Good Luck Charm

Like most girls, Shreya was crazy about shopping. She loved clothes and didn’t mind spending all her pocket money on them. She could never resist a sale “after all, it comes only once in a year” nor could she walk out of exhibitions empty-handed, “the clothes were positively calling out to me."  Much as she loved stacking the shelves of her wardrobe with new buys, she was extremely attached to one particular T-shirt.

As T-shirts go, it was no great shakes. It didn’t have sequins, it didn’t have an unusual print; it didn’t have lace trimmings nor did it have words of sassy wisdom splashed across it. Even its colour was nothing to write home about. A non-descript blue. Surprisingly enough, for a Tee that’s available dime-a-dozen in sundry outlets, it enjoyed the pride of the place in Shreya’s wardrobe.

There was a reason for this, of course. (Shreya was a reasonable girl.) She believed, from the bottom of her heart, that this T-shirt brought her luck. In the last three years, it had never let her down. Not once. She had first worn it during the inter-collegiate culturals and a most bizarre thing happened. An out-of-her-league kind of guy, the kind who wouldn’t have tossed her a second look if she had been the only girl alive, had actually asked her out.

She had thought nothing of it, then. To be fair, it was rather early to gauge the extent of the T-shirt’s power. Shreya had carelessly flung it away after that one wear and it had spent the next six months gathering dust in a remote corner of her wardrobe.

She chanced upon it again during one of her crazy spring cleaning sprees and happened to don it for an elocution contest she had been pushed into by zealous classmates. Needless to say, she was thoroughly unprepared. Unprepared for the competition, unprepared for the magical burst of oratorical ability she magically acquired, unprepared for the thumping victory that followed.

That day proved to be the turning point in her relationship with the T-shirt. As she mulled over the day’s events, a sudden thought struck her: could it...was it...no, it wasn’t possible...but there was no other logical explanation. A little voice in her head kept nagging her. Did the T-shirt do it for her? Was it possible that she owed her unanticipated success to that seemingly ordinary piece of clothing?

She certainly hadn’t had any hand in it. She had never shown the remotest inclination towards public speaking. “I only have to see a microphone to get knots in my tongue,” let alone win, she had never participated in anything remotely cerebral. Come to think of it, Shreya, the T-shirt had helped score with the cute guy. So, maybe, just maybe the T-shirt was her lucky charm.

Reasonable girl that she was, Shreya devised an ingenious plan to confirm her suspicions. Exams were right around the corner. For the last paper alone, she decided not to burn the midnight oil. Heck, she decided not to burn any kind of oil. She did away with the books, carelessly chucked the notes, and turned up at the examination hall in, you guessed it, her lucky T-shirt.

Sure enough, the exam was a cakewalk for her. She attempted questions she would have steered clear of under normal circumstances, came up with answers she had never mugged, cited examples she had never read. She was on a roll. And how!

While her friends struggled for an entire three hours, she flew out of the examination hall in a record one and a half hours. The students littered across the campus witnessed the strange sight of a jubilant girl jumping up and down, hugging herself tight. Shreya was over the moon, all right. She had all the proof she needed. Her T-shirt was her lucky charm, indeed.

For the next two years, Shreya and T-shirt were inseparable. She wore it to “every event of importance in life”. From a girlfriend’s birthday party to a lunch date with the hunk- next-door. She even wore it to the college farewell party and was crowned (predictably so) ‘Best Outgoing Student’.

Soon, the festivities were over and done with; judgement day was drawing close. Campus placements were a week away. An air of nervousness descended upon the campus. Nervous expressions spread among students like a contagious disease. While everyone bit their nails, Shreya polished hers.

Her friends couldn’t make sense of her attitude. Akansha, the most upfront of the lot confronted her, “Shrey, what’s with you, girl? Show some interest. Don’t you care about your future?”

Shreya, smothered a yawn and replied, “Sure, I care. I just don’t worry. Like some other people I know.” She looked pointedly at Jasmine, who looked like she would drop dead any minute.

Jasmine was murmuring under her breath, “I just have to get a job, I have to, I have to.”

Akansha tried once again, “It’s not like you don’t need a job, Shrey.”

Shreya tried sounding philosophical, “Hey, que sera sera. What will be, will be. It’s not like worrying is going to change anything.”

Since trying to reason further with Shreya was like hoping for a Christmas sale in May, Akansha dropped the subject.

The first day of recruitments sprung surprises galore. The top three companies, the ones most students had set their hearts on, stayed away. Left with little choice, disappointed students went in for the second rung companies. Shreya deliberately teamed up a black blazer with a white shirt and fared miserably at all the group discussions. She wasn’t like “other ordinary students”. Her life didn’t depend on (and she said this with as much sarcasm as she could possibly muster) “securing a job”.

