Okay, it is a Sunday again and here I am at work again with very little to do. I have been trying to open the sajha website since forever but seems like there is an error in the site.L So with nothing to do, I thought of writing a story about my days in India but to no avail. My mind seems to be running blank, and it simply denies letting me go through the files where my memories are stored. For some unknown reason, it tells me that I can?t go back to my reverie and enjoy the moments that are deeply cherished. Hmm.. so with nothing to do, I am all blank and am realizing that when one has nothing to do how useless one feels.
Let me therefore write a fiction story, which I don?t think I am really good at. But let me try anyway. What about a story in Nepal, a girl whose family is really strict and living in the 19th century world? That should work out quite fine I guess.

>>>>>>> She woke up in the morning with a start. The alarm was ringing beside her and it was almost 6:00 am. Had she slept any longer, her mother would come storming into the room with a look of disapproval in her eyes. She was not a morning person and had realized that 12 years ago when she was a mere kid of 7 years old. She thinks about those times. Times when she thought that her life would be that of sleeping beauty. Though sleeping beauty had been asleep most her life but the king and queen had loved her immensely. That?s what she had really wanted. To be ba and amma?s little princess.

Till the time she was 11, that?s how she had felt-- like a little princess. But there had been an abrupt change. She would now compare herself to Cinderella. A girl who was named so because of the cinder that was always clinging to her. The cinder that was so hard to remove that she would seldom taste it in her lips. And there was prince charming, who had come one day and swept her off her feet. That always brought a smile to her face. When everything else dies, hope keeps one going and aiming of the bright side of life. And that?s how she took her life, a feeble beating of the heart who?s only inspiration and motivation was a tinge of hope that one day it would all change.

She had no time to daydream or slip into a reverie that would last only for 15 minutes, before her mother would bring her back to the harsh reality. Her father had again come home drunk last night, but thankfully had not laid a finger on any of them. He was too drunk and for that. He had not even been able to drag the limp 57 kg of body to his bed. Amma had to forcefully drag him, by supporting him with the small body frame. She only had a height of 4?11? and weighed a mere 42 kg. But amma never complained. She felt the emptiness too, but she swallowed her sobs and dried her tears.

Lalita got out of bed quickly and rushed to the bathroom. They had all the modern facilities, but the feeling of living in the ancient world sometimes choked her. Most of her friends would wear fancy jeans and skirts. Some were even daring enough to try the tops that people called ?strings?, which had not thing but a flimsy string at the shoulders barely holding the cloth to their chest. But as long as she could remember, she had never had the opportunity to wear anything but the kurta surwals that amma would handpick for her. They normally were nice colors as amma had a good choice, but went no where closer to the modern kurtas that the bollywood actresses wore to show off their slim body.

Had anyone gone to Lalita?s cousins and friends and asked them about her figure, they would have given you a blank stare that would say it all. They had no idea of what you were talking about. Lalita and the talk of bodies and figures did not go together. Though she had a fabulous body with the curves at the right places, she had never had a chance to show it off. True that her best of best friends had seen her awkwardly try a pair of jeans and beautiful shirt clinging to her body, but it had come off before she had even put it on. She had been immensely self-conscious and the expression on her wide-eyed friends had given her the wrong impression. If she had known that they were shocked to see the beautiful figure behind the shield of items that were a good excuse for ?clothes? she would have been less self-conscious.

Lalita was a statute of beauty, Venus would have been proud and envious of the picture she presented. As Lalita got out of the bathroom after shower, the heavens would have parted to give a tribute to the untouched beauty. Though only 5?2? she had the look of a goddess. Her long hair wet after the shower gleamed as the ray of morning light touched them. It was neither curly not straight, and yet could not be called wavy. It was what every girl would die for, yet Lalita never gave a second thought to it. Her skin was smooth and it seemed like she washed herself with milk everyday. Her olive complexion glowed and her light brown eyes twinkled as if they had stories of their own to tell. She needed no false make up to define her perfection, but she yearned for a hint of mascara on those lovely eyes.

They walked towards the house, both trying their best to be oblivious to the fact that they were walking beside one another. The atmosphere was dense, with a thousand unanswered questions. Both not knowing what would be the next word that came out of their mouth. Without knowing what to say or do, they reached the door and without a word and rang the doorbell. Avik dai opened the door and was surprised to see them there completely drenched in water. He invited them inside and quickly offered them some tea.

