Dawn was breaking through when Neerja aunty shook him awake. She was already dressed in a Tee shirt and jogging pants. He got up quickly, brushed his teeth and washed his face. By the time he had finished tying up his shoes, she had a glass of warm water in her hands for him. He had decided to go with his school exercise shorts and trainers. Unfortunately, he had run out of underwear. The ones Aunty had put in the wash had not yet dried. He had no choice but to go bare underneath.
"Drink up, beta," she said, handing over the glass.
Outside it was pleasantly cold and the roosters were crowing in the distance. She locked the main gate behind her and led him away from the main road onto a dirt track. Here, there were a few clustered hutments but everyone seemed to be asleep. A small village shop selling odds and ends was shuttered. The dirt track ended abruptly as they passed through the hamlet, but there was a grassy beaten path that began from there. They walked on the path leading them into a forest. The air was still, save for the calls of birds and the rustling of leaves. The sun had not yet risen. An overnight shower had left the ground damp and the leaves wet. There was not another soul to be seen. The initial signs of habitation gave way to the isolation of the forest. He felt one with nature. The smell of the wet earth reminded him of the village he had visited as a child with his mother Sarmistha.
Aunty's pace was brisk. Initially, he was able to keep up but months of choosing chess club and poetry club over sports meant that the muscles of his legs began to cramp up and soon he was struggling to keep pace. Aunty barely broke stride, working up a strong sweat. Debdas's feet began to hurt and his shoes began to bite, but he was too proud to request aunty to slow down. He fell behind by a few feet and Aunty came to a halt.
"Debdas, are you alright beta?" she asked.
Debdas was thankful for the respite.
"My feet hurt aunty," he complained
"That's okay. You sit down and rest for a while."
"I won't take long aunty," he panted, collapsing onto the damp grass. "Give me five minutes."
His weary legs welcomed the rest. The pain and throbbing ceased. The air seemed cooler. The heat of the morning was still far away.
"I have to go susu," aunty said, matter of factly.
Debdas almost gasped. He was surprised at her utterance. He turned away as she walked a bit into the woods. He heard the rustling of pants being pulled down and then the pitter patter of her stream on the forest floor as she relieved herself. She came back and began stretching, touching her toes. He avoided looking at her.
"Five minutes. Time's up. Come on, let's go," she said.
His muscles screamed in protest as he got up.
"We'll go slowly, beta. Just relax and enjoy the view. Do you need to susu?" she asked, her eyes straying to the front of his shorts. He had become semi hard when he heard her urinating. The tent was visible due to lack of underwear.
Debdas looked away, embarrassed. He had been feeling full but politeness had prevented him from asking Neerja aunty for a toilet break. He had never talked so frankly about bodily functions with a woman before. Even with his mother, they took turns sharing the one bathroom in their small apartment and stayed out of each other's way.
"Go on, don't be shy Debdas," said aunty.
He walked a bit into the woods and went behind a tree. He pulled down his half pant and urinated against the tree, careful to not be noisy. Once he had finished urinating, he felt better.
"Feel better now, Debdas?" asked aunty "Let's turn back."
Debdas nodded.
They resumed walking at a slow pace. Debdas had become very sweaty. There was large patch on his front and also under his arms. Ahead of him, Aunty's tee shirt also showed patches on her back and in her armpit regions. He glanced at her shapely bottom that undulated as she walked. It was ample and he liked her full figure. It was very different from that of his mother who was far thinner.
He checked his thoughts as they came into view of the hamlet. Everyone was asleep save for an old woman who was sweeping the dirt outside her hut with a leafy broom. Aunty acknowledged her namaskar as they walked past. The old lady went into a hut and came out with a container of milk.
When they neared the gate, she handed him the container.
"Place it in the fridge, beta," she said. "I'll walk some more in the garden."
"You'll walk some more?" Debdas was winded and just wanted to slip into bed and sleep some more.
"Yes, beta. I will do a few more rounds."
"Why?!"
"I do not want to get fat, beta. At my age, I have to be careful."
"You are not fat, Aunty," he protested.
"That's sweet of you to say. I'll finish up. You go take rest."
After placing the milk in the fridge, he collapsed on his bed. When he woke up it was quite late. Aunty was in the kitchen cooking.
"Beta, slept well?" she asked.
"Sorry aunty, I was so tired," he apologized.
"We thought you might want to sleep for a little bit. I'll make you a bowl of cornflakes. Would you like an omelette?"
"Yes please," he said.
"One or two eggs?"
"Two eggs."