The Sting Operation

The recent times have been the best for the likes of me. Our clan has flourished over the last few years especially in the suburbs of mega cities like Mumbai and other metros. You see most of our folks feel that the larger the city the better. Till the recent past, say as early as about thirty years back, we used to stay in large colonies in jungles and swamps. As the jungles started thinning out we moved to the edges. The swamps were not spared either. Most of them were re-filled and put to use under the new fangled schemes of the reclaimed lands. It was not only our population that had grown! In fact I had heard the parents and older guys talking about the competition that we, the mosquitoes faced from the human beings.

I was born in one such swamp on the outskirts of a wasteland. The entire clan was waiting fervently for my birth. You see it had been a long while since a female was born into the clan. I suppose, I need not elaborate the superior status that the females of my clan enjoy. We are gifted with the capacity to sting causing illness and destruction to human race. All hopes were pinned on the eggs laid on the surface of superbly slimy, greenish-grey water puddles. The members of the clan had been to various places and pledged offerings of various types of blood, shit, garbage and whatever they could think of, to all the deities of the world. The head of the clan had even risked visiting the lord at the dumping ground, behind the huge building from which the humans managed their cleaning operations. It was big deal you see, to be able to get into the dumping ground. One would assume that a dumping ground would be easy access for our people. But mind you it was easier to get into the building itself than the dumping ground! I am told that the security here was higher as more than just garbage was dumped there by the men of foul means. Anyway coming back to the point, every single mosquito was silently or openly hoping that I would be born a girl. And lo! Girl I was.

“Isn’t she a beauty? Such beautiful mouth brushes and what a thorax!”

“Wow, mark my words she is going to make history with those superb antennae.”

Such and more comments were made by the humming and whining females gathered to see me break out from the egg. What a stroke of luck for the rest of the clan! I was the darling of the group. Now they could hope to renew the war against humans. I was the original Anopheles reborn to avenge the pride of the family of Culicidae.

The clan raised me with much care and love. The oldest member of the clan, Mr.Toxhorynchitinae, was assigned to oversee my training. He had an impressive body of work with an impressive name to go with it. But to us he was simply Guru TC. I was given the best of training about every possible skill required to make a success of the war that we were fighting. It started with flying classes. Everything depended on how I would make an entry, how precisely I could land and most importantly how efficiently I could take off for the next flight. This I realized was the first key to long survival beyond the customary 2 weeks. As far as infecting the men is concerned, I had learnt how to sting from my mother’s womb, so that was not something to worry over.

My Guru chose to put me under tutelage of the most experienced flier. His name was Crane Flier. He had been in and out of thousands of houses and had landed on the most number of hands, faces, legs and such surfaces available at large. I was put through several hours of grueling flying classes. Initially I used to feel tired and often landed haphazardly on the stagnant water and dried feces. Gradually though I built up strength and could fly without stopping for as much as 10 seconds. Then I was cleared to get on to the next level. Crane Flier told me that if I had to make a success of my flight and landing, I need to be very careful of what surface I choose to land on. Landing on the left side of any person seemed to be most dangerous. A lot of my friends had met a bloody end while sitting on the left hand of the human beings. It was so easy for those humans to tap us off with the right hand.

By now I had started attending more than one class. While I enjoyed flying, I needed to know more. Guru TC had told me that my purpose in life was to be of use for the greater good of mosquitoes of the world. I was destined to be the savior and inspiration for all. My aim and goal in life was to bite as many human beings as possible and once I had come of age, I was expected to spread the malaria far and wide. That was the best weapon that our clan had against the rising numbers of species called man. While I knew about our weapons, I needed to know about theirs too. I was no ordinary mosquito. I had learnt to take off after landing in less than half a second. Not a small achievement! I had inherited my brains from my father’s side and courage from my mother’s side.

