The final chapter of any invention is the most difficult one. There are so many assumptions to consider, a lot of exceptions to make, great patience required, and the probability of failure is higher than the success. If the invention, however, is done right, it has the power to change mankind. My journey was no less than any invention or discovery. I had taken a break from a handsome job, abandoned my social life, and was roaming around like crazy for past one year in search of someone who might not even exist. There were a few questions that constantly popped up in my mind at that time. How far was I willing to go in the search of my love? Till the end of my life and beyond, would be my immediate answer. Will I do justice to everyone by this lunatic act of mine? There is no purpose of leading a void life. I will be complete only when I am successful in my mission. Everyone will understand this eventually. God! I must be the most stubborn son ever born. I felt very proud of myself. I had the courage of my convictions to continue my journey. And when the determination is very strong, no destination is far enough.716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ99R1neRMN1
I knew what I needed to do next. I considered Kings Forest Park as a milestone in my journey, and I strongly believed that I would get the next sign to proceed further in that neighbourhood. I assumed identifying her would not be a difficult process. Like I was looking for her, she might be looking for me too. Two likeliness would meet and magic would be created. I kept my approach pretty simple and started to roam around the same neighbourhood. A couple of months had passed, but I could not find any sign. I had seen a lot of women in that suburb, but I could not get a positive vibe from any of them. Sometimes, the caretaker used to show up. He would just smile and pass by. He understood what I was looking for, but even I knew there was nothing he could do. So, yes, I was left pretty much by myself. Two months got converted into six, and I was still in the same situation as before. There was still no sign of her. I had enough strength to contain my frustrations, however, killing time had become a very difficult task. Most of the times, I had nothing to do other than to wait. A fear also lingered in me that what I would do if I never get her in this life. This fear gave result to nightmares. The nightmares made me wake up in middle of the nights with pain. I would say that there was no end to my suffering.
As the time passed by, my mental state started deteriorating. I would hardly eat and sleep. I needed medical attention which I was just not willing to accept. I had to fix myself up and at the same time, I could not afford to lose focus. So I made a right decision when I saw a hiring board in front of the restaurant in a lane opposite to Kings Forest Park. It read, “Hiring now! Please contact reception for more details.” I saw that board as an opportunity which would serve two motives of my life: keep myself busy and keep an eye on the signs. I ran straight to the reception for a job. The receptionist told me to wait till the owner comes who would be taking my brief interview.
It wasn’t a fine dining or fancy restaurant. It was an average restaurant where the sophisticated people came to have good food. I waited in a corner chair without having any clue about the role of my job. After half an hour, a healthy person with a weird moustache approached me. I guessed him to be the owner and stood up to greet him. He didn’t seem to care much and signalled me to sit. After he had taken a seat, he said, “Hi! I am Dinesh, the owner of this restaurant. Tell me what are you looking for?”
“Hello, Mr. Dinesh. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Krishna, and I…”
“See Krishna,” he interrupted and said, “I will be very frank with you. We have all our positions filled up. However, there is one extra cleaner required for our restaurant. I don’t know if this line of work will suit you, but that’s all I can offer you straight off. If you are interested, we can have further discussion to see if you can fit in. Otherwise, I will have to say sorry.”
All the words he said were inaudible to me. My brain cells were stuck at the word “cleaner”. I truly appreciated his courage to offer me that job. Any other day, I would have shown him his limits. But that day, my conscience forced me to focus on my motive. After a long silence, I said, “I am really in the need of a job. I will take whatever you have to offer. I am ready for further discussions.”
“Ah! An excellent decision Mr… What name did you say? Oh… Krishna. See, I remember. Let’s go out for a walk and we will have a chat,” he said proudly.716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6hVus0p8w5
“You don’t talk much, do you?” He said after he had walked me out.716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPF8V97fz0
I will talk only if you would let me, Fatso! I thought and said, “I do only…”716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvIhqmZ0Iy
“Don’t worry, you will learn to speak very soon,” he interrupted again and continued, “So, tell me about your experience. How much do you know about cleaning?”716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSoUjMILUAG
Son of a biscuit! I have graduated from one of the best universities of this country. I am an engineer working on the top projects for the government. I must have an IQ twice as yours, and I have enough money to buy this restaurant right now. Do these qualify me as a cleaner? I was having adverse thoughts, but I controlled my emotions and replied politely, “I know the basics, and I am a quick learner. I can promise you I will do a good job.”716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKEMd1ECTSQ
“I know you will. When I saw you I knew you are the one made to work here. Let me explain what I expect from you. This restaurant is two-Storeyed, yeah? Each of the floors has one kitchen. Your job will be to clean all the floors twice a day and the kitchens once in the night. Understood?”716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmq2F3MmML
“Yeah, I pretty much got the idea.”716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoqnoYmR4KS
“Cool! See you tomorrow at work then. Goodbye,” he said and left.716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBi8VJ7jYba
The following morning when I arrived at work, I was handed over the cleaner’s dress and cleaning equipment. A fellow colleague explained me what exactly I needed to do. In the first few minutes of my walk-through, I had calculated the overall restaurant’s area that needed to be cleaned. Including both the storeys, the total area of the floors would approximately be 1500 square feet and the total area of the kitchens would be 800 square feet. Twice the 1500 plus 800 equalled 3800 square feet—the space I was supposed to clean every day. My calculations weren’t intended to scare me off; I just wanted to know how much time it would take to finish my job. There was no rocket science in it and considering my fitness level, I had estimated five hours a day in its completion.716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgN7Qr5JuB
