Love Anklet by Ekaparnika

Mohan was in a murderous mood; he wanted to strangle the marriage broker who was responsible for his debacle now. On his way to see a girl for his own marriage, he was standing under the shade of a huge banyan tree a little away from the main road. The bus had broken down on its way to Rowan from Basar.

They were in the middle of nowhere and except for some trees along the road; it was a barren piece of land as far as your eyes could travel. It is summer and the sun at its hottest. Being an office bearer, he is wearing his best shirt and trouser, which were now wet and muddy, him included. He keeps on wiping the sweat pouring down his face with his handkerchief.

All eyes are on the road expecting another bus to carry them to their destination. Every stranded commuter had found a tree to shade them from being burnt. Mohan licks his dry lips craving desperately for a glass of water.

"EEEEEEE...." A small shriek stirred a small turbulence among the group under the tree, and every attention was now on the source. It was a woman, her back to Mohan. She was wearing a long embroidered skirt, a long embroidered top with a colorful dupatta covering her head and shoulders.

"What happened?" one lady asked

"It's a scorpion," she said and moved to stand beside Mohan giving him a view of the stinger on the ground.

One of the men picked it up on a cloth and released it far away from them.

Mohan took a glance sideways at her now. She was beautiful, and he ogled her openly. Her eyes were at the man carrying the scorpion. She felt someone eyeing her, and she gave a piercing look at Mohan. He felt embarrassed and averted his eyes.

"A bus is coming" someone shouted, and the waiting people began to move hurriedly towards the road.

Mohan to took some paces ahead but stopped when he got a view of the bus. It wasn't just overcrowded it was over pouring with passengers. The bus even tilted to a side with the weight. The driver was sensible, and he drove on without stopping. Mohan came back to the tree to lean on it, and he saw the girl sitting down resting her back to the tree.

Mohan wondered why she had not got up to catch the bus like the others. He heard a sniffle and a blowing of the nose. She was crying.

"Why are you crying? Can I help you?" He asked

He received no answer to that; only the sobbing was noiseless now.

"It's so hot," Mohan thought loudly.

Just then another bus made its appearance and people ran to board it. Mohan saw that the woman had still not made a move to get up.

"A bus is here, don't you want to board it?"

Still, there was no answer. The bus left carrying only a few stranded ones.

"You know it is dangerous to sit here alone, unaccompanied by someone. You may come to some harm."

"I will kill or kill myself before anything happens," She said in a low fierce voice. "I am armed, and no one dares touch me. You leave me alone." She warned.

"Ok got your point. Sorry to disturb you in your sadness." He remarked sarcastically.

Mohan was tired of standing. He looked down deciding whether to ease his tired legs or muddy his trousers. His tired legs won the case, and he sat down on the ground and stretched his legs and felt good.

"Only if I had water to drink," he said aloud and sighed and licked his lips. He leaned back his head and began to think about food. He shook those thoughts away as he did not want to feel hungry as yet. He heard the bells of the anklets and looked at the girl sitting two arm's length from him. She had stirred and was now sitting like him staring at the road ahead.

Her dupatta had now fallen off her head and resting on her shoulders.

"Do you have the bad habit of ogling at women." She asked and looked at him with a piercing angry frown. He noted that her eyes were red by crying. He blinked and looked away, ashamed at presenting a bad impression. He never ogled, he had women friends, and everyone liked him instead.

"Sorry about that" he apologized.

"Here I have some water you can share," she said offering him a bottle of water.

He smiled looking at it at and taking the bottle took a sip from it. It felt good he wanted to have more but refrained. She might need it he thought and returned it.

"Thank you."

"Why were you crying?" he asked her.

Silence prevailed, and he was half afraid that she would get angry with him again. But he couldn't help it.

"I don't want to get married this early."

Her reply surprised him. "So you have run away from home," he asked accusingly.

"No, not that way. I am trying to be late for the ceremony."

"Ceremony? What ceremony? Are you being married forcefully?" He was stunned at the thought.

"No, not that. The boy meets girl ceremony. He is coming to meet me today. And if I am not at home he will go away and not come back. And that will save the day for me."

"You don't have to do that just tell the boy that you don't want to marry him outright."

"I can't do that. "

"Why?"

"That will bring a bad name for my family and me. A girl should not be too outspoken."

"By the way why do you not want to get married?"

She stirred at that, and her ankles peeped from under her skirt giving Mohan a view of the feet and the silver anklets with small round bells and tiny stars on them.

"I want to study further and complete my graduation. Then I want to go to work and help my parents and two siblings. Father is getting old and has started falling sick. He does not take medicines as they are expensive."

"So now will the boy have come to your house to see you."

"Yes, they will have come."

"So that is why you are not in a hurry to go home."

She nodded her head at that.

Mohan chuckled, and she looked at him and smiled. That smiled transformed her face into a 100 watts bulb which sends shock waves into his system and woke up his male senses. It had never happened to him before, and he was stunned by his reaction, and his smile disappeared, and he looked away.

Another bus was making its appearance on the horizon where the air looked like liquid water suspended in the air. This too was crowded, and some people managed to push in through the entry while some other climbed onto the top of the bus.

"Why didn't you go?" she asked

"It's too overcrowded for me."

She shot up suddenly and looked at the road squinting and before Mohan could ask anything she was picking up her skirt and running towards the road. Mohan was up on his feet instantly seeing her run and called out.

"Hey wait where are you going? What happened?"

"I am going home. My uncle." She said pointing to the man on the huge oncoming tractor.

