Destiny
written by: Alin Nagraj
@alin_nagraj
Karan was walking down the street. It was a little late at night and the street was almost deserted. After finishing his long and thankless shift at the call center, he decided to walk home. He was reliving the conversation he had with his boss that morning. The boss had wanted to promote Karan but he had sneakily found a way out of it. He didn’t want the promotion. Karan knew that he was making more in incentives now than he would make if he became a manager. That was the whole reason he had rigged the software to send more calls to him. He had also ensured that the type of calls were such that would result in happy customers. But he might have to rig it again, or deliberately fumble some calls to stay just under the radar. Nobody could know how much he was truly making. If he could manage to stay out of the spotlight, he could continue to make and save more. He was brought out of his thoughts when he saw a girl stumble into the street at some distance. She looked about to be in her early twenties and was clearly drunk.
It is going to work this time! God thought to himself. Come on Karan, I have set the situation for you, it’s time you let destiny take charge!
Karan continued to go his own way, ignoring the girl. Since she had come from one of the side lanes, she was actually walking in front of him. In her short skirt and expensive-looking heels, her drunken stupor was only highlighting her vulnerability. Alone, at night, in a dark and deserted lane. She was a cautionary tale waiting to happen.
God watched with bated breath, metaphorically, since God is far removed from the concept of breathing and drinking and eating like the mortals he was watching right now. “I know you need the money, Karan, I understand just how desperate you are.” God was muttering to himself. “Just do the right thing, Karan. I know you have it in you.”
Karan was torn. This girl was presenting to be a problem. He hadn’t reached her yet and she hadn’t noticed him, so there was still time to decide. He could just walk away, pretending like she wasn’t there. On the other hand, she had the stink of money, and in her current state it wouldn’t be so difficult either, he could…
It was late, nobody was around, and the girl wasn’t in her senses either. He couldn’t possibly ignore her. She could be a great opportunity.
He was still mulling over his options when the girl stumbled and fell on her knees, the contents of her purse spilling out. Karan saw a large amount of cash fall out onto the road. That decided for him.
Quickly covering the distance between him and the girl, he asked her, “Madam, are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?”
The girl trying to pick up her things instinctively moved back at his voice and stumbled again. Karan immediately grabbed her arm to steady her. She flinched and stepped back, this time able to maintain her balance. Sensing her hesitation, Karan withdrew his arm and raised it in surrender, giving her a big smile.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” he said and moved to gather the rest of her belongings from the street. She had already gathered the money, what remained was some now broken makeup, keys, and a few other trinkets he couldn’t recognize. He handed her things back but lingered, eyeing her as she rearranged her things in the purse. He was right, she was an easy opportunity.
“Uh,” she looked up at him confused, possibly wondering why he was still there. “Thank you,” she said, her speech was slightly slurring at the end. He could tell that she was trying not to show just how drunk she was.
He could also sense she wanted him to leave. But he didn’t want to, he knew what he had to do.
God looked on, hopeful. He knew what he wanted to do. Fight against the instinct Karan, he thought, it was high time Karan fulfilled his destiny. You are destined to be different, my boy. Break the mold.
“Is there something I can help you with?” the girl when she saw that Karan wasn’t leaving.
“Umm, you know. You shouldn’t be wandering around here alone. This isn’t the best neighborhood.” he replied, staring at her.
A flicker of fear passed through the girl’s eyes. This is how most horror stories started. She didn’t say anything but started looking around surreptitiously. Does he have accomplices? How many escape routes? Can she hit him with something? Her head started buzzing with questions, but she couldn’t think of a solution.
“Hey! Can you hear me?” Karan asked again, a little louder.
“Uh yes. I am just heading home. Thank you for your help.” she replied and started walking away.
“Wait!” Karan called out to her. “You shouldn’t walk alone.”
“Good pretext! Try to walk her home! Gain her trust,” God exclaimed.
“Uh, thank you I will manage,” the girl replied hurriedly.
“No!” Karan almost yelled, agitated. She looked at him, in full panic now. She was about to run and that’s when Karan understood what she was thinking! Fool! It never even occurred to him!
“I mean, call a cab at least!” he added, pushing back his instinct to run after her and explain the situation. That made her stop short. This time when she looked at him, her face was etched with surprise and confusion.
“You can’t walk all the way home,” he continued when he saw she was listening. “Can someone pick you up? If not you should call a cab.”
Her face seemed to relax at that. “Okay, yes that makes sense,” she said. “I think my boyfriend should be able to pick me up.”
Karan nodded. “I can wait with you here until he comes… if you like,” he said, eager but hesitant to offer help. She smiled at him as she put her phone to her ear.
They chatted a little as they waited for her boyfriend. She had been out for a girls’ night and started feeling ill, which is why she decided to leave on her own. He told her how he was trying to care for his family back home and always running short of money. Soon after, her boyfriend came and they both headed their separate ways. But just before leaving, she gave him her business card and asked him to come and meet her. She wanted to offer him a job. He thanked her and left smiling. It worked! He could easily manage whatever low-level job she was going to offer him, hopefully, it was also incentive-based so he could maximize his profits.
God sighed in frustration as he went about his tasks. One of his angels asked, “Why are you grumpy today God?”
“You would think….” God started, getting angry. “You would think that if you set things up for someone, give them everything on a platter, they might take one step and unlock their destiny.” “But Nooooooo” he continued dramatically. “If he just took that step, he could be a robber for the history books. White-collar crime is his destiny! But all he does is tweak things to his favor. He has all the skills needed to be cunning, ruthless, calculating, and very successful! Moreover, he would never even get caught he is that shrewd. But this brat! He is using all the cunning only to work smarter! Take the conventional path, do the right thing!”
The angel smiled at that. “Supervillains are overrated God. Let him be.”
God sighed, “I guess so. I have tried so many times that he steps into his potential. But he always comes out with a great conventional life opportunity. He has always outsmarted me into choosing his own destiny.”
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