Anu was one to run away from a challenge. You read that right. Anything that did not appeal to her, that she felt diffident about, she would find several reasons to not do it. She despaired over her life, her work at the design studio, her boss. It took much agony and many Internet searches for inspiration to strike.
Her boss Vasanth wanted to launch a line of linen that somehow interpreted the meaning of his name. “The quirkier the better,” he declared, sweetening the deal by adding a cash prize of Rs 50,000 for the best rendition.
Vasanth meant Spring. Anu was not only diffident, she was cynical. In India, the season was merely a springboard to torrid summer. There was little of the romance associated with it. Vasanth should have planned months ahead if he’d wanted the launch now, in March. Ugh!
Anu tossed about, and her bed creaked gently. How should she interpret spring differently? As a water body? As a movement? She thumped the bed and it squeaked. The old bed was noisy, its metal springs … but of course! In came flooding visions of bright-eyed bees built on spring bodies, kids with a literal spring in their step, springs stylised to look like clouds … Hurrah! The prize was in the bag, ka-ching!
In October, Vasanth called Anu: “Sharad, my partner, infused a lot of money into our company recently. He too wants a collection with his name on it. I’m sure you know it means autumn. Get cracking, Anu! No red and yellow leaves falling, please, but I know you don’t do clichés!”
As Anu went back to her cabin and flopped into her chair, she saw the glorious autumn moon rising in the evening sky, and sighed.
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