9:30 am, 24th July 2018, Tuesday, Chennai.
It's been five days since his encounter with the god, though Hari regards it as a hallucination somewhere deep inside he knew it was real.
His life has returned to his boring routine except for a couple of hours he spent with the dog.
The last couple of days, Hari has been taking half-an-hour permission in the morning with different excuses to spend some time wounded dog.
Fortunately for him, Lila went abroad for some projects, so he has been having a peaceful week without having to put up with her annoying High Princess attitude.
As usual, Hari drove his trusty motorbike to a restaurant and then went to the covert shed, the little dog makeshift home.
"Hi Fella, Shall we checkup your wound?"
Hari gently picked up the dog and did a thorough examination.
"Not bad, it seems you were a good boy. The cuts are closing up, Quite a progress."
Then he removed the old gauze and cleansed the wound with fresh water before giving a new dressing for the injury.
"Okay here's your reward for being an obedient boy. Delicious and highly nutritious chicken fries."
And Hari placed few chicken fries on the plate; he waited till the dog finished his food. Then he cleaned up the mess and started for his office after a small goodbye.
But what he didn't notice was a beautiful woman taking pics from a White BMW X5 few meters away from the shed.
Hari one hour later for the office and the rest was as dull as any other day. He just worked like a robot and finished all the work assigned to him without any sense of satisfaction.
The sun slowly set while there was a mild drizzle, rapidly bringing down the temperature. Hari was eagerly staring at the clocks as it sluggishly moved; each second seemed more extended than the previous one.
At the exact second the Hour hand struck 5:00 pm his mobile rung, Lila was calling him to her cabin.
The moment he entered Lila's cabin, he found her huffing and snorting with endless anger like a mad bear.
"Hari does your uncle reside in this shed or did you take in a dog as uncle?"
Earlier this morning on her way home she caught Hari in a covert corner of the street, playing with the dog.
Later that day, she received words that he has been taking half-an-hour permission for taking care of his seriously ill uncle.
Hari's blank, expressionless stare further infuriated her.
"Bastard you dared to cheat me, you're Boss. Shithead, I'll make this day your last and most regretful day in the company. It's that Naive fool's fault, he should have put you, low-level scams in their place."
Hari still didn't react; he just stood there like a wooden block without taking anything to his heart. But Hari deadpan face was a lot similar to a cunning poker face for Lila.
The rebukes were like punches on cotton; it didn't damage anything but her throat, so she decided to take some real serious action and took her mobile.
"Hello Dad, it's me; a guy here gets on my nerve. Just do whatever it takes to remove this guy. oh yeh! he's called Hari, an employee in the Finance department."
Lila looked over Hari with an arrogant smirk and crossed hands like an evil villain.
Deep down, she knew it was a bit too overboard, but Hari's poker-faced clouded her brains and anger could make you do the stupidest of behaviour.
Still, Hari didn't do anything radical, he just mildly sighed. He didn't care about the job, so he wasn't worried about losing the job.
Hari's unfazed eyes and inaudible sigh somehow pierced Lila's ego; she was too infuriated to notice something amiss about an employee's uncaring attitude towards his job.
After ending the call, she took her plight on revenge a bit too far just to provoke Hari.
"Dad, he seems to have a witty little brother who has made he was to IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) just make up some excuse to dismiss him. Also, investigate his parents and see what you get."
Lila finally achieved her goal the deadpan zombie faced employee lost his cool, and the level-headed
guy hung his low; at least that's what she perceived.
Her last threat sparked the long-extinguished flames, after falling to the lowest point of his life Hari realized how precious and selfless familial love was; so he swore to cherish every bit of it from here onwards. Thus, his family became a reverse scale he gladly accepted.
Hari lowered his head while his eyes flickered a bit and room temperature plummeted by a few degrees. The moment Hari heard his family being targeted, his brain fused and the bloodlust oozed out like an untamed beast.
A spike of chill stuck Lila's spine, and she started quivering like a little prey before a bloody terrifying beast and subconsciously took a few steps back.
The lifeless eyes suddenly became the scariest thing ever existed, and her deadpan employee was much more terrifying than any of the frightening horror films she has watched.
"It was just a pra…."
Lila tried to tell the truth, but she couldn't voice out anything under Hari's killer stare. Then she retreated a few more steps before tumbling down, and tears started to pour from those arrogant eyes. Now the flower of the company, the apple in everyone's eyes didn't look that beautiful.
Hari didn't do anything, he just slightly released a small portion of his killing intent to scare her. Neither her pleading eyes nor her pathetic earned any pity; instead, a glint of disdain flashed past in Hari's eyes.
Lila knew that the guy before her might kill her for real, so she picked her Mobile with trembling hands and showed the caller log to prove her innocence.
"It was just a prank I didn't mean to harm your family."
Hari just shook the head before slowly walking over to her; his slow yet firm footsteps akin to the Chimes of Death further traumatizing the poor soul.
"If it were a real one, you would already be on your way to hell."
Hari's usual indifferent plain voice suddenly became a bit spooky while his words were laden with an aura of death.
Then he went to the computer and quickly typed something. A few minutes later, the printer ejected a printed copy of the letter he typed which Hari swiftly grabbed and threw it at Lila.
*shhh shiiii*
The paper sliced through the air and directly piercing the wooden flooring like a knife. It's a pity that no one was around to see this jaw-dropping stunt.
"I resign, that's my resignation letter. If you dare touch my family, that thing will go right through your head the moment such a thought ever arises in that stupid brain of yours."
Hari didn't wait for an apology or reply, he just picked his bag and left the scene.
Moments later, Anil dashed through the office corridor, pushing some of his employees.
"Ah... Sorry! Make way, please make way. Emergency!"
Anil just got the instructions from his dad to dismiss Hari, and instantly he knew something went wrong between Lila and Hari.
In Lila's cabin, a gobsmacking scene was waiting; the predator and prey reversed their roles. Anil anxiously opened the door, but he was rendered speechless.
Lila was sitting on the floor in a very inelegant posture; the usual arrogance or haughtiness was nowhere to be seen. She was like a frightened lamb quivering from time to time.
Just next to Lila, a paper was standing upright, though it was only a plain sheet it stood there like a majestic tall mountain. He pulled the sheet, it was Hari's resignation.
Edited on 18-11-2019