Chapter 8
Ten long years had passed and for Dr. Mohith Prasad it had been a decade of sorrow, regret and loneliness. Anger had become a friend and depression an excuse. He drank lots more now in comparison to his twenties but never the cheap six packs in plastic bottles. He was making more money than he could spend and he always managed to spend a healthy part of it on getting, as he puts it "lavishly drunk".
Mohith works for the United Nations as a consultant for developing countries.
In ten years Mohith had achieved what few others ever had. He completed his Masters in British Colombia and went on to do his first doctoral in Birmingham, UK. He did a second PhD at MIT and also got an MBA form Yale. He was very highly decorated and was very much appreciated and respected among his peers, faculty and colleagues. Almost everyone liked him and they often tried to cheer him up only to fail miserably for Mohith was always turned inward and was immune to happiness, fun and laughter. No one could get close to him for Mohith made it a point not make his colleagues his friends. He traveled all over the world and visited the poorest of the poor in the world. He had a huge house, a mansion of sorts, in his hometown but was rarely seen in it. In fact he had not slept in it for more than ten nights after he had paid an outrageous sum for it. He had a Porsche 911, Ferrari 360 spyder and a Harley Davidson parked in his extravagant indoor garage. He loved cars and loved going for fast drives; and he certainly loved his Harley. Yet he always made it a point to hurry back to some country other than his own.
"It hurts too much to stay here and I really don't see the point. Those days are long gone my friends"
He says to his closest friends, when they beg and plead him to stay back and spend a couple of more days with them.
Mohith used to love parties and having fun with his friends, back when he was a freshman. He had five friends who he trusted with his life. He still does for those are the only five people he still calls friends and has a laugh with. They always know how to cheer him up and Mohith lowered his guard when with them. They are the only reason Mohith visits home once a year. They made it a strict policy not to mention Chaya whenever Mohith was with them.
Mohith and his friends grew up together. They had been together through kindergarten to college. After Mohith left the country they had kept in constant contact and had been there for Mohith all through his miserable ten years. They loved Mohith very much for what he was. In the good old days they used to go camping all night under the stars. It was mostly on Saturdays and they called it "guys night out" or "happening night". Around the huge campfires they had seafood BBQ. He could still smell the tiger shrimp and crabmeat on the BBQ. He loved shrimp and crab although he had given it up for Chaya. They drank beer and vodka all night and played the guitar. Mohith was known to have a great singing voice although he almost always sang only when he was with his friends and surely drunk. Even when he was all alone in the fanciest and most exclusive hotel room in some developing country, getting drunk on the most expensive local liquor and dining on the most exquisite dishes the chefs could conjure up, he always thought about those days when he was just another normal guy who had a lot of cheap and innocent fun. Almost always it brought a tear to his eye for with the happiness he remembered, Chaya was always by his side like a shadow. And yet now he was like a ghost with no love or happiness inside him and no shadow.
Chapter 9
Dr. Anna Slovak, a tall brunette Polish research scientist with slender features and a brilliant mind, reminded Mohith of Kinga and the horrid and unfortunate events he experienced ten years ago in Germany. Maybe this is why Mohith also secretly liked Anna so much and was also terrified of her. She was very attractive in a profound sort of way and was about twenty-seven years old. She was immediately attracted to Mohith not only for his brilliance but also his kind gentle manners and even his teddy bear features.
Anna was working with Mohith in his team of experts. They traveled together from country to country, stayed in the same hotel and when Mohith rarely went to the restaurant to have dinner, had dinner together. She was trying really hard to understand Mohith but he never let her get close to him. He even adopted the tactic of ordering room service to discourage Anna and yet she was stubborn as any European woman and never gave up.
Mohith had just got back from a meeting and was undressing in a suit at the Hilton Colombo, Sri Lanka. Mohith had been working very closely with Sri Lanka, a small island located just south of India, for Sri Lanka was very much similar to India in cultural and natural aspects. This pleased Mohith very much for he could enjoy all the things he liked about home without thinking about it or his life there. Sri Lanka, formally known as Ceylon or the "Pearl of the Indian Ocean" was a British colony until 1948 and is known world wide for the exclusive black Ceylon tea, the beautiful gems, the natural rubber, coconuts and the tsunami in 2004, which almost wiped out most of the coastal region. All this didn't matter to Mohith. He just loved the sandy beaches, the great coconut arrak, a local liquor made of coconuts, the silver Porsche Boxter he had rented for the duration of his stay and the great seafood he had almost every day.
