I was late for office, and I knew it was a risky business, being so. I pulled out my hand and looked at my watch! bad! I was already 15 minutes off the stipulated time and I was still 20 minutes away from office. I was walking briskly dodging fellow pedestrians( taking my car out in this wee hours would be foolish act).
"Gray! Its your favorite color" came a voice through few pedestrians who soon walked away to reveal a lean and skinny man who sat in a bench under the tree.
I stopped for a while, it was true!. Gray was my favorite color; and is; "Wild guess!" I told myself and as I was about to move,
"You like Lee cooper for your shoes and waterman as your pen", He spoke again.
"This cannot be a wild guess!" I thought,and I turned my course, I knew I was getting late,but I couldn't take spies on my back.
"Hey you! do you know me? are you spying on me ?" I yelled as I approached him.
"Of course not ! I don't know you, and if at all I was spying on you, why would I tell it to you?" The man replied with a smile through his black beard.
"Then you must be those money sucking astrologer? Ain't you?"
"No I am not! I speak of past" He replied.
"Oh! so you can tell my past is it ?"
"Yeah! Quite up to the mark!"
"Whats my favorite car?" I asked with my hands on hips.
"Wolkswagon" came the reply, and it did startle me!. I drove Toyota, but I was always fascinated by Wolks.
"Whats my favorite brand for shirt ?"
"Van Heusen", And he was right again, I was getting anxious, this can't be happening.
"Whats my favorite drink?"
"Fermented Apple, warm". Holy crap! He didn't name all favorites though, but this was surely one of it!.
"And the socks?" I asked with a grin.
"100Rs for every fact I tell about you" He replied.
"Thats ridiculous! What makes you think I'll do that?".
"You'll be astonished to know what I know about you! I can give you a discount though, 1000Rs and I'll personally tell everything, and if you aren't happy, ask me and I'll give every penny back you paid, right then".
Weird though, he made sense! 100% money back guarantee was good option.
I pulled out a 1000Rs note from my vallet and handed over to him.
He began with my favorite vallet, to my comfortable watch!, to the color I hate, to the people I like to see, to things that make me laugh, things that makes me mad! My hair style, my leg operation, my bad days at office, my bad days at home, my holidays, my promotion!, my bonus, my wife's birthday! my anniversary!.
He didn't tell everything though, but everything he told was accurate to nanometers. Sure I was impressed. I sighed and said "you are the man!"
"Yeah I am!" he said and smiled.
"How did you do it? videotape me?" I got curious.
"Nah! I ain't that rich! anyways its a secret"
"I'd like to purchase the secret! I won't leave this place without knowing" I insisted.
"I know you can do Mr. It'd be just 5000" he smiled.
"I pulled out 5 notes of 1000 and handed over to him, this time I didn't regret, If he knew anything more about me, sure he'd be my wife. He kept money in pocket and slowly pulled out a big old torn notebook from his bag.
"You see, I am good observer, I believe in attention to detail, I observe people everyday" he said.
"So you just saw me for few days walking by and you knew all these?" I asked again.
"Its not that simple, I observe very few people, who pass by this place everyday, everynow and then, and I write about them everyday, what they were wearing, they were eating, drinking, their mood, body language, facial expression, hair, color. People they talk to, when they laugh, when they get angry, I write on a daily basis. Its from that end of the corner street to that end of the road I get to observer anyone. In simple words, to observe anyone, I get only 10 minutes.
"Is that enough?" I asked.
"Its not, and thats why I watch every single person in my list for exactly 1 year. Precise, and by the end of it, I'd have collected 80% accurate info about them, I don't know about you, but your name in my record is Mr. Black050606, as you wore black suit and I decided to start watching you on 5th June 2006"
"And its 5th June 2007 today, so you decided to tell me about it?"
"Precisely! From now on I won't keep your record! Here! Have your pages" he said and tore almost half of the notebook and gave it to me.
"Why do you do this?" I asked.
"I am a good observer and I can only do this" He replied.
And that night, I was excited to read every minute detail he wrote about me. It took me 4 hours to finish all the pages and in the last page he wrote 'I know you are surprised, you can stop pulling your hair!' I relesed my hair that I kept pulling with my other hand and a giggle emerged from nowhere.
I dialled few numbers on my phone.
"Mr Shaw, there is this interesting man, who'd be hell of use to your anti terrorist squad... yeah... tomorrow then?.. Thank you".
And few months from that day, he is a succesful vigilance keeper in hot shot areas of city, and a well known employee of anti terrorist squad. And occasionally we two sit at that bench and he says "That guy over there in white shirt, likes to drink appy after coffee! I mean how can anyone like to drink appy after coffee?"
"Stop it man!" I say and pat him on his shoulder.
"How did you know my favorite car?" I still had a question.
"Quite simple, rarely you drew car, whenever you did drive your Toyota, you only stared at Wolks that stood around you stuck in traffic" He smiled. I smiled too.
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