Purvi checked
the Platinum rimmed watched on her wrist, not with admiration but in despair.
The meeting she was leading on would take at least another hour even if they
have the least discussion. The phone in her blazer pocket trembled violently
again, arresting her heartbeat for 38th time. It was call from home.
Her mobile profile was set in such a way that, in silent profile only
the calls from home will have vibration.
“38 missed
calls in 10 minutes..?” She wondered what was going on! Her dark eyes went dilated
with worry.
Another call
and she knew she would run insanely from the meeting. It’s better to leave like
a professional.
“Excuse me,
gentlemen.” She composed herself into a tough, straight exterior. “I am sorry
but I have to leave the meeting now.”
Every pair of
eyes rose puzzled with her abrupt leaving decision.
“Are you sure,
Miss Purvi? What about the meeting? I guess you know with how much difficulty
your company got the meeting with us. And you value the importance of it.” The
representative from Client Company told her in a cold and lethal tone that
chilled the whole room’s temperature.
“I do understand.”
She paused. But my son is far more important
than this meeting or this company or the whole world, She wanted to tell. “Still I have to leave. My assistant will be
here. He will carry on this meeting and I hope he will be as efficient as I
would have been. All the designs are finalized and in your file. Any other
query, I would get into touch with you later. As soon as possible, in fact.”
“But I think you know that we are leaving the town tomorrow morning.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Shaw. I will get to you before you leave. But now, it’s
the matter of someone’s life and I can’t wait anymore. Thank you. It was nice
meeting till now and once again I am genuinely sorry for my sudden departure.”
She snapped the car keys and left the room.
As soon as Purvi was out, her blood rushed inside like larva from
volcano.
She called back to home but no one picked it up. When she tried to her
son mobile, the call was disconnected. She kept calling along with running to
the parking lot and rushing into her car.
The wheels turned zestfully like war horses as she pulled the car in
sixth gear, racing into the late afternoon lazy city road. In one hand she
managed the car and in another, though she hated breaking traffic rules, she
called her home again. It was risky but being a single mom was no less dramatic.
When she took the decision of raising the baby alone, against the whole society,
abandoning her real home, getting established in the new city and setting up a
new business all was an unbelievably perilous.
It took half of the time it should have taken in general for her to
reach home. She slammed the car door and sprinted into the house, straight into
her son’s bedroom.
Her ten year old son was standing there, over a small table, wearing a
white cloak.
“Hey, son.” She called out to him. “Are you okay?”
He turned to her. “Hey, Mom. Yeah! I am okay. You back early.” Then he
checked the mickey mouse watch on his wrist. “Exactly 4 hours 32 minutes early.”
He beamed at her showing the smile in which two teeth were missing.
“You called me. 38 missed calls. I was worried.” She walked to him and
kneeled before him, hugging him tightly.
“Ah! Mom. You are chocking me.” He said, shaking himself free. “I
called you because you have a fantastic caller tone and I was experimenting with
it.”
“Caller tune? Experimenting?” She stared in those innocent eyes fathoming
some better answer.
“Yeah. Look what I have made.” He took her with him to the tiny table. Her
son was no less than a genius. His room was full of experiments equipments and
apparatuses. After all winning junior level national science competition can’t
be just like this. The small boy was blessed.
A setting was set up on the tiny table. There stood a demure wooden
frame with numerous iron sticks connecting along its height in equal distance
at feet. On each tall stick there was a small ball rested at the end. One side
of the wooden frame was connected to a small box sized device and the device
was again connected to a tiny mobile.
Purvi had given her son that mobile, in case he needed to call her
anytime or she needed to reach her.
Her son went to the mobile and the mobile in Purvi’s pocket buzzed
again. As the phone rang, the next moment the balls in the wooden frame danced
like professional dancer on a stage, each ball rising and falling rhythmically
along with the music.
She inched near to wooden frame and watched the wonder happening in
agape till it stopped with the vibration in her phone.
“You see that?” Her son excitedly enquired.
“It’s beautiful. Very beautiful. But why my caller tune only? And wait….who
set caller tune on my mobile? I didn’t have one.”
“I did it.” Her son said avoiding to look up from the invention.
“Why?”
“I liked the song. Today morning while you were in bathroom you left
your phone in dinning hall and I took it. By the way your phone was getting
slow. I cleaned up the garbage files, deleted the apps jamming os. Meanwhile
there was a call from your mobile company that whether you want to have a
caller tune. I said ok. Don’t you check your balance? They must have deducted
thirty bucks.”
“No, son. But you should have told me. You know I was worried of your
calls.”
“Oh mom! I am sorry.” His seraphic face dropped in grimace.
She couldn’t bear seeing him sad.
“Well! For this mistake you will be punished.” She narrowed her eyes on
him.”And your punishment is” Her finger moved to sides of his body, tickling
the sensitive nerves.
The empty house fell into the loud ten year old laughter while Purvi
chased after him, tickling at different places.
