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How does this brain work? No that's the wrong question.
Why does it work against instructions?
Why did I have to dream of having a 'wet wipes fight' with him when I had firmly decided to not think about him?
Me being the overthinker that I am, couldn't sleep after the dream. 2 hours of sleep wasted due to an endless spiral of thoughts full of what ifs and dread. And now, I have a slight headache. Wonderful.
I skip driving today, and take a taxi. This has to stop. And it will. I'll make it stop.
With a deep breath, throbbing head and a heavy heart, I enter the hotel.
I'm organizing the events of next week and reverting to important emails when I hear someone knock at my door. "Come in..."
I'm absolutely flustered to see that it was Thala who was knocking. It's okay. You'll get used to it, Kriti. I fight the urge to laugh at that thought. I'll get used to MS Dhoni walking in my office! Never.
"Good morning, Sir."
"Good morning, Kritika."
"What can I do for you?"
"Can you have a mike, a projector and a screen arranged in the team room by 2 in the afternoon? I have a small surprise for the boys today." He smiles.
"Sure, Sir. I'll have Madhu working on it right away. Anything else?"
"Yes. A question."
I nod at him to signal him to continue. "How are you?" I'm taken aback. Wow.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni just asked me How am I? How do I even answer it? By keeping it simple as usual.
"This moment, I'm honoured to be talking to you but overall, I'm fine. A slight headache is preventing this day from being a good one."
A smile spreads on his face as he slowly nods.
"I'm not sure if I'm allowed to ask a personal question but how are you, Thala?"
It slip. I had no intention of calling him Thala during office hours. But it slipped. Oh god.
He raises his eyebrows as well but smiles as he notices my embarrassment.
"I'm doing alright, thank you." I keep darting my eyes away from his, scolding myself for the slippage.
I'm looking at his retreating figure when he turns back, all of a sudden. "Mistakes aren't always punishable, sometimes they're just meant to be made. Don't beat yourself up for a harmless mistake."
He has no idea how comforting it is to hear that from him. "I'll keep that in mind, Sir." I say, letting myself smile at him. Drawing strength from his words, I get back to work with renewed energy.
