Dark Secrets

3

Yuvansh was surprised to see two tiffin boxes inside his bag when he opened it during recess . One had mirchi ka achaar and a couple of aloo parathas. When he opened the other box, the aroma of maggi noodles filled his nostrils . Why would ma give me two boxes ? That was when Dimpy crept up behind him.

"I'm sorry, Yuvansh", she said. "You can't stop talking to me just because I ate your Maggi."

Yuvansh looked at her for a moment and then chuckled. He handed over his aloo parathas to Dimpy and also shared the noodles with her.

"Dimpy, have you ever felt weird at your first sight of someone, a total stranger?" he asked in a muffled voice, stuffing his face with food.

"Wierd how?"

"Like you see someone for the first time and feel things that you've  never felt before," Yuvansh did his best to explain the phenomenon.

Dimpy looked baffled. "I've no idea what you're talking about. Did you see a ghost?"

Yuvansh realised that he was incapable of articulating his experience- nor was her understanding lofty enough to grasp his meaning .

"Yes", he conceded unhappily.

"Oh wow ! I've always wanted to see a ghost. What was he like?" Dimpy was ecstatic.

"Not he. She. And she looked exactly like you!" Yuvansh polished off the last strand of the noodles and nimbly leaped out of her reach to run towards the classroom.

"Yuvansh, kutte, I will put rat poison into your Maggi the next time !" she tore after him.

Later that day, when Yuvansh returned  home from school, no one answered the doorbell. He opened the doorbell. He opened the door with the spare key that was always kept in the secret place known only to family. As he stepped in, he heard sounds from the terrace. Curious, he went up to his room and the strains of a rajasthani folk song playing on the stereo grew louder. He followed the song and went up to the terrace where he saw Shreshtha dancing to the song with ghungroos around her ankles. He quietly let his bag drop to the floor and sat down, rivetted , oblivious to everything but her exquisitely graceful movements. He wasn't aware of the beatific smile of awe on his face. He blinked only when she stopped after the song had ended.

"When did you come?" Shreshtha was panting softly, genuinely surprised to see him. She turned off the stereo and wiped the perspiration that beaded her brow with a dainty hand towel.

Yuvansh stood frozen, feeling tongue- tied. "I'm sorry, I came about five minutes ago and spellbound by your dance.I couldn't help but sit and watch. I hope you don't mind."

"Oh, don't be sorry. It's absolutely fine", she said airily and sat down cross- legged to untie her ghungroos . She noticed him starting at her ghungroo set.

"D'you recognize this dance form? "she asked .

Yuvansh shook his head in ignorance.

"It's Kathak . I'm a trained Kathak dancer ", she said smiling proudly.

"You dance like a queen!" Yuvansh blurted out involuntarily.

Shreshtha burst out laughing."A queen?"

"Yes . A queen..... Ranisa."

"But I'm sure queens don't dance like this" , she said having successfully unlaced the ghunghroo from around one ankle.

My queen does, Yuvansh thought, but said, "May I please call you Ranisa?"

Shreshtha glanced at him, their gazes interlocking for a trice. She smiled and nodded. 'May I make a request?" she asked taking both the anklets in her hand and rising.

"Anything", Shreshtha said fervently.She handed over the jingling anklets to him. Yuvansh stood confused.

"The thing is, I love to dance but your Darsh bhaiya doesn't like it. That's why I did this today when I was home alone. If he sees these with me , he may not like it. Although I can keep them with me, I am worried that if I do,I'll be tempted to dance again. So, please keep them with you .I'll take them from you if I ever need them."

"Sure!" said Yuvansh with alacrity.

Shreshtha thanked him and then seemed lost in thought for a moment. Then she said, "I too have a name for you."

Yuvansh looked up at her expectantly, his face aglow.

"Thakur sahab".

Yuvansh tried in vain to control the crimson tide that spread over his face,"I'll keep these safe."

He left the terrace but returned almost immediately.

"What is it?" Yuvansh asked.

"If you love dancing then why do you then why do you avoid it just because bhaiya doesn't like it?"

With a thoughtful gaze,Shreshtha said,"A little sacrifice adds life to one's love story'.

Yuvansh lapped this up, looking deep into her eyes.

He came down to his makeshift room, went to his study table and opened the bottom drawer in which he kept all his prized possessions. It had his academic certificates and his medals from the various olympiads and inter- school competitions. More importantly , it had the nose stud. He put them in, he gently touched them to his forehead- as if he had seen a spark of divine in them.

It was late in the evening when Darsh returned home with his uncle and aunt. The next morning , he was to travel to Udaipur. After dinner, Mahendra went to watch KBC, Mrs Thakur tidied the kitchen and sent Yuvansh to find out whether Shreshtha or Darsh wanted hot milk beforetheor bedtime.

Yuvansh went up to the terrace. It was dark, but as Yuvansh 's pupils adjusted themselves to the tenebrosity, he could see Darsh smooching Shreshtha passionately. He froze by the terrace's entrance.

"Slowly, Darsh . Go slow. There's no need to hurry, I'm not going anywhere!" Yuvansh heard Shreshtha say.

Darsh undid the string fastening of her salwar trousers and tugged on it. He positioned himself between her thighs. She wrapped her legs around his hips.A second later, a moan escaped her. Yuvansh could make out the silhouette of each of Darsh's thrusts.

"I love you, Darsh", Shreshtha mouthed.

"I love you, Shreshtha", Darsh responded.

His hands were on her breasts above her kameez. To Yuvansh it seemed as if each thrust was timed with his heartbeat.He heard Shreshtha ask for more and more and more, until Darsh eventually stopped moving and held her tight. They were still once again. Yuvansh turned away and stole quitely and quickly back to the storeroom downstairs. He didn't switch on the lights.

A few minutes later his mother entered the room, yawning. She casually switched on the lights.

"Do they want milk or not?" she asked and then shrieked.

A compass had pierced Yuvansh's palm through and through and his hand was soaked in blood. Yuvansh gazed at his mother, his eyes glazed. As if he didn't know why his mother shrieked.