The Other Side(11)

They eventually found a small Bungalow near a local cemetery. It was a beautiful affair with freshly painted tiled roofs, two bedrooms, a kitchen and a small garden. There was an outhouse with an ancient caretaker in it. He ignored them as they approached and seemed to be a little hard of hearing, neither looking up nor responding when they talked to him. Not finding any other alternative, Sachin decided they would take up a vacant room and pay him while leaving.

“It's beautiful,” exclaimed Shikha as they settled down in the master bedroom. “I need a nap. I have not fully recovered from the shock you gave me on the highway.” Sachin, however, had other ideas. He took her in his arms, almost tearing away her shirt. With one swift motion, he unhooked her black bra. For a second, he ogled at her deep cleavage almost as if he had forgotten what his wife's bosom looked like. Without wasting any further time, Sachin pounced upon her large breasts, manhandling them. Shikha moaned, putting one hand in Sachin's hair and struggling to open his pants with the other. Soon she had in her hand what she sought and feeling her touch him there, Sachin's body experienced a mild tremor. The tremor was hardly a forewarning to the quake that was to follow.



“I'll cook dinner for you,” Sachin volunteered, as the sun went down. He messed around in the kitchen, banishing her from it as he cooked after years. At eight, he set up the dinner on the dining table, complete with a couple of candles, a rose from the garden and a chilled bottle of Himachali fruit wine. The food was not perfect but everything else was and they enjoyed the meal immensely.

They went for a walk in the moonlight after the meal and strolled hand in hand towards the cemetery, slightly tipsy from the wine. The marble tombstones shone luminously in the moonlight creating a dreamlike effect.



The Other Side

65 “It's divine,” murmured Shikha, as she snuggled up to him to ward off the chill, “I could spend the rest of my life here.”

“You will be bored out of your mind after a week of this,” he replied as they made their way back to the bungalow.

They woke up late the next morning, a rare luxury indeed.

“How about some trekking? I need some action,” Sachin said.

So after breakfast they set off on the short but steep climb one of the nearby hills. The climb was far from gentle and they had to stop halfway to catch their breaths.

“I think this idea of yours has sinister ramifications. You want me to die of exhaustion so you are free to pursue whatever nefarious designs you have,” huffed Shikha. Sachin just smiled, unable to reply as he caught his breath.

The climb proved to be well worth the effort. The top of the hill provided panoramic views of the surroundings and they could even see the distant city of Chandigarh. The descent proved to be a relatively easy affair and they made their way back to the bungalow without much of an effort.

The weather changed dramatically in the evening as dark clouds gathered and it threatened to rain. The rain came down around seven. By eight it was pitch dark, the wind howled and shrieked and the house made ominous creaking noises. The rain lashed the surroundings with unabashed fury and they sat in the small lining room enjoying the unaccustomed sights and sounds.

“It can't possibly get worse than this,” said Sachin. The moment he said this, the lights went out, plunging the room in darkness and Shikha cuddled up to him suddenly feeling afraid. Sachin hunted up the candles left over from last night and lit them. The candles flickered and spluttered sending out a feeble yellow light that cast eerie shadows in the room. And then hailstones started falling making a loud noise on the tiled roof. There was another noise reverberating through the house.

“Someone is knocking on the main door. Who can it be at this time of the night?” wondered Shikha.

“Maybe it is the blind and deaf caretaker,” Sachin said as he moved towards the door.

He opened the door and peered out in the dark. A young man dressed smartly in jeans and a leather jacket was standing, drenched as drops of water dripped off his muscular body.

“I am sorry to have disturbed you at this time of the night. My name is Ranjit. I live just a couple of miles away from here. On my way back home, I got caught in the rain. I am used to walking around in the rain but then the damn hailstones started and I needed to seek shelter so I thought…”

“Do come in,” said Sachin as he ushered in the stranger.

He was reluctant to admit an unknown man at this time of the night but the fury of the elements left him with no other choice. The young man walked in and sat on a cane chair in the darkest corner of the room.

“I don't want to spoil the settee as I am soaked,” he explained his action.