Two persons, joined by circumstances, circumstances that seemed to be evolving into a shared destiny, sat sipping their coffee; each grappling with their own thoughts. Chitra was confused. It felt strange, a married woman sitting alone in an apartment with a stranger.
Yet Ramji did not feel a stranger to her. He was her savior and protector. She was not sure how this relationship was developing, and what she wanted out of it, and whether at all to continue.
Ramji was feeling very happy. Luck seemed to be favoring him. He now had the opportunity to nurture his relationship with Chitra. He was determined to go for broke. He was alone with Chitra and wanted to make best use of this opportunity to express his feelings.
To break the sudden silence they were caught in, Ramji got up and switched on the TV. The broadcast was mainly about the events of the day. A total of 4 bombs had exploded and several people had died. The police had found and defused another dozen bombs and the search for more explosives was ongoing. The whole city was tense and almost on the boil. Politicians' speculations about a plot from across the border spread like wildfire. Suggestions that a religious community was involved led to a flare of communal tensions.
The government decided to calm the situation, imposing a dusk to dawn curfew, with the police given "shoot at sight" orders. Ramji was inwardly gloating with happiness. The curfew meant that Chitra would have to spend the night at his home. He had no intentions of forcing himself upon the girl, but he was certainly not going to forgo this chance to get closer to Chitra. He had accepted the feelings of lust & desire he had for Chitra.
Ramji's attention was drawn to the TV when he heard a reference to his own locality. Live coverage showed the bomb squad defusing an explosive close to the building Ramji was living. Almost without thinking, Ramji called to Chitra and taking her by the hand drew her to the huge balcony of his apartment. He pointed her in the direction where the bomb was being defused. From the lofty heights of his apartment, a lot of lights could be seen and sirens were blaring. A small crowd had gathered and the police had a tough time keeping the spectators at bay. A few police dogs, presumably to sniff out hidden explosives were also present. The two stood close to each other trying to lean and peer from the balcony railing. Chitra, almost instinctively held on to Ramji and he too was happy to throw a protective arm around her. Suddenly they heard an explosion and bright lights. The distance muzzled the noise slightly, but the dazzling lights seemed to be like several firecrackers had been set off. Chitra gave a sudden shriek and snuggled closer to Ramji. He drew her into a tighter embrace and squeezed her to him, almost crushing her breasts to him. He protectively covered her back and patted the entire length of her back and shoulder, feeling the softness of her flesh and the contours of her form.
Chitra started sobbing. The strongest and wisest of men is always rendered helpless by a woman's tears. Ramji did not know the reason behind Chitra's tears or how he ought to react. He decided to play safe, not saying anything, but continued to hold and comfort her, patting her back. After a few minutes, Chitra stopped, and extricated herself from Ramji's embrace.
Ramji apologized and asked her to forgive him, if he had done anything wrong. Unknowingly he had said the right words. Profusely apologizing, Chitra came nearer and took Ramji's hand in her own. She stated that she felt sad and was just crying about the senseless violence and loss of lives. She added that she was scared that she would not be able to go back home. Ramji assured her that there was nothing to be afraid of; and given the circumstances, he considered himself fortunate that he could help her. He told her that she was safe and should feel comfortable to stay the night.
In order to divert her mind, Ramji, then led Chitra inside. They sat beside each other on the sofa and he changed the channel to some music. He called his cook and asked her to prepare dinner. The cook, seeing Chitra asked him he had any particular items in mind. Ramji glanced at chitra and seeing no reaction asked the cook to prepare a light dinner of soup and salad.
Ramji then invited Chitra to change into something comfortable for the night. Chitra blushed and reminded him that she was not at home. Ramji then gently led Chitra to a gigantic walk in wardrobe. He opened a door and told her that she could choose any night dress from his late wife's wardrobe. In amazement she asked him if he had still retained all his late wife's dresses. Ramji replied that he had given most of the clothes to charity & his daughter had taken a few dresses. He explained that the dresses still remaining were those he had retained for sentimental reasons.
Chitra objected saying that she would not wear any of the dresses since she did not want to hurt his feelings. Ramji quickly reacted. He gently lifted Chitra's chin and looked into her eyes. Chitra was taken by surprise. Her initial reaction was to pull away; but her body refused to react. She looked up and met Ramji's eyes. She could see in Ramji's eyes, desire and yet it seemed more than desire. For a minute she herself felt lost and carried away. Slowly her eyes drooped, unable to meet his, and yet she remained silent, standing quiet.
Chitra's body felt warm, and her legs were trembling, but she knew it was not fear. The silence lasted almost a minute. Speaking in a soft yet commanding tone Ramji told Chitra that he would feel honored if she wore the dress he had selected. He went on to say that he wanted Chitra to be comfortable and said that she may like to freshen up and change. Ramji then turned away and left the room.
