The Kabir Singh Story

Second impression-Kabir

Twice in less than 24 hours. Somehow he'd managed to see Mr. Ranjan more in the past 24 hours then he had in the past year he'd been living here. The new denominator being his wild-eyed granddaughter. Although today her eyes weren't as wild as they had been last night. Today she had turned to face him apologetically, her eyes and that lucious mouth trying to arouse some understanding out of him. 

That was until she recognized him, the polite smile fell instantaneously and she may have even rolled her eyes at him. She'd moved her head so fast he couldn't be sure but, she obviously decided in that split second that he wasn't worth appeasing. 

After an uneventful day at work all he wanted was an uneventful day at home, which shouldn't be a problem given the newly purchased whisky the maid must've left for him. He didn't need this girl trying to become all neighbourly with him. She was the type that the BLA flocked to, the exact opposite of what he wanted in his life. 

With her back to him, he was able to fully assess what she was wearing. Today it was a green dress with no sleeves and a flared skirt that ended at her knees. Her curly hair was pulled up in a knot and he could see the beads of sweat that had formed at the base of her neck. Was that from being in the same elevator as him or had they been running outside. 

When her grandfather was finally fully in the elevator, he reached over pressed the closed door button causing the girl to stiffen her shoulders, obviously unimpressed but otherwise she didn't acknowledge his presence. 

Mr. Ranjan said in a distressed voice "the third floor please, sir" unaware that the elevator had already started moving towards our floor. From behind them, he saw his granddaughter trace comforting circles into the back of his hand. 

And that's when it became hell. 

"Pri! Pri" Mr. Ranjan began to cry in obvious distress. 

"It's ok Daada, we're only four floors away" he heard her whisper to him but it didn't stop her grandfather. His crying became more persistent and his little self control snapped. 

"For God's sake old man" he yelled so loudly the people outside could probably hear. "Shut up or I'll make you shut up! One more word out of your mouth and I'll euthanize you myself since your family won't seem to do it". 

His crying only worsened but at least he wasn't crying for "Pri" anymore. He'd forgotten that he'd called his granddaughter that last night and now this other Pri, with the wild hair and eyes was standing right infront of him, and her back had gotten even more taut if that were even possible.

 The elevator door chimed and she was pushing her grandfather out the doors before they'd fully opened. They were in their apartment in a flash and it was quiet again in the hallway and more importantly it was quiet in his apartment.

He started his usual routine of drinking a beer, warming up the food Shanthi had left, drinking another beer while scrolling through the options on his porn subscription, ready  to have as many whiskies as he needed to get through the night until tomorrow morning. 

It was unholy trinity of spirits, sex, and weed. It got him through most nights but there was harder stuff for the days he really needed it. He was not afraid of dying or getting in trouble, there was nothing for him to live for. His younger brother was the only reason he hadn't  made any permanent irreversible decisions yet, he was the reason he tried to maintain some semblance of a functional life. 

The kid had lost their mother when he was only five and their father was better at being a doctor than a father. For the past 15 years he was his naive and sensitive brothers support system so he knew the kid would not be able to handle his death on his own. 

It was so burdensome having others in your life. You had to consider them when making decisions about your life and your own happiness. It's was a theme too present in his life and even now it seemed to be making a mockery of him. 

I don't have what I want because of the burdens of other people and can't do what I want because of the burden of other people. What a truly ironic nightmare. No matter how alone he wanted to be, he'd always be plagued by the memories of Pree and their shared past. A past it feels he had no control over. 

Suddenly there was a rapping sound.  His first thought was that it came from the  TV but it came again totally out of sync with the scene on screen. He thought about pausing the tv but instead he increased the volume to drown out the sound coming from the door. The only people who ever came to visit him where those pesky BLA ladies and he'd given them a "donation" 2 weeks ago. If they were going to take his money, they'd have to earn it and he'd been relatively well-behaved this week. 

The persistent knocking at the door finally stopped and he was satisfied with the thought that whoever it was had finally given up. That is until he heard the doorknob jiggle, turning in time to see the light from the hallway enter as the door opened.