The girl in the rain (Part 2)

Scene 4

“Come out, it’s party time”, the shrill voice of Sherlyn was audible even in the midst of all the din and the concomitant banging of the door. She decided to ignore it, hoping that the absence of response would cause the noise-mongers to get back to their ways. But the bang and the appeals only got louder, and sharper, “Come out, you rural girl. Learn to live in the city.” She threw aside the book she was reading, on the bedstand, got up and unbolted the door. “Sorry, I was asleep. I’m not feeling well. You guys go ahead and enjoy”, she made a plea in the sincerest and calmest tone possible. “Don’t be a spoilsport, gal. Come out and have fun”, came a drunken voice from behind. “No, please. You guys go ahead, I’ll rather catch some sleep”, she was trying harder than ever to subdue her bubbling anger. “Leave her man, we don’t need bores like her to botch our party”, a third voice echoed. She turned to see that it was the same guy who had made a pass on her the last time such a dinful night had graced her hostel. He had seemed charming on that night, and she had even thought of finding out more about him – him, the same person who was now eyeing her with blood red eyes brimming with scorn. She could not take it anymore. “Stupid girl”, she heard the congregation of voices filter through the narrow slit, as she stepped back, and banged the door into the face of the alcohol dowsed crowd.

Scene 5

“Dad, Can I have an ice-cream?”, the little girl mumbled, sensing the opportunity the rush of affection from her father had thrown open. “Sure, why not? Lets go to the ice-cream parlor”, the man got up and flung the princess over his shoulders. “Honey, we’ll be back in ten minutes”, he called into the other room as the door closed behind him.

“Dad, Can you pick me up again?”, the little girl cried in her ever so feeble voice. The man was suddenly aware of the fact that while he had been carrying the girl on their way to the parlor, he had let her walk by his side on the return journey. “Sure”, he said, as he picked up the girl. He had taken but a couple of steps, when his daughter’s inquisition reached him – “Dad, why do I always have to ask for things I want? Can’t you know what I want, without me saying it?” The man was bamboozled by the innocent question. As he continued walking, with his daughter’s ice-cream melting and dripping all over his shirt, he took a deep breath and said,” Princess, you remember the toy I gave you on New Year?” “Yes, the fridge stickers”, the girl replied, licking the cold stick. “Yes, it had a magnet behind it which makes it stick to the metal of the refrigerator door. And if you bring two magnets together, the opposite ends also stick. You see, every relationship has two ends to it, just like a magnet. There is a giver and there is a taker. And the roles are not fixed even within the relationship. They may change with time. When the giver is perfect, he’ll know what the taker wants before the latter saying about it. That is what we call unsaid communication. But nobody is perfect. We are all givers in some sense, and we strive towards being the perfect giver”, the man babbled, little realizing what cosmic bouncers he was throwing at his daughter. But the girl was surprisingly attentive.

“Who’s the giver and who’s the taker in our relationship?” ,she retorted. The man looked at the innocent inquisition perplexing her face,”You decide”.

Scene 6

The rain had reduced to a drizzle by now but the wind had got gustier and colder. November wasn’t the month you typically expected rains in this part of the world, and when they happened, they wreaked havoc. I turned my wrist and found the minute’s hand trying to play catch-me-if-you-can with its shorter, slower counterpart. It was quarter to nine, and I was hungry. In a vain sense of hope, I strained my neck again, for any signs of an approaching car. But a vain attempt it was to be. As I was turning back, I noticed a moving object, barely visible through the corner of my eye. My neck stopped in its stride and took reverse gear to discover the girl shivering. “Please, take my coat. You are cold”, I earnestly appealed as I motioned to let loose the sole raiment sheathing me from the chill outside. A pair of prying eyes turned towards me. The people of this city were more hostile than what I had imagined before I had arrived here a couple of days ago. I was unnerved, and I couldn’t believe what I heard myself saying,” I meant you must be feeling cold. Not that you are a cold person. You seem like a cool person. I only meant to say that you might be feeling cold, as you were shivering. Not that you are a cold person…” The eyes got even more prying, as I secretly pleaded to be buried a couple of miles below the concrete my feet were grounded on.

“All passages leading to Cantt Road have been blocked due to the crashing of electric poles in the area. Residents moving towards Cantt Road are advised to curb their movements. Residents of Cantt Road are well advised to stay put in their homes till …”, the crackling voice from the radio sitting on the tea-stall behind me, turned to be the saving grace. The announcement had apparently caught the lady’s attention. I was liberated from the prying eyes and the consequent ignominy my following jabber had engendered. As I strained my ears to listen to the remainder of the announcement, I saw her face turning pale. It took me another moment to realize – We were on Cantt Road.