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Mr. Rastogi's Office
#WritcoStoryPrompt47
Write a story based on this famous excerpt from Revival by Stephen King:
He unlocked a door and led me through an office that was empty of furniture, although I could still see square clean patches on the grimy linoleum, where the legs of a desk had once stood. On the wall was a curling calendar with April 1989 showing. This was bloody 2021!! I thought to myself and thanked my luck for having a dingy office as my own with my little savings.
The property guy handed me the keys with a crooked smile and left the so called office with a dusty cloud. I could see the dust mites everywhere with my microscopic eyes and made an agenda of its cleanliness. I had nowhere to sit, thank God the network was working fine in there.
I called local cleaning service and got the office cleared up of everything, the old wallpaper, the smelly rugs, the broken window panes, creaky fan and the wobbly chair. While taking off the wall paper, the cleaning guy showed me a secret cabin, which was locked. In that clutter, I just acknowledged his find and got busy in calling the carpenter and the repair guy.
Finally, I was breathing in the clean air, with the office and it's walls and the floor. The washroom was common one in the building, so it wasn't my headache to improve it. I straightened my legs on the new settled couch. Closed my eyes for a while, let the to do list get struck off in my mind. It was mine, my office, my money making stall, my dream factory. A smile swept on my face and I got up. Everything was perfect!! I couldn't feel more proud of myself.
It was time to decorate, phone set was put on the table, with my laptop, printer and scanner. The windows were shiny and letting in all the light as I loved it. AC was working fine, the room smelled of fresh carpet, drapes, foot mat and my favourite room freshner. I needed a secretary now, called the ad agency to frame a job profile and send it to me for approval.
I left the office for a stroll, picked coffee from the cosy coffee shop, introduced myself to the cafe owner, showed him my new office from his window. The smile left his face and an incomprehensible expression came up. I looked at him with questions on my face, which he just shook off with his pleasant smile.
I remembered my father's words ," You are a little impatient when it comes to make big decisions. Always do a thorough study, before you put your money anywhere." Did I do something wrong? I didn't do any research on this property. What if its jinxed or has a dark history. What is Mr Joshi (Coffee guy) hiding from me? I reached my office back with all these questions running in my mind. The office stood still with everything at place. "It's all fine Meenu, don't worry!", I told myself and dug my head in the files.
It was 7 pm soon, dark outside, time to go home. I switched off the lights, locked the new lock of the door, checked it twice, threw the keys in my bag, called my mom and left the office. That night I slept with a wide grin on my face. I finally had something of my own, that too with my own money. What an achievement and that too at such a young age. With so many dreams in my eyes, I dozed off. The morning was beautiful and so was my state of mind. I got up and got ready humming my favourite songs. The ad agency had printed my job requirement and people were gonna show up for interview soon. I parked my car, headed to Mr. Joshi's cafe and ordered my regular coffee with muffin. The smell of fresh coffee invigorated me, I was all pepped up, when I suddenly looked at my office window, the table lamp was on and a white haired man was leaning on my table, sitting on my chair.
My heart stopped for few seconds, I rushed towards my office while calling 911. The police reached with me to the spot, asked for the door keys, which I took out with fumbling hands. The policeman opened the door, nobody was inside, it was as peaceful as it was when I left. I told the police to check under the table, behind the drapes. Nothing was to be found. I stood dumb headed , thinking what had happened, when Mr Joshi came upstairs with steaming donuts. "Here officers! Treat for you guys. I will take over now. He he!"
The policemen left with a sheepish smile. I looked at Mr. Joshi, he held my hand and made me sit on the couch, handing me my coffee which I left at his cafe. He drew a chair and sat next to me. For a while, we didn't talk, then he looked at me and opened up ," Listen Meenu, this office belonged to my best friend, Rastogi, who was a profound lawyer. This office was always full of his clients who were also a good business to my cafe. Rastogi was a workaholic, he had no family, he always stayed in this office till I closed my cafe and then we used to leave for our homes together. Rastogi had not many friends except one mysterious woman named Laila, who used to visit his office at odd hours. I have no idea what kind of relationship they had, as Rastogi never talked about her."
Mr. Joshi got up and took a walk around the office. "See Meenu, this is the first time I have come here, as Rastogi never invited me in. He alsways visited my cafe though. One day, when I locked my cafe and looked up at his office window, I saw that he was leaning on his table. I went to check and saw him dead. I got scared, called the police and got the formalities done. Since then, nobody had taken up his office as the......"
"What Mr. Joshi?" I asked impatiently.
He looked at me with a perplexed face and continued, " Stories are that Rastogi still works in this office. People have seen him moving up and down in this building. I have seen the light on too. That day when you met me, I wanted to tell you but I didn't wish to scare you as you were so happy. I am sorry."
" It's okay Mr. Joshi, do you have anything of Mr. Rastogi with you that can help? He looked in his wallet and gave me a thin golden key. "Laila gave it to me one day. She just handed it over to me and said I couldn't find out what it's meant for."
I took the key from him as I knew what was it for. Mr. Joshi left patting my back. I went near the secret cabin, unlocked it and opened with trembling hands. It was a locker, it had nothing but just a picture of Mr. Rastogi with a child holding his hand. Behind the picture, it was written "Laila, my daughter"
My eyes welled up and I felt a cold presence near me. Then it left, closing the door behind me. I knew deep inside that Mr. Rastogi won't be a trouble. He had shared his secret.
