'I'll have a cream cheese bagel with a side of crispy house bacon and a cappuccino. Also, have you guys changed your wi-fi password? Oh you haven't? Could you please feed it in my laptop, I am having some issues, thanks', said Nandini to her waiter who takes her laptop to the manager. She was seeing him walk away and got fixated at a point. You know that point, no matter how inconsequential and unappealing but you cant stop staring at till someone breaks you from a trance. 'Is this seat taken?', a woman asks her. Nandini is broken from her trance and she goes into another one when she lays her eyes on this woman. She had a beautiful azure blue summer dress, flattering her in all the right places, she had the most enchanting perfume on and she looked like she had walked straight out of a catalog, airbrushed and perfect. "Umm no. You can just sit here, I am just finishing up work anyway', Nandini blurts. The woman gives her a warm smile, sits and starts reading a book.The waiter comes back with her laptop and she starts working.
'Do you always slouch and work like that? You know its not good for you.', suddenly the enigmatic woman says to her. Nandini is taken aback. She had never been one to strike up a conversation with stranger. She was very reserved but for some reason this particular stranger seemed to have a hold on her and she felt compelled to reply. 'Ya, I know my colleagues and friends say the same thing. But I am one of those lost causes.' The woman gives her a smile and continues reading her book. Nandini has this uncontrollable urge to introduce herself. 'I am Nandini by the way. I work for an ad agency. My house is literally two blocks down but I prefer working here on the weekends', Nandini blurts. 'Why dont you tell her your family history and blood group also while you're at it' said her inner voice. 'Nice to meet you. I am Ketaki. I model, paint and surf when I get the chance. Even I live pretty close by. Would you like to see my apartment?' Nandini is speechless.
She finds herself saying "Yes, I would love to". Her instincts were screaming to run away. Who asks over someone to their house when they have just met? But Nandini couldn't help it. This exquisite woman had her in some trance. While the incoherence of her actions take over Nandini, her thoughts were crystal clear. She was meant to complete her assignment, the deadline of which was looming large. How was she gonna explain to her boss that she couldn't finish the copy for "Ramdas Vithaldas Venture Capitalists" for the 3rd time this week? Not that the brief was any exciting. But its a job and it has to be done. Nandini pushes the boring thought and shuts her laptop. Without another word, she puts away her things in her tote and looks at Ketaki.
Ketaki smiles and gets up too. The waiter arrives with the order but Nandini is always out of the cafe. Ketaki pays for the order and follows Nandini. Their hands brush against each other on the door handle. Nandini is startled to realise that Ketaki's palms are ice-cold. The warning bells go on but she still follows her. Ketaki seems to glide across the pavement and reaches the fancy apartment that Nandini has always checked out on her way to this cafe. Nandini couldn't help feel a twinge of envy but she knows that owning or even renting an apartment in this fancy building is way above her pay grade. Maybe Ramdas & Vithaldas could fund her dream home.
They reach the apartment and Ketaki holds the door open for Nandini. The room is in pitch darkness even at this peak summer afternoon. There is a faint odour of something unpleasant which Nandini cannot place. Her inner voice is screaming at her to make a run for it, but it's as if her limbs are under somebody else's command. "Where is the light switch, I cannot see anything" asks Nandini to Ketaki. Ketaki doesn't reply but Nandini can make out her silhouette snaking across the room. Suddenly the lights come on and Nandini freezes. The room is lined with jars of body parts preserved in formaldehyde.
"You do know I could see right through your act, no?" Ketaki says, as she walks up to a huge double metal door. 'And seriously, cream cheese bagel? You've just lost the weight." Ketaki continues as she opens the metal door and walks inside. A blast of freezing air hits Nandini, who visibly relaxes and laughs at what Ketaki had to say. " Ah well, I was hoping you wouldn't recognize me this quickly. And cream cheese? I thought why not give this one a chance. It's naturally thin." Nandini says as she follows Ketaki in.
It's a massive freezer unit inside. There were rows of human-sized glass cabinets on both side, lined up as per date. Each cabinet contained a human inside, naked and tubed to various beeping machines. They all seemed to be sleeping, but for the little jerks their bodies would involuntarily give. Ketaki walks up to a cabinet wherein lies a black, muscular man with a shaved head. "Hmm, he looks delicious. I think I'm going try him out." she says. Nandini shrugs and walks around, seeming to be window-shopping. "I'm going to stick to being a female. It gets me free coffees! A little smile can take you a long way for some freebies!"
Nandini and Ketaki stand in front of their chosen cabinets and start undressing. They press down on the red button attached to the beeping machines, which immediately starts whirring. In sync with each other, they both cross their arms behind their backs and pull. The torso of the bodies fall to the ground, as two little white dots of light appear right there. The dots zoom into the glass cabinets they are in front of, and the humans inside jerk awake. They gently pull apart the wires attached to them, and open the doors of their cabinets. Out steps a black man and a beautiful Indian woman. The man smiles, "Ah, I feel powerful!" The woman giggles, "You do look good Ketaki! Anyway, let's quickly give you a name. I'm going to stick to Nandini. It's a beautiful name."