So I set out gathering knowledge on their weapons. I pestered the oldest mosquito in our wasteland. Everyone called her the Fortune Fly. She had great experience of various lands and had survived over 14 days when I approached her. Such a long life was totally unheard of in our society. She was weak these days and had broken her left wing and right eye in the last attack that she led against the filthy humans. So she set about down-whining all the knowledge that she had gathered over the years to me. Right hand seemed to be the most powerful weapon that all humans possess. Other than this they use all kinds of gooey stuff that can lead to fainting. They must be really thick skinned to be able to stay afloat after using all those pastes known as repellents. There are some other huge white luminous things that make horrible noise. I have extra sensitive antenna and can pick up the thin sharp noise miles before that giant looms up in front of us. Then there are the huge things hung on windows that they call mosquito net. These are not so difficult to negotiate, I soon learnt while out on a date with my would-be suitor. Some other things that we come up against in our part of the world are newspaper rolls; blindingly white yards and yards of stuff around the sleeping areas of the humans and some horrible smoky things coiled in corners.

Armed with all the information above, I debuted into the war in a high rise building on the edge of the swamp. The first day was a success. I got the sweet salty taste of blood the hard earned way. Later in the evening the leader of our swarm told us that 6 out of 102 folks that I had visited in the early evening were now looking dull and had already pulled out their woolen clothes and may be visiting a doctor. We celebrated by sharing the blood that I had carefully carried in my antennae.

Life was a roller coaster ride as the minutes and hours progressed. I was a veteran at biting and stinging by the end of 72 hours. My strike rate had gone up and I could infect as many as a hundred and more folks in a day. I had just returned with my swarm of boys that day. The night had been exceptionally busy. We had taken up a crusade in the new complex where the residents had piled onto the grounds for a night of revelry. Some of us had perished, some injured and some defeated. But all in all the night was a success. We were relaxing by the dark wet patch when I was challenged. I was feeling on top of the swamp as I had infected a record number of humans that night. I was here there everywhere!

“Andromela, don’t think that I don’t appreciate your success, but I still think you are far from being the best amongst the best.” Spoke the Young Turk, Antopodes.

I felt stung first time in my life. Yet keeping my cool outwardly. No point in getting anxious when I knew that he was simply jealous. The creator had robbed him of his sting since childhood. Yet my curiosity got better of me and I asked, “What makes you say that?”

“You can only be called the best if you enter a place that I tell you and infect the humans in that house and return back to us.”

Not the one to be put down, I accepted the challenge blindly. Evening 8pm was fixed as the time when I would be introduced to my challenge. I decided to catch a wink before the task was due. The swarm set out well in time to reach the destination. Antopodes was leading. He took us far out over to the other side of the swamp. Not our regular route. I wondered when this fellow had been to explore the unseen parts of the swamp. Anyway the air here was cooler and thinner. It was easier to fly and we soon came upon a set of newly built houses. As we buzzed through I saw that the houses had large open windows covered with the infernal nets and good light and air. The drain was well covered and the pipes were invisible. Thriving and surviving in these conditions would be so difficult. But I could not call it off without hurting my ego and pride. So I hummed my way to the house that Antopodes had marked as a challenge.

And what a challenge it was. The Windows seemed to be sealed with no opening. The entry was tricky as I saw that it was a three door circus. There was an iron front door concealing a solid wood door which in turn was hiding a door with a fine quality net. And the three were never opened together. The net door was firmly closed before the wooden and the front door opened. The drain pipes were covered with fine net also. I was stumped for the first time to make an entry into the mosquito proof fortress. I was more determined than ever to prove my expertise and establish my supremacy by breaking and entering this particular place. So I decided to stake out at the place and look for the best possible opening.

After waiting for endless minutes and hours, I figured out that the best way to get in would be to find a carrier. I decided to wait at the entry door. Soon it became apparent that not much activity happened here. And no material was taken inside the house without checking for flies and mosquitoes. No vendor was allowed inside the main wooden door. All the vegetables and newspapers were checked using a strange weapon that I had not yet encountered. It was oval shaped and had a net on it with a handle. I heard the maid calling it a racquet. I wondered if there was any similarity to crickets of our world. The maid moved it over the stuff that entered the house and also the people who came in. I saw the flies dropping limp and almost dead when this weapon was moved over all things.

