Through Devonian Eyes

Episode 3:


(Continued from Episode 2)

Her owner opened the door. But Angel couldn’t see the visitor. Her owner was blocking the view. Then he moved.

It was a tall, young gentleman probably in his late twenties or early thirties in an elegant black suit. Angel was amazed. They generally had older visitors. Fat, paunchy ones. The kinds who had a lot of money but not much of anything else. So this came as a surprise to Angel.

Teetotaler that he was, her owner didn’t offer the gentleman any drinks. Angel was sure that the visitor wasn’t a teetotaler though. So, they talked over a few mocktails. Then sat down for dinner at the table. The dinner table was closer to the shelf where Angel’s bottle was placed. So she could hear them. The maid started serving…..and over dinner, the conversation continued.

From what Angel gathered, the gentleman ran a business. His father was a known industrial magnate and he had joined his father’s business some 5 years back. Apparently, he was an engineer who later went to a B-school somewhere in the US of A and was now back in India. He had come to meet Angel’s owner to discuss a business proposal on behalf of his father. Something about a huge contract. She tried to overhear more but that was all she could get.

Post dinner, when the maid was serving them coffee, the visitor’s eyes fell on the bottle of Vodka on the kitchen shelf.

“Is that a …….fish…..in your bottle?” he asked as he strained hard to see.

“Uh….yes.” replied her owner.

The visitor got up. He started walking towards the bottle.

“Is it real?” he asked with a trace of bewilderment on his face now.

Angel was beginning to enjoy this now.

“Of course it’s real.” her owner said.

“Uhh….then I need to ask you….is that really Vodka inside the bottle or have you filled it with water?” The bewilderment was now apparent. He was standing right in front of the bottle now.

“Its Vodka.”

He picked up the bottle and stared at Angel. “You keep a fish in a bottle of Vodka?!” he almost sounded angry now.

“Uh….I don’t have an aquarium….” Her owner stuttered.

The visitor looked at her owner in disbelief.

“How long has she been here?” he asked.

“Few weeks,” her owner replied.

He turned to look at Angel again. Angel was captivated. He had stunning green eyes which were now frozen in an expression which could best be described as a combination of disbelief and pity. He was fair, had a gentle yet self-assured face and light brown hair.

Angel realized she had been staring. The next moment she realized that she was a fish. Even if she stared, he would never make out that she was ‘staring’. Anyway, fish have the privilege of looking at people blankly without it being classified at staring. For once, she was glad she was a fish. She batted her eyelids but it didn’t have any impact on him. Because she was a fish. She didn’t even have mascara.

“Do you drink?” the visitor asked making an effort to sound polite now.

“I don’t,” her owner said.

Angel looked at the stranger hoping hugely that he would take the bottle with him. He suddenly looked at her again. His expression was readable now – pain. He felt sorry for her.

“You poor thing….” he said under his breath.

Suddenly he turned back to her owner with the bottle in his hand and announced loudly, “I think this is ….exquisite. Would I be asking for too much if I requested you to gift this bottle to me? If you don’t mind that is…..”

“Sure….” said her owner. Angel was sure that he was giving up the bottle because he did not want to disappoint the visitor. After all, a major contract was at stake.

The visitor thanked him. After a little more conversation, he stood up to leave. After the usual exchange of pleasantries, she heard him thanking her owner for the ‘exquisite gift’. As soon as the door closed behind them, she felt the visitor look at her again.

“Oh my God….” He said. She realized he had started running. The Vodka in the bottle shook violently. So did Angel. She wanted to tell him to go slower. But she couldn’t talk. She was a fish.

Once in the parking lot, he opened the door of his car. A black Audi A8. He placed the bottle gently in the adjacent seat. Pulled a cushion from the back seat and placed it in front of the bottle to prevent it from rolling down. 5 minutes later, he stopped in front of a provision store. Leaving Angel and the bottle in the car, he rushed outside…..and came back in less than a minute.

Angel wondered what he was doing. Was he a savior or was he evil? Would he save her or would he eat her? She hoped he hadn’t bought rice from the provision store. Fish and rice made for a good meal. She was sweating – though she was soaked in alcohol.

Then she saw what the stranger had bought from the shop……

(to be continued……)