Chapter Ten (A) - The Living Dead

Khushi stepped into the empty graveyard. The graveyard, a source of horror to many others, was her sanctuary. Whenever she’d have a problem, she’d step into the graveyard and think. This was her den, where the lion rested before the attack.

 

Khushi’s restaurant had not been her dream, yet she was determined to go ahead with it. The restaurant would be her back up. It was the perfect foil. Should anything ever arise, the restaurant would still be there, holding her ass up. Also, the restaurant would reflect nicely on the business. It was a chord of mutual benefit. The business would get the restaurant its diners and the restaurant would get the business its share of glory. It was nothing personal for her, this restaurant. Just another business venture.

 

A faint laugh echoed in the dark abyss of her mind, a sudden whiff of cardamom and chilly overcame her senses. The memory flashed in front her eyes, colouring everything in its warm golden glow. The graveyard abruptly shifted, and was replaced by a couch and a large window. The shadows and shapes soothingly faded into each other. There were no colours, only the golden of the warm sunlight, and the black of the shadows. A voice echoed from somewhere behind, like the faint voice of a broken radio - “We will open a small restaurant, all four of us. I’ll cook and he can look after the business. You both will help us, yes?”

 

The memory abruptly shifted, and the gold was replaced by the black of the graveyard. Khushi shivered - her jaw taut, her breathing heavy.

 

A phone call cut into her silence. She glanced at the caller ID, regained her composure, and attended the phone call.

 

It was nothing personal, this restaurant. Just a business deal.

 

* * *

 

After ten years of service, Anjali had thought nothing would surprise her. She had been proven wrong by the grave young man, sitting on her bed. She felt irritated at this man, what on earth was his problem? Why was he after her? With these questions whirling around her head, a single word dropped out of her lips.

 

“What?” she snarled.

 

“I just want to-”

 

“Talk?” she asked, suddenly angry. The throbbing in her head increased. She felt tired. After having to fuck more than thirty men in a day, she had to deal with mad men ‘wanting to talk’.

 

“Yes” Shyam answered.

 

“What would you like to talk about?” Anjali answered. Anger wouldn’t get her anywhere, she knew it. She controlled the poisonous flames choking the back of her neck. Control, she told herself.

 

“I am a writer and...”

 

“Oh, so one of your characters is a whore?” The anger level suddenly rising, for a reason she could not fathom. Calm Down! She commanded herself. The anger had reached to her mouth, however. Try as she might, it wasn’t going back in.

 

“When you put it like that-”

 

“What do you mean – put it like that? IT IS LIKE THAT” She shouted, venom coursing through her veins. She noted with a vicious stab of pleasure that the man jumped. The anger had won. “YOU KNOW HOW MANY MEN COME TO ME, SO I SUCK THEIR COCKS? YOU KNOW HOW MANY? THIRTY. THAT’S RIGHT. THIR-FUCKING-TEE. I TRADE SEX, SHYAM MANOHAR JHA, AND NOTHING YOU CAN SAY WILL EVER CHANGE IT. YOU KNOW, YEARS BEFORE, I RAN AWAY FROM HOME TO BECOME A MODEL. LOOK AT ME NOW, HAVING TO LET STRANGERS TOUCH ME IN WAYS YOU CANNOT EVEN IMAGINE, TO EARN MY LIVING. I DIDN’T PUT ANYTHING LIKE THAT, IT IS LIKE THAT. I LIVE THE KIND OF LIFE MY MOTHER CONSIDERS NEXT TO DEATH. I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM. I HAD DREAMS TO GO BACK, AS A SUCCESSFUL PERSON, SO THEY WOULD TAKE ME BACK. LOOK AT ME NOW. DO YOU SEE A PERSON WHO CAN SHOW HER FACE BACK HOME?”

 

Shyam looked at her quietly. “Do you?” she repeated forcefully, a fleck of spit flying from her mouth. Her mouth twisted into a sarcastic smile, when her companion did not reply.

 

“I think we both know the answer. Please leave, I cannot help you”

 

She closed her eyes, and breathed in deeply. She heard the door close, and opened her eyes.

 

With a fleeting stab of guilt, she flung herself on the bed.

 

___________________________

 The IF thread - http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=3389861

A/N: Guys I have my final exams from 15^th march, so chapter eleven will only be updated on 28^th march, seeing as my exams get over on 26^th. I will try to update during my exams, but please don’t bank on that. Pray for me guys, I need all the good luck. :)

 

PS – these are my LAST exams for this session, so YEAH. NEED ALL THE GOOD LUCKK.

 
Umm... I steal this idea from my dearest masam, and ask you all to pose any ONE question about the story and where it is going, but only on the IF Thread. I shall answer them as honestly as I can, without giving the future plot away. This is a meagre compensation to my delay in updating.

I know this update is short, but its important too. It has the details which frame an integral part of the story ahead.

With love,

-Vee