The man nods and walks to the broken bodies lying in front of him. 'But first, let's get all of these into formaldehyde and then head out for our next hunt!" The woman smiles as they both get to work.
'Do you always slouch and work like that? You know its not good for you.', suddenly the enigmatic woman says to her. Nandini is taken aback. She had never been one to strike up a conversation with stranger. She was very reserved but for some reason this particular stranger seemed to have a hold on her and she felt compelled to reply. 'Ya, I know my colleagues and friends say the same thing. But I am one of those lost causes.' The woman gives her a smile and continues reading her book. Nandini has this uncontrollable urge to introduce herself. 'I am Nandini by the way. I work for an ad agency. My house is literally two blocks down but I prefer working here on the weekends', Nandini blurts. 'Why dont you tell her your family history and blood group also while you're at it' said her inner voice. 'Nice to meet you. I am Ketaki. I model, paint and surf when I get the chance. Even I live pretty close by. Would you like to see my apartment?' Nandini is speechless.
She finds herself saying "Yes, I would love to". Her instincts were screaming to run away. Who asks over someone to their house when they have just met? But Nandini couldn't help it. This exquisite woman had her in some trance. While the incoherence of her actions take over Nandini, her thoughts were crystal clear. She was meant to complete her assignment, the deadline of which was looming large. How was she gonna explain to her boss that she couldn't finish the copy for "Ramdas Vithaldas Venture Capitalists" for the 3rd time this week? Not that the brief was any exciting. But its a job and it has to be done. Nandini pushes the boring thought and shuts her laptop. Without another word, she puts away her things in her tote and looks at Ketaki.
Ketaki smiles and gets up too. The waiter arrives with the order but Nandini is always out of the cafe. Ketaki pays for the order and follows Nandini. Their hands brush against each other on the door handle. Nandini is startled to realise that Ketaki's palms are ice-cold. The warning bells go on but she still follows her. Ketaki seems to glide across the pavement and reaches the fancy apartment that Nandini has always checked out on her way to this cafe. Nandini couldn't help feel a twinge of envy but she knows that owning or even renting an apartment in this fancy building is way above her pay grade. Maybe Ramdas & Vithaldas could fund her dream home.
They reach the apartment and Ketaki holds the door open for Nandini. The room is in pitch darkness even at this peak summer afternoon. There is a faint odour of something unpleasant which Nandini cannot place. Her inner voice is screaming at her to make a run for it, but it's as if her limbs are under somebody else's command. "Where is the light switch, I cannot see anything" asks Nandini to Ketaki. Ketaki doesn't reply but Nandini can make out her silhouette snaking across the room. Suddenly the lights come on and Nandini freezes. The room is lined with jars of body parts preserved in formaldehyde.
"You do know I could see right through your act, no?" Ketaki says, as she walks up to a huge double metal door. 'And seriously, cream cheese bagel? You've just lost the weight." Ketaki continues as she opens the metal door and walks inside. A blast of freezing air hits Nandini, who visibly relaxes and laughs at what Ketaki had to say. " Ah well, I was hoping you wouldn't recognize me this quickly. And cream cheese? I thought why not give this one a chance. It's naturally thin." Nandini says as she follows Ketaki in.
It's a massive freezer unit inside. There were rows of human-sized glass cabinets on both side, lined up as per date. Each cabinet contained a human inside, naked and tubed to various beeping machines. They all seemed to be sleeping, but for the little jerks their bodies would involuntarily give. Ketaki walks up to a cabinet wherein lies a black, muscular man with a shaved head. "Hmm, he looks delicious. I think I'm going try him out." she says. Nandini shrugs and walks around, seeming to be window-shopping. "I'm going to stick to being a female. It gets me free coffees! A little smile can take you a long way for some freebies!"
Nandini and Ketaki stand in front of their chosen cabinets and start undressing. They press down on the red button attached to the beeping machines, which immediately starts whirring. In sync with each other, they both cross their arms behind their backs and pull. The torso of the bodies fall to the ground, as two little white dots of light appear right there. The dots zoom into the glass cabinets they are in front of, and the humans inside jerk awake. They gently pull apart the wires attached to them, and open the doors of their cabinets. Out steps a black man and a beautiful Indian woman. The man smiles, "Ah, I feel powerful!" The woman giggles, "You do look good Ketaki! Anyway, let's quickly give you a name. I'm going to stick to Nandini. It's a beautiful name."
The man nods and walks to the broken bodies lying in front of him. 'But first, let's get all of these into formaldehyde and then head out for our next hunt!" The woman smiles as they both get to work.
No comments:
Post a Comment