Love Bi the Way

by Bhaavna Arora

  When you give someone an incentive, especially during such hard times, things usually move faster. Zara was a businesswoman and was an expert at offering a fair price for getting the job done.

  The police arrived in half an hour. They investigated the scene of the crime. The determination of the crime was difficult. What was the crime? Was it Harish trying to rape his own daughter, or Rihana killing such a devil?

  Bhawani Singh, the area inspector, started by questioning Nandini, who was sitting on the bed and cradling Gudiya to her bosom.

  ‘Where were you when this happened?’

  ‘Sir, I was at my mother’s house. She wasn’t keeping well and I had to give her some medicines. If my husband was here, he wouldn’t have allowed me to go, so I left with my sons, leaving Gudiya here to cook for Rihana Didi. I shouldn’t have left my daughter here.’ Nandini started shedding tears of guilt. It was the guilt of having left Gudiya alone and the guilt of living with a man who was far from human for so many years.

  ‘Is that your daughter?’ Bhawani Singh asked Nandini.

  ‘Yes, sir. Gudiya. She is my daughter,’ Nandini answered amidst muffled sobs.

  ‘This man was your husband?’ Bhawani asked, pointing at Harish’s corpse.

  ‘Ji, sahib.’

  Bhawani turned to Gudiya. ‘What happened between you and your father, Gudiya?’ he asked in a polite tone.

  Gudiya was visibly traumatized and couldn’t say a word. She was still sobbing, holding on tight to Nandini for all she was worth.

  ‘Give her some water!’ Bhawani Singh called out to one of his attendants, who promptly appeared with a glass of water.

  ‘Beta, will you tell us what your father did to you?’ Bhawani Singh asked gently.

  Gudiya nodded and gathering herself with much strength, said, ‘Uncle, I was with Rihana Didi when he came. He asked me for food, so I came here to cook for him. I knew if I didn’t do that, he would beat my mother.’ She looked pitiably at Nandini.

  Nandini caressed her forehead and said, ‘Tell sahib the whole thing, beta. You don’t need to worry now.’

  ‘When I was cooking, he came close to me from behind and started rubbing my shoulders. When I tried to push him off, he tore my shirt from the arms,’ Gudiya said, pointing at the torn dress. ‘Then he pushed me to the wall and forced himself upon me and tore off my shirt completely.’ Gudiya was crying again. ‘I pushed him back with all my force and he took off his clothes . . . He picked up the knife and threatened to hurt me if I didn’t . . .’ With that Gudiya suddenly broke down and started vomiting. Zara ran to help her.

  ‘Officer, can you please hold your questions for later?’ Zara requested Bhawani Singh.

  ‘But ma’am, we will have to take Gudiya away for a medical examination. We cannot file a case without completing all the formalities.’

  He then turned to Rihana, who was sitting in one corner, stupefied, and said, ‘Ma’am, we would also want you to come with us to the police station to record your statement.’

  ‘For what exactly?’ Zara fumbled her with words.

  ‘You don’t have to worry, ma’am. We understand the circumstances in which that man got killed. It was more of an accident in the process of self-defence. We can’t file any charges against Rihana, but I’ll have to record the statement. And for that, you’ll have to come to the police station.’ Bhawani Singh was empathetic, but Rihana was in no state to go to the police station at that time. The girl was numb from the events. Zara was constantly rubbing her hands and Nandini had to put a blanket over her to stop her from shivering.

  ‘It’s okay, Zaraji. We will give you some time to settle down, but please don’t leave the city without informing us. We will take the body for a post-mortem. Once we get the reports, we’ll let you know.’ Bhawani Singh left with the rest of his team, taking Harish’s body with them.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Nandini,’ Rihana said, and started crying.

  ‘No, didi, you don’t need to be sorry. In fact, I want to thank you! Being a widow is far better than being divorced.’

  Rihana was shocked at Nandini’s baffling statement. ‘That man tried to rape your daughter, Nandini. How do you know he hasn’t tried this before today? What if Gudiya had never been able to tell you the truth out of fear? If you had left him long ago, this situation would’ve never arisen. You told me that your children were the best thing to have happened to you. But you not leaving your husband was the worst thing that happened to your children. You have left them with wounds that will never heal.’ Rihana left Nandini with those words.

