You don’t know me. You can only fall in love with the illusion of me. And illusions are fragile. Illusions are breakable. Illusions are dangerous.
‘Hmm, that’s true. But really,I can’t thank you enough for this one. I want to meet you one day. Possible?’
Very much.
‘Thanks. By the way, why did you knock me out?’
Nothing is for free.
‘Meaning?’ An MMS came in from an unknown number. She downloaded it and played the video. It showed her capturing Prateek in the compromising position earlier in the evening. Soon her happiness turned into anger. Did the stranger record her so that she didn’t backtrack on the gangrape case? Or was he planning to enslave her just like Prateek?
‘You could have given me the clip or recorded Prateek yourself, but you wanted me to record him so that you could record me?’ Her voice choked as she added, ‘I thought you were a friend but you are no different from Prateek. In fact, you’re probably worse because I don’t remember doing you any wrong to deserve this.’ Rivanah cursed herself to have trusted the stranger.
I never said I’m your friend.
16
The MMS showing her recording Prateek in a compromising position did mar her happiness but when Monday arrived,it brought with it a sense of excitement. Rivanah was looking forward to Prateek’s reaction when she would show him the recording. She went to office early and impatiently waited for him.
When Prateek turned up, Rivanah went up to him and said, ‘What happened? You didn’t call me on Saturday? Not on Sunday either. I was waiting for your call.’
Her extra eager demeanour took him by surprise.
‘I...I wasn’t well actually,’ he said. ‘This coming weekend you will come to my place, okay?’
Rivanah stretched her hand and gave her phone to him.
‘What’s this?’
‘Something I recorded for you.’
Prateek thought she was going to show him something sexy. With blood rushing to his penis, he pressed the play button. For the next two minutes, he stood in a frozen position.
‘You bitch. It was you who...how did you...?’
‘You and your indecent games are over Prateek.’
She snatched the phone from him and added, ‘In case you want to play the game of online video circulation now, count me in on it too.’
Prateek wanted to say a lot more but all he managed to blabber was, ‘You...you can’t...but how...shit…’
‘I told you I was sorry to have rejected you in school. Still you had to come out with your filth, isn’t it? Now follow me like a good boy,’ Rivanah said and walked away. After a few seconds he followed her to her department. His submissiveness told her their intimate clip was only on his phone and nowhere else, otherwise he wouldn’t be playing meek. .
Once they reached her department, Rivanah instructed, ‘Now. I want you to scream and say you are sorry.’
Prateek made a pleading face. Rivanah stood rock steady, ignoring him.
‘I don’t have all day,’ she said.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said softly.
‘Louder.’
‘I’m sorry.’
A few colleagues turned to look at them.
‘Louder,’ Rivanah egged on.
‘I’m sorry.’
Now almost everyone present in the room was staring at them.
‘Get lost now,’ Rivanah said. ‘If you come near me again, I shall register a case of sexual harassment against you with the higher authorities here. I should have done that on day one anyway.’
It was in the evening when Rivanah went back to her flat that she decided to share the entire smooch incident and the subsequent blackmail exchange with Ishita.
‘Did you kick his balls?’ Ishita asked. She was busy drying her nail polish, while Rivanah was choosing which nail colour to apply from her vanity box.
‘No.’
‘You should have.’
‘It’s okay. My job is done. I’m not interested in anything more.’
‘But seriously, did the stranger help you get the clip?’
‘Yes.’
‘He is such a hero.’
Rivanah thought about the MMS he had sent her and said, ‘I don’t know what he really is. I mean I don’t even know if he is even a man, if you know what I mean.’
‘Huh? What do you mean?’ Ishita looked at Rivanah for a moment and then started fanning her feet with her hand saying, ‘Of course he is a man. Don’t spoil my fantasies now. And he is a hero. He helped you out of a situation that could have fucked your life, yaar. What else do you want?’
Rivanah was tempted to think on the same lines as Ishita but after he had sent her the MMS, she was more confused than ever.
