PrEm Ji

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY! (Short story)

 

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

 

‘Surumi turned eighteen today,’ the care-taker of that poor home told herself while closing her old diary, which contained every detail of the inmates there. The old woman tried to recollect her innocent face, deep buried in memories... the cute little angelic face of an infant girl... with dark eyebrows, carefully drawn with the worn out stub of an eyebrow pencil... might be the last artwork of a helpless mother on life\'s canvas, that too before abandoning her fruit of passion! And that\'s why she kept her name as \'Surumi\'. 

The financial back up of that poor home was getting deteriorated every day and the caretaker thought of finding a suitable job for her. And at last she succeeded in her endeavor and Surumi was appointed as a sales girl in a huge shopping mall, owned by a wonderful lady who admired the caretaker even from her younger days. 

Surumi had to work from morning nine to evening six\'o clock and instantly she fell in love with the fresh smell of expensive clothes. The caretaker was quite happy as the Mall owner provided \'pick and drop\' facilities for their lady staff. After the evening prayers, Surumi used to tell every day\'s funny happenings, that too in detail, to her care-taker with childlike innocence.

Later, Surumi was shifted to Children\'s section as small kids liked her charm very much. ‘Beauty with innocence’ - that was her plus point according the experienced floor manager. Gradually, Surumi stopped sharing funny stories with the caretaker. She was bit worried at first and her experienced eyes caught Surumi ready-handed, saying ‘bye’ to the pick and drop cab driver through her beautiful eyes. The old woman was a bit worried, but she didn\'t say anything. Within a week, one her well-wishers informed her that he had seen Surumi with a blond guy in a nearby Theater. That day she returned back in in the evening by an auto-rickshaw.

‘What happened to your pick and drop cab?’ the caretaker asked.   

‘One of its tyres got punctured in the middle... Madam,’ Surumi replied so innocently.

‘And how was the movie? Is that a love story?’

‘Movie? I don\'t understand what you really mean!’

‘I was also there... Now, do you have anything more to say?’

‘Madam... I am so sorry... Sooraj is in love with me...  He promised to marry me at the end of this year,’ Surumi apologized painfully.

‘If he won\'t?’

‘No Madam... he won\'t betray me.’

‘If ‘not’... well and good... Falling in love with someone is not at all a sin... dear kid... I know, you had to live all these days in short of love... And naturally you crave for love... When you are in love, the whole world shrinks into two pair of eyes... Am I correct?’

‘You are right... Madam’

‘Just look into his eyes for some time, tomorrow,’ the care taker told calmly while returning to her other duties. ‘Orphans are so dear to God... But, creating orphans knowingly, is the deadliest of all sins,’ she told herself with unending pain.

♥        

I was standing on the ground floor, busy negotiating the prices of uniforms with the floor manager for my little boys. School opening is a nightmare for every poor parent!

Surumi was the last one who got out of the cab on the very next day. She went inside and pressed her index finger on the punching machine. 

‘Excuse me, Madam... I forgot to take my purse from the cab... May I?’ she pleaded for permission from the floor manager.

‘O.K... But, return fast... See... customers are there.’

Surumi walked away like a mild breeze…

‘She is our finest sales girl… Mr.Premji,’ said the floor manager.

 

Sooraj was standing near the cab, smoking a cigarette, when she approached.

‘Smoking is injurious to health,’ Surumi spelled out her protest.

‘I will stop it on the very day of our marriage,’ he promised while looking into her eyes. ‘Surumi... You look so beautiful today!’

‘Sooraj... Will you love me all life?’ she kept on looking, so deep into his eyes, though she was blushing to the core...

♥                                                                                 

‘Are his eyes so beautiful?’ the caretaker asked calmly, immediately after the evening prayers.

‘Yes Madam,’ Surumi replied.

‘How long could he maintain eye contact with you?’

‘Just... a couple of seconds...’

‘Just a couple of seconds?’ she stopped a second… ‘And what did you see in his eyes?’

‘Lust... pure lust!’ her eyes couldn\'t hide self-contempt… ‘Only true lovers can maintain eye-contact for long.’

‘Eyes will never lie... my kid!’

The old woman embraced her with the strength of her strengths! Sometimes, a touch is more powerful than millions of words!

 

Premji