Love Tremors

“If you think you are sexy your partner will think you are sexy!” – Psychic Deejay ext. 5435

“Lie down, lie down” Someone screamed above all the chaos. Ram wiped his face once again. The cool water drops chilled his stubby cheeks rough with unshaven hair.

Ram’s eyes scanned around him. Terror stricken faces in silent prayers. He could see young girls together like flowers in a bouquet.

Some young girls were sobbing loudly. Most of the men were chatting casually. Though the shake was felt only for a few seconds, it triggered panic and they anxiously waited outside.

Ram’s eyes fixed at an unexpected view of the soft curves of womanhood. It struck him more than the tilting motion of the earth quake.

With a blink of his eye, they disappeared. A hand swiftly pulled down the shawl and hid them from his view.

Susie looked around adjusting her shawl once again. She could not forget how Ram’s eyes caressed her. The unexpected earthquake did not affect her much, but the secret glance of Ram did.

Susie turned away from him. For a moment her face was a mixture of emotional feelings – she was scared, she was embarrassed and she was nervous.

Suma’s hand within Susie’s grip tightened and she looked at her with a query.

“Hi, Susie, what happened? Why are you trembling?” Suma questioned her.

“Nothing, I feel giddy” Susie answered in a whisper.

“Wait. Let me go and bring some water from the canteen” Suma ran to the water dispenser
and brought a glass of chilled water.

Susie drank the water in a gulp. The chilled water gave her the relief and she was able to control herself.

After waiting for thirty minutes, they entered office to resume work.

But once again they felt the swaying movement of the earth and the alarm went on. The emergency exit opened and every one left immediately.

Susie and Suma left office together. They were walking down the road to the bus stand wondering how they are going to reach home. Half way a car stopped near them and a voice inquired if they would accept his help.

Susie looked at Suma.

“Will you drop us at the bus stop?” Suma asked him.

“Yes, please get in” Ram released the lock of the car. Susie hesitated to enter the car
but Suma dragged her inside.

Susie frowned at Suma. But Suma avoided her and continued her talk with Ram.

“Is it not scary to feel the earthquake?” Suma inquired Ram.

“This is not the first time for me. Last year when I was at Japan, I experienced the real shake of the earth. This is nothing when compared to that.” Ram answered her.

“Oh, you have been to Japan” Suma replied back.

“Sometimes nature knocks our senses to realize how precious our life is” Ram replied Suma. He stealthily looked at Susie in the rear view mirror. Susie avoided his glaring eyes uneasily and looked out of the window.

“Stop, here. We will get down. Thanks for saving our walk” Suma thanked Ram.

“Even if you want me to drop you at Adyar I don’t mind” Ram looked at Suma.

“So sweet of you; but, no, thanks” Suma replied him with a broad smile. Suma understood Ram’s intentions and his wish to be with Susie for some more time.

“We live here. We can walk to our place” Ram unlocked the door and let them get down from his car.

“So, me and my car are not blessed to be with you” Ram teased Suma.

“May be some other day we can bless you. Thanks for dropping us. Bye” Suma waved her hand.

“Suma, I think she doesn’t like to wish me” Ram questioned Suma.

“Don’t you know I am the PR manager for Susie? Move early; otherwise you will get stuck in the traffic” Suma joined Susie who was walking a few steps before.

For the first ten minutes, Ram could travel without much traffic. When he reached the main road that connected his home at Besant Nagar, the road swelled in traffic. Everyone wanted to go home and the road was filled with two wheelers, four wheelers and public transports. The huge traffic snarl left no space even for the pedestrians to walk across the road.

The traffic moved on a snail’s pace and when Ram reached his home it was around 6 pm. It took more than an hour to travel the distance that usually took only ten minutes to reach.

“Why did you pull me inside his car?” Susie screamed at Suma.

“If you don’t like, you must have walked away, who asked you to get inside the car?” Suma questioned her.

“I just hate him” Susie entered her room and slammed the door behind her.

Suma joined Susie at the dining hall for dinner. Everyone was busy sharing their experiences about the earth quake and the difficulty they faced in reaching the hostel.

Susie sat down at a corner in the dining hall and started to eat without talking to anyone.

“Hi, Susie, what happened?” Susie did not reply any of her questions.

The next day when Susie started walking toward their office, Suma joined her. But she walked all the way without talking a word with Susie. As they were walking down the long stretch of road, Ram stopped his car.

