Midnight phone calls...contd.

The next day, Deki got up early. She was preparing breakfast in the kitchen. The rays of morning sun hit directly on the face of Karjey that woke him up too. He straight away pulled his mobile phone from the corner and checked his call records. It did not show any records of last night’s mysterious calls.

“Hmm…was I dreaming then,” he could not believe this.
He got into the bathroom. Splashed handful of water on his face and looked on the mirror. His eyes have turned reddish probably due to a disturbed sleep last night.

Deki announced from the kitchen, “Karjey, are you up. Breakfast is ready to be served.”

“Yeah, putting on my gho please.”

While Deki served rice and ezay, Karjey stared at her and pitied her innocence. “Umm, you see…” he was about to tell Deki when suddenly he thought, “If I tell her, this will only instill fear and worry in her.”
“Breakfast looks nice,” so he changed his mind and decided to keep it to him only.

After the breakfast they left to their respective offices.

When placement was allotted to them, they prayed to be placed within same agency. Unfortunately, they got placed in different agencies. However, they were lucky enough that both of them got their placements in agencies within Thimphu only.

“Kuzuzangpo sir,” Ata Khando, the driver of his Director greeted Karjey at the office door.

“Kuzu Ata,” he headed to his office room. His table looked messy with papers and project documents. He switched on his desktop computer. While the computer was getting set up, he engaged himself in clearing his table. He bundled up project documents at one corner and arranged those papers in two folders, “pending” and “action taken.”

Looking at the pile of project documents he recollected the words of his Director, “…if you are to prove your efficiency, you better make yourself thorough with those documents.” Keeping in mind the words of his Director, Karjey wanted to read those immediately. But he felt the urge to keep himself updated on the news, so he opened BBSC website on his computer.

At the top of its headlines it read, “19 year old girl dies at Namling accident.” As he was about to get into its details, “Sir, Dasho gi joen sey sungdey la,” messenger interrupted. It was a regular brief meeting that normally bosses convene to keep him informed on what each employee under him does. It took about twenty minutes when all officials completed their briefings.

As they dispersed, Pema a senior employee in that department looked at Karjey and said softly, “This is his way of running the department,” and got into his room. Karjey did not understand what Pema was trying to convey nor did he wish to dig it out as a young and new officer in that department.

He went back to his room not losing the focus of his assigned task. This time he pulled the document and opened it to read. On the first page was the project background. He read it through and was about to flip its page when the messenger appeared again, “Sir, Dasho gi joen sey sungdey la.”

“La Sir,” Karjey entered.

“There is a meeting at Planning Commission,” announced his boss.

“It starts at 3 p.m. You go and represent our department mey,” his boss declared.

“Laso la,”Karjey pulled out himself from the sight confused.

He wandered, “What meeting is it? How am I going to represent this department? I don’t know anything. What am I going to speak?” He started to prepare himself mentally.

“Tring…tring,” his mobile rang. Last night’s mysterious calls had inflicted some sort of telephobia in him. He felt a chill run down his spine hearing this same ring tone again. Reluctantly he checked his phone. It was Deki, his wife calling him from her office.

“Hello Karjey!”

“Hello”

“What did you eat for your lunch?”

Karjey checked his watch. It was already 2.30 p.m.

“Oh! I got a meeting at 3.00 p.m. I’ll talk to you later. Bye,” Karjey put it off and walked out in a hurry.