Dear Readers, I would request you to please read the initial chapter of this series Boss's Daughter first, to properly comprehend the continuity of the story...
I am Sumit, 27 plus; bachelor; working as a Manager of a new marketing company of Institutional products. This location is not my hometown and so I'm living alone in a small but decent flat provided by the company. The owner is a benign old gentleman whose actual business is in garments. He has diversified into this new category and have appointed me to manage his business because of my knowledge and experience in this product line in a major organization.
During a recent joint official trip to Mumbai, my boss, the owner, in an emotional moment had shared his personal sorrow with me. His only daughter, Amrita, now 23 years of age, was an adopted child. She grew up to be extraordinarily tall and big for her age. Because of this her school fellows used to tease her, so much so that she had suffered depression and had to drop out of school after her sixth standard. On top of that two years back, one of her relatives had revealed to her the carefully guarded secret, that she was an adopted child. This led to the girl distancing herself from her parents and went into seclusion of her room in a severe state of depression and melancholy.
I thought of helping out my boss and decided to counsel her as a friend and bring her back to normalcy. So I planned it with my boss in such a way that I visited his house on Sunday when my boss and his wife would purposely be away and his daughter would have to open the door.
( I am repeating below some extracts from the last episode for easier comprehension for the first-time readers. For the readers who had gone through the first episode, I suggest you may skip some of the following paragraphs and scroll down to where it ends with ..." I saw both their eyes filled with tears ...the happy ones."... and the story will roll on from there ...)
I had to ring the bell quite a number of times, before Amrita opened the door. She really was very tall and big. Especially since I'm quite a short man at 5 feet 3 inches, she looked huge in comparison to me. I guessed she must be about 6 feet 2 inches tall, even with her thin flat sandals.
I enquired whether my boss was in. She just said no. I introduced myself and told her that I'm the Manager of one of his companies and had been on official tour with him till yesterday. I told her that the customer wanted an offer right away which I need to send. But the data was in my Boss's computer. For that I needed the Boss's laptop at least, if he is not at home. I told her whether I could come in and work on the laptop. She wanted me to check from my boss whether it is permissible. So I called my boss and told him our pre-discussed story. My boss wanted me to handover my mobile phone to his daughter. He told her that this email is important and to let me in and give me the Boss's laptop. So I went into the drawing room and Amrita brought me the laptop. She was going away, so I asked her to wait, since it would not take much time. She sat down on one of the sofas. I opened the laptop and started working.
While working I started chatting with her. She was sitting just leafing through a magazine. I began by telling her about what I look after in her father's business. I told her that I'm new to this town and was living alone. "I'm not a very social person you know," I continued. "I keep to myself, reading, listening to music and watching sports on my phone. I listen to old Hindi songs, my favorites are Rafi, Kishore, Mukesh, Manna Dey." I mentioned these because I knew she also loved old Hindi songs.
"I love all sorts of sports, not only cricket. Actually my favourite sports person is Serena Williams. I just love the power and energy with which she plays. Such beautiful figure she has, tall and strong. You know I like those tall women basketball players. They look so graceful when they run and shoot. Also those tall, strong women athletes, the shot put, discuss and javeline throwers. I admire their massive strength. I also watch wrestling and boxing. You know, I once met Jhulan Goswami, the Indian women's cricket team's fast bowler at an airport. I was such awestruck by her magnificent height, she's 5 feet 11 inches, you know. I wanted to take her autograph and talk to her, but couldn't muster the courage. I regret that even today."
Amrita was just listening, without any remark. I had to draw her into a conversation. So I asked, "I'm only talking, I'm not allowing you to talk. Tell me what are your hobbies ? What do you do in your past time ?"
"I listen to music, watch movies and sports," she replied.
"Oh great, what sort of music and sports do you like ?" I said.
She replied, "I love old Hindi songs too. I also like athletics like javeline, shotput and discuss throwing. I like heptathalon too. I also like wrestling and boxing."