A knock on the door startled Mohith. He had called in for a bottle of "Old Reserve" coconut arrak and some soda but he didn't expect them to be this fast.
"Hold on for a moment will ya" Mohith shouted in annoyance.
"After all this time they choose today to be punctual" he said to himself groaning with the usual frustration and depression he had before a drink.
He went to the door half naked and opened the door. There she was. Like a movie star. Nicely tanned all over and wearing a blue string bikini with a silk tropical skirt wrapped around her shapely hips. Her washboard abs were prominent and screamed raw feminine magnetism. She hadn't lost her perfect form since she had stopped swimming for her University swimming team. She loved water and swam for hours every day. She had flowers in her hair, a gorgeous coconut shell necklace around her neck and a cold cocktail in her hand. She sipped it sensually in front of Mohith and held the door back like a police officer questioning an uncooperative witness. She had taken the day off and had been lounging by the pool getting a perfect tan and zipping cocktails all day.
"Hey Mohith wanna go out tonight? There's this nice little pub called the Keg close by and they serve very good beer. I heard from Fernando that Thursday night they featured a local rock band called "Wild Fire" and that they are really good."
Fernando was the poolside bar tender. A lively old man with a gray goatee and gray hair. Fernando knew Mohith well because he served him coconut arrak and soda every evening. He also knew that Anna was trying to impress Mohith and wasn't making much progress.
"Great idea Fernando. Remind me not to tip you next time"
Mohith mumbled to himself
"Ah...not today Anna. I...I'm..."
Mohith was trying to think of an excuse but was finding it very difficult to turn down Anna's sweet invitation. She looked so hot. Even though Mohith had tuned out all the love, feelings and happiness from his life he was still human and did appreciate beautiful things.
"Oh common Mohith. You need the fresh air and excitement. It won't hurt that huge brain of yours to have some fun once in a while you know"
"It's not that. I...I have some work to do"
Anna knew that he had nothing to do except eat fried shrimp and drink coconut arrak. She knew that he loved it. She had to play her ace.
"I hear they play Guns and Roses and Creed really well"
Anna knew that Mohith listened to GNR and Creed every single night when he was drinking. She also knew that he had been playing the same ten songs every night over and over again for the past three years that she had known him. What she didn't know was that Mohith had been listening to the same ten songs over and over again for the past fifteen years. Even though some people hadn't even heard of GNR or Creed in this modern time, Mohith always stuck to his favorite ten songs.
"Well let me get dressed ok. I'll meet you outside in ten"
"I don't know... You look sexy like that." she gave a sly smile and a playful wink.
It reminded Mohith of the sly smile he received from Kinga and the pan-fried fries. It was a shame how things didn't work out between them. But Mohith never regretted it.
"Shit happens and bad shit happens to losers like me. Its life" He tried to put away the image of Kinga out of his mind.
Mohith was trapped. Anna was good. She got Mohith excited about listening to a live rock band and they didn't play Mohith's songs anywhere else these days.
"God damn..."
Mohith was cussing all through his shower but he was really looking forward to the music. He came out soaking wet and put on some of his favorite Brute aftershave. He never dried himself with a towel and always let nature take care of it. It made him cool down. He then got into some blue jeans. Put on a black cotton long sleeved shirt and rolled the sleeves up to his elbows. He kept the top two buttons of the shirt open and grabbed the keys to his silver Porsche.
"Here we go. Take it easy old chap. You are allowed to have fun and every woman is not Chaya"
Chapter 10
He raced his silver Porsche to the pub. At that moment Anna caught a glimpse of how happy and energetic Mohith could be if he wanted to. She almost laughed in happiness in seeing Mohith smiling whenever he shifted the synchromesh gearbox and floored the throttle. The Porsche got them there in less than three minutes. But it felt like all the three years that she knew him didn't even come close to these three magical minutes. She was so happy and so was Mohith although he didn't want to show it.
The Keg was a nice and cozy place. It was dimly lit and had a nice polished teak bar.
"If there is one thing these tropical countries are known for it's their wooden furniture". Mumbled Mohith.
Anna pointed to a table that was facing the band. Mohith also didn't mind it because he wanted to listen to the music and avoid any uneasy conversation with Anna. They sat down and some of the local heads turned. Mohith fit right in with the locals for he was exactly like a Sri Lankan and dressed in a similar fashion to the wealthy Sri Lankan teens and the hot Sri Lankan couples who enjoyed the music.
