Reeta was wide-awake. She stretched and yawned. Five in the morning was too early for her to be up and about. She pulled up the thin cloth she used for cover and tried to compose herself to sleep when she heard her mother's voice filtered in from the courtyard.
"She might be awake," said mother.
"See if she is," father replied. Reeta turned away and pretended to be asleep. Mother must have peeped. She closed the door, and Reeta heard her working the bolt.
"She's soundly asleep," said mother, "I have bolted the door."
She was mistaken; she had drawn the bolt but not into the slot. When her daughter slowly turned her head she found the door not fully closed. The day that Reeta was dreaming about was upon her. This was not the first time mother had bolted the door early in the morning. Reeta was pretty sure that some form of intimacy with father was to happen, but she did not know what. At nights when mother thought she was asleep she bolted the door and moved to her husband's bedroom, but that Reeta knew was for sex. But what were they up to in the morning? Suddenly she had qualms about peeping; it did not last for long. Reeta crept to the door and gently tried it. It opened noiselessly. Someone had oiled it very recently. She opened the door just enough for her to squeeze through. She hid behind a column. The view was perfect; there was no danger of detection.
* * *
Reeta's lived in a small town deep in Southern India on the shores of the Vaigai River. She was the only child to her parents. She is nineteen years old and recently her parents had fixed the date of her marriage to her first cousin. The wedding was six months away. In rural South India fiancées do not meet before the wedding day. This did not really matter for they are usually closely related and knew each other for long. Reeta had played games with the boy she was to marry when they were young. Once she attained menarche, as per custom, they were not to speak to each other though on family occasions they had many chances to see each other. Waiting for the day could be boring, but luckily her parent's, unknown to themselves, embroiled her in their activities, and that kept Reeta enthralled.
Her house was of ancient design, just perfect to keep the house cool without fans or air-conditioning in the heat of summer. The central courtyard that was open to the sky was the key to the design. A ten feet deep veranda surrounded the courtyard on all sides. Beyond the veranda were the rooms. The well in the courtyard was the only source of water for household use. Water had to be drawn using a bucket tied to a rope over a pulley. Piped water was unknown in that town. Drawing water was no problem for being near the river the water level was very high in the wells. The granite flooring of the courtyard was always wet, that and the country tiled roofing that allowed hot air out kept cool air in circulation. There were no bathrooms. The platform near the well was the bathroom. The toilet was beyond the house in a corner of the walled compound.
Reeta's father like other men in the town bathed in the river. Taking bath in the open courtyard may sound difficult for women, but it was really not so. At bathing ghats in rivers and tanks in India one can see women taking bath. They tie a sari below the shoulders and very effectively wash all parts of the body without exposing any part they do not want to expose. Of course men, young and old, will be hovering about at a discreet distance waiting for an unexpected whiff of breeze, or a slip up on the part of the woman to uncover a bit of her secret parts. Distant glimpses that last fractions of a second seem to satisfy them.
Reeta took her bath when father was not in. Her mother was very strict about it. Though only mother was in the house Reeta used a wooden screen to hide behind. Mother bathed in the nude. But she bathed before sunrise when Reeta was asleep. Her father is an early riser too, but not at 4.30 when mother gets up. Father would occasionally be about when mother bathed, but between husband and wife that should not matter. Reeta has of course seen her mother in the nude. Sometimes when she has oil bath Reeta would assist her to bathe, wipe, and powder. Reeta's mother's trimmed her pubic hair and taught Reeta to trim her pubic hair too.
* * *
The sight that came to Reeta's view as she crouched being the column was thrilling. Her father was standing in the courtyard and excising with his dumb bells. Reeta has seen her father using his dumbbells, but today it was different—he was quite naked. He was tall, fair, muscular, and very handsome. What Reeta was watching that morning was not his muscles, but his genitals. It was dark and hairy and Reeta thought that it looked very like the bandicoots that roam their compound in the night. She was amused that she should be comparing her father's organ to bandicoots. It was not only dark and hairy but its size was that of a large bandicoot. More surprising it seemed to have a life of its own. Sometimes the testicle bag hung loose and dangled, and at other times it was tight against the testicles with the skin wrinkled. The testicles were a beauty. They were large and globular. The penis was another marvel. At times it was small and shrivelled like a chilli pod; at other times it swelled to a size of a banana.
Presently mother appeared. She removed her sari, then her blouse and then her bodice. Suddenly her father's penis changed shape from a banana to a foot ruler. It had the same girth as a foot ruler, but was not that long. It was not hanging down either; it was pointing up like an anti-aircraft gun. Mother then shed her skirt and was totally in the nude.
"Don't look at me like that as if you have not seen my body," mother said.
"Seeing you lying with legs split on bed is one form of pleasure; seeing you like this is another." Father fondled her, and then hugged and kissed her. Father's hand went to her mother's vulva and he tenderly rubbed it. Mother lifted one leg and rested it on the well wall. She moved her hips back and forth in obvious enjoyment.
