Attachments

Chapter 33

Rajni Aunty – our 58 year old landlord – studied me from head to toe, the second I stepped foot inside her haunted bungalow at 23.56 p.m. I tightened my grip around the gigantic bouquet I held and awkwardly smiled at her, while I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. Her wrinkly eyes were fixed on my bare legs long enough for me to feel uncomfortable that I slowly began tugging the skater-skirt I wore, in a failed attempt to conceal my thighs. I cleared my throat loudly, forcing the old lady to look away from my legs in hesitation.

"Where were you?", she investigated. "Da---dinner...I went out for dinner", I fumbled and Rajni Aunty stared at the bouquet of fresh roses I held. "People do give bouquet when they meet; it's nothing unusual", I said, and she dragged her eyes away from the bouquet. "What time is it?", she questioned, gravely, and I began doubting if she was Mr. Joshua's relative, or something of that sort. "Now, it's twelve-two, but when I walked in it was eleven-fifty-six", I answered clearly, because she spent two minutes staring at the beauty of my legs, as though she hadn't seen a pair of legs before. "I told the other girls that they have to follow a set of rules in this house, and since you went out for dinner you missed the session. But that is absolutely okay, I don't mind repeating the points for you", the old-lady uttered every word in the speed of light divided by infinity...I wondered if that was possible, but the point is...she was dead slow! She began briefing me about the Rules and Regulations of her house that we – as PGs – were bound to follow, but there was definitely no way I'd listen to her instructions.

"The doors will be locked at 10.00 p.m. sharp, and I do not care who knocks the door once it's locked, I will not open it at any cost", she warned. 'What are the windows for?', mentally, I smirked; she was absolutely clueless about the Spiderwoman I was, and she was definitely beyond clueless about how well I snuck out of house, back in Surat, at midnight. "But Aunty, what if Uncle's outside? He won't be allowed in, either?", I questioned, pretending to be serious about it when my intention was to get on her nerves for pinning me down with a lecture at midnight, when the two of us were in obvious need of sleep! "You don't have to worry about him. Mind your own business", she bitterly answered and I sincerely nodded, secretly smiling at my victory. "You'll have to do the dishes in the kitchen. Every Saturday, you'll have to dust your area...", she began laying a billion rules and I listened to her, uninterestedly, while much of what she said bounced straight over the top of my head until she said something which forced my nerves to snap. "Do not bring boys inside your room", she stated, lastly. "We don't have boyfriends", I stated back, casually, and absently fidgeted with the rose petals in the bouquet. "But you must have friends who are boys", she instigated and I looked up at her. "I mean, look at your clothes. Will you dress up this way to meet a friend, who is a girl?", she smirked with a disgusted look on her face and my nerves, which were on the verge of snapping, eventually snapped. "Of course I have friends who are boys, and in fact I went out on a dinner with a boy", I said, truthfully and fearlessly. "I'll go out and dine with a boy, I'll go on long walks and long drives with a boy, and maybe, I'll even fall in love with that boy; but as long as he is not in your goddamn Palace, this shouldn't bother you because I know my limits. But if you really want to teach me about modesty and decency, there is a way of doing it. If you're going to judge me based on the clothes I wear and the people I hang out with, you go get yourself educated first!", I snapped on her face, which was flushed with shock and terror, both. "I would have worn this outfit if I went out with a girl, or a boy, or even on my own because I do not dress to impress anyone; I'll wear it for my convenience, or because I love the outfit...and even if I wore it to impress someone, what's your problem? Why don't you live, let others live and mind your own business, for God sake? Why do you keep dragging a girl down with your ugly narrow-minded thinking? If a boy walked out, wearing shorts, would you have said anything to him? No, right? If you're not going to be fair with your judgments, don't target me. My mom doesn't have a problem with the clothes I wear, and when my mom doesn't, you shouldn't either. When it comes to my comfort, I don't need anyone's validation!", I spat my words on her face angrily. "Is there anything you want to say? Are there any more rules?", I questioned in one breath, and blankly, the old-lady shook her head in disagreement. "Good night, Aunty!", I exhaled and darted upstairs towards our bedroom.