Absolutely Stunning (Swaroop Agaskar)

On that Monday morning, I stepped up my walking speed breaking into trot. As I got of the pavement, I was almost in a full run. The only things running faster were my thoughts. I was almost talking to myself about the tight schedule with important appointments lined one after the other. I could not afford to waste a single moment; one lapse and all things would fall down, with a dominoes effect.

Suddenly the mind went blank, as if delivered with a heavy electrical jolt. I saw her by the side of the road. Absolutely stunning was the only word to describe. Thirty years spread over school, college, movies, partying and et all put together; I had not seen a head turner like her. "Hey man, you got a death wish? I would have run you over", the words of the angry Scorpio driver, with the vehicle inches from me, brought me to earth. I found myself murmuring as I crossed the road," Wouldn't have mattered pal, I just died a few seconds back".

It is so funny in life. Things that seem more important than life itself at one moment , do not matter at all the other second. My appointments for example. So, she was in and the appointments were out. I strolled over in her direction, wiping the beads of the drizzling rain from my face. I could not help noticing she stood still in the drizzle, ravishing in red, almost flaunting herself in the rains. I brought a paper from the vendor. "Times or Express?" I found myself saying Times as for no reason I remembered the opening lines of Tale of Two Cities: Those were the best of the times, those were the worst of the times. It hardly mattered to me if the paper was in Malayalam, and if the paper vendor were Dickens himself.

I stood by her wondering to myself, how many people were seeing right through me. As I pretended to read the paper while I was actually tending to her. Anyways, it did not seem to matter to her. I was watching her real close, my eyes moving along her curves. She radiated a vitality that made me think she would scorch my fingertips if I ever could muster up courage enough to touch her.

I noticed hundred other people were watching her, so I put the now soggy newspaper in the bag. And shamelessly watched her all over, almost drooling the sight.. She maintained amazing grace and poise, not a bit shaken with all the attention I was getting. She was making my heart pound against my chest. She was the kind of thing a man would kill for, just to have his hands on her. And, I knew she had enough fire in her beneath that cool exterior to literally drive me crazy. I bent down to tie my shoelaces, my eyes running down her length to her lower half, to the place where she effortlessly seemed to float on the road.

I happened to see my watch I was a full 30 minutes late. I had seen her all over a thousand times but I still could not get enough of her. I took a deep breath and made myself walk away from her. A good 10 meters from her and I turned around, making a silly picture I know. As I looked at her, suddenly I was a teenager, one hand on the back of my neck and with my other hand, I clicked my fingers and pointed my finger at her. I found myself saying, " Baby, someday I will have you, you will be mine, all mine".
Then I turned back whispering to myself…"Honda-CB800R..What a bike……Definitely Female."

- Swaroop (swaroop@agaskars.com)