  Once inside the house, Rihana told Zara that she was fine and needed to be alone for a while. When Zara seemed reluctant to leave her side, she assured her that she wouldn’t do anything stupid. Thus assured, Zara went off to sort out other affairs, and Rihana shut the door to her room. She sat in the dark, but the darkness engulfing her emanated from her soul.

  Zara sent Gudiya and Nandini to the police station with Kanhaiya.

  ‘Please take care of everything, Kanhaiya. And make sure the police don’t end up traumatizing Gudiya or Nandini with their questions. I have asked Rohan to reach the police station too—he will take care of everything else. And even then if you need any help, call me, okay? And keep this in case of any emergency,’ Zara said, handing over some cash to Kanhaiya.

  ‘Ji, madam. I have one suggestion though: CCTV footage can help the police. Why don’t you hand over the footage from the house cameras to them? I’m sure there will be something substantial in it.’

  Zara thought for a moment but decided against it. ‘No, Kanhaiya, I don’t want the little girl to be exposed in front of anyone. I’m sure the tests will be enough. In case it doesn’t get settled, then we will think about it.’

  ‘Okay, madam,’ Kanhaiya answered.

  Zara was thankful in that moment that Kanhaiya was so capable and responsible. She knew he would make sure that all the formalities were taken care of.

  Once she had sent them to the police station, Zara went inside the house and headed straight to Rihana’s room. She was climbing up the stairs, when she heard loud sobs and the sound of the snipping of scissors coming from Rihana’s room. She knocked at the door, the snipping sound stopped. The room was not locked and she stepped inside.

  Zara saw Rihana standing in front of her dressing table, cutting off her beautiful curls. They were strewn on the floor. Zara took the scissors from Rihana’s hand and sat her down on the bed, sitting right next to her.

  ‘A girl with a drastic haircut always has a story hidden behind those locks.’ Rihana looked up at Zara, her eyes speaking a million words. ‘What’s your story, Rihana? Is there something you want to tell me?’

  Rihana lowered her head and sobbed. Zara exited Rihana’s room and returned with a glass of wine.

  ‘Here! This is the same medicine you fixed me with. They say the antidote to poison is more poison, so here you go!’ Zara said, handing over the glass to Rihana.

  Zara trusted her instinct to comfort Rihana with some wine, in spite of Rihana’s liver condition and addiction to alcohol. She knew that at this moment, wine was the best thing to give her. It would help her open up and help in ridding her of the poison that had been consuming her for years.

  Rihana gulped the wine down in one go and asked for another glass. Zara reluctantly poured her some more, internally resolving that this would be the last one, even if Rihana asked for more.

  When Rihana was halfway through her second glass, she started talking.

  ‘I was eleven, Zara. Everybody idolizes one’s parents and so did I. Until I saw another man sneaking his hands into my mother’s blouse. I really couldn’t understand what I was seeing, but I resented the action of the man. He came to our house pretty often because my mother liked him. I used to see that she was happy with him, which was not the case with my father. She resented my father. Much later, when I was coming to India, she told me that she had never loved my father.’ Rihana stopped to take anoth
er sip of wine.

  ‘Then what happened?’ Zara wanted Rihana to continue.

  ‘I disliked my mother’s boyfriend so much that one day when my mother wasn’t home, I decided to tell my father about what I had seen, rationalizing that he would take control of the situation and I wouldn’t have to see that man ever again. I told my father about my mother’s affair.’ Rihana paused and took a deep breath. ‘He didn’t react. He tried to ask me every detail of what I saw them doing. The perverted bastard was taking pleasure in my agony. I saw a real example then of how some men can get horny at the thought of their wife making out with another man. I was crying as I revealed everything, and he was getting horny!’

  Zara couldn’t react to Rihana’s story, but understood completely. Maybe that was the reason she didn’t want to hand over the CCTV footage to the police. She shuddered to think what it could mean to be in the eye of the storm and face it all.

  ‘I got up from the chair after telling him everything he wanted to hear and promptly tripped because my shoelaces were untied.’

