The Tenants From Flat No #2 - Part 32

The auto rickshaw driver stopped near the location his client had asked him to drop them. Zain looked out. There was no restaurant. He panicked. He said,"Bhaiya, I don't think this is location I asked you to drop us.". The driver was irritated. "Sir, This is the location you asked for. I dropped you at the right location.", he said.

Jasmine watched the argument with slight annoyance. She had great expectation with this date. Everything was turning into a mess. She quickly opened the google map app on her phone and checked the location. The location was right but there was no sign of the restaurant.She checked again and this time she saw the closed keyword below the name of restaurant. Her face turned red.

She caught hold of Zain's arm in anger and showed her phone to him. Zain was shocked. He hadn't checked the restaurant before planning the date. This mistake costed him badly. He smiled weakly at her. She got down quickly while heading straight , not knowing where to go. He said sorry to the driver before following her.

Usha Tai watched the commotion from the far. She had asked the auto driver to stop little far. She didn't know what was going on inside the auto and why they had stopped at place where there were no people around. The driver was asking her repeatedly whether she would get down at this place. She was getting annoyed by his repeated intervention. Finally she got down when she saw her tenants getting down.

She followed them sneakingly. She didn't want them to know that she was following him. Zain got hold of Jasmine's hand and stopped her. She was miffed and turned her face away from Zain. "I am sorry. I should have checked the place. You can punish me however you want. But don't walk away like this.", he begged with folded hands. Her heart melted though she was still angry with him.

Tai hadn't seen small pothole on the road. She was engrossed in watching her tenants. She slipped her leg and fell on her head. She screamed in pain. Fortunately, nothing bad happened. She got small cut but her fall alerted them. They quickly turned back to see Tai on the ground. Zain rushed towards her and quickly helped Tai to stand on her feet. He asked her whether she was fine. Jasmine watched them with dismay. She wasn't happy with how the things turned out. It was supposed to be sweet romantic date to bring two lovers together but ended up like always causing more distance between them.


(To be continued)

The Tenants From Flat No # 2 - Part 31

Zain kept knocking the door constantly. His hand ached but he didn't stop. He didn't want her to sleep another night with heavy heart. "Please open the door,sweetheart. I am sorry.", he said. The knocks on her door became more louder. He jumped with pain when he banged his already paining hand on the door. She opened the door as soon as she heard him crying in pain. 

She took his injured hand and dragged him to kitchen. She took out some ice from freezer and rubbed it gently on his hand. He winced in pain. The pain slowly subdued. "Sorry !", she said softly. "I am sorry !  I was too harsh on you. You were right for being mad on me.", he said. "But I should have listened to you first before making up some conclusion. You were right. I overreact most times and I have been very hard on you.", she said as she hugged him tight.

He held her for very long time. He didn't want to let her go. The love that was fading due to pressures from life and work was slowly brightening. Finally they released each other and stared into each other. Their relationships was sailing up and down. They hardly had seen any bright days filled with love. They had heard stories from their friends who were in live in. They never faced such struggles during first few days. 

It was weekend tomorrow. An idea struck him. He had been spending quite lot of time at home during weekend. He decided to spend some quality time with Jasmine to rekindle their relationships. "What are you doing tomorrow? ", he asked. "Nothing as usual !", she replied. "How about I take you on date to this new restaurant I had come across last week?", he asked excitedly. She smiled and agreed.

Next day arrived. She was more excited than him to go on date. It had been long time that they had gone on romantic date. Today is the day she could spend good time with him. They had very tough time and this was much needed break from those rough days. She looked gorgeous in floral white dress and matching sandals. She had left her hair open. Her face glowed with happiness. Her eyes shine with love and excitement.

He wore casual T shirt of same color that matched her dress and jeans. His heart beat faster when he saw her. "You look pretty", he said as he blushed. He held her hand as they left their apartment oblivious to the fact that Tai was watching them. As soon as she saw them leaving, she quickly combed her hair and rushed behind them. She made sure that they didn't see her. She took the next auto after they boarding first auto to the location they had decided to go.

(To be continued)

The Tenants From Flat No #2 - Part 30

He was sulking whole day. His mind was not focused on the work. He was thinking about injustice he was facing from Jasmine's hand. He got back early because he was not in mood to work. He postponed some meetings he had with client and he asked his friends to take over for some meetings which he couldn't postpone. 

He lay lazily on the sofa,staring blankly at the ceiling. After few hours, he got distracted by sound of someone opening the lock of the door. He turned back to look. It was Jasmine. He didn't greet her with his usual smile or joke. Instead he walked to his room and closed the door. Jasmine realized the strangeness in his behaviour. She presumed he was angry that she didn't pick the call. 

She headed towards her room to cheer him up. She knew she was wrong in not speaking to him. It was first time she was going to make him feel better. It was first time she was going to ask him for forgiveness. She crossed her fingers while entering the room. He took out his laptop and pretended as if he was working on it when he saw her coming towards him. She sat down next to his bed. She placed her folded arms next to his legs. He tried many times to push her arms away. But failed and eventually he let her place her arms next to his legs.