On the road, she waved her hands, and the tractor stopped. She climbed on to it with ease and sat beside the man and was driven away.

Mohan was dejected that she left in such a hurry. He didn't even ask her name and where she lived. He heaved a sad sigh and looked at where she sat. It was then he spotted it. It was her anklet, which had come off. He quickly picked it up and pocketed it. Maybe someday he would get the opportunity to return it.

Honking from the broken down bus attracted everyone's attention to it. The people nearer to the bus began to run towards it and board it. Mohan too followed them.

The snag had been repaired, and the bus was making a move to leave. Mohan thought about the girl and heaved a sigh. He reached Rowan after an hour or so. It was past noon, and now he was hungry too. The sun overhead now was appearing like a ball of fire. The shops were closed down for the noon as it was too hot. There were scarcely any people on the road, but he still managed to find his destination.

He knocked at the door. It was opened by a man in his 60's.

"My name is Mohan Bhargav. I have come from Basar."

A hesitant and surprised smile came upon the man's face, "I am Prakash Ved. You are welcome," and he invited him in.

"You are late, so we thought that you weren't coming."

"The bus broke down on the way," Mohan replied at that.

It was cool inside the house, and Mohan was glad to be out of the hot sun. Silence prevailed as they entered a room and everyone was up on their feet.

"These are my younger brothers and their families" Mr Ved introduces them.

The women and children took a hasty retreat from the room after the greetings and the men seated themselves once again with basic conversation, until the room fell silent again, all eyes on the door behind Mohan. The rattling of the tea cups on the tray indicated that refreshments had arrived.

The children, all smiling and giggling were the first ones to come into his sight. They were shooed to silence. Two platters of snacks were kept in front of Mohan on a teapoy. His mouth watered and his stomach growled as he looked at the snacks.

"Come forward Meera" Mr Ved instructed.

The sound of jingling anklets came nearer to him, and in a moment a tray with several cups of tea on it came in his line of vision. He picks up one cup carefully and stole a glance at the girl and was so shocked that the grip on his tea cup faltered and the hot tea fell on his thighs. He yelped as the heat scaled his skin.

The children began to laugh and others sorry at his plight. He was embarrassed a second time that day because of her.

"Meera keep the tray on the table and go inside." Mr Ved instructed.

Mohan was busy wiping away the tea with his towel. So her name is Meera, he thought, and I am going to marry her. A small smile played on his lips, an indication of how ecstatic he was feeling. That feeling was short-lived when doubt crept into his mind at remembering her words earlier that day, "I don't want to get married", what if she refused to marry him.

"Can I have a word with your daughter...alone." Mohan requested.

Mr Ved glanced at everyone in the room for approval and arrived at a decision.

"Yes, you can. Manahor take Mr Mohan to your sister." He called to the little boy in the room.

Meera was seated on the bed, and Mohan sat himself on the chair nearby.

"So we meet again," Mohan remarked.

She gave a surprised, puzzled look.

"You said you did not want to get married now" Mohan commented.

"I never said that." She replied and stood instantly on her feet agitated.

"Yes you did, today morning." Mohan insisted, he too was on his feet.

"I am seeing you for the first time and never left home today." She now had a frightened look in her eyes.

"But I saw you," Mohan said too puzzled by her stance. He couldn't make a decision. He slowly walked out of the room and came to where everyone was waiting for him. The puzzled and dejected look on his face raised many questions in their minds.

Mohan excused himself reasoning that he had another appointment and must leave. He assured them that he would inform them of his decision soon.

He did not feel the heat that burned his skin; he was disheartened, puzzled and sad. He had lunch in a nearby hotel and then waited at the bus stop with his troubled thoughts.

Someone came and stood beside him in the queue. It was a woman dressed up in the same attire as Meera. It was her, and he was stunned and now angry.

"So...you don't know me and not met me before...huh?" He taunted her quietly.

He was met with those same piercing angry eyes, "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Meera...you just refused to acknowledge me when I came to talk to you in your house."

"Wait a minute. I didn't meet you at my home..." she countered fiercely in a whisper.

"Oh God, I will surely go mad today, you being the reason." He said now a little loud, and the person ahead of him looked over his shoulders at him.

"Will you explain what's going on?" he asked.

"What I said is true, and I came to explain. You met my twin sister Geeta at home. She filled in for me fearing father's wrath. She told me everything when I sneaked home just now and then sneaked out to find you and tell you the truth."

Mohan was wonder struck for a moment but pleased, but he still had that doubt to clear.

"So will you marry me?" he popped the question.

She remained quiet, fingering the tip of her dupatta, head hung down.

"What if I let you study after marriage and let you go to work too. Will you then agree?" waiting expectantly for her reply as she had not denied nor agreed.

"Really! You won't change your mind after marriage, will you?"

"No, I won't change my mind."

"Why would you do that for me?"

"Because I really, really like you. Is that enough?" He replied with a grin, and she smiled and lowered her eyes.

"Here this is for you." She said suddenly handing him a bottle of water, " for your trip back. The bus is here."

Mohan looked up on to the road and tensely sees the bus approach.

"So what's your decision?" he asked as the bus came to a halt.

"Yes," she said softly, and his eyes lit up, and he took the bottle from her hands and boarded the bus, sitting down at the window facing her.

"In that case, I will keep this," retrieving the anklet from his pocket and holding it between his fingers, "as a token of our love" and laughed and waved to her as the bus left leaving her standing at the stop waving back at him.

***