Besides, she knew exactly what she wanted. Nothing but the best. And till that happened, she would wait it out. After four action-packed days, when the cream-of-the-crop had been harvested, the top three companies finally showed up. Shreya was the only one recruited that day.

Akansha and Jasmine were extremely happy for Shreya. Akansha gave her a big hug, but when she drew back, she saw the same matter-of-fact look in Shreya’s eyes.

Concerned, she asked Shreya, “What’s the matter, sweety? You don’t look thrilled. This is your dream come true, right? ”

Shreya shrugged, “It’s no big deal. I saw it coming.”

All Akansha could do was ask, “And if you hadn’t?”

Startled, Shreya looked deep into Akansha’s eyes. Did she know Shreya’s secret? No, it was impossible. She hadn’t taken anyone into confidence. For a whole lot of reasons. She counted them in her head now:

1) In the event people didn’t take her seriously, she didn’t want to be the butt of all jokes.
2) In the event people did take her seriously, she didn’t want to run the risk of losing her prized possession to some luck-starved thief.

The secret was hers and hers alone. Akansha didn’t know a thing; she was just trying to sound as if she was privy to some inside info. Irritated, Shreya walked away from her. Which was kind of symbolic because soon, they went separate ways.

****

They met a good two years later at Akansha’s wedding. Akansha had always been a stunner but on her wedding day, she glowed like a thousand watt bulb.

Shreya said as much to her. Akansha, every inch the coy bride, demurred. “All brides look like this on their wedding day, Shrey. Ok, enough about me. What’s happening with you? Do I hear wedding bells in the near future?”

“Very near future,” Shreya confirmed with a laugh.

“Wow!” squealed Akansha. “So, you found your Prince Charming!”

Shreya nodded. Akansha held her at arm’s length and peered into her inscrutable face.

“At least show some enthusiasm now, Shreya. You look as if he is the frog prince or something. Aren’t you happy? Is everything ok?”

Shrey swallowed hard. She could feel a lump rising in her throat. She assured Akansha, “All’s well, Aks. Believe me.” Akansha would have loved to press on further but a gaggle of girls swooped upon them and dragged the bride away.

Left alone, Shreya was forced to face her fears. What the hell’s wrong with me, she thought. I have everything a girl could possibly want. A great job, a lovely family. Soon, I will be married to a terrific guy. Rumi was the man of her dreams. The kind, caring, VP marketing of a reputed firm had fallen for her the moment he had seen her. It had taken him three meetings to decide she was The One. She couldn’t afford to waste more time. She just had to use the most potent weapon in her inventory. Her lucky mascot.

At that fateful third meeting, she turned up in a smart denim jacket thrown over a fading, fraying blue tee. Rumi didn’t betray any surprise over at the girl’s choice of attire. He was floored by what he assumed was the girl’s feisty spirit. He had taken about five minutes to decide that the vision in western wear was the girl for him. She had known all along that he would say ‘yes’. The charm of the tee was such, she thought bitterly, surprising herself in the process. All these years, having a lucky mascot by her side had seemed enough. Why was she finding fault with it now? It had served her and well. Not once had it let her down. It was bridal nerves, that’s what it was, Shreya decided. Seeing Akansha dolled up had probably opened up the floodgates of all the emotions churning within her. Weddings can be a nerve-racking time for anyone, she consoled herself. More so, for the bride.

But the niggling worm of doubt turned a deaf ear to all her justifications. It tailed her all the way home. She kept tossing and turning in bed all night long. Was Akansha right? Was she unhappy? Had knowing things beforehand robbed her of the pleasure of enjoying them when they actually materialised? She tried to visualise all the momentous events in her life. She saw only her vacant eyes and listless expression. She had turned into a zombie.

Heavily accustomed to the good life, she had stopped appreciating the good things in life. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to imagine the bride she would make. By the time her eyes flew open, her mind was made up. She knew what she had to do. At the unearthly hour of five, Shreya tiptoed out of her house.

****

At six in the morning, Chitra, on her daily morning walk, stumbled upon a small package, washed ashore by the waves. She tore it open only to find a faded blue tee fraying at the edges. At the same time, the hunk who jogged past her every morning, waved at her. For the first time in two years, he shed his indifference and waved at her. There was nothing different about her this morning. Same old ponytail, same old track pants, she thought as her eyes trailed down to the faded blue tee she was clutching in her hands. That’s when she had a Eureka moment. The tee! It was the tee! The tee made all the difference! It’s that’s what brought her luck. Overjoyed, Chitra hugged her lucky mascot close and pledged never to let it out of her sight.