I went back to the swarm of friends who were waiting a safe distance away to discuss what I had seen. All of us agreed that the challenge was beyond any difficulties that any one of us had ever faced. I was told not to risk it in my condition. You see I was ready to lay more eggs! But my ego was pricked and I could not back out from the sting operation. It was a matter of pride. So after much discussion, I realized that the only way to get in was to launch myself on the maid who seemed to be the only one coming in and out. She was the only one not being checked by the racket. We finalized the entry exit route through the maid and I set off for the battle.

I waited for the maid to appear again and quickly launched myself on her hair when she opened the door. I was finally inside the fortress. To be honest, I was scared as I was carried inside on her person. What if somebody came with that racket? But nothing happened. I managed to escape into the dark corner of the house. I waited till my humming came back to normal and decided to find my victim. There was no point in taking back the blood from the maid. That was easy enough and no good to establish my supremacy. I need to take blood from the head of the house. From my hiding post I realized that there was a huge woman moving from one room to the other, who seemed to be giving orders. Everyone around her seemed to be obeying her. So I decided to target her.

I waited for the correct opportunity and soon saw the woman heading towards my hiding place. I was scared for a minute and wondered whether she had sensed my presence and decided to kill me. The entire swamp was before my eyes -- my mother, my loyal swarm of friends and my guru! I had not even said good bye. I shut my eyes and gathered my antennae close to me waiting for the end to descend upon me. But a few trembling seconds elapsed and nothing happened. I was convinced that the lord of the swamp was protecting me.

It was a now or never situation. I had to sting now. I gathered all my courage, spread out my antenna as long as I could and landed on the ample surface on which the woman was sitting. She cried as I stung and drew the blood. Oh! The sweet taste of blood that has never been sampled by our kind of folks. I was euphoric and heady with success. In my sense of glory I forgot to fly away immediately and barely missed the hand that would have crushed me. As I took off to me safe hiding place the hand caught my left antenna at the back. It pained a lot. But I needed to lie low and not make a whisper of a humming so that I would be safe. Within seconds the house was full of smoke. Those guys had started lighting the coils in each corner and had started spraying some liquid in dark corners. The combined smell took its toll and I fainted.

I opened my eyes slowly and looked around. Was I dead? There was no sound around me. Where was I? The place looked familiar. I was in the same hiding place. That means I must be alive. Now all I needed to do was get out of this place. I inched out of the place slowly looking for the maid. I decided to switch the place of hiding to rest in her thick, dirty smelly hair. Much better than the corner that had no dirt or grime. My broken antenna was slowing me down. I could not see the maid around. In fact there was no human presence. My escape route had vanished leaving me aghast. I had given up hope when I sensed the door opening and to my great relief the maid walked in. But she was armed with a racket. I slid back onto the smooth brown corner that I was in. The maid moved around the entire house and was about to point the racket to my resting place, when the woman shouted at her to stay away from the mandir. God bless my soul! Here was my one and only chance to escape. I gathered all the strength that was left in me and landed on her hair. She proceeded to scout the nooks and corners looking for me. Then she swept the whole place and finally collected all the dirt to be thrown out of the house. I did not have to wait long for her to open all doors. The second she opened the front door, I took off and flew all the way to meet my friends. I dared not look back. The mission was accomplished. I was successful in meeting the challenge thrown at me.

The Sting Operation was finally through!

A whisper on my lips

She was getting ready to go out for a date. A chance date that had materialized out of the blue yesterday! She was home to spend some time in solitude, fix the leaking roof and sell the produce from small patch of land in the house that once belonged to her parents, now hers to tend to. She rarely sold the produce as she felt that the caretaker should benefit of it. The caretaker had been in the family for generations and traditionally the produce had been handed over to his family at a token amount of 1anna earlier, 1 rupee today. She often came home when the pressures and bustle of the city got to her. Being a freelancer had its advantages and usually she could take off at will to be in her childhood home. This time the attraction was the Festival of Performing Arts.

