After many years of hard work and sacrifices, it was time to reap the fruits. Anaisha Mahajan was honoured at the Graduation Ceremony for having passed with flying colours. The year 2000 had been very lucky for her.
Mrs. Rachna Mahajan was proud of her daughter’s success and her eyes were all wet with tears of joy. She wished her husband was here with them.
As Anaisha stepped down from the stage to meet her mother with her degree in hand, she hugged her tightly and kissed her right cheek.
“I did it Mum! It would not have been possible without you!” She exclaimed with excitement.
“I’m so proud of you my baby!” She sobbed and Anaisha was used to her emotional mother and she chuckled.
“Don’t cry else my friends will think I have failed,” she teased and Rachna smiled, wiping her tears.
“You always do that to me!” She pinched Anaisha playfully.
Finally it was time to pose for the University of Mauritius’ Yearbook and Anaisha pulled her mother to the crowd where all the graduated students gathered with their parents.
They clicked a wonderful photograph of the students which the Campus promised to gift them as souvenir, in coming days.
Anaisha did miss her father but she did not want to make her mum cry again. She knew that he was somewhere watching them on the most important day of her life.
Her father passed away when she was 11 years old. Mother and daughter were greatly affected by his demise, because Mr. Krishna Mahajan was the best father and husband. He did leave behind wealth, however, money was not the only thing that mattered in life.
Mrs. Mahajan never got married again for she never wanted a step-father for her daughter and she mentioned that she did not need a man to move on in life. She was determined to raise her only child single-handedly.
She was a well-known fashion designer and with the wealth that her husband left behind, she invested in her business that was lucrative and she named her collections Mahajan Fashion.
After the party, Anaisha and Rachna drove off home. Their house was located in Rose Belle, a beautiful village in the South region of Mauritius. They had a beautiful rose-bed of pink, white and red flowers at the entrance. They also had orchids and hibiscus which were so well taken care of. When you stepped into their space, you would feel the flowers bowing to welcome you in their charming world.
The verandah was very gratifying with exclusive furniture where Anaisha spent most of her time studying as it was peaceful.
A few miles away was a spacious concrete doghouse to accommodate their German Shepherd, Cookie, which had been with them for the past two years. Cookie was a huge male dog which was dangerous to strangers and loving to family members. Ever since he was gifted to Anaisha on her twentieth birthday, Cookie had been a wonderful companion.
He was not allowed inside the house and he was fine with it. When he was a puppy, he had made a lot of mess; throwing the flower pots, chewing on slippers and many more. Fortunately Anaisha was able to train Cookie and transformed him into a very obedient guard-dog. Cookie adored the girls immensely.
The house interior was shabby chic and tidy. Their housekeeper, Mrs. Indu did a fantastic job. She had been working for the Mahajans for nearly ten years and she had no intention to leave them.
“So now what is your next step?” asked Rachna to Anaisha.
“I would like to be a teacher and I had already started applying for jobs for the past one month in both Government and Private institutions. Let’s see,” she replied.
“In the meantime enjoy yourself before starting work as you have worked a lot all these years,” Rachna advised.
“I’ll learn cooking while I’ll be at home. Moreover, I was thinking to start giving private tuitions at home, what do you think?”
“Sure! Great! But don’t rush. You don’t need to start working right away. Mum is here to take care of your needs,” Rachna said.
“I know sweet mum... But I wish to start right away. Actually you should stop working now. Take rest, I shall take care of you,” she proposed.
“No! I love my job and if I stay at home, I’ll have nothing to do except reading and watching t.v. Work helps me keep fit,” she argued.
“Okay mum, as you wish. Please don’t worry about me,” Anaisha reassured.
“Okay big girl!” Rachna tapped her back lightly.
That day they had a sumptuous dinner, watched a romantic comedy and slept peacefully.
Anaisha dreamt about a tall gentleman, dressed in black, his back to her and as if he was waiting for her. As she approached, the sleep broke.
“Today I nearly saw his face! My God!” She mumbled with despair.
She hushed the thought and went back to sleep.
From the next day to the whole week, Anaisha kept applying for job as English teacher at Secondary schools across the island.
A week later, she received a call from Gems Secondary School located in Rose Belle. They were looking for a freshly graduated to teach English Language and General Paper for students of Form 4 to Upper 6 on a year contract.
The secretary, Ms Pamela, called her for an interview with the department head and the school principal, the following day.
Anaisha was familiar with the school which was located in her area. She was aware that many students who failed many times and could not repeat classes in other institutions were admitted to that school. Nonetheless, it had a good reputation to ensure that most of the students obtained good results. People said that students reformed after their entry there.
Anaisha was intrigued and she wanted to see for herself what it was like to work in such a challenging environment.
She had a few formal suits that her mum had sewed for her for important occasions which she just had to choose from.
There were grey, black and dark blue with white and cream blouses to choose from. She opted for a black jacket and trouser to match the white blouse. The formal black belly shoes and a pair of jade studs would be appropriate.
She had to make sure she got selected, as she was bored at home.