‘I don’t know. Do you know what he made me do for helping me with the clip thing?’ she said picking out a nail paint of her liking.
‘What?’ Ishita looked at her again.
‘Promise me you won’t speak about it to anyone, come what may!’ The secret was killing her and she had to share it with someone.
‘Just tell me, what is it? You are scaring me now.’
‘I’m the witness of the gangrape case that happened in Goregaon few weeks back.’
Ishita couldn’t believe her ears. ‘What the fuck! Seriously?’
Rivanah nodded saying, ‘I did witness it.’
‘You did? When?’
Rivanah took a few minutes to relay exactly what had happened when Ishita had gone to pee that night after the boring beer party leaving Rivanah alone on the street. She also apologized for not telling her about the matter before.
‘God! And now you are an eyewitness?’
‘Yes. The inspector told me I’ll have to make myself available whenever the police or the court summons me. The police have promised that my identity won’t be disclosed in front of the media or the rapists or anybody else.’
‘That’s such a brave thing you did, darling. I mean don’t mind but I always thought you were a fattu kind of a girl but this is superwoman stuff, yaar.’
‘I didn’t do it of my own accord. The stranger made me do it,’ Rivanah said continuing to apply the nail paint.
‘That’s even more interesting. He could have asked you to sleep with him like perverts do, right?’
‘That’s why I said I don’t know who he is. He had his chance and still...’ Rivanah was about to tell her roomie about the MMS when the doorbell rang.
‘I’ll answer it,’ Ishita said and went to open the door. Rivanah waited for her to come back. When she didn’t come back for almost five minutes, Rivanah called out loud, ‘Ishu, who is it?’
There was no response. A few seconds later she heard the main door lock. Ishita walked into her room like a zombie.
‘What happened?’ Rivanah urged her.
Ishita looked at her as if all the air from her lungs had been sucked out.
‘What is it Ishu? Don’t scare me.’
‘We have a new neighbour,’ Ishita said with a straight face.
‘So?’
‘He came to check if we had eggs since there were none in the shops nearby.’
‘So?’
‘I gave him all the eggs we had.’
‘What? Are you mad?’
‘I wasn’t. But now I’m. He was wearing a pair of black knickers and a red-black gym vest,’ Ishita said lost in her thoughts.
‘So what’s the point?’ Rivanah was piqued.
‘He is the sexiest, hottest, and the most handsome male specimen I have ever seen in my entire life. What a height, what looks, and what a presence. One look at him and I turned into a 16-year-old in an instant. I was checking him out shamelessly and I don’t care if he noticed. He looked soooo edible,’ she drooled.
‘And he is mine, okay?’Ishita said coming out of her trance.
‘You can have him.’ Rivanah stood up and out of plain curiosity said, ‘I also want to see this hot male specimen.’
‘How?’ Ishita said and f
ollowed her.
‘Wait here,’ Rivanah said. She checked herself in the wardrobe mirror once. She was looking more than presentable in a pair of denim hot-pants and a green spaghetti top over which she had donned a black shrug.
‘He is in the exact opposite flat,’ Ishita said.
Rivanah cleared her throat before unlocking the main door and then proceeding toward the concerned flat. While she pressed the doorbell, Ishita closed their flat’s main door. As seconds ticked by, Rivanah could feel the embers of curiosity form a smoke of desire in her. She pressed the doorbell again while turning to look toward her flat. The door was closed but she was sure Ishita was behind the peephole watching everything. Rivanah was about to press the doorbell for the third time when a guy pulled it open. It looked like he had just stepped out of a shower because his body was completely wet and he was naked except for a towel wrapped around his waist.
‘Yes?’ His voice was deep.
Rivanah swallowed a lump noticing his four-pack abs. She hadn’t seen such a perfect male physique, that too in the same building as hers. He understood she was uncomfortable so he tried to make things easy for her.
‘I’m sorry I’m taking a shower right now,’ he said in a polite manner.
