Tuesday 1-1-11 9:30 AM:
I looked up at the sun, now a brightening golden disc. It took it’s time in the laziness of the winter morning to transform from a cool red to the fiery golden color. I enjoyed this solitude each morning. It gave me time to reflect on the hard work that got me here and the future that lay ahead. Most importantly, it helped me focus on the present for the rest of the day without any distractions.
I stood up, stretched and fanned out my vision across my duplex sized office. At 30, having my own business was a dream come true for me. I looked at the brass name plate which read, ‘Phoenix constructions Pvt Ltd.’ the fresh morning sunlight was making it shine. I experienced a proud moment as I looked at my own cabin and name plate which read M.D. and C.E.O. As a construction company, we specialized in acquiring and remodeling the old buildings in the city for the current usage. This we did by either remodeling the building or by destroying the existing building and constructing an altogether new building.
The people started to come in at the standard time, 10 AM and the office began filling up. I went back to my desk after greeting everyone when I saw the paper on my table. The file was unmarked which surprised me. Usually the files on old buildings came from rental agencies or other smaller construction companies which owned the existing constructions. We also hired several private agents to keep an eye out for hot deals. This one wasn’t from any of them.
I opened the file to find out a map of the town. I found one part in the heart of the town marked in red.
Impossible I thought to myself. It was one of the most populated residential localities in town and there was no chance of the existence of any property which was not in use or which was too old to be used anymore. I was starting to suspect a prank and was about to close the file when I flipped to the second page of the file. This page gave a more detailed picture of the pin pointed location. This map showed a small, thick woodland which marked the boundary of the locality and the start of the hill range. I became more interested and looked in more carefully. This particular place was in the midst of a particularly thick part of the wood. But I did not know that such a property existed. I called in one of my private agents to find out if there was such a property for real. I gave him the details and he promised to get back to me within the hour.
The next page of the file contained pictures of the property. The pictures were obviously developed from a very old film and were not taken within the past ten years. The black and white photograph showed two buildings, obviously residential buildings spread over an area of 1500 sq ft which was given in the previous map. If true, and if I could lay my hands on the property, I would become the richest builder overnight by just selling the site given its land value. The next page gave me an address in London which said the location of the current owner. The page ended with a line which said,
“Existing site with building is ready for sale. Contact the owner ASAP”, it said.
I was wondering why the person could possibly wait for so long to find a deal for the site when my agent called me back.
“So, did you find out about the current status? Are you sure that it is still open for sale?” I asked, my words falling into an irregular prattle with the excitement.
“Yes sir, I have positive information that the site is unused and is open for sale. The owner lives somewhere in Europe and interested people have no idea on whom to contact.” He said.
“They don’t have the address of the owner? Strange.” I said as I looked at the address in front of me.
“Yes sir, and more over the municipality is planning on seizing the land since it has been unused for many years and the owner is nowhere to be traced. They’re planning to announce an open auction in a week.” He said.
“We have to get our hands on it before anyone else does.” I said, firmly.
“How sir?” he asked.
“Leave that to me. But, in the meantime find out what other information you can gather about this strange plot.” I said and cut the line.
As I was about to make a call to the phone number given with the address, another sheet of paper which I hadn’t noticed till then fell out of the folder.
“Great things in life come with great risks…
Fortune favors only the brave but no one…
Before you step in and make contact, make sure you are bold…
For there is going back once you take hold…”
The words were cut out from newspapers with each piece of paper in a different shade of brown which indicated the age of each cut piece of paper.
I was looking at the strange verse in my hand when my cell phone rang. The display showed an unlisted number. As I picked up the call with a small shiver, the cheerful old male voice on the other end said,
“Up for the deal young man?”
I looked up at the sun, now a brightening golden disc. It took it’s time in the laziness of the winter morning to transform from a cool red to the fiery golden color. I enjoyed this solitude each morning. It gave me time to reflect on the hard work that got me here and the future that lay ahead. Most importantly, it helped me focus on the present for the rest of the day without any distractions.
I stood up, stretched and fanned out my vision across my duplex sized office. At 30, having my own business was a dream come true for me. I looked at the brass name plate which read, ‘Phoenix constructions Pvt Ltd.’ the fresh morning sunlight was making it shine. I experienced a proud moment as I looked at my own cabin and name plate which read M.D. and C.E.O. As a construction company, we specialized in acquiring and remodeling the old buildings in the city for the current usage. This we did by either remodeling the building or by destroying the existing building and constructing an altogether new building.
The people started to come in at the standard time, 10 AM and the office began filling up. I went back to my desk after greeting everyone when I saw the paper on my table. The file was unmarked which surprised me. Usually the files on old buildings came from rental agencies or other smaller construction companies which owned the existing constructions. We also hired several private agents to keep an eye out for hot deals. This one wasn’t from any of them.
I opened the file to find out a map of the town. I found one part in the heart of the town marked in red.
Impossible I thought to myself. It was one of the most populated residential localities in town and there was no chance of the existence of any property which was not in use or which was too old to be used anymore. I was starting to suspect a prank and was about to close the file when I flipped to the second page of the file. This page gave a more detailed picture of the pin pointed location. This map showed a small, thick woodland which marked the boundary of the locality and the start of the hill range. I became more interested and looked in more carefully. This particular place was in the midst of a particularly thick part of the wood. But I did not know that such a property existed. I called in one of my private agents to find out if there was such a property for real. I gave him the details and he promised to get back to me within the hour.
The next page of the file contained pictures of the property. The pictures were obviously developed from a very old film and were not taken within the past ten years. The black and white photograph showed two buildings, obviously residential buildings spread over an area of 1500 sq ft which was given in the previous map. If true, and if I could lay my hands on the property, I would become the richest builder overnight by just selling the site given its land value. The next page gave me an address in London which said the location of the current owner. The page ended with a line which said,
“Existing site with building is ready for sale. Contact the owner ASAP”, it said.
I was wondering why the person could possibly wait for so long to find a deal for the site when my agent called me back.
“So, did you find out about the current status? Are you sure that it is still open for sale?” I asked, my words falling into an irregular prattle with the excitement.
“Yes sir, I have positive information that the site is unused and is open for sale. The owner lives somewhere in Europe and interested people have no idea on whom to contact.” He said.
“They don’t have the address of the owner? Strange.” I said as I looked at the address in front of me.
“Yes sir, and more over the municipality is planning on seizing the land since it has been unused for many years and the owner is nowhere to be traced. They’re planning to announce an open auction in a week.” He said.
“We have to get our hands on it before anyone else does.” I said, firmly.
“How sir?” he asked.
“Leave that to me. But, in the meantime find out what other information you can gather about this strange plot.” I said and cut the line.
As I was about to make a call to the phone number given with the address, another sheet of paper which I hadn’t noticed till then fell out of the folder.
“Great things in life come with great risks…
Fortune favors only the brave but no one…
Before you step in and make contact, make sure you are bold…
For there is going back once you take hold…”
The words were cut out from newspapers with each piece of paper in a different shade of brown which indicated the age of each cut piece of paper.
I was looking at the strange verse in my hand when my cell phone rang. The display showed an unlisted number. As I picked up the call with a small shiver, the cheerful old male voice on the other end said,
“Up for the deal young man?”
Comments
But there are two things you overlooked
-add a 'no' before the going back in the stanza..probably in excitement to post it you rushed through the end :) it happens
-what is a thick wood, hill range doing in the heart of the city?? u are taking MVP as an inspiration eh?? :D