“Hi, Good morning” with a beaming smile Ram opened the door.

“No, thanks, we prefer to walk” Suma politely refused.

“Don’t fuss. It is so hot” Ram requested them once again.

Without waiting for Suma, Susie walked ahead.

“Sorry, she is upset” Suma got into the car and closed the door.

“I am happy at least you know how to respect others feelings” Ram could not understand why Susie need to react like that and felt insulted and hurt. Both of them did not talk anything till they reached the office.

Susie looked at the car that crossed her. “Don’t you know how to behave? Idiot” She murmured to herself.

The roosters from the nearby tress started to crow announcing the dawn. The sharp, shrill musical love song of the Indian cuckoo echoed far and wide across the street. Ram could understand the bird’s yearning to meet its love bird from the rhythmic love song.

The song of the bird also expressed his yearning for Susie and her nearness.

Ram’s eyes looked at the streaks of dawn that spread across the eastern horizon. The early morning breeze carried the fragrance of bloomed jasmines and night queen and enclosed him in a love spell.

Susie looked at the jutka in front of her house.

“Susie, you go in this jutka to day. You can go in the school bus tomorrow”

Susie’s dad helped her to sit in the middle of the jutka. Excited, Susie looked around.
It did not look old and shabby. The jutka looked new and decorated with colorful ribbons.

Susie peeped outside the small window on the side of the jutka. The young jutka man was dressed neatly in a pure white dhoti and a white shirt. His thick black hair was oiled and combed neatly. Neatly shaven and trimmed mustache he impressed her at the first look.

Susie compared her dad with that jutka man. Her father looked plain in his dim colored dhoti and the casual shirt. Susie’s little heart silently compared both of them.

The jutka stopped in front of a bungalow. The servant at the door opened the gate and two children walked to the jutka. The jutka man asked Susie to move to the front and helped them to sit comfortably in the middle of the jutka. In front of the two children,

Susie now looked plain. She looked at her dull uniform and the bag she carried.

The jutka man treated them with respect and ignored Susie. When they reached the school, he asked Susie to get down from the jutka, but helped the two children to carry their bags till their class room. Puzzled by his behavior Susie walked to her class alone.

Every Wednesday evening there was science club after the class hours. That day was Susie’s turn. The teacher asked Susie to speak first on the given topic. Susie had to talk about photosynthesis. The teacher asked her to memorize a paragraph from the science book and explain it before the class.

Susie was able to tell the first two lines. She could not recollect more than that and so stood there without telling anything for the next three minutes. The teacher frowned at her; Susie returned to her place.

Wondering what will happen the next day, Susie walked to the school gate. The jutka man was waiting for her and he gave her a stern look.

“Why are you late?” He urged her to climb into the jutka. Susie had to squeeze into the space left for her at the rear end of the jutka. The return trip to home was scary and she was relieved after some of the children got down at their homes.

“Tomorrow you need not come. There is no place” Without waiting for her reply the jutka man left.

The little heart hurt felt numb with unknown pain.

The next day the science teacher made Susie stand on the last bench for the whole day. It was a punishment for not reciting the experiment without any interruption. Susie with a numbed heart stood on the bench till lunch interval. The class teacher then asked her to sit down when the classes started after lunch.

“No one liked me” Everyone around her gave this impression and she distanced herself from the usual gossips and silly jokes. Instead she turned towards books and books became her best friends.

Yet, people did not stop poking at her. Once in a while she received the comment “You look plain” even from unknown people. Susie’s ears slowly learned to ignore such words and carry on with her routine work. When she entered the teens as any other young girl she also started to have colorful, vibrant dreams. Cheerful and happy, life looked beautiful for her. Yet, people judged her by her looks.

“Susie, you look flat” Her friends giggled at her.

“Nothing here” Once one of her aunts pinched her on the hip and made the nasty comment.

Apart from the sharp facial features she looked skinny and her eyes reflected the pain of her heart. Susie left out from the crowd learned to live in her own dream world.
When Susie first caught the glance of Ram that showed interest, she was surprised. No one ever looked at her like that.

Ram’s eyes penetrated deep into her heart and pulled the strings of love. A heart that desperately wished for someone to love her, adore her and respond to her yearnings.

Ram reached office early. He saw Susie sitting alone at her desk.

“Do you mind talking to me?” Ram questioned Susie in a whisper. But Susie ignored his question and went on punching the keypad.

