"But what happened?"

"Nothing really! Just have to go..."

"Ummm... but where are you headed?"

"Just somewhere"

"OK... who will cover the rest of the chapters? Exams are just a month away and there are still 3 chapters to go"

Hah! As if I cared about the portion! The love of my life was packing off all the important things around his house and he wasn't disclosing details of where he's going...

"Anagh will cover them"

"But Anagh Sir only teaches Chemistry! I doubt he even knows there are two parts of the brains... and he..."

"He's a good professor! Don't judge him by his language! Don't worry, you be good!"

With that he started bubble wrapping all the crappy, pathetically mushy ceramics in his showcase that came as gifts to him... three of them were from me... Why is he being rough with that ceramic dog that *I* gave him? Or was just my perception?

"And when are you gonna be back?"

" I don't know"

I just kept looking at him... trying to make him conscious enough that he replies... he couldn't have missed the glare... he simply avoided looking at me... and then he did...

"Are you able to fit all the books in that bag? I have some space in here if there are any left"

I continued that painful look for a couple of seconds...

"They all fit"

"OK, you start with the clothes next... I'll start with the utensils"

"I don't want to..."

"OK, you can leave if you have to go somewhere... I'll manage"

"No, I don't want to go anywhere... and I don't want you also to go anywhere..."

"Babes, let's focus on packing"

I go 'mmmmmmm' when he calls me babes... but it kills me that it's not exclusive... he calls everyone that...

He had called up in the afternoon asking whether I can come over in the evening to cover up some doubts that I had with "Carbon and Carbon Compounds". It was sudden and he usually doesn't call students home unless exam's the next day. So it was kinda fishy. But I thought I'd figure out what it is in the morning.

I tucked his last underwear inside one of the suitcases.

"I'm done"

"Lunch's almost ready... fix the plates..."

I didn't have to fish much. There were only two plates lying in the drawer. Everything else was packed. I placed them on the table. A little too close to each other... hoping the plates aren't moved and we sit as close. Then I moved the place to opposite ends.

"Sorry, no bowls, everything else is packed"

"That's OK... Let me help you..."

I walked to the stove... Acqua Di Gio... had read the name off the bottle when he was packing his toiletries... the fragrance just made him so much more irresistible... as if there was any need...

"What's being cooked?"

"Spaghetti in red sauce... but sorry i'm out of cheese"

"Hmmm... you cook often?"

"I cook daily... how else do I survive!"

"I thought you'd have a maid or someone to cook... the smell is yumm!!"

I had leaned over to smell the dish... and then I realized I was too close to him... for a split second I was about to back off... but then I didn't...

"Hope it tastes as yummy... I was out of basil... So I don't know how it's gonna taste..."

"Hmmmm..."

Did I give out seduction through that moan? I just wanted to do a agree-hmmm.

He turned off the gas, picked the pan by it's handle and walked towards the table...

"Here we go... Now let's watch some TV?"

And he just walked off without waiting for my answer... I picked up the plate and followed him out... There was this one bean bag and he crashed on it... I threw a look around to see where I can put my bum...

"Come sit here!"

And he moved 5 inches gesturing me towards the emptier side of the bean bag... After seeing the doubtful look on my face, he moved an inch more...

"I'm not gonna throw science questions on you... Come!"

He switched on the teevee as I hesitantly walked towards him... I think I sat down too fast... Stupid clumsy me... Had a good portion of my hips and right arm placed on him... He hardly budged...

MTV... Splitsvilla... Next...
Zee... Some melodrama... Next
FTV... some fashion show... awkward... Next
IBN7... 'kya dehshat ka ye roop...' Next
Sun TV... alien language... Next
Set Max... China Gate... Next
HBO... Notting Hill...

"Let this beeeeeee"

"Isn't this the best movie ever?"

"Yess!! You like it too??"

"Not much! But I figured you'd do"

"Why?"

"Just!!"

For a ninth grader, Notting Hill was like the plethora of romance... the perfect mush... and how much ever I potray myself as a tom boy, I'm a die-hard romantic at heart!

"What's your favorite movie?"

"There's not one... there are so many... Casa Blanca... then there's Life is Beautiful..."

And the loud thudding of my heart made the rest of the list inaudible... He had placed the remote on the floor and put his arm around my shoulder...

The ghats of Bhimashankar were yelling out my name as I introduced myself... they seemed to like me...