"I am sorry. I should have picked your call.", she said softly. He didn't say anything. He was seething with anger. "Please say something ! I am sorry.", she purred. "What should I say ? Only you can say things to me and blame me for all the mistakes which I have not done. If I say one word, you overreact and don't pick my calls. What should I do when you say things that hurt me? How would you feel when you are made to look like fool in front of my friends?" , he spoke angrily.

Each word he spoke stung her like needle. She didn't expect him to react like that. She got up in anger. Her eyes had turned red. She was breathing deeply like raging bull. "Fine ! I overreacted. I should have picked your call. I was scared. I was scared that if Tai found out who my parents were, called them and told them where I was, how they would react?  I have put in lot of efforts to convince them to let me come to Mumbai to pursue my dream. If they found out I am living in with my boyfriend, they will kill me.", she said before breaking down into tears. 

Zain's anger didn't melt. Instead it got more nastier. He spoke,"It's always about you. You should have thought about that before getting into relationship with me." She was heartbroken by his words. She had left her morals and inhibitions of societal judgements to stay with him and here he was accusing her for being selfish. She spoke one last time before running towards her room, "I was genuinely sorry. I came here to seek forgiveness from you and make you feel better. Instead of accepting my sorry, you are blaming me for being selfish, overreacting and what not. Do hell with this sorry! I will never speak to you !" He banged his head with his fist. He felt guilty for reacting too much. He headed towards her room to calm her down.

(To be continued)

The Tenants from Flat No #2 - Part 29

Jasmine thought he was joking initially. But his expressions proved it to be something else. "Are you serious?", she asked. "Hmm.. I..Did you hear everything?", he stammered. Everything was going smoothly. She was smiling and now he regretted bringing the topic of Tai. Anyway he had to inform her. He knew he had to face her wrath some day.

There was silence for some time. No one spoke. Jasmine was disturbed. She was tired of series of miseries taking places one after another. "I am sorry.", he said softly as he put his hand on her shoulder. She nudged his hand off from her shoulder. She stomped towards her room and closed it. She didn't come out. He knocked the door several times. There was no answer. He sat down next to her room and slept there.The couple spent their first night without food. 

Morning arrived. He got up as soon as door opened. She was surprised to see him next to her door. "What are you doing here?", she asked. He rubbed his eyes. He had stiff neck. He was still sleepy. He yawned as he spoke,"I slept here the whole night, waiting for you to have dinner with me." She felt bad and hugged him. "You didn't have dinner for me. I am sorry. But I won't forgive you for what happened yesterday," He smiled and said,"Why? What did I do now? " 

She released herself from the embrace and said,"Come on ! You know what you did! I told you many times to be careful around her." He laughed as he spoke, "I was careful. It's not my mistake if she got to know. You might have been careless." Jasmine was taken aback by his statement. She glared at him with anger. She walked out of the house before banging the door loudly. Zain followed her immediately.  As she climbed down the stairs, he tried to calm her down. She ignored him.

Tai opened the door coincidentally when Jasmine reached down. "What happened", she asked. Jasmine and Zain stopped to greet her. "Why do you constantly fight with your brother? You are taking your brother for granted." , she said. This triggered more anger in the young girl. Jasmine barged outside. "These youngsters are always hot blooded nowadays. You can't have proper conversation.", Tai taunted. Zain ignored her comments and followed Jasmine. 

"Wait ! I need to speak to you.", he called her out. She didn't pay any heed to his calls. She got into an auto and headed towards work. He tried calling her on her phone. She didn't pick up. She put her phone on silent. He didn't stop calling. He called her when he was getting ready for work. He called her when he was at work. He also called her on her friend's phone. But she didn't respond. He was angry. He didn't understand why he was getting punished for something he had not done.

(To be continued)

The Tenants from Flat No #2 - Part 28

Jasmine's day wasn't as smooth as she thought it would be. She had tried all her best to catch Shwetha's attention. She wasn't aware of jealousy brewing in Shwetha's heart. She assumed that she was happy with her work. She felt there was chance for her to be in her dream team. Unfortunately Shweta was ignoring her on purpose. Jasmine thought her boss was busy. She was blinded by admiration towards her boss to see the real picture.


All her efforts gone down in flames. She was disappointed and expressed the same to Tina. Tina consoled her, "Why do you worry? She knows you are working hard and she is impressed. I know you will be in her dream team." Jasmine sighed. When she got back home, she opened her laptop to watch some videos. She was trying to clear her mind. Her mind would go back to how her day was and how better she could have done.

Suddenly the bell rang. She lazily walked towards the door to open it. She presumed it was Tai and disinterestedly opened the door. It wasn't Tai. She was surprised to see Zain outside. "I didn't expect you to come early.",she said. "Oh! Why? You thought it was Tai?", he joked. She got irritated and stomped inside.

He smiled as he entered. But his mind was working on ways he was going to convey the message. He was sure that there would be fireworks. Now he had analysed the intensity of the fireworks. It was going to burn the whole place.

