short story #7: In her own right…

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Update 2: It has been a selected as a WOW post by blogadda.com!

It was time. The day had finally arrived albeit with none of the fanfare that one would expect after years of waiting. She had spent days, even weeks, dreaming of this moment. Her imagination had none done any justice to the reality. Her happiness and excitement were exploring greater peaks. Never in her life, had she experienced such profound joy.

She half-walked and half-ran into the manager’s room. He greeted her with a nod and gestured for her to be seated. His face was permanently set in a scowl. She had thought that today might bring about a change in his demeanour, but no such luck. Same old same old.

The austere, straight-backed chair in his office was as warm and comfy as their owner. “Well, someone’s been waking up on the wrong side of their bed. Every day, all through their life.”, she thought to herself as she tried and failed to get comfortable in the chair.

She struggled to restrain herself from rolling her eyes and glancing at the watch, as he glared at a list in his hands, as though he was daring it to speak up and put an end to his search. At long last, he opened the top drawer of his filing cabinet and produced a shiny, brass key.

“It is ready. Here are your keys. Enjoy.”, he said, though his voice conveyed none of the goodwill implied by his words.

Such was her mood that even his rather curt and not-so-pleasant attitude didn’t burst her bubble. She grabbed, more like snatched the key from his outstretched hands. She took her own sweet time as she rejoiced in the cold feel of metal against her skin.

With a curt nod in return to match his, she walked out of his office and rushed into the elevator just in time. Her heartbeat rose progressively as she walked to the door at the end of the long corridor. She took a couple of deep breaths. But they had absolutely no effect whatsoever on her racing heart.

She turned the key in the lock and opened the door.

Her heart swelled with pride, and her eyes grew moist with tears of joy as she surveyed the tastefully decorated interiors. She had done it! It was her crowning achievement. After years of careful planning and investment, she had managed to pull it off.

The apartment was all hers.

(400 words)

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This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda. This post was written in response to the WOW prompt for the weekend “She Turned The Key In The Lock And Opened The Door.”

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© 2018 Shweta Suresh. All rights reserved.

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