"Dan Brown rocks..."

"Dan Brown rocksss..." they shouted back!

"See, I told you everybody likes him" I told Lathika and she gave me a nutty look... I tried to catch up as she sped ahead with 1.64 times my pace.

"Obama is not waiting for your resolvent vote. Go slow." My vain words fell on her hair laden ears.

"Fuck Obama, the tigers are sure waiting for their dinner... and if we don't catch up with the crowd, the tigresses are goina reward them for the feast that they are goina fetch!"

"I need to pee..."

"Are you irritating me intentionally or do you have absolutely no reason to live?"

"I really need to go, Latty... I've been holding on for like 2 hours"

"One minute... I'm goina wait for one minute... and if you're late, find your bags by that tree"

"Gosh, why dyu need to be so rigid and finicky all the time?"

"Go!!"

I rushed out as if the inter college treasure hunt had just begun.

I was expecting people who were still lagging behind to catch up with us. Reason for me to go deeper and deeper in the woods. More shrubby... more bushy... darker... deeper... until I thought about the one minute deadline. 40 seconds were already up and I thanked God for the inventor of track pants, it took me another 10 to finish my job.

"Bitch!!" I spat on my Rs. 2300 camping equipment as I picked it up from the base of the destined tree. Loading it on my spine, I started scratching my way through the thorny saplings and itchy branches with a larger-than-usual twig. I was so busy cursing Latika, I did not notice that the only sound that enriched the neighborhood was of my gait, thanks to my tiffin carrier that dangled from one of the hooks on the equipment! The twig in my hand was merrily swaying to the tunes of the encroaching noise of the cicadas, when it suddenly touched something fleshy... The reaction happened in a quarter nano-second. Something slithery glided away from under the twig with massive speed. As it reached some 7 feet away from me, I noticed the roughly 12 feet long and 4 inch diametered Sand Boa.

My bronchus attempted a suicide in anticipation. And it had almost succeeded had not the Bonnet Macaque tried to steal my tiffin box. The shock of two attacks put me into panic mode. I withdrew a staff that i had used to raise my tent yesternight, from the bag... all set to defend myself! It was nearly dark... I wondered how I had behaved so carelessly to let myself wander off to unknown places! Latika was not finicky! It was me who was living upto my nickname - Miss Kamikaze!!

The sounds seemed pronounced now! There was some water flow near by... We never crossed the Bhima river, or for that matter any water body on our way in... I was totally out of my brains... How the fuck am I goina get out of this mess! Screw NGC for making me a nature lover! Screw Adventure Trails for arranging this camp!! And screw me for paying up for it!!!

Sensing no probable attacks in the next 12 seconds, I managed to rummage through my stuff to find my torch. I started in the direction of the water flow! The cautiousness made the weight of the equipment heavier by the minute. In some distance, I heard extra crumbling of leaves. I switched off my torch.

The noise was right in the direction in which I was heading. I continued taking small steps towards it covering myself behind trees, obviously after checking for more boas! The mosquitoes had started sucking me and never was I so gentle to shoo them off... I didn't want to attract whatever made those leaves crumble.

"GRRRR..."

The extra bazooka effect of the roar had my ears focused. I could see a panther slowly moving in my direction.

Had I eaten anything since morning, I would have shat in my pants!

A faceless name... A nameless face...

"Shalini, I think we need to sell the old Gold that abaa had given us..."

"Why... what happened at the Bank?"

"The Loan got sanctioned, but it would just take care of Abhi's fees. What about other expenses?"

"Who?"

"Abhi, our elder son..."

"Aaah... who?"

"Abhi..." he calls out...

"Yea?" A boy sitting on a recliner in front of the TV turns around... Shalini recognizes him...

"Oh... But, Should we really sell the Gold? I mean, can't we manage the expenses from our pensions?"

"And what about his expenses? He will go out with friends, eat out some times, and who knows when we may need money for the medical treatments... We better keep some spare for safety..."

"You don't have Diabetes or Blood Pressure, Mayur, what treatment?"

"Yea, but..."

"OK, fine... so when do we sell it?"

"I have to go there again, so just give me the key to the locker, I'll check on the Gold stocks."

She goes to her wardrobe, pulls out a drawer and from within all the mess, withdraws a very old silk purse and walks to the hall... As she hands over the purse to Mayur, something pops out from one of its creases and rolls down below the sofa...