I laughed, "Great ! It seems we like the same things. You know, I'm basically an introverted person. I cannot generally make friends. But with some people I feel a vibe and I can talk freely with them only. Can I tell you something personal ? You see, I'm quite short for a man. But I always had this something for a tall girl. That is the main reason, why I'm able to talk to you so much. Ofcourse I know that you are actually my employer's daughter. I can't even imagine that you can be my friend. But still I'm so fortunate that I could talk to you face to face. It's as if I've met the woman of my dreams."
Amrita smiled for the first time, a sweet smile lit up her face. "You are exaggerating", she said. "I know I'm huge and ugly."
I said, "Madam, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. If you do not believe me, I can swear on my mother who is in heaven, that your figure is exactly how I daydream about how my girlfriend should look like."
Amrita got up and went out of the room.
I felt as if I have bungled it. In my excitement, I might have said too much. But what I said was not any exaggeration. I really felt that way. I didn't know what to do next. I shut the laptop...Put it in the bag....and stood up deciding to leave.
I was turning towards the door, when Amrita came in. She came and stood in front of me. It seemed that she was weeping, her eyes were still watery. Standing so close, I had to really look up to her face , since the top of my head was even lower than her shoulders. She looked down at me and said, "I am sorry I went away so abruptly. Actually nobody has ever spoken to me like that. That is why I couldn't control my tears. I wouldn't have believed you if you did not mention about your mother. See I don't have any friends. If you still want, you can be my friend."
I smiled. Extended my hand to her. She accepted it. Her palm was so much bigger than mine, it engulfed my palm into hers completely.
I said, "Thank you Madam, you have fulfilled a long cherished dream".
She said, "Not madam, I'm Amrita to you."
I said, "Amrita, can I ask for two things from you ? Can I have your mobile number ?"
She said sure and gave her number. To which, I gave a missed call to pass her my number. She looked at me questioningly , "What else do you want?"
I smiled and said, "A selfie with you." She bent her head backwards and laughed silently.
Then I took out my phone and posed with her for a selfie. She took my phone from my hand and said, "My hands are longer than you, so I'll take the pictures." We took quite a few selfies in different poses. In each of them I was dwarfed by her massive size. She was not only taller than me by almost a foot, she was almost double my weight. I was about 60 kgs, she was 105 kgs, which I learnt later on. Then we sat next to each other on the sofa and I sent her the pics to her whatsapp.
She said, "You wait, let me get something for you." I said, "Don't bother, Amrita, you sit here. Let us know each other better."
She said, "Ok, you asked for two things from me. Can I ask for something from you ?"
I said, "Gladly, I'll give you anything which I can afford to."
Amrita said, "Can you spare some time for me and teach me computers and spoken English ?"
I said, "Sure, why not... You let me know how often you want it and I'll gladly help you in this."
She said, "I would want everyday, since I've just found my only friend. But it's upto you, since you will be having a long day in office everyday and I don't want you to strain yourself."
I said, "That is not much of an issue. I'll talk to your father on this and work it out."
Then we sat side by side and discussed about what exactly she wanted to learn in computers. She stopped midway and got up. I looked askance. She smiled sweetly down from her magnificent height. "I'll come in five minutes," she said and left the room. I took out my phone and sent a message to her father, "Sir, everything's normal now. You can come."
Immediately came his response. "I'm reaching in 10 minutes. Thank you so much, son."
Amrita came in shortly after with a tray in hand. She had brought some sweets and juice. She laid them on the centre table and came and sat beside me again. I said, "Why did you do this Amrita, I told you not to. Ok, now we'll share this. You take half of it."
She laughed and said, "Do you want me to get more fat by eating those sweets."
I smiled, "Firstly, you are not fat, you are well built, which is also quite proportionate with your magnificent height... And secondly you know now na, that I like my girlfriend to be much taller and bigger than me... the bigger, the better."
Amrita laughed, "You are so different, Sumit."
The bell rang...Amrita looked at me and said, "That must be my parents." She went and opened the door. My boss and his wife entered. As soon as I saw them, I rose to my feet. I said "Namaste" to boss's wife and touched her feet. My boss smiled, took my hands and pressed them denoting a silent "Thank you". Then he patted Amrita's cheek and hugged her. I saw both their eyes filled with tears ...the happy ones.
