The seven sins

1.  LUST

“My client has always filed sexual harassment complaints at her workplace against Mr. Lee. The HR gave several warnings too. Here is a copy of the complaints. My client here always tried to avoid conversations with Mr. Lee and it was not too difficult because they worked in different departments. But my client had to file a complaint when Mr. Lee groped her in the lift, the surveillance tape is also a piece of key evidence.”

“I looked at her every day. I raped her with my eyes, I used to imagine what is behind her clothes. The more the clothes, the better I felt. She used to catch me staring at her sometimes, but my eyes would always find a way back on to her body. There was not an inch that I had left in my fantasy. But physically, I was not the one who raped her.” Mr. Lee confessed to being lustful but never confessed to the crime. 

2. ENVY

“She is getting married for real? Kiara who was the most commitment-phobic is getting married?” Samantha was furious to know that Kiara had said yes. She confronted her, “So what made you agree to this guy? You have always walked away from commitments, broken up with all your exes to it’s not you, it’s me, what suddenly changed your mind?” “He is a nice guy, everything that I ever dreamt of. Could certainly not say to anything, he just seemed too flawless” Kiara instantly replied  smiling at her. Samantha picked up her phone and opened Tinder. She deleted the request that she had sent to Kiara’s fiancé 6 months back. “If only he was mine!” Samantha thought and smiled back with envious eyes. 

3. GREED

“You are a salesperson and I think that just because of your designation you should straight go to hell.” Aditya mocked at his friend Saachi. “Oh come on! You are just jealous because I get to be around the best cars in the world. And you have the most boring job in the world of a chartered accountant. I bet numbers turn you on too!”

Aditya punched her playfully on her arm and explained, “Well you sell all types of cars in the form of various sins, A Lamborghini to make everyone jealous, A Rolls Royce for pride, one car is not enough for your stature, Gluttony. I am too drunk to think of the other sins. Oh, Wait! The biggest one, Greed! You keep telling people that the current perfect car you are driving is actually not good enough. You should spend more money on buying our cars because that is how they will tame their greed and you will tame yours by achieving your sales targets and increasing your pay scale figures.” 

“Well, Aditya, let me drunk quote my favorite actor Mr. Rajnikanth, “ Needs can always be met, but greed can never be fulfilled.” Never!” 

4. PRIDE

“My principles are very strong Mr. Abram. You cheated this company, even if we're for a mere $1000. My father built the Dayton empire on the foundation of hard work, trust, honesty, and commitment. You needed the money, you could have just asked.” Mr. Dayton’s son, Ethan spoke calmly while staring outside the window at the world beneath him. The conversation was taking place at the Dayton empire’s head office, at the 23rd floor, in Ethan’s office. Mr. Abram was being sounded off for robbing the company of $1000, in front of 20 other employees. Mr. Abram quietly walked towards the table, put an envelope which contained the $1000, apologized and left the room. Ethan dismissed the meeting before throwing away the envelope in the trash can. 

The next morning’s headline was, ‘Dayton Empire’s CEO Ethan caught red-handed in a sex scandal. Mrs. Dayton leaks embarrassing photos’ Mr. Abram saw the headlines and a photo of Ethan trying to avoid the press. He lay the paper down on the grass and sat on it, next to a fresh grave of his ailing son. There were many definitions of cheating, but this one surely stripped Ethan of his pride. 

5. GLUTTONY

“I know my limits of food and alcohol? A big no! I like having control over my mind and body. My body is a temple.” Kiara explained and excused herself from her friends. “My body is a temple! I don’t indulge in eating good food or alcohol because I am boring!” Jude mocked her as Kiara walked out of the bar. 

Kiara was too rich, rich enough to fly in her private jet to countries for meals. Pour the best champagne every night. But she never let gluttony come in between. She was very humble and respected money. She had earned it. There was a time when she was a small kid and her mother and she would walk on the streets in search of food. They would give in to gluttony when they would spot someone throwing leftovers in the trash. 

Her story from rags to riches was because she did not give in to the seven sins. 

6. LAZINESS

“I am very careless, I do not feel like doing anything, my efforts are half-hearted and I am discouraged easily,” Kiara confessed to her counselor. “There is no problem at all with her mind, she is just lazy! She does not understand the meaning of hard work. She is a sloth! Worse than a sloth!” Her father yelled. “Sir could you please wait outside, I want to talk to her alone.” The counselor requested. Kiara’s dad walked outside in anger. 

“Maybe I am just too tired of trying. I had the best grades in school, I was pushed more than my limits, asked to work double hard and yet I could not achieve what I wanted to. Or rather what he wanted me to. Or maybe he is right. I am a sloth! I am slow and lazy and because of this, people presume that I have a relaxed temperament. But on the inside, I am just a rebel trying to rest the hard work I put in as a child. 

7. WRATH

Scarlett’s mother Eleanor was not an easy person to deal with. She always wanted her daughter to be perfect at everything. She would never express love and get angry very easily. When Scarlett was 8 she was learning ballet. A dance that Scarlett always detested. She learned it to keep Eleanor calm and proud. 

One evening at a dinner hosted by Eleanor, Scarlett was asked to perform. She was applauded by all the guests. Scarlett still looked frightened and hesitant. She smiled to hide away a secret. After the party, Eleanor looked at Scarlett with a straight face and said, “You danced like a prostitute. That was an insult to ballet!” 

Scarlett went to her room and was relieved that her mother did not hit her in anger. She switched on her computer to print her to-do list for the next day. When out of curiosity she searched for the term ‘prostitute’. Eleanor’s wrath and the search results scarred her for life.