“I am talking to you” Ram reminded her.

“Mind your own business” Susie barked.

“Don’t you have manners? Why do you insult like this?” Ram told her loudly.

“Because you deserve it”

Without waiting for his answer, Susie locked her system and walked to the pantry.

“Sorry, Ram” Suma apologized to Ram for Susie’s behavior.

“I know how to handle her” Ram replied with a smile.

“Move over there” thundered the hefty man with the pistol in his hand. Susie along with the other customers in the bank was pushed into the nearby room.

The room with a high ceiling did not have any windows. The room had rows of racks stacked with old records. The stench from the corner suffocated Susie and the ceiling fan high on the wall moved slowly with minimum air.

Susie never thought her lunch time would turn into such horror filled moments within a few minutes. Susie came to the bank ATM to draw money. Usually it took only ten minutes for her to draw the money and return to her office.

It took some time for every one of them to realize that the bank was under the control of five merciless youngsters who wanted to loot the bank and escape with the money. The man with the pistol walked around and collected all their mobiles. He then switched off the mobile one by one and threw them into the water pot in the corner.

“Come here” He pointed a finger at her and called.

Trembling with fear, Susie looked at him.

“I asked you to come over here” He screamed at her again. Reluctantly Susie moved toward him. A strong hand gripped her by the arm and pulled her toward him. He placed the pistol on her temple and warned everyone to sit down without making any noise or movement.

Susie shuddered at the pressure of his grip and the cold touch of the pistol on her forehead. Her eyes moved around and looked at the people who were sitting on the floor.

Everyone squatted nervously with their heads down and a deadly silence enveloped the room. Susie’s eyes then spotted Ram sitting at the corner with his head resting on the wall. Susie could not control her tears and they started to flow profusely from her eyes.

“Oh my God, he is here” Susie murmured.

“Will everyone be alive? If I am alive, I would……” A simultaneous thought erupted through her mind.

As if he read her mind, Ram lifted his eyes and looked at her. Shocked to see her at that time, Ram starred at her without blinking. Though Ram understood the grim situation, he wanted to help Susie.

“Done” Someone called at the man and with a jerk he released Susie from his grip. After moving out of the room, he locked the room from outside.

The jerk pushed Susie down. Before she managed to stand properly, she fell down unconscious.

“Susie” Ram moved fast toward her. One of the women who was near Susie helped her to sit on the floor. Ram filled a glass with the water from the pot and sprinkled on her face.

It took some time for Susie to regain her consciousness. When she opened her eyes, she saw Ram anxiously looking at her.

Someone knocked at the door and screamed for help. They could hear people running toward the main door. The Cashier at the counter was the first one to react. As the phone lines were disconnected and the mobiles thrown away, they did not know how to contact people outside.

The boy who usually brought lunch for the bank staff opened the locked main door and informed the police. The drama that started around 1:30 pm in the afternoon came to an end around 2:00 pm.

The police arrived within five minutes. Most of the people were still in the state of shock and no one spoke to each other.

“Thank god, nothing worse happened” Yet, the ordeal was not over. The police inquiry went on till 9 pm at night.

The police arranged for refreshing drinks for everyone in the room. A few sips of coffee or tea helped them to come out of the shock.

The Assistant Commissioner of Police arrived around 3 pm and he requested Susie to answer his questions. Susie could not answer anything coherently.

“Relax, relax” Ram kept on telling her. Susie’s trembling hands gripped his hand tightly and did not allow him to move away from her.

Every member of the police team asked her again and again. “How did he look? What dress he was wearing? Can she remember his features?” Susie felt tired answering the same questions again and again.

Till 6 pm, no one in the office knew about the robbery in the bank. When they learned about the robbery, Ram’s friends rushed to the bank. But no one could meet either Ram or Susie.

The entire building where the bank functioned and the nearby areas were brought under the control of the police and the area within 100 m changed into a restricted zone.

Ram looked at the dripping phones fetched out from the water pot. But luckily Ram’s phone started to work after he dried it and restarted the mobile. Messages started to pour in and people started to call him one by one. Susie’s phone was dead and she was also not in a position to check if it worked or not. She was still in a state of shock and answered everyone in syllables.

“Shall I drop you at your hostel?” Susie nodded her head and climbed into the car. When

Ram opened the front door and asked her to get in, she responded without refusing.
Susie rested her head on the car seat and closed her eyes. The cool evening breeze relieved her stress and assured her that she has escaped an ordeal unhurt.

