Suddenly Martha felt the mattress sink near her, as Norman
planked himself with a soft thump, beside her.
He was very close to her. He had
his left hand around her shoulder.
Without a warning, just as she was about to reach out for a sandwich, he
put his right hand on her chin, twisted her delicate face towards his and
kissed her tenderly on her rose-pink lips.
He felt as though he was drowning in the sweetness of her mouth.
Martha found
that she was readily responding to him, unashamedly! After that passionate exchange, just as
Martha thought that their proximity was becoming too dangerous, she reluctantly
pulled away, leaving him staring at her, confused and aroused. “Martha….” he said, his voice filled with a
longing that even surprised him, “Finish your meal soon. I need to talk to you!”
Grasping his
train of thought, Martha blushed and finished the rest of her meal in silence,
exchanging loaded looks with Norman. She
was struggling to find some meaning in their spontaneous attraction towards
each other. She knew that currently it
was purely physical. May be she was
emotionally vulnerable, just then, hence more prone toward such demonstrative
behavior of dependence. She needed a
succor and Norman fitted the bill.
After she
finished eating, she went to the bathroom, tidied the bedside table; and then
had a refreshing shower. She knew that
she was just buying time. She wondered
how she’d ever face Norman again. After
all he was the Editor of her stories, not her….. Then again, defiantly she
thought “Why not? Why can’t he be my
boy-friend?” Then she laughed, as she
realized that this was the first time in her life that she had ever really thought
in such terms about a man.
Was her latest story responsible for her
new-found amour? Wasn’t she the
untouched virgin who had pledged herself to a life of celibacy and reveled in
her spinsterhood and the accompanying freedom?
What would Norman think if he discovered that at the age of 45, she was
still a virgin? Besides, she was scared
about love-making! Would it be
painful? Was she ready to commit herself
so suddenly to a stranger?
With a start,
she realized that she didn’t really know anything about Norman, except the fact
that he had been married and divorced twice, had 3 grown-up children from his
previous marriages, was the Editor of the prestigious magazine “Just for you,”
a passable looking, friendly-cum-stern guy who had just proved himself to be
eminently likeable and dependable too!
Yes, she was discovering that she found his company relaxing. Yet, could she spend a lifetime with
him? That would need some serious
introspection.
Not having any
fresh clothes, Martha opened a closet in the bathroom, found a maroon silk
bathrobe of Norman’s and slipped it on.
It engulfed her in its voluminous folds and she blushed as she felt as
if she was indeed in Norman’s embrace.
The gown smelt of his tobacco and aftershave. She inhaled the scent deeply, felt exhilarated
and walked out of the bathroom, with a spring in her step and a song on her
lips. “When will you be mine? Just say when will you be mine….”
In a jiffy,
Norman had stepped in front of her and embraced her in a bear hug. He started raining kisses on her forehead,
cheeks, chin, eyes, ears, lips and nose.
Then he pulled back and surveyed her flushed and shining face and saw how
her breasts were heaving beneath the fine material of ‘his’ gown. Her cleavage was clearly visible from the
long front-opening of his gown. It beckoned him to touch and feel her tender,
ripe breasts. He lifted her effortlessly
with his huge, strong arms and gently placed her on his bed.
Martha’s
heart-beats raced in a staccato, as she breathlessly watched him undress, then
proceed towards her. As he reached for
the lapels of his gown on her body and bent to kiss her cleavage, she shrieked
pitifully as she saw blonde curls instead of Norman’s straight brown hair. When he raised his head and stared at her in
consternation, she passed out. She had
just seen one vacant eye, staring at her.
Juan’s!
************
Sara was
climbing the steep steps to the shrine from the Western side, that side from
where her Juan had disappeared into that mysterious shrine’s fold. She had made up her mind that she’d follow
him in there and live a celibate life in the monastery. At least, she’d be able to see him daily. She knew that he’d be pining for her
too. Then she thought about the fact
that she had shown herself to him in a very hideous disguise. Which handsome guy would pine for such a
disgusting creature? May be he wouldn’t
even recognize her and even give her a cold shoulder! But she knew that she had to take a
chance. Once inside the shrine, she
could corner him sometime, reveal her true identity and ask his forgiveness and
profess her true love for him. So what
if he wouldn’t appear as handsome as before, with his blinded eye, she didn’t
care for his physical beauty. She had
seen his inner beauty—his bravery, strength of resolve and commitment to his
‘task’. She could take several births,
just to belong to him at least in one!
Suddenly the
sky above her grew dark and forbidding.
As she thought that a storm was about to break, she looked upwards and
screamed as she saw that the sky had turned dark due to the outstretched wings
of scores of huge eagles, hovering overhead.
They were lusting for her!
Sara had
brought a pointed long spear with her.
She waved it about maniacally, trying to keep the rapacious birds
away. When one huge, menacing bird
unfortunately ventured too close to the spear’s pointed head, it happened to
dip into it. With great horror, Sara
looked at the bird with a bleeding eye, as it gave a piteous raucous sound and
crashed to the ground. Its companions
flocked around it, raising an unbearable din.
Now they maintained a safe distance from Sara and her spear.
She felt very
sorry for the bird and guilty too. But
she knew that she had just acted in self-defense. This was a vicious world. Either kill or be killed! She suddenly wondered whether it was Divine
providence that she may have wounded the same bird that had blinded her love,
Juan! She shuddered and continued
climbing. When she reached the huge
wrought-iron gates of the shrine, she was tired but relieved. She sat down on the grass, for a
breather. She was excited that she’d be
soon seeing her suitor. She wished that
she had bought the garland with her. She
had thoughtfully worn the specially made purple dress, for her betrothal and
waited expectantly to see the look of surprise and delight on his face, as he
saw her for the first time in his life, in her true form! She couldn’t wait to see him.
To be continued....
The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan
***********************************************************************************
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please send constructive feedback only.