Rhythm Of Love Read online

  Rhythm of Love

  BY

  Nivedita Vedurla

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Epilogue

  To the person holding the book, I wish love happens to you at the right time and with the right one. Incase life doesn’t turn up as you wished, give yourself a cuddle and remember God is always with you.

  Chapter 1

  The open window flapped like the wings of a bird as the wind tried to blow into the house. Esha clamped the window stopper and peered through the window. The sun had set but there was no sign of her mother. Giving up hope that her mother would be coming anytime soon, Esha slouched on the sofa.

  She looked at the wall clock once more. It showed both hands extended vertically. It was six o’clock. She let out a sigh and started thinking about an excuse for not going to the pub.

  She mumbled to herself, “I’ll tell her I’m not well, but she’ll never believe me. She’ll accuse me of breaking my promise to her.”

  She clasped her hands and prayed, “God! Please let mom get home early and also make her agree to let me go to the pub.”

  A minute later, she got up and looked out of the window again. There was no sign of her mother.

  “Why did I agree to that bet? That too with Lucky? She always makes me do things which I’m not able to do.”

  Esha looked at her phone. She punched in Lucky’s number, but then she remembered the bet.

  They were just about to do their child psychology class test. The answers were all multiple-choice. Esha was discussing the answers with Lucky while holding the question paper in her hand. She was marking off every right answer that Lucky had given. The total came to 15.

  Esha gave Lucky her total number of marks. But, Lucky shook her head and said, “No, I will get 12..right.”

  “No, you will get 15. No more, no less,” she said.

  Lucky then said, “So if you are so confident, let’s place a bet.”

  Esha looked scared. The odds of her betting against Lucky were always a failure. She shook her head and said, “No!”

  Lucky replied mockingly, “That means you are wrong.”

  Esha immediately grabbed Lucky’s hand and said, “Ok, let’s bet.”

  Seconds later, Esha began biting her bottom lip and realized that she had made a hasty decision.

  Lucky smiled gently, her eyes brightened and she tried to hide her feelings. Then she said, “So, if I get a mark of less or more than 15, you will do what I say.”

  Esha protested and said with a frown, “But you said you wouldn’t get more than 12 correct answers.”

  Lucky smiled and said, “Yes, but you are so sure I will get 15. Let’s bet on that.”

  Esha thought about what Lucky was saying and tried to work out what plans were running around in Lucky’s head.

  A few days later, their teacher distributed their answer papers with the marks circled with a blue pen. Esha smiled seeing her score was 20/20 and looked towards Lucky, who also had a big smile on her face. She showed Esha her answer sheet. It showed a mark of 16/20.

  Esha quickly responded, “Nice!”

  “Yes. My marks are more than you said they would be. So you lose the bet,” said Lucky.

  Esha protested, “But this can’t be right. I accepted the bet on what you said you would get and you should be getting 15.”

  She looked closely at Lucky who was looking very happy that her trick had worked out so well.

  Esha said, “You tricked me with an extra answer. You knew you would win the bet.”

  Lucky laughed at the accusation. “You lost. Now you must come with me to The Rockstar Pub in Mumbai.”

  Esha shook her head and said, “No way! You know how my mom is. She never lets me go to such places. And besides, when did you start going to pubs?”

  Lucky smiled, “I’ve never been there. That’s why I’m taking you along.”

  Esha shrugged her shoulders, “No, I can’t go.”

  Lucky gave her a stern look and said, “You promised and promises should always be kept.”

  Esha sighed and imagined how hyper her mother would be about this matter. But then again she thought about her father’s words, “Never break a promise.”

  “Ok, I will try and come with you,” she said.

  ‘As always, Lucky had tricked her with two words - bet and promise. One shouldn’t be made and the other shouldn’t be broken,’ Esha thought.

  While she was still thinking about the mistake she had made in agreeing to the bet, she heard someone approaching her house.

  At last! Her mother came in holding a bag of vegetables. Esha quickly jumped up and grabbed the bag from her mother’s hand and offered her a glass of water.

  Sipping the water, her mother asked, “Why aren’t you studying? Exams are just a few days away…”

  Esha pressed her lips together, concentrating on what to reply while at the same time thinking, “Mom, won’t allow me to go out today.”

  Her mother asked again, “What are you thinking so much about? Why aren’t you studying?”

  Esha replied, “We are doing a project assignment. It’s for 20 marks and will be added to the final marks. Ritu and I are doing it together. We completed half of it in college and the rest we need to do together and submit by tomorrow. I was waiting for you to come home so that I could go to her place and we can complete it there.”

  “Why didn’t you finish it earlier?” her mother asked.

  “The assignments were only given out last week. It’s a big project,” Esha replied.

  Her mother’s eyes narrowed while looking at Esha and she asked, “Are you staying there for the night?”

  Esha felt scared as her mother continued to look closely at her. She held on to the wooden table and shook her head saying, “No, mom… I will be back by 11.”

  Her mother placed the glass of water on the table and looked at Esha.

  “Ok, then go,” she said.

