“Give me an advance, malik,” I told the boss.
“Why, you’ve probably pandered all your paycheck again, and not even half the month is over.”
“Yes, boss.”
“I bet you lost it all playing shuffle.”
“Yes, boss. That blasted shuffle.”
“You need to quit shuffling, Sanjiv.”
“I know, malik, I promise I will. But you know Mallika and the kids are starving.”
“All right, Sanjiv, one last time. The very last time.”
This boss was so easy. Every time I’d give him the same story, and every time it was the very last time.
But we both knew that very last time would never come. Mallika was his sister. And I was too addicted to pandering and shuffling. Besides being completely underpaid.
– Surendra Sparsh (© 2010)
Written with advance, pander, shuffle from 3WW.
Being trapped in the shuffle..a painful place to be..and perfectly captured..Jae
ReplyDeleteEssence is all in the last line.. a convenient assumption we all make..
ReplyDeleteOh what a life. Yeah; I liked it.
ReplyDelete.......dhole
a whole lotta stirring the pot of addiction, love and lies... and everyday sorta occurrence..... enjoyed the flavor of the story flowed very well...
ReplyDeleteWonderfully executed, as always. The ending packs a punch.
ReplyDelete