This happened when I was a little over 18 years of age. I had just finished school a few months back and had joined the University of Delhi for my baccalaureate in Physics. It was late October time and the weather was at its best in the New Delhi suburb we lived in. It was so pleasant, with a little chill and lots of freshness in the air. I had my autumn break in the college and was studying hard for classes that were to follow on reopening of the university. I was a good student and it had been a habit since my early school days to use each vacation for doing advance study of the syllabus for the following term. I used to love studying on my own, without assistance of the teachers and the subsequent admiration that used to come my way during the term for knowing so much even before the teachers went through their rituals in the class was always so heady and inspiring.
We lived in a closely knit neighbourhood, where each elderly lady was a mausi, each elderly gentleman a chacha, each older boy a bhaiya and each older girl a didi. There was one daughter-in-law in the neighbourhood, who was a bhabhi to all of us. The houses were built close to each other, either with a common wall or with narrow streets separating them. Away from the disturbance inside our little household, this autumn break, I had shifted my day-time study venue to the terrace of our house. I would climb up the wooden ladder, books and some light refreshment in tow, and spend long hours there. I would sit glued to my appointed place almost the whole day, enjoying in the opening of my mind to new facts, new concepts and new knowledge. My mom had to call me repeatedly from down below to make me descend for my meals, and each time, I would keep deferring the downward journey till she shrieked an extreme ultimatum or two.
The day was no different from other days. Only that sitting atop the house for over four hours at a stretch had caused some cramps in my legs. This had not happened before. I just got up and started walking on the terrace, from one end to the other, book in hand, reading some nice and interesting passages on History of Science, a qualifying subject at college. The thickish foliage emanating from guava trees in our backyard surrounded the terrace. As I began my up-and-down movement, I looked around, and found our neighbour Malati washing clothes under the tap in the compound of her house. The tap was in a place near the corner of her house, surrounded by a 6 feet high boundary wall on two sides and five feet high walls on the other two sides, making a small cubicle, which went by the name of bathroom in her house. The bathroom had no formal door and only a three foot breach in one of the walls constituted entrance to the place.
Malati was a most beautiful young woman of about 24. She was married and lived in that house with her husband and his old parents. Even though I was 18 then, my existence thus far had been mostly books and academics. There were not many females my age amongst my acquaintances. I was perhaps not developed enough, physically and sexually. It is not that I was constitutionally weak or stunted. I was a good 5 feet 9 inches and weighed a healthy 70 kg. But despite my limited sexual awareness and exposure, the very sight of Malati used to set my heart aflutter in some peculiar way. Malati had had a baby only a few months back and I had seen physical changes in her appearance during her pregnancy. Although I had little idea about the human reproductive system, never having studied biology, I used to fancy Malati with a big tummy, every time I met her on the street. We used to call her Bhabhi, the wife of elder brother.
Malati bhabhi was quite shy but was a very warm person. Every time we met, she would smile disarmingly at me and enquire about my studies. My mom once told me that Malati bhabhi was a very good student herself before she was married off into the neighbour's house four years back at a young age of 20.
I did not pay much attention at first to Malati bhabhi at work that day. But after a while, I found she had completed the washing and stood in the bathroom. Even as I strolled on the terrace, I saw from the corner of my eyes that she began to take her shirt off. The next moment, I saw Malati bhabhi standing there in a white bra. The foliage above her did not perhaps permit her to realise that I was moving on the terrace of my house. She was obviously oblivious of the prying young eyes watching her glorious secrets. I had never seen a woman in that state of undress and I had some queer and hitherto unexperienced sensations in my body. Without deliberately deciding to do so, I had stopped my stroll and began looking at Malati bhabhi through the thick growth of guava leaves. I could see her clearly. The skin that now revealed was a lot fairer that the very fair face of Malati bhabhi. She had a long neck and slim arms.
Even as I watched her surreptitiously, I saw her hands fiddle with her bra at the back and it came unstuck. A most beautiful pair of breasts broke loose. The breasts were even more white than the body revealed just a minute back and hung like ripe big mangoes on her chest. There were large pink protrusions in the middle of each of the lovely breasts. The nipples were surrounded by areolar rings, the size of a large coin, dark pink in colour. My breathing became instantly heavy. I could sense my little penis spring into action and become big. I had earlier been used to engorgement of my penis only at night sometimes, when the urge for urination became too stiff. But this was different. There were weird sensations and it felt good as never before.
Even as I stood there, panting hard, I found Malati bhabhi take her salwar off. She wore nothing else underneath. Malati bhabhi was now standing stark naked, in front of my eyes. She had beautiful legs, long and slender. The legs were a bit hairy. But what took my fancy was a bushy growth where her legs began and her tummy ended. I had never known that woman had hair there, in the middle. Because I did not have any either, I was ignorant about male pubic growth as well. While I was exposed to a scene I had never heard of, nor seen before, the very sight of a nude woman caused some parts of my body to act in a manner not experienced earlier. I did feel that it was wrong on my part to snoop on Malati bhabhi like that, when she was not aware of my presence on the terrace. But the thrill that this exotic sight gave me was too much to give up the offering. Something that felt so good could not be wrong, I argued with myself.
Malati bhabhi began her bath. She took a jug of water and poured it over her neck. I could see Malati bhabhi feel the chill of the cold water. The next moment, she was applying soap over her body. As she massaged around her own breasts, giving particular attention to her nipples, it became too much for me. I let out an involuntary gasp. I was petrified at the thought of Malati bhabhi hearing my presence. I shuddered to imagine what she would think of me if she did and I spontaneously sat down.
I tried to compose myself as best as I could but the sight of the forbidden fruit had ignited passions I was a total stranger to. In no time, I popped up my head again and resumed my sightseeing. Malati bhabhi was now sitting on a low stool and applying soap to her legs and thighs. As her nimble hands moved towards her hairy mound, I waited with baited breath. Lo and behold, she was at her pubic hair and gave them a good wash. It was all happening before my very eyes and happening too fast for me to handle. The next thing I saw was Malati bhabhi putting her soapy finger in what seemed to be a hole inside her bushy growth. As she did that, Malati bhabhi appeared to slow down. She raised her head and her eyes pointed skywards, directly in my line of sight. I was scared she had seen me. But the unfolding erotic scenario and my constant gaze had emboldened me beyond what I ever believed could happen, more so when it came to Malati bhabhi, whom I respected a lot.