© Meenu
Write a story based on this famous excerpt from Revival by Stephen King:
He unlocked a door and led me through an office that was empty of furniture, although I could still see square clean patches on the grimy linoleum, where the legs of a desk had once stood. On the wall was a curling calendar with April 1989 showing. This was bloody 2021!! I thought to myself and thanked my luck for having a dingy office as my own with my little savings.
The property guy handed me the keys with a crooked smile and left the so called office with a dusty cloud. I could see the dust mites everywhere with my microscopic eyes and made an agenda of its cleanliness. I had nowhere to sit, thank God the network was working fine in there.
I called local cleaning service and got the office cleared up of everything, the old wallpaper, the smelly rugs, the broken window panes, creaky fan and the wobbly chair. While taking off the wall paper, the cleaning guy showed me a secret cabin, which was locked. In that clutter, I just acknowledged his find and got busy in calling the carpenter and the repair guy.
Finally, I was breathing in the clean air, with the office and it's walls and the floor. The washroom was common one in the building, so it wasn't my headache to improve it. I straightened my legs on the new settled couch. Closed my eyes for a while, let the to do list get struck off in my mind. It was mine, my office, my money making stall, my dream factory. A smile swept on my face and I got up. Everything was perfect!! I couldn't feel more proud of myself.
It was time to decorate, phone set was put on the table, with my laptop, printer and scanner. The windows were shiny and letting in all the light as I loved it. AC was working fine, the room smelled of fresh carpet, drapes, foot mat and my favourite room freshner. I needed a secretary now, called the ad agency to frame a job profile and send it to me for approval.
I left the office for a stroll, picked coffee from the cosy coffee shop, introduced myself to the cafe owner, showed him my new office from his window. The smile left his face and an incomprehensible expression came up. I looked at him with questions on my face, which he just shook off with his pleasant smile.
I remembered my father's words ," You are a little impatient when it comes to make big decisions. Always do a thorough study, before you put your money anywhere." Did I do something wrong? I didn't do any research on this property. What if its jinxed or has a dark history. What is Mr Joshi (Coffee guy) hiding from me? I reached my office back with all these questions running in my mind. The office stood still with everything at place. "It's all fine Meenu, don't worry!", I told myself and dug my head in the files.
It was 7 pm soon, dark outside, time to go home. I switched off the lights, locked the new lock of the door, checked it twice, threw the keys in my bag, called my mom and left the office. That night I slept with a wide grin on my face. I finally had something of my own, that too with my own money. What an achievement and that too at such a young age. With so many dreams in my eyes, I dozed off. The morning was beautiful and so was my state of mind. I got up and got ready humming my favourite songs. The ad agency had printed my job requirement and people were gonna show up for interview soon. I parked my car, headed to Mr. Joshi's cafe and ordered my regular coffee with muffin. The smell of fresh coffee invigorated me, I was all pepped up, when I suddenly looked at my office window, the table lamp was on and a white haired man was leaning on my table, sitting on my chair.
My heart stopped for few seconds, I rushed towards my office while calling 911. The police reached with me to the spot, asked for the door keys, which I took out with fumbling hands. The policeman opened the door, nobody was inside, it was as peaceful as it was when I left. I told the police to check under the table, behind the drapes. Nothing was to be found. I stood dumb headed , thinking what had happened, when Mr Joshi came upstairs with steaming donuts. "Here officers! Treat for you guys. I will take over now. He he!"
The policemen left with a sheepish smile. I looked at Mr. Joshi, he held my hand and made me sit on the couch, handing me my coffee which I left at his cafe. He drew a chair and sat next to me. For a while, we didn't talk, then he looked at me and opened up ," Listen Meenu, this office belonged to my best friend, Rastogi, who was a profound lawyer. This office was always full of his clients who were also a good business to my cafe. Rastogi was a workaholic, he had no family, he always stayed in this office till I closed my cafe and then we used to leave for our homes together. Rastogi had not many friends except one mysterious woman named Laila, who used to visit his office at odd hours. I have no idea what kind of relationship they had, as Rastogi never talked about her."
Mr. Joshi got up and took a walk around the office. "See Meenu, this is the first time I have come here, as Rastogi never invited me in. He alsways visited my cafe though. One day, when I locked my cafe and looked up at his office window, I saw that he was leaning on his table. I went to check and saw him dead. I got scared, called the police and got the formalities done. Since then, nobody had taken up his office as the......"
"What Mr. Joshi?" I asked impatiently.
He looked at me with a perplexed face and continued, " Stories are that Rastogi still works in this office. People have seen him moving up and down in this building. I have seen the light on too. That day when you met me, I wanted to tell you but I didn't wish to scare you as you were so happy. I am sorry."
" It's okay Mr. Joshi, do you have anything of Mr. Rastogi with you that can help? He looked in his wallet and gave me a thin golden key. "Laila gave it to me one day. She just handed it over to me and said I couldn't find out what it's meant for."
I took the key from him as I knew what was it for. Mr. Joshi left patting my back. I went near the secret cabin, unlocked it and opened with trembling hands. It was a locker, it had nothing but just a picture of Mr. Rastogi with a child holding his hand. Behind the picture, it was written "Laila, my daughter"
My eyes welled up and I felt a cold presence near me. Then it left, closing the door behind me. I knew deep inside that Mr. Rastogi won't be a trouble. He had shared his secret.
© Meenu
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