"And... I'm... done," I said, grinning. "I beat you to it!"

"Wow, so someone offers to help you, and then you make it an unfair race?" without taking his eyes off the screen, he shook his head in mock disgust and I laughed. "I'm done, too, by the way." He triumphantly swiveled his chair to face me, and raised his palm in a high-five. I raised my eyebrow and completed the gesture, slapping his hand with my own. I smiled at him. For a few seconds after, my palm tingled where it had met his, although I hadn't put in a great force.

Suddenly, my stomach growled loud enough to wake the dead. Stop embarrassing me, my stomach! "Umm... I guess I'm hungry?" were the only words I could manage.

It was his turn to smile. "We can't let a hard-working maiden go hungry, now, can we? Come on, let's get you dinner. I know a place that remains open twenty-four-seven."

"Is there anything you don't know?" I teased, but followed him as he stood up. "Just let me pack my stuff, first." I began to gather my belongings as he returned a thumbs-up and walked toward the door.

"I'll wind up the stuff in my office. Meet you downstairs at the gate in two?"

"Sure!"

In a minute, I was done. Shutting down the computers and then switching off all the lights, I closed the door and walked outside with my tote bag on my shoulder. The corridor, this time, was in darkness. I noticed the door to the break room was shut. Thinking he had finished up before me, I went on downstairs.

When I reached the courtyard of the building downstairs, I couldn't see anyone waiting. The night air was chilly, even for a North Indian October. I came back inside to wait for him in the dimmed reception area. He had probably gone to the washroom or something.

It was weird he still hadn't told me his name; and it felt like he hadn't heard me tell mine either, because he'd never once called me by name in the entire time we'd spent together—okay, it was only about two hours, but still!

I sat down on the sofa and took my phone out to pass the time. When he didn't appear even after five minutes, I went back up the stairs to check the break room, his unofficial workplace, again. I tried the knob. It was locked. I'd thought it would be, but it was strange nonetheless. Where was he then?

Tuk. Tuk. Phwwweeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I jumped hearing the unnaturally loud sounds cutting through the palpably thick silence of night. It seemed to be produced by a cane being tapped on the empty road outside, followed by a high-pitched whistle. For a second, I panicked, thinking it was a child screaming, but my rational brain quickly came to my rescue. It must be the watchman on his beat, I thought. And the watchman would have seen anyone who went outside the building in the last few minutes!

Running down the stairs and out into the cold, dark night, I spotted the figure of a man with a cane around fifty meters away, coming toward the building. It was the night watchman, alright.

"Excuse me, sir!" I called out as I approached him. "Did you see anyone coming out of this building in the last few minutes?" A sudden beam of light flashed right on my face before disappearing as quickly as it came.

"Sorry, Madam. You surprised me. No, I haven't seen a soul for the last three hours anywhere in this area. If I may ask, what are you doing out here at this hour?"

I was stunned by his response more than by his flashlight. "I was just completing some work in the office, and didn't realize the time. Anyway, thank you. You're sure about seeing no one, right?"

"Yes. I couldn't have missed anyone, since your building is at the corner of a dead-end street. I doubt someone could scale a wall that high." He paused, directing the light from his powerful torch onto the wall to our right, before continuing, "Do you want me to call a taxi for you, Madam? You should go home and rest now, it's very late."

I could see the elderly watchman was concerned about me. "No, uncle; I have my own car. But thank you. I will be leaving soon. Have a good night!"

I turned and walked back inside, deeply puzzled. He had really disappeared. Did he not want to go out with me, after all? Had he taken some secret exit to leave, or deliberately evaded the watchman while leaving? Either way, there was no one in the building now, and there was nothing for me to do but lock up and go home.

I headed to the reception desk, where I knew all the keys of the building were stored in a cupboard. I was hoping to find the keys of the main door to the building, but what I found, instead, was a brown, oil-stained paper package on the marble counter. I was pretty sure it wasn't there ten minutes earlier when I'd been sitting on the couch nearby.

Curious, I picked it up. It was warm, and smelled good. On opening it just a bit, I saw it contained three or four samosas. My favourite snack! Apart from the food, though, there was also a piece of white paper. I opened the packet wider and took it out carefully. It was a handwritten note.

Sorry I couldn't stay around longer. I had a great time with you, Nisha. Hope we can meet again tomorrow.

-Sahil

Sahil. I tasted the sound of his name. The shore, the guide.

And he had not only heard, but remembered my name! I smiled, pulled out a samosa, and took a bite. This packet was mine.