Having worked out all the above, I started my cleaning journey. Every morning and evening, I had to first sanitize the surfaces such as table tops, chairs, utensils etc. with disinfectant. Afterwards, I had to sweep the floor and mop it with soap water. And then, if required, I also had to do the deep cleaning with bleaching powder. My job was fairly simple, I guess, as I had to not utilize my brain at all. Five hours of cleaning every day, and the rest of the time I would keep looking for her. Sometimes, I would also visit the city library to check out the old newspapers. I could still not find anything about her, but I did discover one thing about Bhanu Pratap Singh. It seemed that he was diagnosed with lung cancer a year after the death of Mr. Parkinson. He was deceased within two years of diagnosis. I think karma had played its role very well. Only if I could get a hold of my lady.716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAOcoSfYyjP
I had been pushing my luck for the past two months, but it appeared to be entirely rotten. Despite my desperate efforts, she was nowhere in my life. I could not afford to despair, however, the negative thoughts had started to make me weak. I had begun to feel that she was unreal and merely the figments of my imagination. I experienced all the symptoms of a schizophrenic. It was only a matter of time before I would have gone totally crazy. I realized I had to do something to hold back my integrity. Therefore, I started focusing more on my cleaning job, although, she was there in every thought of mine.716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbUYhKIZsvS
The next few weeks of my life were mostly filled with bleaching powder, disinfectants and soap water. I was paying attention to every minute detail of the cleaning; I was doing my job very well and getting better at it every passing day. Very soon, I was the best cleaner of the restaurant. The owner did realize my potential and made me the head of the cleaning department. Essentially, I had to manage a dozen of other cleaners to make it the shiniest restaurant in the town. And since I knew the every detail of the job, managing them had been peanuts for me. Things were running pretty smooth at the restaurant, nonetheless, I was never distracted from my prime motive.716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRylcop5NSv
Six more months had passed and I was still chasing my imaginations without any success. Ever since the inception of the first vision, my whole life had been nothing more than a deadly nightmare—a nightmare I was unable to deal with. The angels silently watched from above, but they refused to drop any further clue. I continued my job at the restaurant. The owner was impressed and the colleagues were happy, but I was yet to discover my inner peace. So I wasn’t much excited when the owner decided to make me manager of the restaurant. He stated, “This restaurant is yours now. It’s your duty to take care of everything. I have other business to handle. Will see you in good times.” I was only wondering what possibly I could have accomplished if I had worked there whole heartedly.716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFvVXp1bh6r
That morning when I woke up, I had a vague recollection of the last night’s dream. My memory could only reflect it like a blurred motion picture in which the focus was sharply on the Kings Forest Park. In the foreground was the graves of Mr. & Mrs. Parkinson’s, all covered in crimson and yellow roses. I couldn’t make out what the dream meant, but I was in a cheerful mood in the morning. A happy tune was constantly playing in my mind. With high spirits, I freshened up and left for the work. I had nearly reached the restaurant and was ready to take a turn for the entrance when I thought I saw something. I came back a few steps and gazed on the opposite side of the street. There was nothing but the old rusty gates of the Kings Forest Park. I considered it to be an illusion and went inside the restaurant. Then again, I strongly felt that I had really seen something. I decided to take another glance and got out on the street. There was still nothing. To clear my mind of suspicion, I resolved to take a look inside the park. I crossed the street and started moving towards the gate. I might be about three hundred meters away when I saw someone going inside quickly. I started moving faster to get a clear view. When I was a few steps away from the entrance, I could again see no one.716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6g1T3xFKof
Oh! What is this hide and seek? I thought and was just about to enter the park when a pretty face suddenly emerged from the left and stood still in front of me. It was the moment I had been longing for eternity. I felt as if the thunderbolts had hit me and cracked my chest open, spilling out my soul to unite with her, and be the one. I no longer belonged to myself as my eyes were locked on her face, my breath was whooshed out of my body and everything was frozen for a moment. The whole world seemed to vanish, and I had a feeling that we have known each other for a very long time. I didn’t want that moment to ever end as I had never been happier before. She had completed me, and I had found my inner peace.716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9c5QnRNOPV
Before I could say anything to her, she excused herself and prepared to leave. I just couldn’t let her go. I yelled, “Hey, wait!”
“Yes?” she answered in a sweet voice.716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZoQQuiijvL
I wished to say, “What took you so long?” Instead, I asked, “Do you by any chance came looking for Mrs. Parkinson?”716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdmLiY6aOZM
“I don’t know that yet. I am still trying to figure it out. But how did you guess that?” she demanded.716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2xjMwGY2pv
“You wouldn’t believe how long I have waited for this day to come. I felt…”716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcu3YRhABRM
“No, I believe you,” she cut in hastily and asked, “Did you also come looking for Mr. Parkinson once?”716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPv7mv39Jeh
“Yes, I did that a long time ago. And I have been waiting for you ever since,” I responded honestly.716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdcZrkzmk0C
“And why have you been waiting for me?” she asked slowly.
“I seriously have no answer for this. Would you like to help me find it out why?”716Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcqoB6jPsuL
And she said yes…
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