"Abhi, make her take the pills... I'll be home for Lunch..."

"Ok" she says and kneels down to find a blue button behind one of the legs of the sofa...

...

"Why can't he understand such simple things? Was it too much to expect from him to call me up and tell me he is not coming? He knew I was going to wait even if it took him a lifetime to arrive... He has changed so much from what he was when our love was in its blossoms..."

Her maskara was getting smudged in the rain but that did not bother her... She had already got drenched waiting for Rishabh at the Bus stop... They were supposed to meet at the Pizza Hut some 3 hours back... She felt peace as the raindrops slapped her face... It's science... When you are extremely angry and someone gives you one tight slap... notice that instead of getting angrier, you feel an eternal calmness...

They had declared a Curfew at 6... Bal Thakery abused the East, Raj Thakery offended the North, and Uddhav Thakery... with a feeling that he was disrespecting the family tradition... had now kicked the Southies... and they were in absolutely no mood of taking it in... Then the usual... Blames and Riots and Threats...

Here she was... cursing everything that came into her mind... including the handful of rickshawalas who refused to take her in... "If they don't want to take fares, why are they wandering at this hour..." She looked into her wristwatch... Kriti had gifted it to her on her first day at job... The small hand was a little below 8... Her legs were aching... "I deserve this... I need to be punished for loving a man like him... I need to be punished for believing in him when he said he will keep me happy for the rest of our lives... I need to be punished for not listening to my friends and rushing into the relationship... And now that I have fought with everyone who was once close to me... I have no other choice but to keep taking the crap... He has become more of a need to me..."

BANG!!! CRASH!!!

She felt a hard shake in her brain... The ground had thundered... She could see a bright yellow shade on the buildings in front of her... She turned around... Apart from the dense smoke, she was able to figure out the blazing structure located where the Pizza Hut building stood few seconds ago... She couldn't take her eyes off it...

Till the time she gulped the full impact of what was happening... She was swooped a good 10 feet into a dark slot of a wall... Her head banged on the wall... He cupped her mouth when she was about to scream and pressed her up on the wall... In spite of the suddenness of everything, she tried to think about this man...

It struck her... She had read about it in news... Having lived in 5 different localities since her childhood, she had seen a variety of people... From her girl friends at the London Business School where she used to study, to her one time maid who used to live in Dharavi... None ever had gone through this... Her worst nightmares seemed so subtle at the moment...

She was electrified... She was going to be raped... She had always thought, living a life of a rape victim was the worst... worse than even getting brutally murdered by that person... She wanted to live... She wanted to be clean and pure... She did not want to loose her dignity...

There was a siren at a distance... A new hormone of hope evolved... Sensing a weak grip, she tried with all her strength to push him away... He stumbled a bit... But not enough for her to escape... "He is so strong... I wish Rishabh..." And through her struggle, the siren passed away... She felt as if life was sucked out of her...

She waited to die... and waited... and waited... then wondered... what was this person up to??

From the time she was pushed on to the wall, he was just holding her... he did not make any sexual advancements... Nor had he tried to touch her in a wrong way... She laid still...

"He is wearing spectacles... This man is not going to fuck me...!! He is not a rapist...!!" Only Jesus knows what made her make such conclusions... She experienced the truest meaning of the word 'relief'! She wanted to kiss him... for not raping her...

There was a noise at a distance... She now was conscious about his movements... Tried to decipher his intentions...

He was anxious... or maybe afraid... His heart was thudding against her breasts... She realized him to be a Malayalee when his hair oil made way to her nostrils... He could sense her subsiding struggle to escape... He lightened his grip on her mouth so that she could breathe...

A mob passed from the nearby street... Yelling abuses at the South Indians... She could feel a stiffness in his fingers through her lips... He was so powerfully still, she wondered whether he even breathed...

Zap!!! She wanted him... She wanted to love him... She wanted to put her arms around him and kiss him passionately... She wished she were his South Indian Girlfriend... and instead of just shutting her up, he would protect her from the mob... She wanted to feel the warmth of his strength... She wanted to feel secured in his arms...

She sensed something being held in her hand, she felt it and realized it was a button... She remembered pulling it out from his shirt while struggling to break free...

He looked into her eyes through the specs... brushed down his fingers from her lips... and disappeared into the dark....