Bittersweet

It was heavy rain outside at an unusual month, May. The time is about 6.30 pm in the evening. The always busy road was unusually empty at that time but the noisy sound of pattering rain and the occasional sound of the thunderstorm was nowhere be heard in that bustling kitchen.

"Chef, two more Schezwan fried rice," the waiter loudly said that to the head chef who is giving the finishing touches to the Masala Dosa.

His eyes gazed around to find the perfect person to do this order and his gaze stuck on a girl.

"Sathya, you do the order, two Schezwan," he told and that bought her back from her thoughts. Thoughts about something that could bring nothing except happiness.

She nodded her head weakly as yes and washing her hands she headed to her place. She placed the pan on the stove and raised it to a high flame. Putting all the ingredients at a time she started tossing it perfectly and soon the smell filled everyone's nostrils. It took just five minutes for her to prepare and serve it on the clean white plates and with some added special decorations she carried the plates to the chef who is standing before them and checking out today's bills.

He nodded his head looking at the plates and pressed the bell to serve. With the small satisfied smile dancing on her lips Sathya again went back to chop the vegetables.

Cooking, it might be a simple task for some people, but for Sathya that gives huge happiness. She always feel happy that her passion and profession happened to be a same thing.

Before getting into her thoughts her conscience patted her by giving a feeling of an eye on her she raised her head up. Her senior cook Karthik looked at her sideways but when Sathya saw him, he immediately shifted his gaze.

"Sathya, get that soya sauce bottle," Bhuvan asked and she went to the pantry room to get it, giving that to him, another few orders lined to her. Today due to this rain the customers were less or else they don't even have time to breathe.

SS spices, the famous Indian restaurant located in the modern part of Chennai where Sathya was working for the past one year.

It was her luck she landed on this job and that's what she thinks whenever she reminds about the time she was unemployed and hopeless.

After a long search, she finally found there is a vacancy in this hotel. She was not confident at all when she came for the interview, her Head cook and the owner of this restaurant Velayudham was the one who conducted the interview, it is a miracle where all her stars helped her to cook better than anyone else who participated on that day, when she was jobless she felt useless at each time she got rejected for reasons like using gender, her petite appearance and so on, she even regretted taking this profession but anyhow, somewhere her silent prayers were heard by the almighty and now she is earning a sum of money for herself and also to support her parents.

Sathya was a silent, gentle and more like a reality type. She speaks a little to everyone even to her parents she won't tell what she really want to say. People from outside may tend to think she is a very depressing person as their first impression on her. But when they get close to her they can understand she is indeed a quiet in nature. Even she is too angry or even she is too happy only a small smile will be her expression.

Having no close friends, siblings or anyone who she can rely on to support she looked after herself with her minimum knowledge about the outside society.

Survival of the fittest will be an apt slogan for her life. Having no knowledge about Chennai she came here to study and stayed here even though she didn't get any proper job, and did part-time jobs to support her deceased father and pitiful mother. Being born and bought up in a lower-middle-class family even her small, small dreams were attained with much struggle. Grown in this kind of environment were one of the reasons why Sathya was an introvert, a gloomy person.

She has all that inferiority complex like she is too plain, poor, normal and having no special talent than cooking just made her feel low so that she tries to hide among the thousands of people who she considers that they are better than her.

But she decided her life should never be a sad melodrama and she doesn't want to open up her struggle to anyone, since either they will pity her or take advantage of her situation so she remained like she is all good and fine.

In her passive, boring and struggling life she never thought she will get married at this young age of twenty-four. She never had time to think about the opposite gender when she was too much striving to get proper food for every day. But how did this happened was something unbelievable for her.

"Is your husband coming here to pick you," Bhuvan asked when Sathya was washing their used pans.

"I don't know, I haven't checked my phone," she smiled and looked down.

