Whispers in the Night Shift
“Sanjana… Sanjana…”
My name had been ringing insistently in my ears while I was completely absorbed in searching for something that had fallen from my desk. I glanced in every direction, scanning the floor and the space beneath the table, growing increasingly frustrated with every passing second.
Finally, giving up on the search, I slowly lifted my head and twisted a loose curl around my finger as it slipped across my eyes.
“Yes? What happened?” I asked.
The person standing before me was Harsha, one of my colleagues. He was holding a few files close to his chest, his tall frame and broad shoulders making him hard to miss. There was something effortlessly charming about him, too—a quality he seemed completely unaware of.
“The manager is calling you,” he said.
“Why?”
“I don’t know,” he replied with a casual shrug.
I rolled my eyes in exasperation. Somehow, being summoned by the manager without knowing why never felt like a promising sign.
I picked up my notepad and pen, already assuming I was about to be handed another task. With a resigned sigh, I got up and headed towards the manager’s cabin.
I stood in front of his cabin and knocked on the door, which was already wide open, almost as though it were an unspoken invitation to enter. Still, out of courtesy, I paused at the entrance.
“Sir, may I come in?”
“Yes, Sanjana. Come in.”
A deep, authoritative voice came from inside.
He looked to be in his mid-forties, yet he carried himself with an effortless elegance. He was dressed in a light-blue suit over a crisp white shirt, neatly tucked into his trousers. His dark hair was carefully spiked and combed into place, held together with just enough gel to give it a polished appearance. Even from the doorway, I could catch the strong, distinct fragrance of his perfume.
He acknowledged me with nothing more than a brief glance before turning his attention back to his computer screen. His fingers moved swiftly across the keyboard, as though whatever he was working on demanded his complete concentration.
“Sir, I received a call from you.”
“Yeah, I called you.”
“May I know the reason, sir?”
“Nothing urgent. I just wanted to get an update on the project I assigned to you . I need to know how much longer it will take to complete because the submission deadline is approaching, and I want to make sure we stay on schedule.”
“Sir, almost half of it is completed. I should be able to finish the remaining work within few days—certainly no longer than that.”
“Okay, good.”
He finally finished typing and leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other. His posture relaxed as he turned his attention fully toward me.
“Do you need any assistance from my side? I can assign an additional resource to you if necessary. Since you’re working the night shift, I just want to make sure you’re not having any difficulty managing the workload, Sanjana.”
His tone was surprisingly considerate. As he spoke, he maintained steady eye contact, his fingers loosely interlaced as he waited for my response.
“No, sir. As of now, it isn’t required. I’m able to manage with current resources. If the situation genuinely demands it, I’ll certainly update you.”
“Okay, Sanjana. Fine. You may leave now,” he said, a faint, courteous smile curving across his lips.
He reached for the mobile phone lying beside his chair, picked it up, and tapped the screen to place a call.
I stepped out of his cabin and returned to my desk, absentmindedly adjusting my hair as I walked. Just as I was about to resume my work, a husky voice beside me caught my attention.
It was Preeti Sinha—one of my dearest friends and, in fact, the first friend I had made in the entire office.
“Hey, Sanju.”
I turned towards her and raised my eyebrows, silently asking what was wrong, while fixing the clip that held my hair in place.
“What are your plans for the weekend?” she asked.
“Nothing yet. I haven’t planned anything. What about you?”
“Me neither. But I really want to go somewhere and unwind. I’ve been feeling terribly stressed lately.”
“Stressed?” I asked, unable to hide my disbelief.
“Hey… are you okay?”
“To be honest, Sanju, I’m not.”
Her words immediately wiped the smile from my face.
“Why? What happened?”
“I can’t tell you now—and certainly not here.” She lowered her voice and glanced around the office. “I just want to talk to you about it, but somewhere we can have some privacy. I need to let everything out. I just need a shoulder to lean on.”
Her voice carried a sadness that I couldn’t ignore.
“That sounds serious,” I said softly. “But okay, I’ll definitely come with you. Where should we go?”
“Somewhere quiet… somewhere without any interruptions. I want to be able to talk to you freely.”
“Hmm… how about the beach?”
“That sounds good.”
“Then let’s go. What time?”
“You decide. I’m fine with any time.”
“How about seven in the evening?” I suggested. “The view should be beautiful around then, especially with the sunset.”
“Okay. Done.”
I smiled at her, hoping that my reassurance would ease at least a little of the burden she seemed to be carrying.
For a moment, the tension in her expression softened, and I could see a faint sense of relief in her eyes.
We both turned our attention back to our screens and resumed our work after wrapping up our conversation about the weekend plans. Before I knew it, time had slipped away unnoticed.
My eyes wandered toward the clock hanging high above, near one of the pillars in the office. It was an enormous, circular timepiece, designed in an antique style that gave it an almost timeless charm.
OMG! It was already 4:00 a.m.
I couldn’t believe how quickly the hours had passed. It felt as though we had only just begun working, yet the night had quietly given way to the early hours of the morning.
We quickly packed our laptops into our bags and made our way toward the office entrance. Before stepping outside, we marked our attendance through the biometric device mounted on the wall beside the main entrance.
Luckily, both Preeti and I belonged to the night shift, so I was quite comfortable with the timings for now. We stepped out of the office building, and the early-morning air greeted us with a refreshing chill. Since it was winter, a cool breeze swept gently across our faces, carrying with it the quiet stillness of the dawn.
We stood outside, waiting for our office cab to arrive and drop us home. As expected, it arrived a few minutes later.
We climbed into the cab, settled into our seats, and finally began our journey home, leaving behind the quiet office building and the long night we had just spent working.