This time I sat on a single sofa, my boss day on the other. Amrita and her mother sat on the bigger sofa. Her mother started, "What is this Sumit ? You have not taken any sweet yet. "
I said, "Yes Aunty, I was about to but Amrita is not giving me company."
My Boss said, "But I know Sumit that you love sweets, you told me on this trip."
I smiled and said, "Yes Sir, but..."
My boss cut me short, "What is this Sumit ? You are calling her Aunty and calling me Sir ? Why this discrimination ? That will not do. You will also have to call me uncle. Otherwise I'll feel very bad."
Everybody laughed. I said, " Ok Sir.... sorry Uncle."...Again laughter.
Aunty said, "Sumit, I hear that you are doing exceedingly well in business and already got some very good orders."
I said, "Aunty, that is all because of Sir's guidance and the faith he had shown in me. That is why I can confidently put forth my plans to action."
My Boss said, "See, even here he is giving the credit to me. That is what I like about him, his humility. He leads his team in such a way, that there's perfect harmony in his team."
I cast a fast glance towards Amrita. Her smile was beaming, as if she only had been praised. I liked this very much. That means she has truly taken me as her friend.
I said, "Sir, madam...sorry Uncle, Aunty. I need a permission from you. Actually Amrita and I were discussing that we can do some computer lessons together. Can I come on some of the evenings and work with her on her laptop ?"
My Boss laughed, "Aarey , why do you need our permission for that. It is an excellent idea if you can train Amrita. You know Ammo, Sumit is an expert in computers. Sumit, you work it out with Ammo, the timings and start."
Amrita spoke for the first time to her parents, "No, I was saying that since Sumit ji is busy all day at work, it might be tough on him to spend time after office teaching me computers...."
I intervened, "No Amrita, that is not an issue. What is there in coming and sitting with you with your computer lessons? Is that any work at all ? I'll at least have some company. Otherwise, I don't have anybody to talk at home. What we can do is, if you are interested, we can start from today only. Then depending on my work pressure and tours, I'll tell you in advance when I can come next. Sunday afternoons or evenings I can surely come... And possibly 2 to 3 other days in a week, if I'm not going out of town. Will that be ok with you ?"
Amrita smiled broadly and looked at her parents. Aunty said, "I have a condition here." Everybody looked at her. Amrita looked concerned. Aunty smiled and said, "Whenever Sumit comes he must have dinner with us." Now, everybody laughed.
Then my boss addressed Amrita, "Beta, since you want to start from today, why don't you take Sumit to your room and start off with your lessons."
Aunty added, "And take this plate of sweets, Sumit hasn't started on this yet."
Amrita stood up, I stood up too. Amrita looked at me and beckoned me and started out of the room towards the stairs...I followed.
When both had left, Mr and Mrs Sinha looked at each other and smiled...a contented smile on both their lips. Mr Sinha spoke, "I told you na, this boy is a gem...not only in his professional field but in human relations too. He would be ideal for our Ammo. I never thought that she could ever be close to anybody outsider. See how much Sumit has been able to gain her confidence and friendship. I would be very happy if Sumit agrees to accept my daughter. Otherwise, I don't know who will look after her when we are not there. She will not be able to adjust to this cruel world alone."
Mrs Sinha nodded her head, "True, but Sumit may be sympathetic towards Ammo, but expecting that he will marry her is too much. You saw, how small he looks standing beside her. His parents will not approve of this match, even if Sumit agrees. Let's see what is in store for our child. I would love to give Ammo's hand to Sumit, whatever be his size, he will be able to understand her and keep her happy. God's wish...", she sighed.
