3.

Raul stepped out of the auto and paused. She just stood still and took stock of the situation. Her best black skirt shimmied down her thighs skimming below her knees paired with an immaculate baby pink formal shirt. She pulled her mirror out and peered at her hair, tucking a few stray strands behind her ears. She had no make-up on her pixie-like oval face, so she dint bother checking her face.

5:35. Bang on time, rather bang before time. She pushed the huge glass door of the building and headed over to the receptionist.
"Joseph communications?" she asked confidently or so she thought.
"And then I told him to go suck.." she stopped yapping on the phone and turned towards Raul, "huh??" she responded.
"Umm.. Joseph Communications" Raul said a little more plaintively
"This is the OGC office", the very irritated woman said, pointing behind her back at a huge logo which claimed the offices to be of Oil Gas Corporation Pvt. Ltd.
"OGC?? Right. So. Well. OK."

Raul pushed the huge glass door again, and fished out her little diary where she had written the address down. So the street was correct, the location was correct, and the building was... wrong. Opposite OGC. Damn. 5:45. Double Damn, the building across the road wasn't even a building.

Crossing over Raul pushed the flimsy hanging gate aside. It looked more like a paper window she thought. She looked around for a receptionist but came up with nothing.

"Is that Raul Padam??" A voice boomed from behind another paper window-door.
"Um, yes. I spoke to you on the phone. You had called me for a job interview. at 6."
"6 wasn't it?? It's still quarter to six if you ask me. Whad do you think??"
"I think it'll be six soon enough."

At Six sharp Raul stood up and the paper window-gate opened revealing a thick man with a mop of unruly black-grey hair which glimmered in the sunlight poring from behind hid head.

When at 7 Raul stepped out of the dilapidated office, she had changed her mind at lest 57 times already about taking up this job. The pay was good, the designation offered was good, but something was pulling her back.

Throwing caution to her gut feeling, Raul entered the hugely fascinating world of Corporate Communication as a part of Joseph's Communication team which had three members, Anant K. the incorrigible bastard she had spoken to, Stella the secretary and herself. This arrangement was made to suit all, except Raul.

Raul pushed the flimsily attached window-gate and stepped into the office. She had been promised growth in this 'organization', she could always see how successful her stint here went. After all, this was her first job, she was a fresh, virginal employee. And she was ready to step into the glamorized world of Media and Public Relations.

2.

Rahil punched away at the PC. His angst was flowing out thru his fingers.

This was his private world. Where no one entered. Where he emoted. Where he let himself go for that much time while he typed. He had tried controlling his mind even when he wrote, but it wasn't possible. He dint do it as well. And he had to excel in what he did. No options about that.

Damn the white sheath. Damn the palm fronds. Damn serenity. Rahil finished a chapter and looked up from the monitor. And breathed. Took in life. A slow smile crossed over his face while control marched over his mind and disposition.

I need to take a walk, his mind registered as his hands immediately reached for his sweats. The gates of his building were swinging softly with the pre-dawn breeze. As if they were hanging from the hinges for dear life. One swat and they would come clambering down, disturbing the activities of the few residents of the building.

Grinning wryly at that he stepped out and burst into a fast jog. No warm-up, no gradual toning, he wanted the pain his calf muscles would give at the sudden punishment. He wanted the stitch in his stomach that should indicate the tightening of his stomach muscles. He wanted to feel his thigh muscles bunching, ready to lurch into a run if needed.
His feet hit the hard wet sand at the back of the beach. High tide. He went a little more inwards, feeling the water lapping at his ankles and his nikes squishing with water and mud. Discomfort. Just what he wanted. It was more difficult to jog in water when it squelched in shoes.

After an hour we was running in knee-deep water. The sun was rising from the opposite side of the water-front, he looked at it, through the palm fronds fringing the beach.

Palm fronds. When he looked up at them again the sky was a white sheath, with the palm fronds embossed on it.

1.

The music had reached a raving frenzy. The crowd was going crazy.Evryone was pushing limb for limb, and gyrating with as many babes as they could attract around themselves.
Rahil stood at a safe distance, behind an elongated rectangular pillar smoothed with gleaming chrome. He looked into his glass and sipped contemplatively. Against the feverish speed of the crowd and the music his pace was contrastingly relaxed and lazy. His eyes flashed as they dismissed everyone in the room. They were not important to him in anyway, ever. None was intelligent enough to talk to him, no woman was sharp enough to lock eyes with him. All they could do was watch and specualte from far. And that too coz they sensed a chiselled body beneath the flowy kurta and khakhi pants.

He reached into his back pocket and fished out a note of fifty and tossed it towards a passing waiter by the way of payment and walked across the floor towards the exit. His walk seemed like a physical translation of a spoken drawl.

With one hand on the door knob, he reached out for his coat beneath the masses of leather and rexin which had been piled after he had entered. A flower. Rahil stopped. Why had that crossed his mind all of a sudden. Had he sensed something??

Twisting the knob with one hand he slightly tilted his head to the right. A flower. He looked hard, and saw a scrubbed small face trying to hide inside a glass of a yellow liquid. The oval face was wearing a white sheath with huge blue fronds printed on it. And a blue ribbon around her tiny waist.

Rahil lifted an eyebrow and was just about to push the door open to exit when the music reached a crescendo. And the oval face winced. Rahil stopped. Christ, she must be a kid. He took a step towards her but drew back when he saw her smiling into his eyes suddenly.

Rahil sneered at his stupidity, and turned back towards the exit. And glimpsed the smile intact on her face. He pushed the door with a vehemance and stomped out into the rain. Home.