Yesterday’s event was special as her best friend was performing a ballet. She decided to reach the venue ahead of the actual show time in the hope of catching up with her before the show. As is always, backstage was extremely busy and she spoke with her friend for a total of five minutes with many interruptions. She decided to let her friend get on with preparations of the show, with a promise of dropping in at her place for lunch on Sunday. Now left with some time on hand, she decided to stroll through the exhibition stalls lining the premises of the huge auditorium. The shops were predictable – handicrafts of various states, textile merchants, local dresses and scarves, tourist mementoes and cards, a small book shop, a painter’s stall, some traditional craftsmen doing the lac bangles and mehendi and so on. It was still 45 mins to the main show. She decided to park herself on the bench by the riverside and read her book. At the far end of the premises, she saw a vendor selling coolers. She reached there and opted for a kokum soda. The tall glass with lots of ice looked yummy. Instantly refreshed, she walked on to the benches. There was an empty one under a huge banyan tree. That set her up for half an hour of reading.

“Well! Well! Is that really you?” said a voice from above her. She looked up from her book and saw him looking down at her, a distant recognition in his eyes and a question on his face.

As soon as she looked up, the curtain of hair parted to reveal the oval face he knew so well. The question in his eyes was replaced by a warm smile and he was joyous to see her. It was a pleasant surprise to find her there, sitting on the bench by the riverside. He wondered, whether she would recognize him?

She looked up at him and was instantly reminded of how handsome he used to be. Years had only added some grey to his hair. But nevertheless, she felt her heart skip a beat. She stood up in a single graceful movement and came up to his shoulder.

“What a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?’ she asked

“Looking for you!” was the cheeky reply.

“Oh sure! And I believe you” she mocked.

Laughing the two of them sat down on the bench. They looked at each other once again, almost certain that neither of them was truly present in the frame!

“I am here to get some work done at my parents’ house and will be here for a couple of days more. My friend – Shalini, you know her- is performing a ballet in about 10 mins. I was early so decided to park myself in the shade and read. One can rarely do this in the city, you know! What the hell are you smiling about?” she spoke hastily and was perplexed to see him laughing.

“You still talk a dime a dozen and still explain everything that you do” he said. “I guess one never changes. I am still tongue tied as I used to be, looking at you and am wondering, if I can persuade you to bunk the ballet and spend the afternoon with me.”

“No chance that I will drop the ballet. Shalini will kill me and complain to her mom about me. I can suffer Shalini’s complaining but you know her mom. Do you really want me to suffer her chiding?”

“So let me join you and watch the ballet?”

She knew the tickets were sold out, yet she did not tell him, hoping to keep his company for a while longer as the two of them walked to the booking counter. Actually seeing him standing there was so unexpected. She admitted to herself that she was happy to see him.

At the counter, he turned to look at her and shrugged his shoulders, “I knew. But I was looking for an excuse to walk a few more steps with you.”

She did not know what to say. Both were suddenly uncomfortable and lapsed into a silence.

Finally, she heard the 3^rd bell and said goodbye to him. As she climbed the steps, he called out and ran upto her. “Let’s meet here around 10 in the morning tomorrow. The café down the road makes superb breakfast.” She nodded and disappeared in the crowd.

He continued to look at her receding back and remembered the time when he had sa

id bye to her 7 years back. It was the end of 3 years of college. Most them had chosen their careers and were moving to different locations. He had been to the station to say goodbye to friends. She was taking the train too. Most of the college seemed to be there at the station. As he said bye to her along with many others, he suddenly realized that this was the last time he would be able watch her smile. The sudden sense of loss was still fresh in his mind. He had an empty feeling in his stomach that time and he realized now that the feeling had been with him through the last 7 years. He realized this, when he came upon her today, sitting on the bench that had been his favourite for the last 10 days. He felt the warmth spreading across his body filling that emptiness.