Gosh, Ishita was right. He is hot, Rivanah thought. Such a hot guy shouldn’t take a shower alone. Quickly thinking of an excuse, she said, ‘I want your eggs.’
‘Excuse me!’ Rivanah couldn’t believe she had jumbled up her words so bad.
‘Actually,’ she said,‘My roomie gave you all the eggs we had. But we would need two of them if you don’t mind.’
‘Oh, it is perfectly fine. I told her I would only need three.’
I don’t blame her, Rivanah thought, and stood there with a stupid smile on her face.
‘One minute,’ he said and disappeared inside. Rivanah quickly turned to give Ishita a thumbs-up sign.
‘Here,’ he said handing two eggs to her.
‘Thanks. By the way I’m Rivanah,’ she said stretching her arm.
‘I’m Danny.’
Danny what? Full name please. I need to Facebook you, Rivanah thought but couldn’t say it aloud lest she was labelled a despo. Never before had she been so eager to know more about a guy. Not even Ekansh did this to her on their first meeting.
‘See you,’ was all she said.
‘Sure. Bye.’ Danny closed the door behind her. Even before she could knock, Ishita opened the door. Rivanah came in and locked it.
‘Okay, it’s not alright. I think he can’t be yours just like that,’ Rivanah declared.
‘Bitch, I knew it!’ Ishita hissed.
‘Chances anyway are that he already has a girlfriend,’ Rivanah guessed.
‘Whatever, I’m open to competition,’ Ishita declared.
Rivanah hadn’t done such a thing before; woo a guy. With Ekansh it was love and not a going-weak-in-the-knee kind of attraction like Danny made her feel almost instantly. She had had many crushes, but most of them were celebrity crushes and there was nothing she could do about it except acting like a crazy fangirl. Danny’s wet abs, his smile, the eyes—everything flashed in front of her.
Ishita snapped her fingers in front of her face and said, ‘Are you on for competition?’
‘Like hell I’m.’ They shared a high-five and distributed the days in the week between them so that both get to woo Danny separately. Monday-Wednesday-Friday went to Ishita while Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday went to Rivanah. Sunday was common. The coming day was Wednesday.
The two met the following evening in the flat after they were back from office.
‘Any luck?’ Rivanah queried.
‘I got my information.’
‘Like what?’
‘The guy is a model, a struggling actor, and a gym freak. Goes to Full On Fitness, the one in Malad. By the way his name is Danny Abraham.’
As Ishita went in to change, Rivanah located Danny on Facebook after creating a fake profile for herself. She liked almost all his pictures, which were open to all, after having a close look at them. There was something magnetic about him. Especially the eyes; they seem to fish for her soul directly. After she logged out of Facebook, Rivanah called Full On Fitness gym and enrolled herself, ensuring that she starts working out the next day onward.
Full On Fitness was a unisex gym. She would go there right after her office. On the first day, Rivanah was taught a few stretching exercises by her trainer and then asked to hit the treadmill. It was while running on the treadmill for ten minutes that she noticed Danny come in. Their eyes met for once and a faint smile was exchanged, but she soon understood it meant nothing. She saw him come out of the men’s changing room in a pair of blue denim knickers and a black gym-vest. His body looked unbelievably chiselled with no ounce of fat anywhere. Unlike the last time she saw him in his flat when he was completely clean-shaven, his face now had a stubble which added a certain wildness to his otherwise pleasant personality.
Danny started running on another treadmill opposite to her. The two set of treadmills for men and women were kept on two opposite sides of the room facing huge mirrors against the respective walls. Rivanah could see his back in the mirror in front of her. And soon, she noticed, he was sweating. He removed his vest in no time. As sweat drops trickled from his scruff to his broad shoulders to his narrow waist, so did Rivanah’s sight. For the next half an hour, she tried to exercise but in vain since all her focus was on him.
Done with her cardio, she was waiting for her trainer to help her with the crunches but he was nowhere in sight. She didn’t complain for she had a delightful distraction. Danny was pumping both his biceps with a barbell and all Rivanah could do was drool looking at the way his muscles flexed as he pulled the barbell up to his neck. Bless the maker of this wondrous creation, she thought. Danny kept the barbell down and was about to pick up a set of dumbbells when he noticed her standing by the treadmill doing nothing.