He took deep breath. "I didn't cook anything. It will take me few minutes. Is it okay?", she said solemnly. He understood her mood wasn't good due to work pressure. He had to deal with this issue lightly. "No problem. But I have one condition", he said smilingly. "What?", she asked. "We will cook together.", he replied.

She smiled. "Why not!", she said while heading towards the room. He freshened up and wore casual pyjama and plain flue t-shirt. He found her already chopping the veggies. "What are we making?", he asked. "Mix veg curry and roti. You make the rotis.", she said. He agreed and started making the dough. While cooking, they chatted about various things from family, friends to work and Tai's weird ways. Amidst the light conversation, he blurted out the truth. Jasmine stopped everything and stared at him in shock.  Zain covered his mouth with his hand as he never wanted to spill the beans out like this.

(To be continued)

The Tenants from Flat No #2 - Part 27

Zain shivered when he learnt that his landlady knew the truth. What was he going to do now? Thinking about Jasmine's reaction on this news made him tremble in fear. She would surely break up with him. "Mahesh Bhai, What will we do now?", he asked helplessly.

Mahesh smiled. He wanted that reaction. Now he could use their helplessness for his benefit. He imagined about how much money he was going to encash from their helplessness. "I have an idea. It's better to find new place to stay before Tai gets hold of you. You will saved from all the drama before she calls you a liar in front of public.",Mahesh said. Zain sighed and spoke,"Thanks! But is there any way other than this?"


"I mean we again need to search places. It will be an headache for all of us. It may take long time. We don't how our next owner would be. What if Tai throws us before we find a place to stay? What if she does it today?", he continued while thinking about the consequences of being thrown out of house. "Why are you thinking so much? She won't throw you today. She's planning to catch you red handed once you commit next mistake. She waiting for you to be off guard.", Mahesh tried to convince him.

The young man didn't seem to be convinced by his agent's words. He felt strange that he knew so much about his landlady's moves. "Bhai, How do you know that she will not throw us outside today?", he asked. Mahesh was getting agitated by Zain's questions. "Why is he asking so many questions? Why does he want to know so much?", Mahesh thought. He didn't want to reveal the truth. But he had to in order to get Zain convinced.

"I know this because she called me today to her place. She told me that she got to know everything. She warned me that she will call police on me if I didn't help her to catch you red handed.", he spoke the truth. Zain found him suspicious. He was about to ask him about his intentions in helping them. But he held back. He had to find out the motive behind Mahesh's sudden concern.

"Hmm I see! When shall we start looking out for the place to stay?", Zain asked, trying to sound convinced. He wanted to find the truth. Mahesh fell for his lie. "Let's start as soon as possible. But I have something to inform you before we start looking.", Mahesh spoke excitedly. "What is it? Hope there is no more surprises", Zain asked. Mahesh laughed and said,"You need pay me some advance before we start looking." "Advance for what?", the young tenant asked. Mahesh didn't like to clarify every time. "Nothing much! You have to pay Rs 15000 only to get out of contract with Tai since you are leaving before completion of one month contract.", he said. Zain finally understood Mahesh's motive. "Bhai! I need to discuss this with Jasmine and I will come back to you as soon as we made our decision." , Zain said. Mahesh was frustrated with failure of his second plan. He thought he would use Zain's innocence to his benefit. But it backfired. He cut the call immediately.


(To be continued) 

The Tenants from Flat No #2 - Part 26

Mahesh thought deeply, "How will I get Tai to agree to my plans?" He smiled nervously at her. Tai looked at him suspiciously. She knew if she agreed to his plans , she would be like pawn in his hand. He would use her for his benefit. But what benefit would he get out of using her? " 

"Tai, you are right. We will do as you say. We will wait for them to make some mistakes and catch them red handed just the way you want. ", he said. She wasn't convinced. She knew there was some hidden agenda there. She wondered what was his hidden agenda.  She regretted asking him for help. She should have done this alone. Something struck her mind while she was thinking.

She didn't have to take him in. She would do her own thing. If Mahesh acted smart, she would blackmail in name of 'police'. She had found out his weakness - he hated being called thief. She wouldn't let him know anything she did. She would do it discreetly.

"Mahesh, you go home. I will come up with a plan and let you know.", she said smoothly. He became worried. "Now what is she up to?", he wondered. He had to keep an eye over her. He didn't trust her. He thought she was simple woman. But he never thought she would think two steps ahead of him. He had to be cautious of her every move. 

As soon as he left the flat , he called Zain immediately. "Hi Zain!", he said. Zain was surprised by his call. He didn't expect Mahesh's call. "Hi Mahesh Bhai, how is everything?", he asked. "All is good. But I have bad news for you.", Mahesh said. Zain was confused. "Now what can possible go wrong?", he wondered. 

"Usha Tai knows our secret.", Mahesh said. The phone almost slipped from Zain's hand. He laughed nervously as he spoke, "What are you saying, Bhai? Are you playing a prank on us? It's not April Fool's day." Mahesh changed his tone to bit serious. "I am not joking, Zain. It's true. She knows our secret. ", he said.

(To be continued)