Meanwhile, I was upstairs in Amrita's room. It had all the furniture and amenities that can make anybody's life comfortable. The room was quite big, in light pink colour. Luxurious sofa set as you enter the room ; it had a big flat screened TV, a refrigerator and a beautiful bed on the other side of the room. However, apart from the furniture, the character and personality of the girl living in the room was portrayed by the other contents. A noticable feature which caught my eye was quite a few stuffed Teddy bears kept in different areas all over the room. But all of them were big in size. There were two music system speakers on separate stands. One big glass paned cabinet by the wall full of books. I stood in front of this book cabinet trying to find out Amrita's taste in reading. But she kept on calling me from the other end of the room. "Come here Sumit, I want to show you something", she was saying. I kept on looking at the books...such a great collection...all my favourite authors. I said, "Amrita you will have to lend me some books..one at a time, of course."
Amrita came over to me, took a hold of my hand and pulled me with her, " Ok baba, I'll lend you whatever books you want. Just come with me now." She took me to the other end of the room. There on another wall there were some glass panneled showcases but high up on the wall, on brackets. There were innumerable number of CD collections inside the glass shelves. "Wow ! What a collection," I remarked.
"Which one do you want to hear now ?" Amrita asked, looking down at me. I said, "Arrey yaar, you have made your shelves at your own eye-level, over six feet high. My eyes are not that good, I can't read the small prints from down my level. Do you have any stools in your room," I looked around searching for a stool.
"Ohh Sumit, you are looking for a stool to stand on ?!" Amrita laughed out loudly. "There's no stool in my room, but wait I'll help you". Saying this she bent down and scooped me up with her left hand holding me tightly behind my thighs. Suddenly I found myself being lifted up bodily till I was also more than six feet tall like Amrita. The only difference being that I was now perched up on her body, sitting on just her left hand. It happened so fast, it startled me and on an impulse my hand went around her neck lest I fall down. Seeing my reaction, Amrita laughed out more loudly.
"What are you doing Amrita !" It was more of an exclamation than a question. She was still in her playful mood. "Look how tall you are now Sumit." She carried me in front of her full length mirror. "See, how small and cute you are looking, sitting like a little boy on my arm", she continued laughing. I was still shocked at this sudden turn of events. She looked at my face and said, "What's the matter Sumit ? Are you feeling embarrassed ? Did I hurt your ego ?"
I had recovered from the initial shock. "Obviously Amrita, I'm a 27 year old man and you four years younger to me and also a girl.
You are carrying me like a child, sitting on your arm. I ought to feel ashamed...."
Amrita put me down immediately before I could complete my sentence. She was turning away from me, when I caught her hands. I thought I had spoilt her jovial mood. After years of being under depression, I had just been able to bring her back to some sign of normalcy. This I cannot risk, to let her go back to her gloomy days. "You didn't let me complete my sentence Amrita," I said. I held both her big wrists in my two hands. "Why did you put me down Amrita ? I admit I was feeling helpless being carried in your arms, but did I say I was feeling bad?" I had to look way up to meet her eyes. She looked down at me doubtfully, then she smiled, seeing me smiling too. She bent down, put two hands under my back and straightened up. I was now held on her stomach, facing her. I put my hands around her shoulders as a support. She jerked up my thighs and pulled me in towards her, so my legs went around her hips and wrapped around her waist. She looked very happy, she spun around with me in her arms. I clung to her more tightly, so that I don't fall off. She laughed again, "Don't worry my little friend.. I won't let you fall... You are too small and light for me...I can carry you like this all day."
"Amrita," I said, her eyes now right in front of mine, "You are so strong and so tall and big. I feel so safe and protected in your arms."
Amrita hugged me tightly to her bosom. She put a hand behind my head and pressed it down on her shoulders. My face went inside her big neck. Her hairs covered my face inside her neck. She held me like that for a few moments. I could hear her sobbing. She was crying. I let her cry. She started walking slowly in her room, her one hand behind my head pressing my face down inside her neck. She was not talking now, just crying and walking with me, like a mother carrying her child on her breasts. I allowed her to let her emotions out. I lay on her shoulders, with my eyes closed. I was experiencing a strange feeling. It was like a huge woman has captured me and I'm totally helpless under her physical control, unable to move. But yet I had the feeling that I was safe and protected, like how a small child feels being carried in her mother's arms.