‘Any problem?’ he asked.
Lots! she thought and said, ‘I need to do my sit-ups but I don’t know where my trainer has gone.’
‘I can help if it’s okay with you.’
‘Umm, sure,’ she said.
She took out a floor mat from a nearby shelf and sat on it with folded legs. Danny came and pressed his palm on her shoes to give her enough pressure so that she could sit up easily without lifting her feet. And every time she sat up, as Danny kept a count, she could smell his musky body odour, revelling in it as she lay back. She would have loved to continue but after fifteen sit-ups she could no longer lift herself up.
‘First day?’ Danny said.
‘Yeah.’
‘One more set?’
‘Yeah, okay.’ She would have given up had it not been for the endearing twinkle in his eyes when he asked her for another set. This time Rivanah dared to go beyond revelling in his odour. She started breathing heavy and each time their faces came close, she deliberately blew her breath on his face. Not for a single time did Danny move his face though.
After few more exercises, it was time for Rivanah to leave the gym for the day. She knew the next day was Ishita’s. She was contemplating how she should approach him when Danny came up to her.
‘Hey, leaving?’
‘Yeah,’ she said nervously.
‘Are you working somewhere?’
‘Yes. In Goregaon.’
‘Saw you last morning leave the building in haste,’ he said with a sharp smile. She felt like a butterfly of desire was hovering in her tummy. What was this spell that imprisoned her in such an embarrassing and yet arousing manner? Rivanah wondered and said, ‘What about you?’
‘Don’t you think this is the wrong place to answer such questions? I mean how about coffee on Saturday?’
And she knew Ishita was out of the game. ‘Why not? Saturdays are my off anyway,’ she said with a renewed confidence.
‘Great!’
‘How do we connect?’ She hinted at him to give her his phone number. He took the hint
well. Rivanah was imagining Ishita’s face when she would show Danny’s number in her phone contact list. For the first time after her break up with Ekansh, the prospect of a date excited Rivanah.
She reached her flat and was impatiently waiting for Ishita to come home from office when she received a message from the stranger.
Be free on Saturday.
Why, are you meeting me? She preferred to message back than talk aloud.
Your good luck is needed, the stranger messaged.
Good luck? What do you mean? The stranger’s words never stopped to baffle her.
I call it the ‘share your good luck’ endeavour. It was your good luck that you were born to parents who could sponsor your education. Now, it’s your turn to share the result of that good luck with children who don’t have it.
Rivanah read the message a couple of times and understood the social implication of it but still missed the point.
‘So?’ she spoke aloud.
So, you need to go to Dahisar east on Saturday. There’s a small slum there. There will be ten kids waiting for you. You’ll teach them every Saturday till they learn how to write their names in English.
Good joke! I seriously don’t have time. Moreover, I have other things to do than teach slum kids, Rivanah message again.
Other things like dating Danny?
‘None of your business,’ Rivanah cried out sounding crossed. Did this person have nothing else to do except for following her around? Be free Mini.
‘Why don’t you get it? I have a life of my own!’ Frustration was evident in her voice.
Why don’t YOU get it? I have a clip of yours that can be transferred to Prateek’s mobile any moment with a press of a tiny button.
Rivanah’s face contorted with disgust followed by helplessness.
17
‘I’m sure you resorted to black magic? Asha helped you in this, didn’t she?’ said Ishita when she learnt Danny himself had asked Rivanah out.
‘Look I’m sorry,’ Rivanah said, ‘If you like him...’
‘It’s okay, yaar. I was not going to marry him anyway. He is only a guy. Two soul-sisters can’t get mad with each other because of a guy,’ she winked at Rivanah and continued, ‘But tell me something seriously: do you like him? I mean like really “like” him? You know what I mean.’
Marry Me, Stranger Page 11