her life warranted the same reaction–this despair of what was to come and how she would lose this battle. After a few of these phases, Anushka gently suggested to her that she maybe take some help, and while Preeti seemed inclined towards the idea, it never happened.
This continued throughout her adult milestones; a job interview, problems at work or a looming deadline, and now, the wedding. So the pattern was apparent, and Anushka was more scared than worried. She also couldn’t believe how easily she had missed the signs. If it wasn’t for the recent troubles in her life that had been taking up all of her time, she would have caught this issue much sooner. But this wasn’t the time to ruminate over past oversights. Helping her was necessary. She was sure that Preeti’s parents would understand. She just had to go over to their house, and everything will be okay.
With all this in mind, she reached for her door as she realized she had already made it home. She crept in quietly so that Mrs. Gupta didn’t engage her with another lecture. Successfully reaching the attic, she set up her desk to finish some work before planning for the next day.
Everything had to go well, and she made it her mission for the wedding to be a success. An hour or so of some light updates on the recent manuscript she was editing, she was ready to make a plan for everything that was to be discussed without hurting Preeti’s feelings over this. As a person who also struggled with tons of anxiety, she understood how important it was to be humane about it all.
The plan of action was to keep Preeti’s spirits up and maintain calm without getting too much into the issues since they were on a tight schedule, and the best way to go was short-term resolution to her worries. Satisfied with the checklist she had made for the next day, she was ready to call it a day despite getting invited by her coworkers for a drink. She usually loved being part of the social hangs they would all come together for, but at present, she just wanted to sleep early and be in a fresh mind the next day.
But despite her hopes of having a better day, she woke up way too early with a splitting headache and a huge list of tasks to get through. Already, it seemed too much. And for no apparent reason, she had a bad feeling about something. What if it’s an unsolvable problem, leaving her friend with a terrible memory of her most important day? It cannot be. It was all good. She’d fix everything and all will be good. This mantra was enough for Anushka to get through work at the very least, and right on time, she was free enough to visit Preeti’s parents. While she was mentally prepared to face them calmly, she wasn’t without her own doubts about the situation. What if they aren’t willing to share anything about the issues? Or dismissive? She concluded it was not a great idea for her to obsess or make assumptions beforehand.
She quickly wrapped up her work and prepared to live. It was way too sunny for literally any living person to go out, but Anushka had a purpose and everything else could wait. The only mistake she made was not choosing the best time to leave, getting caught by Mrs. Gupta. How did this lady know every time? Anushka thought bitterly to herself.
“Hello Mrs. Gupta. I’m sorry, but I have to rush. I promise I’ll listen to whatever important stuff you have to talk about as soon as I’m back.”
Anushka couldn’t be bothered to check for Mrs. Gupta’s expression or movements and headed for the main door quickly. As she reached for the doorknob, she realized a second too late the knob was stuck and likely locked.
And before the realization could set in for her to react, a huge ringing sound vibrated through her head, as if someone had hammered it. Everything was spinning, and soon, all she could see was black, losing her consciousness completely.
*
TBC
This is a two-part story. The second part will be published by 7th June 2025. Thank you for reading!