On the way to the hostel, Ram took Susie to a restaurant that served hot soups and dinner. It took more than half an hour for Susie to complete the soup. Her hands trembled and drops of soup scattered on her dress.

“Wait” Ram served the soup from the bowl to a cup and asked her to drink it slowly. He waited patiently till she finished eating and dropped her at the hostel after explaining to the warden whatever happened.

Susie lied down on the bed and closed her eyes, she could not sleep. The tight grip of the robber’s hand and the cold touch of the pistol on her forehead still remained in her memories.

Ram frantically checked all the missed calls and messages in his mobile. All the calls and messages were from Susie. For a moment he could not guess from where she was sending him all the messages and the missed calls.

Ram called his friend who was working at the local mobile service provider and asked him to find out from where the messages were sent to him. When his friend told him that they were from the local bus shed, he took his bike and rushed to the place.

When Ram reached the place, a huge crowd stood outside the closed gates of the bus depot. Ram could see huge volumes of black smoke raised above and lingered above the bus depot. The evening sky hid behind the clouds and made the place darker.

“What happened”? Ram shouted at the security guard.

“The entire shed is on fire”

Ram could see a group of girls standing near the office. Ram immediately recognized them to be from the office where Susie worked.

Ram rushed toward them. He could spot Suma in the narrow passage before the office.

“Suma, what the hell you are all doing here?” Ram shouted at her.

“Our bus got stuck in the middle. So we came here for the spare bus” Suma replied him.

“Where is Susie?” Ram’s eyes searched for her in the group of girls.

“We are waiting for her and others. I don’t know where she is now. She came along with me only”

“Did she go there?” Ram pointed to the shed at the farther end of the bus depot.

“No, we are all waiting here only” Suma could feel a heavy lump in her throat. Something is going wrong. Suma felt restless.

“Allow me to go. Susie is there” Ram screamed at the crowd.

The dry twigs that lined the fence were in flames. The firemen fighting their way into the flame tried to reach the abandoned shed. Luckily the place looked empty except for a few number of buses that needed repair.

The soil damp with the fresh fuel prevented the crowd to rush into the shed. Ram followed the firemen into the shed. They frantically searched for people in the huge area. No one was there. Ram looked at the far end of the shed. He could see a bus at the end. The bus was in a crooked shape. The wind shields and the glass panes were broken and the window bars torn apart.

“Don’t go there. Come away” the fire sergeant shouted at Ram. Ram climbed the abandoned bus and started to search for Susie.

“She is there” Ram shouted to the sergeant. The fire crew brought the flash light and turned it around the corners of the bus. Susie was lying down in one corner of the bus near the driver’s seat. Ram lifted and placed her down on the stretcher.

“Oh my god, I am lucky to find her” Ram could not tell what made Susie to come over there to that abandoned shed.

“How did you find me there in that place?” Susie asked Ram.

“Do you want to know now?” Ram replied in a low tone.

“It is the fragrance of your love dear. It pulled me to you and helped me to rescue you.” Susie grasped his hand tightly.

Their eyes locked in the gaze of love tightened the love spell around them.

The dream ended abruptly. It was so confusing and the images from the dream still lingered in his eyes. He wanted to call Susie and find out how she was. To his surprise, he called her within a few seconds.

“I have to go to the police station today. Will you come along with me?” Susie asked him politely.

“That will be my pleasure” Ram beamed with a happy smile.

“We will go to the office first and report whatever happened. Then both of us can go and come back” Susie felt relieved.

Susie’s parents wanted her to be with them for a few days. Yet, she could do so as the police requested her not to go out of Chennai till the inquiry is over.

“How do you feel now?” Ram inquired Susie on their way back to office.

“I could not come out of that shock still. I think it will take days to be back to normal” Susie replied him.

“True. It is a shocking experience. But I like it” Ram told Susie.

“What, you like it!” Surprised Susie looked at him.

“Yes”

“Why”

“Because that brought you near” Ram smiled at her.

“That is your wish. But don’t count on me. I am not interested” Susie replied back in a stern voice.

“Yes, I believe in me. Time will take care of it” Ram opened the door of the car to let her out.

With a grin, Ram closed the door.

“Carry on with your work. We will talk later”

Without expecting a reply from her, Ram walked toward the elevator.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 22.06.2012

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Twists and turns in life