Lalita closed her eyes and let herself feel the warm sensation of the tea flowing through her esophagus to her chilled stomach. Weird how the smallest thing that one ignores in life can feel like heaven at times. She opened her eyes and caught Adarsh looking at her mesmerized. This time they did not look away. It was as if their eyes were into a conversation and refused to look the other way and disrupt what was going on. Avik dai entered the room and broke their silent interaction.

"You people are crazy," Avik dai looked at Adarsh with disapproval in his eyes. "Didn?t you have enough brains to think that you might catch a cold or worse pneumonia? Look at Lalita, she is shivering. If you could not think about yourself, you should have thought about her!"

Adarsh looked at Lalita with guilt. How could he really have been so ignorant? How could he have risked anything happening to her? She seemed so fragile that it seemed like a soft breeze could harm her. The soft smooth skin that would make a baby envious and her fragile built that made her seem like she was made of china. But most of all, the eyes that made him want to wrap her in his arm and protect her from the whole world. He did not want anyone coming near her or laying a finger on her.

Adarsh snapped out of his thoughts, what had he been thinking?! The intensity of his feelings shocked him. He had always tried to ignore the fact that he was falling for his bhauju. He had always ignored the lump on his throat when he saw her. He had also ignored the way her eyes danced mischievously and the way her body swayed in rhythm with every move she made. He had tried to ignore it all and when the truth finally surfaced he was hit by the intensity.

"Avik dai I am alright." Lalita said quickly, lest Adarsh be blamed for making her feel unwell.

"Lalita, you don't look alright to me. Here, take some towels and dry yourself. You can use the bathroom in the second floor. There might be some clothes that Pallavi left behind that may fit you. Take a warm shower or else you will really catch a cold." Avik dai had a much lighter tone while talking to her.

She obediently walked to the bathroom and locked the door. She surveyed herself in the mirror. Hmm? not too bad! She was amazed that her make-up had survived the tons of water blazing to her face. Oh well it had to come off now. She took some lotion and wiped out her make-up and peeled off the slimy and sticky clothes off. The warm water felt so good against her cold body. After taking a warm shower, she looked through the closet for some clothes. Though Pallavi was not exactly her size, but she was atleast fashionable! She slipped Pallavi?s trousers and sweat shirt and went to the living room where Adarsh was sitting. He looked like he had just walked out of the shower, his hair tumbled and sexy. Lalita held her breath and went sit in the couch beside his.

"Can I say something?" His voice sounded a bit different than it originally did.
"Sure? go ahead"
"I have done a lot of thinking? and I don?t know if I am doing the right thing or not, but I don?t think I can keep quiet anymore. I don?t know if you have felt it or not, but I feel it every time I look at you?.."
"Where is Avik dai?" Lalita was confused.
"He went to the lawyer? you know about Pallavi bhauju.."
"So, when are we leaving?"
"As soon as the rain stops. I don't want you to get sick."
"Can't we go to some other place? Somewhere we can talk out what you want to say?"

Adarsh looked at her for a long time. He did not know if it was a good idea. He didn't know if anything was good anymore. He had never expected to feel this way about her, but he did. And if she reciprocated her feelings, why act like nothing was wrong? He thought about Hari and his not-so-secret personal life. Lalita did not deserve that. Why was it always that a man was free to do anything while the woman had to stay in limits of the wedlock? Why did he even care what was going on between them? Well the only way to find out was to talk it over. "Okay, lets go."

nice ......... i mean the vocabs i need to turn the pages...to find out their meaning...

rythm,
u r killin' ... were u one of those suspense TV soap-operas that lasts for years?? (o:

next one comin' soon???

Been a silent reader for a long time here in Sajha!! Reading SITARA, JohnGalt, Rythm, Indisguise, NIrman, Deep has been lots of fun. You guys are good!!
Deperately waiting for Rythm(Fiction Story) and Deep(Quagmire)to finish up their work!!

Thanks a lot for your incentive. It helps a lot... I will post the new part soon. Once again... Thanks to all the readers.. without you the story wud have no meaning!!:D

when the next thing comin'