Blissful Sin

Last end of summer, I was on my first business trip to Boston. I had mixed experience from the visit and I also happen to learn things that I will never forget for the rest of my life. Porters, baggers, cabbies, television advertisements and so on, were subjects (or rather unusual sources) of my observation, all the inferences concluded as learning’s.
If I bring out a compilation, a couple of pages are bound to be dedicated for Lisa. I used to come across her very often, most of the days it was a chance meeting, albeit on different days but the time was precise, synonymous to “daily soaps”. She was little above 5’, bright complexion, thin, and green eyes, fairly attractive. A heartwarming greet from her in the morning was always a pleasant way to start the day.
She was one of those who can speak non-stop for eras, in a way it was good for me because I never got bored of the silence but of her blabber. One of the things that a person will like on first visit to US is the silence all around, but the same stillness, after sometime drive’s crazy, thanks to the noise that I am so accustomed to in my country. The clatter always gives me a feeling that I am alive and there are so many people around me.
Lisa is no different than any other lady nothing unique but still she was interesting, I remember, that day she seemed disturbed. To my “how are you?” she responded, “not so good, in fact the night too”. Apparently, she lost one of her classmates during the late night party. The initial investigation confirmed, cause of death as, fall from the terrace, she was over drunk. I could feel Lisa was unable to control her emotions while narrating the sequence of the tragedy, she was disturbed of the untimely death and also upset because of the growing menace of addiction, alcohol, drugs, in society. Her own sister was addicted and had to be admitted to rehab, Lisa alone took the initiative to place her in de-addiction center and she was finally cured. I was so absorbed in the conversation that I did not realize when the cab stopped near my office. Lisa pulled out an invoice, scribbled the amount with an unsteady hand and passed it to me.
In 36 days of stay and probably 8 meetings, I observed extreme emotions of Lisa. Believe me, everyday she had something to share. If anybody asks me, what was one of the things I enjoyed, meeting Lisa will be in the list. The other day, I asked about one of her colleague, Carlos. Audibly, he sounded sober, gentle, probably had a great attitude and was also blessed with energetic, animated voice. Audibly because I never met him, since he worked in the front office and used to double as call receiver. I can bet no one can forget his impressive voice, as if confidence and warmth oozes through the vocal chords. Lisa entirely agreed and also added that he was a caring and very helping boss, in the office. The conscious comment, “in the office”, sounded out of place, nevertheless I didn’t ask for any explanation. After few minutes I was made aware of the reason, she did not consider him as boss, and the reason she cited, “he went out with me number of times”. I thought, what a poor soul, he has committed a sin by going out, thus losing all the respect that he obtained from others in office except her, by virtue of his position. As usual I reached where I had to, the window to the wonderful and interesting world of Lisa closed for the day. Again, I noticed her unstable hand when she wrote the invoice. Last time it was probably because of tragedy but why again? Is it due to weakness or something else? Anyway, I picked the invoice and without caring much, bounced out of the cab.
In the middle of my stay, one day while commuting to office, from the rear seat I saw a queue of halted cars on the break down lane of the interstate highway and in the front, a police officer was talking to someone. I asked Lisa “what is going on?” she said, “it is an accident but wait…” we passed through the middle lane, “uh ah! The cars are not supposed to be driven on breakdown lane during this hour, so they will be penalized and will have to pay close to $100”. I said, “thank god, it is not an accident, and they are not penalized by paying their lives”. I am amazed Lisa did not miss the opportunity to find and share two more stories on the basis of this incidence. First was not so astonishing because it is common in western world and second was not of importance, when she was booked because of somebody else’s rash driving. She used to take pride whenever she saw officer’s on the road, no she was not an ex officer, but yes, her ex hubby was one in a good post. And I am sure she must have used the name whenever she faced any trouble. Tell me, how much does it matter even if she is no more with him, as long as purpose is solved and she has bailed out of the situation?
Separation did not mean she was alone, in the past another guy not only came into her life but also moved into her house and in her words, “he was very handsome, gentle, kind hearted and understanding”. But they could not stay together for long. Apparently, they also planned for a baby, but fate had something else in store, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. One day, he just left the house because he did not want her to suffer. Indeed, I too feel he is very understanding and courageous. When I get sick, I look for close ones and this person on the contrary, went away from those whom he considered to be close with. But the question is why on earth she allowed him to leave and where was he now? I decided not to ask the question, since it was very personal. The question haunted me till my last day in Boston.
The days passed by, then came 14th day of October and was time for me to fly back. I was all set for the return journey and was also very happy. I called the cab company to get me drop to Logan airport. En-route to airport I started a conversation with the cabbie whom I had never seen before. Mike only used to work on weekend for the company that was the reason I had never met him before. Keeping a sharp eye on the road, every few minutes Mike uttered, “See on your left” or “see on your right”, a self proclaimed guide was kind enough to show me places that were falling beside the road. I was not keen much on any earthly object at that point in time, still I kept responding casually with disinterest. A little while after, interrupting him I enquired, “Isn’t Carlos in office today?” He replied, “Do you know Carlos? No, he is on day off today.” Without a pause, he continued, “Carlos is a very good guy and helping too, while it is really great to know such a person, it is also very unfortunate that he is suffering from prostate cancer. You know good guys do not live longer.” I could not believe what I was hearing, I was at loss of words, it was awfully painful, I could not say anything except, “it is shocking. God, show your mercy.” The shock added to the prevailing silence. Neither of us spoke there after, till I reached airport. Mike wished me a safe return journey. I thanked him and with a heavy heart, quietly followed the path to the entrance.