  Esha’s eyes lit up and in a high-pitched voice she said, “Thanks, mom. I’ll be back on time.”

  Her mother smiled and said, “Take your sweater, it’s cold outside.”

  Esha nodded her head and thought about which sweater she could take with her to a pub.

  Her mother in the meantime was still looking uncertainly at her daughter. Taking a step forward, she looked directly at Esha and said, “Remember Esha, man is more dangerous than any vultures and hyenas and friends are actually more dangerous.”

  Esha had goose bumps on her arms hearing her friends being compared to such dangerous birds and animals. She nodded, and said nervously, “I will remember that mom.”

  She quickly stuffed her bag with a t-shirt and a pair of pants that she thought she could change into at Lucky’s house. She left the house as fast as she could before her mother could make out the actual reason for her wanting to go out.

  Reaching Lucky’s house, she knocked on the main door. While waiting for it to be opened, she looked around and was amazed at the whitewash paintwork that had recently been done to their house. The garden looked elegant with a mixed variety of flowers radiating their colours into the night.

  Lucky’s mother opened the door and asked her to come inside.

  “Where are you both going?” asked Lucky’s mother.

  Esha felt a lump form in her throat, as she didn’t know what to reply. She tried to remember what Lucky had told her about going to this pub. She couldn’t remember her saying anything about what she would tell her family.

  To her relief, a moment later Lucky appeared and said without any hesitation, “Mom, we’re g
oing to a pub. We will be back soon. Don’t worry.”

  Her mother narrowed her eyes thinking for a moment, then smiled and said, “Just get here on time. Don’t be late. Enjoy yourselves.”

  Esha’s mouth dropped open as she stared at Lucky’s mother.

  ‘What? No ifs or buts? Just get here on time and enjoy yourself! I’m stunned. I had to hear all about vultures and hyenas!’ she thought to herself.

  Lucky took Esha into her bedroom where she changed. Then they left Lucky’s house.

  Esha was trying to compare Lucky’s mother with her own while they sat in a rickshaw. Lucky instructed the rickshaw driver to take them to a pub located in Mumbai. She saw that Lucky didn’t haggle about the price but asked the driver to take a quicker route to the pub.

  Esha’s thoughts shifted back to her comparison of their families. She wondered why they were so different? Did money make a difference? Or having a father?

  She remembered the day when she had been at school attending her science class and she had been summoned to the principal’s office. When she reached the principal’s office, the principal said to her class teacher, who was also there, “Arun, can you please drop Esha at her house? She needs to go there urgently.”

  Her teacher took her to her house as instructed by the principal. There was a deadly silence all around her house and then she heard her mother wailing as she got to the front gate.

  As she entered the house, she saw her father’s body laid out on the floor and covered with a white cloth.

  Esha didn’t understand how much life would change from that time on. Without her father around, things started to change quickly. People began to pop into their house and to give advice on how they should carry out their daily tasks.

  When she opposed her mother saying, “Mom, this is not what Papa would have suggested or advised,” her mother just gave a sad dry smile and said, “When you don’t have enough money to survive, your feelings are not taken into account or noticed. Now that your father is not around, money is hard to come by, so we have to get help from our relatives and do what they say.”

  After seeing Lucky and her family and their broadminded attitude, Esha realized that her mother was very strict and overprotective because of the lack of money and having no husband and father to support them.

  She looked at her watch. It was 8 o’clock when they reached the pub. The place was not exactly in Mumbai, but close to the highway. That was the reason why they had got there so fast.

  The loud sounds coming from the building surrounded by a lush garden confirmed that was the place they were going to.

  Esha didn’t know if Lucky had been there previously, but she knew that by being with Lucky, she didn’t need to feel so afraid.

  As they stepped into the pub, the guard checked their tickets and allowed them to enter.

  Esha felt like she was really in a jungle. Some of the men and women looked quite bizarre and almost animal-like. She stuck close to Lucky while looking all around her.

  Esha followed Lucky, who was marching towards the bar counter. She whispered in Lucky’s ear, “Are you going to drink?”

  Lucky smiled, “Yes.”

  Esha started to panic. She thought, ‘What if Lucky passes out? How will we get home?’

  She watched Lucky closely as she sipped her drink, trying to see if she was alright or if she was going to pass out. But she didn’t faint and even ordered a second drink.

  The bartender handed Lucky her drink, saying, “Ma’am, your drink. Vodka with lemon.”

  Esha watched Lucky smiling at the guy and taking a quick sip of her drink.

  An expression passed over Lucky’s face as if she’d suddenly got the sharp taste of the lemon peel, but after a moment she smiled saying, “Ah, nice.”

  Handing over the glass to Esha, she said, “Take a sip. You will like it.”

  Esha looked reluctantly at the glass.

  “Come on. It’s going to be fun,” said Lucky and looked at her with impatient eyes.

  Esha made a face and said, “No, I can’t. Mom will scold me if she finds out.”

  “Only if she finds out about it,” chuckled Lucky and patted Esha saying, “You should at least try it once.”

