Thanks everyone. Ash, she will start doing a lot of things now...not only eating 😊
PART 11:
After their late night snack, they cleaned up the kitchen together; Kripa even let Angad load the dishwasher without making a big deal about the arrangement of pots and pans inside.
That night, Kripa stayed up in bed, caressing her chin with her fingers off and on; she felt an unfamiliar tingling sensation each time she touched it. She wanted that tingling sensation to last forever….what was special about that feeling? Yeh kya mehsoos kar rahi hoon main? Aaj se pehle kabhie aisa mehsoos nahin kiya………why do I not want to wash that sensation away….how could I let a man's lips and tongue lick my…..my chin……but why do I not feel unclean? Why do I want to feel it again? Yeh kya ho raha hai mujhey? She got up with a sweat, still confused about her inner feelings.
She stood at the window and watched the gentle waves of the water caress the soft sandy beach under the beautiful moonlight. As she saw the waves soak the sand and withdraw back into the vast ocean, leaving the sand lonely and dry again, she questioned herself, kya Angad us leher ki tarah hai, aur main us sookhi ret ki tarah? Kya wo leher mujh se kuch kehna chaah rahi hai? Lekin leher kitni bhi koshish kar le…..ret tho wahin ki wahin reh jaati hai…..leher tho wapas paani mein samaa jaati hai……aur ret phir pyaasi reh jaati hai…..ret aur leher chaahe kitna bhi ek saath khel lein, rehna tho bilkul alag-alag hai unhey,"
She had a sleepless night. She was used to sleeplessness; in the past she had to take sleeping pills at times, especially after a hurtful comment from her mom, bullying from her school mates, or after her painful "re-feeding" treatment in the hospital, but this was different. She wanted to stay up, she wanted a sleepless night…..she did not want any sleeping pills….instead wanted a 'stay-awake' pill….she wanted to think about her day and her conversations with Angad……..she wanted to think about his wicked smile…..his piercing gaze…..his lips on her chin……….
Angad was awake too; he wondered, "what happened to me tonight? Why did I have the impulse to kiss her tonight? Why am I worried about how she felt? I have kissed and licked so many women in my life and I have never cared whether they enjoyed or despised me……but why do I not want Kripa to despise me? Kyon? Aakhir wo kya lagti hai meri? Kuch din mein main usey bhool bhi jaaoonga……..I will probably never see her again……she does not party or go out a whole lot….so I may not even bump into her accidentally….so why do I care about how she feels…..why do I not want to fall asleep tonight? Why do I want to stay up and think….think about that nerdy, turtleneck girl?"
The next morning, Kripa was up early. She decided to take a walk along the beach, something she enjoyed doing whenever she wanted to be more alone than she usually was. She wore a light blue turtleneck; sweat pants, sneakers and socks. She usually walked far from the waterfront, as she did not like the water or sand on her skin. Her favorite activity was collecting white shells on the beach.
As she walked and bent over periodically collecting her white shells, she heard a familiar voice, "Good morning!" Angad smiled; he was bare footed in shorts and a Hawaiian shirt, his hair blowing in the wind, making him look at least 5 years younger.
"Oh Angad? Aren't you supposed to stay in bed and not exert yourself?" Kripa asked as she balanced her white shells in her hands. She couldn't help admiring his boyish looks and his unbuttoned shirt.
"Well….this is not exertion…..I am just strolling on the beach," he laughed and looked down at her palms, "white shells?"
"Yes…I like to collect them," she said.
Angad bent down and picked a black colored shell, "yeh meri taraf se……if you add this to your collection, I will know that you have decided to accept me as your friend."
Kripa looked up into his eyes, "friend?"
"Yeah! You know I have never had a woman friend…..just like you have never had a boy friend…..can we be friends?" he held his hand out towards her.
She looked down at her hands full of shells, "I…I..am not sure Angad…..we will probably never meet after this one week……why pretend we are friends….frankly, I have very few friends in this world, most of them I have not even met in years, so what's the point of making new ones when I have not stayed in touch with my old ones……..let me think about it," she hesitated and walked back towards the house.
Angad followed her back to the house, but she had locked herself in her room.
Kripa stayed shut in her room most of the day. Angad tried to stay busy on the phone, computer, TV and other inanimate objects. He was cursing himself for the syrup incident, "let me go out for a walk….I am so boooored," he thought. As he walked out, he saw a clear jar in the living room with Kripa's collection of shells. The jar was crystal clear, with an immaculate collection of white shells inside; Angad peeked inside and saw the black shell in the center of the jar!
Angad smiled and went back inside. He knocked on Kripa's door, "It's me!"
A sleepy looking Kripa answered the door, "can I help you?" She yawned and stretched her arms. Her glasses were at her bedside and hair was loose on her face.
Angad looked at her and smiled, "can we get some dinner?"
"OH….it is 7 in the evening? I am sorry…I think I dozed off…Ok, I will be right back," she turned to get her glasses.
Angad held her wrist, "aise hi chalte hain."
"Aise? I am blind without my glasses….I won't be able to drive." She pulled away, put on her glasses and tied her hair in a tight ponytail. Angad shook his head and said, "have you ever considered getting contacts?"
"I don't like anything so close to my eyes…..," she said
"Just like you don't like to touch the sand on the beach?" he asked
"How did you know?"
"It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out why someone would wear sneakers and socks on the beach in the month of July!" he laughed
"Tumhey kyon ptoblem hoti hai?" she asked angrily as they drove to a nearby restaurant.
"Mujhey tumhey dekhtey hi garmi lagti hai!" he bit his tongue at his suggestive comment, "I mean….not that garmi….I meant….you know like the summer heat….the temperature."
Kripa smiled, but was a little disappointed that he had to clarify what he really meant. She wished he had meant it in the suggestive way……since the syrup incident, she had started experiencing strange unfamiliar sensations and she found herself craving for more sensations like that.
They had a quick pizza dinner. They ordered one large New York style thin crust pizza; Angad ate 7 out of the 8 slices, while Kripa worked on her sole piece, nibbling at it like a bird.
Angad did not say anything about how little she ate, as he knew she did not like anybody forcing her to eat, "I wonder if something happened between her and her mother which has made her such a finicky eater," he thought, "Hey…wanna go for icecream?" he suggested.
"Ice cream?" her eyes lit up, but then she said, "I am not sure."
"But I am! I see a Baskin Robbins in the next plaza…..let's go…come on," Angad dragged her to the ice cream shop.
They ordered 2 large cones of chocolate and butter pecan ice creams. Kripa savored her cone like a little kid-she licked every drop of her melting cone. Due to the warm weather, the ice cream had melted on her chin, hands and fore arms. Angad looked at the melted ice cream longingly.
Kripa sensed the craving in his eyes; she wanted him to go ahead and lick the ice cream off her face and hands, but Angad just looked away. He resisted the temptation, as he was not sure if she would forgive him this time.
They walked back to the car; Kripa's hands were still sticky with the melted ice cream. Angad went back to the ice cream shop and came back with some moistened napkins, "here…..wipe yourself….you are too sticky."
Kripa took the napkins, still hoping he would use his tongue instead.
They drove back quietly.
As thet walked in, Angad commented, "so the black shell made way into your precious jar?"
Kripa smiled, "well….the black shell was indeed beautiful….I did not have the heart to throw it away….."
Angad grinned and nodded at the latent meaning of her comment, "Good night Kripa…I hope you get some sleep tonight."
"You too," she smiled and retired to her room.
……to be contd……..next episode …..the turtleneck will be history!!!!
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