"Anna, sorry I couldn't invite you for my wedding. I never thought it will happen all of a sudden," she apologized to him since Bhuvan was more like a brother figure to her, he is very supportive when she joined in here. He is married and has a two-year-old kid. Karthik also helpful but Sathya avoided him since he is not like Bhuvan; his perspective of seeing her is not like a sister or friend, she feels it is different but she is not sure whether he is having feelings for her, even if he does then she can't do anything about it right now.

"Morning I couldn't ask this, what is your husband doing?" He questioned.

"He is an engineer," she replied. Since last Friday only she got married and today Monday she is here for work, that's very unusual for everyone even to her.

The morning when she said that she is going for work, her husband didn't say anything and dropped her on the station. With no goodbyes, he just went to his work. Is that Unusual? She thought and came to the hotel.

"Where he is working?" He asked the most difficult question, she even prayed god that no one should ask this until she knows the answer.

"Uh... He is working in a company, I forgot the name," she gave an apologetic smile.

"Oh," he smiled.

When they were talking, Karthik came there, he changed into his normal costume and gazed the two of them.

"Bhuvan, I am leaving," Karthik said and they both turned to him.

"Hmm okay," he nodded and Sathya looked at him with a smile.

After he left Bhuvan went to change his apron and Sathya went out of the kitchen. Seeing the empty seats and dim lights made Sathya take out her watch from the pocket, the time showed as 10 pm, she wore the watch on her wrist and walked further out. The rain was still pouring but not that heavy, moderate drizzles.

She sat on the chair beside the class window were the drizzles decorated it beautifully, she touched it and with a smile, she looked out to see the Orange street lights and entirely soaked buildings. Bikes, cars were crossing with those illuminating headlights.

She just forgets everything and watched by thinking... Nothing.

Sometimes in our life, we don't know what we really want, but we are given something that was inappropriate, something not needed at that moment. But everything in this world happens for a reason like the given thing may be the key to something that we are searching breathlessly.

She sighed and her tummy starts to shout for food. She stood up and went to change her apron and after wearing her sweater she went to the restroom to wash her face.

Her reflection was normal, except that wedding chain on her neck.

She doesn't have any idea about the marriage stuff, she simply married to the guy her parents said. Even in her dreams she never thought that she will lose her virginity to that guy who she barely knows at their wedding night itself. It is not done by compulsion, he asked permission and she wholeheartedly gave to him.

She doesn't regret it but the thing that bothers her is she not even know his name properly, just as Raghu.

She got married to him last Friday, that was the first time she saw him, everything happened very quickly and the entire Saturday they stayed in his house in Ooty, where his relatives occupied most of their time and Sunday they booked a train to come to Chennai. After they came to his apartment in the night, he went to sleep and she slept beside him like a snail...

When she was thinking about this her phone starts to ring, Mozart's piano music was her ringtone. She took it and saw his number since she hasn't named it.

Gulping she attend the call. Sathya usually leaves the hotel at 10.30pm since the hostel she stayed was very much near from here, just a few minutes walkable distance.

But now it took about more than half an hour to reach his house, she didn't have thought about this perhaps he may scold her for staying very late at work.

"Hello, It's me," His hoarse manly voice just reminded the passionate night they shared, she can still feel his grunts near her ears which is so alien to her.

"Uh... Now only I am leaving, you don't worry I will be there soon," she said little worried.

"It's fine, I am waiting outside your hotel, come soon," he surprised her.

"Really!" She spoke her thought and then she bites her lower lip knowing her silliness.

"Yeah, come soon I have to go." This time he told that in an irritated way.

"Okay," she took her bag and walked in a hurry. Before leaving she said her goodbyes to the old security guard who is sleeping on one of the tables.

She came out to find her husband all dressed up in a peach color shirt and a pair of black pant. he was the same as how he went in the morning, but his hair was a little messy. The peach color shirt really complementing to his dark skin tone.

But half of his face was covered by that helmet. To actually say Sathya haven't examined him properly, even while traveling back to Chennai they don't have seats nearby so she couldn't talk with him at all.

But whatever it is why he is not asking anything to me?

And why he married me and what is he? She asked and stood before looking him in an implausible way.