  For Zara, the word ‘shoelaces’ rang a bell. She knew there was something more to it that Rihana was deeply disturbed about.

  ‘I bent down to tie them, when my father came from behind me and held me. He told me I wasn’t tying the laces the right way, that he would teach me how to tie the laces properly, so that I remembered it for good. He stood behind me and I could feel his erection on my back. He was telling me about shoelaces, but was definitely not thinking about them. I was uncomfortable, very uncomfortable. His hands were all over my back and I didn’t know how to escape them. It was painful, Zara. I cried out for my mother, but she wasn’t there to protect me.’

  Rihana couldn’t speak further and started sobbing uncontrollably. Zara came close to her and hugged her. Her hug was like a warm blanket on a chilly evening. She let Rihana cry her heart out, which she did. Rihana screamed and howled. She had just lost the most precious thing in her life: Tiger. She had killed a man who had brought her nightmares to life again. And worst of all, she had openly narrated the most painful story of her life. Her fresh wounds needed that hug; it was solace for her aching heart. Zara rested Rihana’s face on her chest while she cried, wetting Zara’s shirt with her tears.

  ‘Zara, I really love you. I told you I cannot do without you. And I don’t want our relationship to change after this story. I ran away from New York not for freedom—but to be safe. The monsters lived in my own house,’ Rihana said, sobbing.

  For Zara, there was nothing more to fear than the possibility of regret. Rihana had just confessed her love for her with the purest emotion. There was no looking back for them; they were destined to be with each other, live for each other. She wanted to take the relationship to the next level.

  Zara tried to lift Rihana’s face up, but she resisted. Zara forced her face up and, in that moment of overwhelming love and understanding, cupped Rihana’s face in her hands and kissed her on the lips. Rihana’s muscles relaxed and she didn’t protest. Zara continued kissing her lovingly and, soon, Rihana gave in and kissed her back. The kisses were like a balm for Rihana’s deep wounds, and Rihana didn’t care who was dispensing it. She was hungry—hungry for love.

  10

  Yin and Yin

  Rihana found the ground slipping from beneath her feet at the revelation of Zara’s new avatar. So much for camouflaging her bleeding soul. And Zara could now very well understand Rihana’s inbuilt disgust for men and her insecurities. She was feeling overwhelmed with her love for Rihana.

  They broke the kiss, only to hug each other for a time that felt like eternity. They felt very close to each other and were equally vulnerable—one for having bared her soul, the other for having had a glimpse at the other’s love for her.

  Zara could smell Rihana’s breath on her, and it made Zara crave for more. She wanted to seal this love forever. She slowly slid her hand inside Rihana’s shirt and fondled her big, firm breasts over her bra. She saw that Rihana’s eyes were closed and she was moaning in ecstasy. Zara then drew close to her right ear and started nibbling on it, slowly going down her neck, charting the path with the tip of her tongue. She was taking in the taste of love, mixed with the salt of her tears.

  ‘Hold me close and tell me that all your worries are far away in another world,’ Zara whispered into Rihana’s ears, making her moan in ecstasy. Rihana took off her top, unhooked her bra and helped Zara do the same.

  ‘Yes, my love,’ whispered Rihana softly.

  Zara had small breasts, but they were firm and soft. They rubbed their breasts against each other. Awkwardly at first, and then when the sensation washed over them, more comfortably. It was giving them a high that neither of them had experienced before.

  They kissed each other for as long as they could, their tongues exploring every corner of their mouths. Rihana was suddenly realizing that making love to the body is different from making love to a soul. In that moment, she felt like she was naked with a person who had seen her nakedness beyond her physical body.

  They stripped away the remaining clothes covering their bodies and continued exploring every inch, curve and crevice, like no one had ever done before. It was lovemaking driven by instinct.

  Zara faced Rihana’s feet and slithered down on her, licking her wetness. Rihana spread her legs wider to welcome her, and Zara buried her face inside her velvety interior. Rihana whimpered with sheer pleasure and gave out one last cry before orgasming into oblivion. She wanted to stay in that place for the longest time possible, but returned to the trough after reaching a crest, and plateaued like never before.