The ballet was colourful and expertly choreographed. But today, her mind failed to see the graceful movements of the dancers. She hardly noticed that her friend had mastered the art and was now using it as a tool to make a strong social statement. Her mind kept taking her back to the guy standing on steps, telling her; not asking her, to meet him tomorrow. Someone she had rarely spoken to during the college time. They had been together at few parties, exchanged notes, spoken in the corridors but never bonded beyond knowing each other. But her pulse had quickened when she saw him today! She was already looking forward to tomorrow.

The doorbell rang and she heard akka opening the door. Before long she came in to tell her that the crop was ready for her inspection. As she went out akka noticed the pile of clothes on the bed and stopped.

“What is the occasion? What are you piling up the bed for?”

“I am going out to meet a friend. Can’t you see I am getting ready to go out? Tell me what I should wear.”

“Depends on where you are going and who you are meeting?”

“I don’t know where I will be going. I am meeting an old friend from college.” She realized that it had not occurred to her to check where they would be going. Then she remembered that he had spoken about the café. Finally she settled for the jeans and T-shirt. The clock was telling her that she was going to be behind schedule. She rushed out and zoomed out ignoring akka who came running after her to finish the chores and then go out.

She parked here scooty and picked her bag. As she turned, she saw him coming towards her.

“Hi!” he said opening his arms to give her a hug. The gesture was spontaneous and casual. It felt as if this was normal for buddies meeting after a long while. Yet, he felt that she was a bit awkward in his embrace and quickly moved away. He realized that, however natural the action may have been they had never been more than classmates. It’s possible that she may be married and would not be comfortable being hugged by another man. Or may be it is just the awkwardness of meeting someone after long time. Or may be she did not like the way he had summoned her here without checking, if she would indeed like to meet.

“Let’s walk across to the riverside and sit there. There is so much that I would like to catch up on. Where have you been since college? What do you do these days? Where do you live?” he said releasing her and turned on the narrow path to go to the riverside.

They walked in silence, each lost in own thoughts. As they sat on the bench, neither wanted to begin filling the gaps. Both of them were reluctant to be the first one to break the silence. It must have been a while since they were gazing at the water gushing by. They saw a small fisherman’s boat pass by and heard the boys on the boat making cat calls.

“Nothing changes here!” both exclaimed together breaking the awkward silence.

“Sure. And let me remind you mister that we were supposed to meet for breakfast. My stomach is growling. Where is this café? “

He was embarrassed that he had forgotten all about the breakfast and hurried to the café.

“You must be hungry. I am so sorry. It slipped my mind!” and almost as an afterthought he added “but then do you really need to eat. I mean a few meals skipped now and then will do you good you know!”

The waiter approached them before she could answer. If looks could kill he would have been dead. The choice was limited and they settled for eggs, sausages, bread, fruit and coffee.

“So tell me what have you been upto after college?” he enquired.

“I have been busy.” she replied “It takes lot of time, dedication and hard work putting on weight, you see!”

Amidst the laughter, the conversation was easy. They talked of what they were doing professionally and shared success stories from their careers. She was freelancing with newspapers and mostly covered the world of art & artists. He had worked in UK for 6 years with a consulting firm and was back in India on an assignment for the last year or so. Before long the breakfast was on their table. It was simple and tasty. The creamy scrambled eggs and crisp toast were done just right. They chatted about friends from college and who was doing what. He had stayed connected with the college crowd after he took up the posting in UK. Surprisingly, she had never been on any of the networks.

“How is it that you were never there on any of the networking sites? All of us always talk about you and have been searching you on the net. The old bunch of guys will be thrilled to know that I have met you. You must connect up with everyone.”

“I am not so keen on networking sites. Besides my work takes me into interiors, where net access is negligible. All available connectivity is used to upload my work to newspapers. Anyway, let me hear about you. How long do you plan to be here?” She said hurriedly.

