Hello ...!
We are back with the 13th episode of the story Disguised...!
Episode13:
“Thank you so much, Sukruthi” Sandesh said,
taking her both hands in his; his eyes were moist. They were sitting in the
corner seats of the pub where no one could easily notice them. Because if the
other staffs or the employer sees Sukruthi wasting her ‘precious’ time
consoling some stranger, she would definitely get fired from her job.
“For what!?”
“For whatever the magic you did to me. You
lifted my curse. You changed my world. I’m a happy man now”
“C’mon! Don’t give credits to the things I never
did. It was you who did those magic. I just helped you remove your blindfold
and showed you the path. You were bold enough to accept your mistakes. So, all
the credits should be given to you”
“Taking off someone’s blindfold, changing their
thoughts and showing them the right path is no ordinary thing. Especially, when
that ‘someone’ is as stubborn as me”
“Okay! Fine. As you are so much into giving away
those credits, I don’t mind taking it”
They both laughed heartily. Sukruthi looked at
Sandesh’s face silently. She saw no lines of worry or any tension on it. It was
something new; something that looked good on his face.
“Keep smiling, Sandesh. It suits you. You have a
whole lot of world ahead of you”
“Hmmm. I’ll try my best”
“Your best is more than enough”
They exchanged a relaxed, firm smile. They were
interrupted by a bar dancer, who came close to them and signalled something to
Sukruthi, moving her lips inaudibly. Sukruthi understood her and noticed the
manager staring at her from the far end of the pub. She got up nervously and
headed towards the dance floor. She stopped midway, turned around, gave away a
happy smile to Sandesh and said,
“It was nice talking to you, Sandesh”
She turned back, went almost dancing to the beat
and joined the crowd. Sandesh kept looking at her from where he sat.
Sukruthi (Ah! Well, now
Laila) was dancing like any other customer present in the pub. If it wasn’t for
her glow band, no one could say that she is a low class girl struggling to make
her life a better place. She blends in well. The pub owner did know how to
attract customers. I mean, if the dance girls wore some ordinary, low quality
clothing, they could easily get aware of their position. And they were not
given much of extreme deep dresses that would show of these dancers’ assets
easily. They had kept their standard. They knew where to cover and how much to
cover. Those red, glowing things on their wrists are the only things that
flared out their identity which only a regular, well informed person could
identify.
The music and dance were at
their highest when Sandesh noticed some drastic change on Sukruthi’s face.
There was no trace of smile on it. All of a sudden she wanted to stop dancing
and run away. But, she was bound to do it, even though she didn’t like it.
Sandesh observed deeply. She was moving throughout the floor as if trying to
get rid of someone. It was a bit unusual. She usually danced on a fixed spot.
No matter what happened, she never left that place. Sandesh looked closely and
noticed a gang of four boys following her everywhere. They went alarmingly
close to her frequently. They were in their early twenties, well built and of
course they were rich spoilt kids. Sukruthi didn’t want to create a scene. So,
she was trying to avoid them which failed every time. Sandesh couldn’t hold it
any long. He rose from his seat and rushed to the rescue. He knew he was out
numbered. But, he had to take a chance. He couldn’t simply sit back and watch
the woman who enlightened him being treated like that.
As he reached them, he
gently pushed away a boy from Sukruthi saying, “She’s with me”. That boy looked
around abruptly, laughed loudly and said,
“She’s with everyone, man. Can’t you see her
wrist band?”
“You got it wrong. She’s not what you think she
is. You better move away”
“Of course, I know what she is. She is a hooker
and we found her first. So, YOU better move away”
As he said it, his other companions came closer
and stood beside him as if ready to pick a fight. Sandesh lost his temper
hearing the word he used to express Sukruthi’s identity. He got hold of the
boy’s T-shirt and punched his nose swiftly. Other boys pounced on Sandesh and
within a second the fight grew more aggressive. Soon the environment became
tensed. Bouncers came running inside and got hold of the fighters. One of the
boys was carried away like a wooden toy by a giant. They dragged the others
through the back door. Sukruthi reacted quickly and freed Sandesh. If the
bouncers weren’t there on time, our ‘hero’s’ face would have been covered in
multiple cuts. Sukruthi held Sandesh by his hand and dragged him away from the
crowd. She freed him once she realised that they were far away from the crowd.
“What the heck do you think you were doing, Sandesh?”
“I was trying to save you from those bastards”
“Oh really!? I thought I was saving from getting
punched like a punching bag”
“They were mistreating you. I couldn’t just sit
and watch it”
“So, you wanted to act hero, eh?”
“I didn’t want to be a hero, damn it. I just
wanted to save you”
“This happens every day, Sandesh. All these
years I have faced worst than this. I was trying to solve it smoothly. And, you
ruined it”
“Ruined it? They were humiliating you and I
tried to save you from them. And now you’re saying I ruined it?”
“You can’t save me from what I am. You just
can’t. This place is my life. There is no running away from this place. There
is no other way than to remain silent and suffer within”
“Yes, there is a way”
“Ah! And what is it?”
“Leave this shitty work. You will get other
work. I’ll help you. Just quit this place. Go out, fall in love, find a man and
get settled”
“Why would anyone want to settle with me? Did
you hear what they say about me? I’m a hooker!”
“We both know you are nothing like that. I know
what you are”
“And who would love me? Who would marry me?
You?”
“Yes”
“Excuse me?”
“Yes. I’ll marry you and free you from this
hell. Trust me”
There was a long silence. Then Sukruthi turned
away and said, “Go home, Sandesh”
* *
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