The Locked Door

Deepavali spirit was in the air. Captain Rajan (Merchant Navy) was home after a long and gruelling trip on the oil Tanker that he commanded. He was looking forwaard to meeting his relatives after a long time. He did not have any children. While the fact that a sailor had a woman in every port was true in case of most of his peers and friends, he eschewed from all such tomfoolery. Moreover since he did not have any children, his wife accompanied him on almost all his trips at sea. Surprisingly they did not get tired of each other in spite of constantly being in each other's company. Of course whenever he lost an argument he would stay away from his cabin and spend his time on the bridge. Training young officers gave him a lot of pleasure. Some of the mistakes that they committed were totally unimaginable and he would break out in cold sweat when he thought about the consequences . there was learnng for him too . Moreover it kept him on the top of his game. His last run was from UAE to netherlands to deliver crude oil. Calm seas helped and he was able to complete the delivery in record time.
And hence his presence in Hyderabad to meet his mother and relatives . It had been a long time at sea. And because he did not know what to do on land he had taken long and extended tenures at sea. The last time he was home things did not go exactly as per plan. His support to a young nephew who wanted to break out on his own did not go down well. As it is the fact that his wife was a foreigner did really help. He was determined to make amends. And what better way than giving them an expensive present for deepawali. It was with this in mind that on a Saturday evening he took his wife and mother to the city central Mall. The journey itself was quite tiring due to the heat and dust . The dense traffic did not help. Over the past few years the traffic was increasing day by day and as a result the pollution was rising exponentially. At the mall it was hell. To start with Parking was a huge problem. And then the crowd was heavy. More than the shoppers the holiday revelers were in great numbers. Their trying to bargain for things they would not buy did not improve the mood of the shopkeepers. Finally after a lot of jostling and pushing around the shopping was  completed. Rajan's thoughts turned homeward. Not the food for him from the hotels. He was looking forward to getting home and having a drink. he could almost hear the hiss of a soda bottle opening and the the clink of ice cubes in the glass as he swirled his drink.
And then started the nightmare. They reached home in good time. The drink beckoned him. He waited impatiently as his wife rummaged her bag for the keys. "Why can't women keep their purse organised?" he thought impatiently. After a reasonable amount of time he asked his wife with an edge to his voice " What is the matter? Lost the keys? Why are you not opening the door?" His wife looked at him sheepishly. " I think I lost the keys" She said; The thought of a drink receded from his mind. Desperately he searched his pockets in the hope that by some mischance he had the keys in his pocket. But unlike other times when he normally found what he was searching in his last pocket,he was not so lucky today. Even the last pocket did not yield anything . His mother in her sanctimonious voice said "I told you - be careful with the keys" . An Impasse had been reached . They looked at each other helplessly. The door had just been changed for an expensive and ornate one. Security system was in place and the door had a triple bolt lock. There was nothing they could do without taking the extreme measure of either breaking down the door or trying to climb through the window which was not possible without injury or possible loss of life.  The only thing to do was to wake up the neighbors.
He cursed the day he decided to go for shopping without adequate safeguards. He longed for the comfort of his bed and a drink in his hand. finally the neighbor was roused from his sleep. Of course the first suggestion was to break down the door. This was rejected outright. Rajan attributed this extreme suggestion to the neighbor's disturbance. Then the lock was examined and finally some keys were brought which the neighbor felt would do the job. It did not work. After a lot of huffing and puffing the project was all but shelved. There was no other option but to wake up the other flat owner. By now tempers were running high. Recriminations sprang to Rajan's lips. He all but blamed his wife for her stupidity and irresponsibility. Voices were being raised and a fight was very much a possibility. Luckily the other neighbor had had a similar experience and since then he had the number of a locksmith on his mobile. The locksmith finally came after being promised a fortune. Finally the door was opened. Rajan looked forward to his relaxing in his bed and having that drink he promised himself. But - there is always a but - just as he entered his home the power went off .....