He got the impression that she was brushing aside the subject and almost felt as if the disappearance was willful. He did not press the subject and signaled the waiter for the bill.

They returned to the art academy chatting about here and there but nothing in particular. Once at the academy they turned on the narrow path leading to the riverside and walked together up and down the river, enjoying the carefree chat and more importantly each other’s company. She was animatedly telling him about her investigations and report on one of the fast disappearing tribe of artists, how she had done a feature and promoted the cause of basic education for the tribal children , when his cell phone rang. She looked at the watch and realized that it was almost 2pm. She had promised akka that she will be back in a couple of hours and would take up the pending tasks. He finished his call and looked at her apologetically saying that he must attend to some work urgently. It should have been done a while back, but he had lost the sense of time. She was reluctant to part and he seemed hesitant too.

“What is it that you need to do? If it is mails you can do it from my place. I, too, need to finish some work with my caretaker. It will take me a couple of hours to get it done. You work from my place while I finish my chores.” She suggested.

“Brilliant! I have my laptop with me. I can get on to the net at your place and finish my work in a couple of hours. After that I am at your service the whole day. Let’s go.”

She drove back on her scooty all the time wondering whether she was mad to invite him home just like that. He was following her in the hired car and she could see him already working on his laptop. Once they reached home, she showed him into the living room and he was lost in his work. He hardly noticed when she left the room to attend to her duties.

He was composing the final draft when she walked in with two cups of tea. They sipped the tea in silence till he finished his work. It was 4.30 when he finally shut down his laptop. It was humid inside. She was perched on the railing of the verandah with her cup of tea thinking about what to do next. He was watching her from the window and saw her face light up. He knew she had hit upon some scatterbrain idea. She was famous in college days for spur of the moment plans. Inspite of himself he smiled, as he knew that no matter how scatterbrain the idea may be, he was going to give in.

“Let’s see if the motorbike is ok. If it is good we can drive up to the fort.”

She was already fetching the keys and running to start the bike. He followed her and watched as she made efforts to start the bike. Ten minutes later she lost her patience and declared that they should take the scooty and go. He grimaced at the thought of sitting on a small scooty and tried persuading her to take the car.

“But you know that the car cannot go up all the way! We don’t have time to climb up to catch the sunset. Don’t argue for heaven’s sake. Come on. I am ready. Are you coming?” She was already wearing her helmet and waiting for him to climb pillion. He knew that it would be a wasted effort to tell her to ride pillion. Besides, he had not been to the fort ever since he was in town. His thoughts were back into college days when their batch would often pack books and sandwiches and climb up the fort in morning and come down only after sunset. The days when he had looked at her from distance. He had made serious efforts once or twice to ask her out on a date but nothing had worked out. He pondered over how easily, the date that he had sometimes dreamed of had happened today.

She was driving as fast as the small scooty would allow her. He was amazed that the scooty was already climbing up inspite of their combined weight. They reached the plateau in a short while. She jumped off the scooty and threw the keys and helmet at him asking him to park the scooty while she sprinted to the sunset point. By the time he parked the small two-wheeler and joined her, she was gazing out at the setting sun. The view was breath taking. Both of them stood gazing at the setting sun. The sky changed its colour gradually from clear blue to orange to pink to mauve. The water below reflected the colours of the sky. The creator of the universe had squeezed out numerous tubes of paint simultaneously and was freely mixing colours. The painting that unfolded in front of them was unique. Just like the moment that they were sharing. She reached out and held his hand as the venus - first star on the horizon- twinkled in the twilight. He felt a tremor in her grip and the moistness of her palm. He had barely registered the tremor before she let go and jumped down from the boundary wall. He wanted to ask her what it was. He had an urge tohold her hands too and wanted to re-assure her. But she was gone. The moment was lost. Just like the one so many years back. He had asked her out on a date for dinner and dance. She had been on the verge of agreeing and something happened in distance. Her brother had called out to her. She had been looking at him fondly one moment and the next was replaced by fear and regret. The effort was wasted and so also the tickets to the event.