Although Sri Lanka isn't a very big country it housed some really wealthy people and most of these were intellectuals. Mohith remembered reading something about the literacy rate of the Sri Lankans in Time Magazine, when he was in college. It said that the Sri Lankans had a literacy rate of ninety two percent and was the highest in any country in Asia or maybe even the world.
"They are looking at you. You look so handsome tonight. I have never seen you wear this shirt before. Is it new?"
Said Anna trying to start a conversation. Of course she had seen that shirt before. Mohith wore only black shirts and this was his favorite. It didn't matter because he did look kind of handsome in it.
"Don't joke Anna. They are looking at you and wondering why a gal like you walked in with a looser like me"
This was true to some point for Anna looked gorgeous. Her blue eyes gleamed in the dimly lit pub and her blue jeans and white v-neck silk top, caught even the beautiful Sri Lankan girls by surprise. She was stunning and even though Mohith hasn't held a woman in ten years he could imagine how she would feel in his arms tonight.
"Great day to look sexy. Man if she can get me excited she must be scorching. Good thing I'm so depressed Anna."
He thought to himself.
"What would you like to have Sir?"
A waitress in a blue shirt and black pants came to them.
"What would you like to have Anna?" He said trying to be the gentleman.
"I will drink any thing you want tonight. You finally took me out. It's your night!"
She said and winked to the waitress. She understood immediately and brought them two pitchers of the best Sri Lankan beer. They both filled their mugs and Anna insisted on making a toast.
"To the most brilliant scientist and the most miserable human being I have ever met"
Mohith didn't mind the toast. It was true and he knew it. He kind of liked it.
"Cheers to that!" and they had a loud first beer.
The beer was good in Sri Lanka. Not the sort of beer Mohith had in Germany but it wasn't bad. They were drinking fast and the band was playing loud. As Fernando had suggested they were really good. When they played "Sweet child O'mine" by GNR Mohith was almost on his feet jumping up and down. He was laughing. He was laughing. Anna was so happy that she wiped away a tear before getting up and dancing. Every one in the pub was staring at them. Wild Fire played louder and harder only for them. They just didn't care and didn't see any one else's stares. Mohith was, for a moment, that 20 year old who danced the night away when he heard a band play GNR in Bangalore.
Then he just sat down. It was so abrupt that Anna, Wild Fire and even every one else who was watching them were dumbfounded by this sudden change. It was like Mohith switched in to the miserable mode in a split second. Anna wouldn't be surprised if he did this using his fantastic robotic behavior experiments but now she actually thought that Mohith indeed was the robot.
He sat down too. The song wasn't over but the pitchers were. She ordered two more and looked at Mohith.
"What's wrong Mohith? What happened?"
Mohith was holding back a tear. Anna saw it. She immediately left Mohith alone. She didn't want to ruin it by asking him stupid questions. She ordered some fried shrimp and fries to cheer Mohith up but he was going through the beer even faster now.
The music became slower. The mood laid back. Mohith didn't utter a word for half an hour now. He was going through the second plate of shrimp and fries. He had finished the second pitcher and was going to order a third one when Anna gave him her pitcher which was untouched. She knew she would have to drive them back home so she held back, looking at this sad wretch in front of her.
Finally Mohith looked up at the band. He was really drunk.
"Can... you play My Sacrifice by Creed for me please"
They immediately obliged and they played it beautifully. Mohith was really fighting tears now. He remembered how he sang it to Chaya. How he held her in his arms and looked into those big black eyes and whispered.
"When you are with me, I'm free, I'm careless, I believe, Above all the others we'll fly, This brings tears to my eyes, My Sacrifice"
He was singing along and now Anna saw the tears roll of his cheek. She listened to the lyrics and understood what was going on in Mohith's shattered mind. She asked for the cheque and paid it before the song ended. Then as it finished she got up and said
"Mohith take me home"
Ever the gentleman Mohith got up and escorted her out. She was amazed to see that Mohith still walked tall and straight. He was surely drunk and a miserable wretch but he still held his pose as a gentleman. Anna was falling in love with him. He was a real "man".
Before they got to the Porsche she saw a sign that spelled "Space Bowling" in bold purple neon words. She knew that she was going to regret this but she sucked in a deep breath of the warm city air and said
"I want to go bowling"
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