Sunday Story - Distraught

Shambhavi had been awake for more than an hour but was still in her bed; Earth’s gravity acting around her bed seemed to have intensified for some reason today, rendering her unable to get out. After about 15–20 minutes of trying to defy it, she finally managed to sit upright. It took her another 20 minutes to leave her bed, get on her feet, and make her way to the bathroom in order to get ready for the job interview she had at 12 in the afternoon. The reason for her state of dejection was not that she had to travel 35 km for this job interview—it was the fact that it was her 30th job interview.

Shambhavi had been on the lookout for a job for the last six months or so, but she had not been able to land one as of yet. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months—every door she knocked eventually closed on her face. Why? Because she was an unmarried woman, but of marriageable age. Despite being one of the most promising candidates, some other candidate, almost every time a male one, was selected over her the company was looking for someone for a “long-term” association. As time passed, her frustration increased, her hope decreased, and she regretted her decision of leaving her previous job in the first place.

It was quarter to 12 when Shambhavi reached her destination. The area was quite secluded and the office too seemed quite dull. Shambhavi considered leaving without appearing for the interview for some time but in the end, decided to go anyway because A) she had travelled a long distance for it and B) there was no means of transport as far as the eye could see at that time.

The ambience seemed unsettling from the moment Shambhavi stepped inside the premises. The reception was the gloomiest reception she had ever seen at any office. After waiting for about 20 minutes, she was called to the manager’s cabin. The cabin was as gloomy as the reception, if not more, and seemed like anything but the cabin of an employer. The manager was a stout, balding man in his mid-40s, who was uninterested in his work and life until the moment Shambhavi entered the room. He suddenly sat up straight in his chair and jovially asked Shambhavi to take the seat before him—too jovial for her liking. Once she settled into the seat, the manager launched into a series of the usual, boring interview questions. As the interview progressed, the questions started becoming personal—probing, one could say—with every passing one. This unsettled Shambhavi further, but she did her best to dodge past them.

After what seemed to be the longest half an hour of Shambhavi’s life, the interview seemed to come to an end. Despite Shambhavi’s top-notch answers to every question, the manager didn’t seem quite impressed with her resume. The gap year stood out like a red flashing sign whose light overshadowed every skill, every qualification. However, the manager told her that he was willing to give her a chance. Hearing this kindled a ray of hope inside Shambhavi. But what came next, extinguished it as quickly as it had lit up. 

The manager asked Shambhavi to return “some favours” to him in exchange for recommending her name. Shambhavi was shell-shocked. Her mind went numb. She couldn’t think of how to react. All this while, she could feel the manager’s eyes boring into her body, making her all the more uncomfortable. Suddenly, she heard his chair creak, and that was the cue she needed. She immediately got up from her seat and rushed out of the cabin straight toward the exit, not daring to look back. She did not stop till she exited the building. 

Once out of the hell, Shambhavi heaved a sigh of relief. However, once she got back to her senses, she felt disgusted—disgusted at the manager for his unpardonable behaviour, disgusted with her luck for having lost another opportunity, but the most with herself for being an unmarried 28-year-old woman with no job in her hand.

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