Sandhya’s Sojourn
That December evening, Sandhya came home dancing to the tune, ‘Soon I’m going, to see my darling.’
‘When is she coming?’ at length, Damayanthi interrupted Sandhya in her mirth.
‘No mummy darling,’ said Sandhya still dancing, ‘It’s me that’s going.’
‘What’s the matter?’ asked Damayanthi.
‘It’s the NCC thing,’ Sandhya said excitedly, ‘I’ve made it to the state level, and God willing, from there to New Delhi for the Republic Day parade.’
‘Congrats,’ said Damayanthi hugging her daughter.
‘I’m proud of you my darling,’ said Kamalakar who came by then.
‘Oh, if only,’ said Sandhya dreamily, ‘I make it to the contingent.’
‘We’re sure,’ said both the parents, ‘you would.’
‘Surely you’ve already posted the news to Roopa’ said Damayanthi. ‘How thrilled she would be!’
‘No way,’ said Sandhya rolling her eyes, ‘I want to surprise her.’
Soon, Sandhya landed at Hyderabad’s Langar Hauz camp for the girl cadets, and having gone through the rigorous regimen for a week, she made it to the Andhra contingent. However, that Saturday evening, before decamping to Delhi, she left the camp to spend the weekend with Roopa.
Though Sandhya was all eager to reach for Roopa’s arms, she chose not to hire an auto-rickshaw for she couldn’t resist the temptation to relive her childhood days by hopping in and out of the city buses. Alighting at Lakdi-ka-pul from the bus she boarded at the Langar Hauz, she awaited a connecting service to Chikkadapally with the idea of picking up some bandar laddus on the way. ‘Oh, how she would have loved those Kotaiah’s kaajahs even more - but then they aren’t sold here,’ she thought fondly reminiscing her amour.
However, she became impatient waiting for the right bus that was late in coming. At that, she leaned on the railing of the road bridge as though to relieve her anxiety. And soon, she noticed four youths crossing the road towards her. As they came nearer, she thought one of them was quite handsome. It soon dawned on her that they joined the group of waiting commuters only to ogle her on the sly. When she instinctively glanced at the attractive guy, she found him staring at her searchingly. As the intensity of his gaze tickled her senses, she felt insensibly drawn towards him.
When the city bus barged into the traffic of their admiring looks, languidly boarding it from the front, she gave him a longing look that seemed inviting to him. Pulled by the passion in her stare, he plunged into the bus on the move, leaving his friends gaping behind. Wading his way up the aisle, he reached where she was seated. As though his proximity induced a magnetic force in her body, she rose from her seat impulsively and stood beside him in the packed aisle. Though she made it appear as a courtesy to an old woman, he got the message and so posited himself behind her. While she felt the pressure of his exciting, her inviting manner made him eager. Without much ado, he ardently pressed against her while she found herself enjoying his exertions. Galvanized by her acquiescence, he laced her from behind and caressed her midriff that sent her into a rapturous trance.