She stopped her walk, removed her hairs from around my face, pulled my head back, so that my face was just in front of hers. She looked into my eyes and said in a soft tone. "Sumit, I think I'm getting involved with you. But before I go any further, I would like to make some confessions about myself."
She started walking again, holding me tightly on her body, as if not wanting to let me go. My hands were around her neck, my face right in front on hers, as I floated around the room being carried effortlessly by this big, tall girl.
"Sumit, I want to tell you that I'm an orphan. I don't have any parents. Mr and Mrs Sinha are not my parents. I had been adopted by them when I was five months old. I don't know who my biological parents are. Also that I'm possibly a mental patient. I suffer from depression. I hate myself for being this giant of a girl. I'm a misfit in this normal society. I know I don't deserve to even think about you. So, I thought it best to not go on any further, but to make an end to this friendship before it begins to take a deep root in me. Why are you smiling Sumit ?" She stopped seeing me giving her a steady smile.
I said, "Amrita, first let me tell you that, before I even came to meet you today, I knew that you are an adopted child. Since this is the beginning of a relationship, I do not want to hide this fact from you. Your father has only told me that they had adopted you. Also that after finding out this truth two years back, you have stopped loving them. I can tell you one thing, Amrita. You may be sad thinking that you do not have your own biological parents. But imagine what they had gone through when they realised that the five month old baby, whom they had made their own daughter, since God has not given them their own...The baby whom they had loved and nurtured as their own child, has turned away from them after 21 years of love and affection. Amrita, for them YOU are their only daughter, because of whom they had fought against their own parents and family. And now you have stopped calling them Papa and Mummy.
Amrita, it doesn't make any difference to me on where you came from. I like you for what you are and who you are now.
Also, one main reason I like you is , to put it in your own words, is because you are this 'giant of a girl'. Yes Amrita, I love everything about your size, your height of six feet two inches, your weight of I don't know how many kgs more than mine. I like this way of your effortlessly carrying me like I weigh nothing. I love this feeling of helplessness in your arms, being held so high up above the ground hanging from your neck. I also love this feeling of safety and security and protection from you, this 'giant of a girl'.
And do you think that even if you want, you can let go of me so easily. I challenge you Amrita, that if you really feel that you should end our friendship, then just remove your hands and let me fall to the ground. I promise you, I'll just walk away from your life. I challenge you Amrita....just remove your hands and drop me down on the ground."
Amrita was looking into my eyes hard enough. I was cursing myself inwardly, why did I have to challenge her. I knew she was still not mentally stable. What if those words disturb her mood yet again and she actually lets me drop to the ground.
But nothing happened. I saw tears swell up her eyes. I wiped her tears sitting on her stomach. She cleared her throat and said, "You knew that I'm an adopted child and that I'm this odd huge sized girl, and even then you made friends with me ?"
I said, "Amrita, when we are going into a relationship, it should be based on faith and trust. I also want to confess to you the truth. This meeting of ours today is my plan only. I had only asked your parents to go away, so that you have to come and open the door for me. There were no urgent mails to be sent. I came to meet YOU only."
Amrita stared at me in disbelief...all she said was "Why ?"
I replied, "Because I've a deep respect for your father. I could not bear his pain, when he poured his heart out and cried on my shoulders, because you do not call him Papa anymore."
Amrita looked at me with eyes opened wide... Slowly I saw them swelling up with tears, which ran incessantly down her big cheeks. She hugged me tightly..."Who are you...a Messiah ? You are a rank outsider and you willingly became my friend, just to unite a father with his ungrateful daughter ? And I've been such a fool as to keep on hurting my parents for the last two years ?"
She started walking carrying me towards the door and out of the room...I said, "Amrita, atleast put me down now, when you are going to meet your parents." Amrita smiled broadly, put me down and pulled me with her. I said, "I'll wait for you in your room Amrita. You have to go and meet your parents alone. This is YOUR moment of truth !".......Amrita ran down the stairs to her parents....
