Arjun who was midway through standing up fell back into the chair, He was staring to wonder would this woman ever let him go? Still he understood he needed to provide a satisfactory explanation to her question.
"Atha on my first visit to Vijayawada i met a Russian businessman Vladimir Ivanovich, we stayed at the same hotel. The UHT process was mentioned in one of the science magazines he was carrying with him" Arjun spoke, already preparing himself for the upcoming questions.
"Hmmm.... How did you meet him, why did you meet him, what did you do with him for an entire day" Saheri continued her enquiry but with the same playful eyes she had earlier.
"Our meeting was a pure coincidence, He wanted to purchase some local goods which i helped him acquire and even received a handsome tip of twenty thousand rubles" He explained, thoroughly describing their first meet. He understood by now that this woman had already done a background investigation on him so he did not try to hide any facts about their encounter.
"Okay but Arjun i am curios about something, please enlighten me"
"How do you know Russian and English? Where did you learn them? I've already enquired and nobody in your village even speaks Russian." Saheri questioned with a doubtful gaze not even trying to hide the fact that she had done an investigation on him.
Everyone around Arjun regarded him as a born genius accounting for his recent success. She was a genius too, She was one of the best chemical scientists in India and even she could not have mastered speaking so many languages at such a young age.
This was something she could not make sense of, How would a kid living in a remote village come have enough exposure to be able to converse with a Russian visitor and more importantly why did he learn it? English she could understand as it was almost a fashion these days to speak in English, but Russian? so she decided to question him directly instead of making any random assumptions.
Arjun meanwhile was already having a mini panic attack, his back was already drenched in his sweat. But he had to reply quickly to not raise any more alarms in this demoness's head.
"Well Atha i cannot really be called proficient, but i know enough to manage the conversation. Since i was the only guy around who could speak Russian, Vladimir took my help to do his bidding."
"You still did not answer my question yet Arjun" She replied in a commanding tone.
Arjun understood, If he could not convince this lady today she might just lock him up here. He started looking around pondering if escaping might be a better choice, But remembering the security on the outside he dropped the thought immediately.
"Ummm... can i have some water Atha?" Arjun asked in a raspy voice and took a big gulp from the water bottle on the table without waiting for her.
Saheri meanwhile was just sitting there motionless observing the kid feeling more confident in her suspicions.
"It's a long story" Arjun tried deflecting the topic.
"I have the entire afternoon if needed" Saheri who was getting fed up by the kid's deflection tactics spoke in an even more authoritative voice.
Arjun took a long and deep breathe before he began his narration,
"When i was five years old father bought me my first ever drawing book which was unexpectedly a bilingual book containing both Russian and English. I was already familiar with English but fascinated by the new text i had never seen before and started looking for books in the same language at our village library.
Surprisingly the library had over hundred books in Russian and even a learn Russian in 30 days book in Telugu. I felt since everyone was busy with English, learning Russian would be unique so i worked on my Russian skills. It took me quite a while almost around two years to read and understand Russian books without help of the translation book.
This is how i was able to converse with Vladimir though i have to mention he still laughs at most of my Russian pronunciation.
As for English my mother started teaching me English since childhood, we even now converse in English now and then, even Sari has to do the same. Later on i got interested in English novels and started reading them periodically on my library visits. Now i can say confidently that i can speak the best English in my village" Arjun gave a wide grin after his lengthy explanation, But was still afraid whether this woman was convinced or not. He was glad that his younger self often visited the library or even this excuse might not have worked out.
He had used every part of his brain to come up with this explanation on the spot, If she posed anymore questions he did not know whom he could use as a shield. He had already used his dad, Vladimir, his mom and sister as a part of his conversation with Saheri. He was already starting to run out of characters by now.
"Please god, let this be it" Arjun started to pray in his heart.
Saheri was impressed by his tenacity. She had never heard of a kid spending so much time learning new language, at least not in India. She was even more amazed that in this world filled with people wanting to learn English, someone wanted to learn Russian. Language of a falling superpower, perhaps this kid might not understand the implications but she could. Being proficient in both Russian and English at the same time could open many doors for Arjun if he used his skills correctly.
Saheri took a while to gather her thoughts, even though his answer seemed reasonable and logical she felt something did not feel right, it was as if there were some holes in the explanation that didn't make sense. But this gave her more reassurance, had she felt everything was perfect she'd be feeling even more doubtful about his origins.
"Okay, you convinced me kiddo. But Arjun anyone can learn new languages if they spend enough time. What do you think you're really good at? what makes you special and different from others?
You made your starting money with Madan's help, at your press you relied heavily on Madan's and Kavitha's help, Now for this new venture you're relying on me and that kid Shiva Ram. In everyone of these i don't see a place where you stand out. I feel you're riding the waves right now, going anywhere it takes you. But let me remind you, people who ride the waves get drowned by the waves too." Saheri spoke her mind
Arjun upon hearing her last sentence got lost in his thoughts.
"Take your time, there's no hurry" She said and got back to her work.
Arjun meanwhile went through his life after being reborn and felt she had a point. Till now he went ahead with whatever the situation offered him. If someone else was in his position he felt they'd do way better, At least they wouldn't be reminded by a woman they had never met before about his current situation.
He then started thinking about his main strength. It was not management or sales cause if he was good at these he wouldn't have remained a failure in his past life. If not for the random good people he had encountered in his journey he might not even have survived in his previous entrepreneurial journey.
Arjun then remembered Saheri's quote about his present life. He now felt he was truly lucky to be at the right place at the right time. Madan being in the same village as him, his son being his best friend, coincidentally meeting Vladimir and Shiva Ram, His mom being good at designing. By now he was starting to feel perhaps being at the right place at the right time was his superpower. But he cannot say that was his strength can he? Even he would spit on himself if he dared to say it.
But then it hit him, Yes he might not be good at inventing, marketing, planning or creativity but one thing he was good at was taking the initiative and adapting to the situations. Everyone of those people even though they helped him, wouldn't have done so had he not approached them asking for their help. He couldn't have escaped his previous predicament with Saheri or made his first deal with Vladimir which gave him most of the money for the press if it wasn't for his adaptability.
Finally coming to this conclusion "Taking the initiative and adaptability", "They are what i am good at Atha" he spoke with a renewed confidence in his words. By now he realized this woman was not trying to destroy him but rather help him.
Perhaps he would never have realized that he was riding the waves had she not mentioned it. Even thinking about the consequences of this sent chills down his life. Imagining all his hard work being swept up by a whale did not sit well with him but he felt it would be a real possibility if he went on like this.
Saheri was even more impressed, even though it took Arjun over an hour to come to the answer, it had taken her over twenty years to realize her strong suites. Most people would never do in their entire lives.
This kid was worth teaching she thought to herself, But this was beyond her she did not know what plans that man had for him and could only let it go.