  She got to work on to Zara with equal love and passion. The sense of gratification made her more involved. With a man, it was always the other way around. In her experience, men would always become distant if they orgasmed first.

  Zara took longer than Rihana, but Rihana ensured she orgasmed with equal intensity. Exhausted from their ardent lovemaking, they lay next to each other and fell asleep soon after.

  Both of them had just lived a lifetime in those few minutes, but the uncertainty with regard to reciprocity—as to whether the other person felt the same way, and with the same intensity—was still lingering in some corner of their minds.

  In the middle of the night, Rihana turned to her side so that Zara’s head nestled between her breasts. She had been woken up by a desire to be loved again, and feeling Zara so close to her was catalysing it like never before. She wanted to be loved by Zara with the kind of mesmeric abandon that she had never experienced with any of the men she had slept with. She softly stroked Zara’s ivory hips. Zara had been sound asleep, but Rihana’s touch kindled a fire in her, waking her up. Rihana saw Zara fluttering her eyelids slowly and whispered, ‘Will you love me again?’

  The intensity with which Rihana said this aroused Zara to an altogether different level. There was a pleading desperation in her voice . . . As if a desert was asking for rain. Zara opened her misty eyes, looked at her friend and, for the first time in their long time together, sensed how all the walls between them had dissolved.

  Till then, Rihana had only had sex with men, but here was a girl bestowing all her love on her. Zara had metamorphosed before a dazed Rihana. But there was still a lot for Rihana to witness when Zara lay atop her, rubbing her groin against hers with frenzy, faster and faster with mounting excitement. As their clits danced together in harmony, both the girls came at the same time, with an explosiveness they had never seen before.

  A spirited Rihana was not one to be cowed down, and she mounted Zara, propelled by her new-found love. Sleep had deserted them by then, and Rihana wanted to explore this new world that Zara had just taken her to.

  Still on top of Zara, Rihana bent down to give Zara a taste of her breasts. Zara took them in her mouth one by one, sucking on them alternately, while Rihana threw her head back and moaned. After Rihana was satisfied, she went down on Zara. She spread Zara’s legs and parted the many folds to suck on her clit. Zara was drip
ping wet. Rihana repeatedly flicked her clit with her tongue till Zara clutched the covers of the bed with her hands. Rihana had transported her into a different world, one from where she never wanted to return. Zara arched her back, and Rihana held Zara by her hips and pushed her tongue in deeper to continue licking and sucking her clit. As a woman, she knew exactly where to touch Zara for maximum pleasure. She was instinctively adept at knowing the nuances of lovemaking, which most men had to practise.

  Zara kept thrusting her pelvis into Rihana’s face till she shuddered to an orgasm, screaming out loud this time. Zara was so loud that they feared Nandini or someone in the house would hear them. Rihana put her hand on Zara’s mouth to silence her and kissed the top of her hand as a gesture of love.

  Just then, Nandini knocked at their door. She and her children were sleeping downstairs after the troublesome events of the night. ‘Didi, are you all right?’ she asked.

  ‘Yes, Nandini! Don’t worry. Please go to sleep,’ Rihana said.

  Zara smiled at her and took the opportunity to move Rihana to lie down below her on the bed. She put her lips on top of Rihana’s and circled them. She then took out her tongue to lick Rihana’s lips, and Rihana reciprocated with the same fervour. After a considerably long kiss, Zara lowered herself to kiss Rihana’s pierced naval that looked so sexy. This aroused Rihana to such an extent that she got on all fours and allowed Zara to finger her. Rihana didn’t feel vulnerable now, she was excited. Her hesitation at getting on all fours had been overcome by the love Zara had showered on her.

  Zara then turned so that Rihana was on top and alternately licked her clit and her nipples from below, and Rihana would move back and forth to enable this. She then lay on the bed and Zara licked her nipples while rubbing her clit. Rihana shuddered to an orgasm in no time. Both of them lay in the bed, sated and panting. They basked in each other’s love, in absolute silence. The only sound one could hear was their breathing.

  ‘When did you discover that you like women?’ Rihana asked Zara while looking at the ceiling.