  Esha repeatedly said no but Lucky kept on encouraging her to try it just once.

  Feeling like she had no option and with the little naughty girl inside her shouting to try it, Esha lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip. In the next instance, she spat the vodka out of her mouth trying get rid of the taste of the vodka from her tongue.

  “Yuks! How can you drink that stuff?” she asked Lucky.

  Lucky laughed and handed Esha a glass of water.

  Just then a boy with blonde dyed hair came to stand next to them. He stood so close to Esha that she could smell the alcohol in his breath. As much as Esha disliked the taste, she hated the smell of it too. She stepped back as he introduced himself.

  “Hey, I’m Vicky. I saw you spit out the drink. I think you are not used to it, but I know you will like it if you are in good company,” he said with his eyes showing the lewd thoughts running through his mind.

  Lucky moved in front of Esha and stared at the boy with disgust. With a sarcastic smile on her face she told him, “Try somewhere else. She’s not interested.”

  The boy tried to convince Lucky with a lot of big smiles, but she knew this trick and didn’t move an inch. A minute later, the boy took his cue and left them.

  Esha felt relieved, but kept looking in the direction he went, just to make sure he didn’t return. She noticed a boy a little older than her staring at her and Lucky. He had a knowing smile on his face and looked at her as if she was from another planet. His smile had a tinge of mockery and pity. She felt disgusted and wondered, ‘What’s wrong with these boys? Why is everyone behaving in such a weird way?’

  She turned her head away and looked at the bartender. Through the corner of her eye, she felt his gaze still on her. He was quite some distance away, but she felt his mocking smile burning her emotions. She turned and looked back at him. He was busy talking to someone else, another girl at the bar. They didn’t seem like a boyfriend or a girlfriend or even friends. She watched as he gave the girl some change and then patted her arm before she left.

  Her eyes were still hooked on him when he got up from his seat and started walking to the exit. He gave her a little goodbye wave. At first, she didn’t like the gesture, but he smiled gently giving her one last smile.

  Her lips broke into a smile too, and she wondered if he was perhaps genuine and not mocking her.

  Lucky had moved to a couch in the corner and Esha sat next to her. Not having anything to do she tried to concentrate on the music and looked around at the people. Some appeared happy, some sad, while others seemed on the verge of becoming crazy. Her ears began to ache due to the loud music and she felt uncomfortable with all the unfriendly stares she was getting.

  It had been half an hour since they had arrived there and she already felt bored. She slouched down into her seat and said to Lucky, “Let’s go. I’m getting bored here.”

  Lucky turned to her and said, “Bored? How can anyone get bored here? Look at how happy everyone is? What’s wrong with you? You must get out once in a while like this or you will become boring to everyone else.”

  Esha knew what she was trying to say. It wasn’t the place that was boring, it was just that she had become boring. But still she didn’t feel like staying any longer and said, “We can come back here again, can’t we? Can’t we leave now?”

  Lucky shook her head saying, “We’ve only just got here. We’ve hardly been here an hour.”

  Esha looked unhappy. She said, “I promised my mom, I’d be back before 11 o’clock.”

  Lucky let out a sigh and said, “Ok, let’s go.”

  Esha felt relieved that Lucky understood how anxious she felt about getting home on time and also how uncomfortable it was for her to be at the pub.

  Luckily, a rickshaw was avai
lable near the pub, but he asked for a double charge and Lucky agreed instantly. When they reached Lucky’s house, Esha rushed into the bedroom, changed into her dress quickly, and hurriedly said good night to Lucky.

  Just before reaching her house, she looked at her watch. It was 10:30 p.m. Letting out a sigh of relief that she had got home before 11, she knocked on the door.

  Her mother opened the door and immediately asked, “Is your project done?”

  Esha nodded her head, and said, “Yes, we finished it.”

  Her mother looked at her and said, “Show me. What it is about?”

  Esha’s eyes widened in surprise at her question. She quickly answered her.

  “It is an online project. That’s why I had to go her house to work on it.”

  Her mother nodded her head and said, “Ok. Wash your hands and let’s eat.”

  As they sat down to eat, Esha kept the conversation to the minimum and ate as fast she could. She told her mother that she needed to get started early the next day and that she should go to bed as soon as they were finished eating. Lying on her bed a while later, she promised herself never to become involved in any more bets.

  This had been Esha’s first time at any pub and the first time out of her town too. This had been a bold step and she felt happy, but at the same time stressed about her mother finding out about it.

  At times, Esha wondered about always being good and doing only what her mother allowed her to do. She was restricted to the confines of her home and college. The only roads she knew were the ones, which connected her house to her college and previously to her school. The good girl tag that her mother gave her meant so many sacrifices in terms of making new friends and taking new roads. The only friend she had was Lucky, her short name for Laxmi Khanna. And anything that she knew beyond the school and the college was passed on to her by Lucky.

  ***

  It was a Saturday afternoon. There was no college because the college juniors were writing their exams. Esha was at home reading one of her college books when Lucky called her.

  She said, “Let’s go out for lunch. I’m so bored staying at home for the whole day.”