105 Pub

"Boss, England has scored 350 runs, it will be hard for India to chase this score, looks like the first ODI match is lost," a bespectacled Abhiram said as he shouted at the huge screen excitedly along with other cricket fans in the pub. He turned to find that his boss who had closed his eyes as a beautiful, tall woman with divine curves was massaging his temples as he leaned on the couch. Abhiram couldn't help but envy his boss. His boss was cool in all aspects, be it face value, godly physique, luck with women and it was better if Abhiram did not think about his boss's professional skills. All these things made a person like Abhiram to give up any thoughts of being like his boss as he felt that his boss was an illegal child of the heavens.

If his boss was not abnormal, how could he write the 'sixteen point algorithm' for Web 3.0 project? How could he write the 'Camou 1.0' program for supplementing Malware security application which had got him 2 million USD in the first instalment only for which they were currently celebrating in a pub? If he was not looked after by the 'Fortune goddess', how could he win the favour of the two most beautiful flowers of this company. One of them was currently massaging him with a smile on her face while other was drinking wine like a fish as if there was no tomorrow. Abhiram had heard rumours that his boss had rejected Charita's love proposal on grounds that he was already committed.

Aditya opened his eyes lazily as he looked at Abhiram and said, "What is there to see, India is bound to win anyway."

"No way, why are you so sure?" Abhiram looked at his boss with a shock when he saw his confidence. Chasing the score of 350 was not something seen every day.

'Because I know,' Aditya thought as he rolled his eyes, leaned further into the couch and ignored Abhiram. Though Aditya liked to play basketball, like any other Indian he had inherited the fervour of watching and playing cricket. So, Aditya of the 'dream world' would always follow matches of the Indian cricket team. When combined with his abnormal memory skills, Aditya could clearly remember each and every aspect of every match like every player scores, every bowler's wickets, who gets bowled in which over. Actually, cricket matches were the most authentic way for Aditya to know that he was truly seeing the future though he knew that the timeline becomes messed up whenever 'that' organization comes into the scene.

But the disadvantage was that Aditya could not enjoy watching cricket anymore as he knew what was gonna happen anyway which frustrated him quite a bit. Aditya was very tired from writing programs continuously for two days taking a break only for sleep. Today, using the pretence of the huge paycheck he got, Aditya came out to relax as he felt that even with his body, he felt his fingertips become numb with all the high-speed typing. He had asked Tya to figure out a way to skip this typing part but no solution was in sight. The only good news was that Aditya did not need to go through a painful transformation of muscle growth to become Ishaan anymore.

Tya had found a new oil-like substance which can change the size of his body. It was similar to the 'muscle enhancement oil' that bodybuilders inject into their muscles to make them look bigger than their actual size. Aditya had to drink 1000ml of coconut oil along with some supplements and he could become Ishaan in a matter of five minutes without any pain. It was quite a breakthrough for him as this kind of easy transformation allowed him to be 'Ishaan' for more time without affecting his routine instead of just appearing for three days in a week.

Though drinking a litre of oil was quite hard on his tongue, he could still bear it. Aditya had the mind of training Ishaan's & Rudra's subordinates for specific tasks in the future. By disappearing for four days in a week, he delayed this process as well as his plans. Now that he could turn into Ishaan or Rudra easily, he could at least take two hours in a day to interact with these people throughout the week.

It was Fenny's last day today as her pregnancy entered the eighth month and Aditya insisted that she did not come to the office. Fenny agreed and so this party served as a small farewell also. She sat beside Gagan and Kapil sir. These people did not drink and were eating some snacks as they watched the match.

Aditya's thoughts drifted into the dream world as he remembered about his last meeting with Anupama. Aditya had actually accompanied Anupama for a whole year to aid in her recovery and rehabilitation. The feelings he felt for her couldn't be erased completely in the end and so he couldn't just treat her like a nobody. Anupama recovered well under the treatment and her mental strength increased due to a combination of factors like Aditya's moral support, meditation techniques and a healthy lifestyle.

Even Aditya started accompanying her in meditation and both of them practised 'mindfulness' for at least an hour a day which also helped Aditya deal with the stress from his racing. Anupama began to smile more often as she recovered. Aditya observed that she had become truly strong from this recovery.

After a year when Anupama was about to leave, she smiled and said, "I know that you are having thoughts of asking me to stay with you forever but I see more sympathy, care and concern in you rather than that spark you used to have when you looked at me when we were in school. It was my immaturity and taking your care for granted that led me to miss a golden opportunity. But I know that those feelings of the past can't be replicated, they can only remain in our hearts and cherished, which I will."

Aditya smiled when he saw the calmness in Anupama's eyes, he hugged her tightly for one last time and bid her farewell. Deep within his heart, he knew that Anupama had spoken the truth. He had moved on long ago except for some residual feelings he treasured because she was, after all, his first love.

He had also decided to get back to his elder Maahi as he thought it was high time that they got together and figured out. He had thought of going to India after the British Grand Prix which was in a month from now. He felt a little guilty for dragging this matter for so long. Though Aditya and Maahi did not contact each other, both of them kept in touch indirectly through his parents. But he received no news about Maahi from the past month which made him realize how much unnecessary pain he and Maahi was subjecting themselves to. he was confident that if he and Maahi had an open conversation, many things could be figured out easily.

"Boss, if you are so sure that India will win, why don't we bet?" Abhiram broke Aditya's train of thoughts which irked him. Aditya looked at the excited face of Abhiram as his thoughts rotated and a small evil smile surfaced on his face, "What's the bet?"