A date with astrology (II)

(In continuation..)

After a series of unfortunate events, when I boarded the train for back home, I had made up my mind. Since I had gone through a short period of atheism, I thought I might as well visit Mister D. The man had carved out a name for himself and, after all, what harm could a simple meeting possibly do? If it can help me relax a bit, then why should I deprive myself of such minute a luxury?

It was pretty strange asking mum to fix a date for me. She was thrilled to know I was the eager one this time and not her for a change. I was hoping to ask dad for the car, but mum advised me against it saying he was bound to ask where we were headed and she would not be able to lie. I even suggested taking a reserved cab but this was one of those days when mum wanted to practice her saving skills so I waited for her at the local jeep stand. Fifteen minutes later, there she was walking towards me, with aunty in tow.

That moment is one of the funniest I will remember in a long time. My mum doesn’t dress up to work. She is plain Jane in contrast to my aunt who is decked in gold from finger to finger, ear to ear and neck of course. She was wearing a fancy kho that day with an even fancier shirt and matching heels. After much haggling, we got inside the jeep. While there was a seat available in the second row, two people had to sit behind and before mother and daughter knew it, aunty was already seated and ordering us to get in the back seats, lest someone else takes over. While we jumped every time the car drove through uneven roads, aunty was already asleep and leaning on a fellow passenger’s shoulder. Meanwhile, on her far left was a female I like to refer to as a 'BC' (a modernized village belle). With her fancy shades and mouth mask, she attracted total attention of her co-passengers once broken English poured out of her reddened lips. Mum kept pinching me every once in a while BC did something funny. To her, I represented years of fine raising, and the feeling of proudness reflected through and through.

One of the longest forty-five minute rides of my life, we reached our destination and went straight to Mister D’s place. His house was situated in a nice location which had a lovely breeze keeping the temperature down. Aunty knew the shortest route to his place, so amidst naked children and open drains, we glided to a modest structure. It wasn’t a temple we entered; rather it was very simple- a mix of the traditional and modern architecture. Mister D wasn’t a quintessential holy man himself. He was dressed in a simple shirt and pant and his office had a table, a bed (that served as a guest room I suppose) and a couple of chairs for the clients.

He had a good look at my birth chart (I was surprised I even had one but again who can beat the futuristic insight of mothers?!) Apparently I have a one of a kind chart which shows that I have leadership abilities, so much so that I might as well rule the country one day. I know it is a bit too much to believe but he did mention a lot of other things. Take, for instance, my good times shall come after I have crossed a certain age and East is where I should be headed. Studying in the capital was a wrong move, he said, since it was in the North-West direction. To ensure no further complications would arise, he asked me to perform a certain ritual, which I later did. After the meeting, the three of us made our way to the market area. We were extremely hungry and thirsty so we ate like wild hogs. While a plate of rice did the trick for me, my two partners-in-crime found it difficult to resist a second helping. The total bill rounded up to a little more than a reserved taxi and I wondered where was this budgeting headed now?

Mum then had a minor argument with the jeep drivers because she felt they were cheating her by charging ten rupees more than the normal rate. She threatened to take this to the traffic cop at the top of the road and when it did happen, turns out the driver had been an honest man after all. Too late though for us to go back. A proud woman doesn't accept defeat easily. The three of us then stood next to the upper end of the road hoping to catch an empty jeep. To our surprise, aunty recognized an old colleague from her stint at the Forest Department years ago. We were then squashed inside the second seat of the green Bolero for what seemed like a second longest forty-five minute ride of my life.

I came back to the capital a week later after performing the said ritual. To my surprise all pending work was completed in a single day. Could it be that he is indeed “the man” to refer to for issues pertaining to life? Mister D has managed to raise my eye brows yet again and if what he said is anything to go by, there is a whole lot to look forward to in the near future.