This time, he did not want to loose the moment. He reached for her hand and pulled her back. She saw the question in his eyes. Uncertain of her reactions she pushed him back making to get back to the scooty. He was silent most of the way back and she was chattering all through. She knew she was nervous. She knew that if she had encouraged him many years ago, the relationship may have blossomed into being more than classmates. She had been scared of her parents not agreeing to a match. Socially unacceptable and impossible! Would it have been different if she had chosen to defy society and parents? She had no courage then! So she had decided that it was best not to acknowledge. The ghosts of the past were still present. Though her parents were beyond the realms of dictating, she saw another shadow lurking in background. A shadow of their choice for her!

As she came to a halt in the drive of her home she felt wistful that the day would now end. But he was determined to pursue his moment and invited her out for dinner. She was surprised and thrilled at the same. They agreed to meet at half past 8 and he said he would pick her up. He asked her to wear something formal and be ready for a dance or two. She was reminded of the date that had never materialized so many years back.

She hated this business of having to make a selection of clothes and especially formal. In the end she settled on a pleated white skirt of full length and paired it with a beautiful top in burnt orange. Simple silver choker and ear studs completed her accessories. She was just finishing her subtle make-up when he came to fetch her. She hurried into the living room and

saw him waiting for her. He was wearing a pair of jeans and shirt paired with a jacket, looking COOL! She was about to slip on her usual flat shoes and remembered that they were to go dancing. She discarded the comfortable flats for trendy heels and turned to go. Neither realized what a handsome couple they made.

He drove to the heart of the city and turned towards the hill top. He said that he wanted to try the new lounge cum restaurant that had opened at the hill-top. Apparently the place had a splendid lounge and dance floor. The place lived up to its reputation. The location was awesome and overlooked the river. The dining area was on an open terrace offering the view of the cruising party boats in the river. They were shown to a table by the hostess and thus began an evening to remember! The music was exceptionally good and the band played a mix of numbers that kept them on the floor most of the time. When they came back to the table finally, the kitchen was taking last orders. They ordered simple meal and lingered over the dessert and coffee.

“This place is so peaceful. I am enjoying myself so much. Thank you!” She said

“I am stuffed and feel so heavy. Guess I will need to take a stroll before going to bed.”

“Come on! If you are done, we can take the stroll now. The premises of this place are supposed to be beautiful. We can explore the old structure.”

He saw her face light up at the mention of an adventure and yet there was a hesitation. It took him seconds to get up and pull her chair back. She seemed incapable of refusing, in spite of all the warnings that she heard in her head. She was unsure yet looking forward to the stroll. If she were to be honest with herself she looked forward to not just the exploration of the premises!

The property owners seemed to have developed the pathways and roads very well. At the far end they saw the entrance and the flight of steps leading to the entrance. As they stood at the foot they realized that it was a steep climb.

“Race you to the top!” He challenged her. On the count of three they ran up the steps each determined to win the race. He had almost reached the top when he realized that he was

running alone. She was limping up the steps. Worried he climbed down to check on her. No sooner did he reach the step where she sat, then he saw the wicked smile and she raced to the top, heels in hand and laughing at him. He felt stupid at being tricked and followed her, rage written loud and clear on his face. She was still laughing when he reached her and pulled her to face him. Her laughter froze as she sensed his anger. Instantly scared, she thought that she had crossed the line. Men, she knew hated losing, especially to a woman! This was going to be a repeat of all her past experiences. She braced herself to face whatever was to come.

He saw the quick succession of emotions reflected on her face. The laughter replaced by fear, then worry and then resignation. He was shocked out of his anger and wondered where did the fear come from? His grip on her arm slackened and expressions on his face changed.

He was no longer angry. She saw the confusion on his face and sat down with a resolve to share her past and present with him. He leaned forward with a resolve to drive away the fear. They looked at each other with a question on their lips.

They sensed an answer a mere whisper away!