Rupesh finished his gym exercises on the ground floor of his building and then went up to the terrace on the 28th floor for his yoga routine. He liked to do his yoga in the open spaces. He felt rejuvenated after all this effort he put in daily to maintain his health. He was 35 years old but felt much  younger. After completing his exercises he felt for his water bottle in his bag but was surprised to find that it was missing. Maybe he had forgotten it at his house. He was now very thirsty and so decided to go to his apartment on the 2nd floor. He called the lift and waited. 

Sachin was a keen runner and took part in half marathons regularly. Today as usual he had been to a stadium to practice. A prestigious race was scheduled next week and he wanted to be ready for it. After running 15 kilometres in an hour, he settled down in the club house and drank a lot of water to prevent dehydration. Unfortunately, the tea stall was closed and so he could not get any refreshments to beat his hunger pangs. Without wasting much time he jumped into his car and hoped to reach home soon. But he was caught in an ugly traffic jam and by the time he reached his building, he was mad with hunger. As he entered the lift, it started going up but he did not notice that he had not pressed the 15th floor button and when the door opened he realised that the lift had been called up to the top floor.

Here it is necessary to look into the past events involving these two men. Rupesh had an average academic spell at the University. He then got a reasonable job but not good enough for him to settle down in life. He was going steady with his girl-friend, Rita; spending a good amount of attention and money on her, giving her gifts galore and frequently taking her out for shopping and dinners. 

His friend Sachin was dealing in shares and doing quite well. When Rupesh expressed his desire to increase his earnings, Sachin  suggested that he should invest in shares. So one day Rupesh took the plunge when a promising deal was suggested by Sachin  Unfortunately, the company in which he invested a substantial amount on that day went bust in a couple of months and Rupesh lost a big chunk of his money. Sachin should not have recommended a big amount in a single company’s shares. When he learnt that Sachin had not invested in that firm, he was furious at him! 

Now Rupesh was in a dire position financially and could not give that much attention to his girlfriend. Gradually, she lost interest in him. One day, Rupesh was shocked to find Sachin and Rita in a restaurant together. He was now boiling with rage! One thing led to another and soon the two of them had a verbal duel. And the next time they met, they came to blows! Friends intervened and they were somehow separated. 

Not to be outdone, Rupesh met Rita’s parents, whom he knew very well, and gave them a bleak view of Sachin’s character. He told them some true (and some not so true) stories about him to poison their minds. His intention was to separate Sachin and Rita by hook or by crook. Rupesh succeeded in his mission and their enmity increased many fold. 

So when Rupesh and Sachin  faced each other in the lift on the 28th floor, both of them turned red with anger. All the unpleasant memories came flooding into their minds. Even though they had lived in the same building they had taken care not to come into contact with one another. But now they were forced to  face each other. Rupesh was very thirsty and so allowing the lift to go was not a good option. Similarly, Sachin wanted to go home soon to satiate his hunger.

So now both were inside the lift and their downward journey started amidst great tension. It seemed as if the combined hatred emanating from both the guys would cause the confined space of the lift to explode! Well, the lift did not explode but came to a sudden halt mid-way due to a power failure because the fan also stopped. Now each second as it ticked by seemed like ages for these two angry souls! The prospect of being confined in a small space even for a few minutes, with all their pent-up abhorrence for one another, was too much of a torture for them. If they hoped that the problem would be short-lived, it was their wishful thinking. After what seemed to them an eternity, the fan started but the lift operating buttons were still lifeless. The lift would not budge! The lift phone did not work. And neither did their mobiles due to the constricted space. All they could do was bang on the door to attract attention. Some movement of people was heard outside. At last help was on its way, they thought!

The problem seemed to be a major one as it was now close to an hour and yet the lift would not respond to the pressing of the buttons. Tired due to their common  tension, on top of their thirst and hunger respectively, Rupesh and Sachin inevitably slumped down onto the floor of the lift. Rupesh eyed the bottle of water in Sachin’s bag but how could he request him for a sip? Likewise, Sachin could not bring himself to request for that packet of chips protruding from Rupesh’s bag. As time passed and the lift did not acquiesce to their commands, both of them were now in a state of utter hopelessness, physically and mentally.

Then all of a sudden, the lift gave a jerk and then, to the utter horror of both the occupants, it went into a free fall. As the lift accelerated, both guys panicked. Their eyes bulged. They faced cruel death at the end of the fall. The few seconds of the free-fall completely shook them up. 

Then at a particular high speed the emergency brakes came into force and they came to a screeching halt. What a relief! The abrupt lease on their lives had a remarkable effect on their thinking processes. Their outlook of life, their egos, their anger – all these negative thoughts just evaporated! Now they looked at each other with different eyes. No more of that hatred that was devouring them. For the first time they looked at each other and even managed smiles.

Rupesh was the first to break the silence,  “Here, Sachin, have some refreshments. You seem starved!”

“Sure, Rupesh, but first you must quench your thirst with this water bottle”