Sunday, August 5, 2012

Meeting Place

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 30; the thirtieth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.


"I should have changed into something else" thought Akshara. Her blue and white school uniform was a little conspicuous.

The evening wind pushed a strand of hair in front of her face, shielding her vision. Catching it with her nimble fingers, she tucked it behind her ear.

Her eyes were fixed on Raghu, as he walked in the direction of the bhel puri vendor.

Her hands slowly moved to her cheek and carressed the spot, where his kiss had touched her a few minutes  ago. The red nail polish on her nails gleamed in the glow from the setting sun as a blush formed in her tender cheeks.

Bombay! A few of hours left to catch the train. Raghu would marry her and they would start a new life together. He had even suggested that they could find her a chance in Bollywood.

Pa and Ma would never approve of their relationship. Board Exams, Marks, Studies! Thats all they were concerned about. Her future lay with Raghu, they would never understand.

As agreed, she had attended school as usual and had rushed to him at their usual meeting place at the beach.

As Raghu neared the cart, the mobile phone in his pockets started rendering 'Jai Ho' indicating an incoming call.

"Vicky?",
"Everything going as per plan?"
" Perfect Vicky. Have I ever goofed up before? She is with me now."
"Ok. Bring her to our usual place once you reach Bombay"

Raghu turned towards Akshara and smiled.

Sixteen year olds were his favorites. He would have his turn first. After all it was his plan that was being enacted. Vicky could take her after that.

Akshara heard some riotous laughter and turned in its direction. A small boy was playing in the water, his father standing nearby."Be careful son. You have fifteen more minutes.We are heading home after that", the man shouted to his boy.

"He must be Atul's age" she thought. A depressing emotion crept into Akshara's mind when she thought about her little brother. Eight years younger than her, he was her only sibling. She got reminded of the previous night when he had been terrified due to some nightmares and had crept next to her in bed hugging her tightly.

A few feet ahead, a little girl was standing near the water, her arms locked in the safety of her parents' firm grip. Every time the  waves touched her little feet, they lifted her up and she let out squeals of delight.
'Once More Mama, Once More' she kept screaming in childish mirth.

Akshara's memories travelled back in time to a day when she had been six.  Goa;Vacation;That afternoon !She had been playing in the water. A huge  wave had enveloped her tiny body.  She felt her feet getting dragged by the currents and she was suddenly getting tossed like a rag doll .The salt in the water hit her taste buds and stung her eyes. She could sense that she was swallowing the water but there was no way she could control it. The next thing she remembered was waking up facing Pa's anxious face, tears streaming down his cheeks. She had never seen Pa cry before. For that matter, until then,she did not even know that Pa could cry.

A gloomy and lost expression clouded Akshara's face.She started getting restless. Guilt, fear, shame - All combined lashed at her mind in rhythm to the splashing waves. Above all , the thoughts about her family bore into her being like sharp arrows.

"Oh my God! What on earth am I doing?" she thought with panic.

"This is wrong, Akshara. Get up.Go back home" she heard a voice pounding repeatedly inside her head.

Akshara rose with agility  as Raghu neared her, holding two plates full of chat in his hands.

"Raghu, this is not correct! I am going" she shouted as she started moving backwards away from him.

"What happened baby? Hey wait Akshara" he kept the plates down and tried to come near her.

"No, I need to think Raghu. I am sorry" she said and ran. He ran after  her, but before he could reach her, she quickly got into an auto and headed home.

She was seated at the sofa when her Pa came back home from work. "Hi sweetheart!" he said and gently ruffled her hair.

She went near him and gave him a hug. When she felt the secure warmth of her father's embrace, she burst into tears. "I love you Pa" she cried!
"What happened Akshara?" 

"Nothing ! Nothing Pa. I promise, I will never do anything that you will be ashamed of."

She rushed to her room as her father stared after her in bewilderment.

Raghu's calls stopped coming after some time.She could not bring herself to respond.

The next morning , the family sat together for breakfast. The familiar music from the local news channel on TV filled the living room.

Distractedly Akshara glanced at the TV screen and her heartbeat stopped for a moment.

"A man named Chander was found murdered near Fisheman's Cove early today morning with multiple stab wounds in his abdomen. He was a criminal wanted by the local police in connection with a sex racket. He is said to have lured young girls to sell them in cities like Bombay and Delhi.A woman named Kavitha has surrendered at the DGG Police Station accepting responsibility for the murder" the newsreader announced.

Raghu's lifeless  body stretched on the sand on the TV screen.
The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. I’m thankful to C.Suresh, who introduced Blog-a-Ton to me, and I debuted in the 28th edition.
Credits Image - Shades of Orange by Harsha Chittar Courtesy - Curious Dino Photography via www.blogaton.in

96 comments:

  1. Good tale, Jaish! Glad Akshara escaped!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Suresh .I read your entry last night and keep thinking about it . It was too good .

      Delete
  2. Lovely tale feelings narrated beautifully.

    ReplyDelete
  3. that was owesome... for a minute i was completely consumed by this post. hmmm! Kudos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Extremely pleased to know that you enjoyed the read Satish . Thanks for the comment :)

      Delete
  4. What a tale! am so glad, Akshara came to her senses and escaped!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Take away for me in this story is the line "When she felt the secure warmth of her father's embrace, she burst into tears." Awesome! You don't see that happen much! Well written!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Danny . One does feel extremely secure in a dad's hug ESP girls :)

      Delete
  6. OMG.... that was a narrow escape for Akshara!Impeccable narration as always, Jaish. Enjoyed~
    ATB for BAT!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for that lovely comment Panchali . All the best to you too :)

      Delete
  7. Albeit the climax was predictable, you penned it beautifully :) ATB

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jaish, you write really nice short stories...very well narrated.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm speechless!! I got totally carried away by the story.. Excellent narration.. Loved reading it!!:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Neenu

      That was such a sweet comment. Thanks a lot :)

      Delete
  10. Nice tale, Jaishree! Some may not be as lucky as Akshara!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Rahul. I know, reality is more cruel and harsher!

      Delete
  11. Good one, i loved the emotional upheaval dat she faced when she was with raghu, and the split sec decision she took dat saved her....

    ATB for BAT

    ReplyDelete
  12. Jaish, drop whatever you're doing right away and get to writing a book :) I'm sure you'll be a great author and I'll do my bit to promote your book. I'm in the industry of promotion so can help you in this regard :)

    Great post and waiting for more to come

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Haricharan

      You should have no idea how happy I was to read that encouraging comment of yours...Writing a book is my dream...Right now I am not very clear on the process involved...If you have any inputs please do mail me :D Thanks a ton for that lovely comment....

      Delete
  13. Brilliant Jaish! Things do happen for the best! Its strange how so many thoughts churn around in our little brains - confusion, questions, logic, reasoning, doubts, emotions, feelings - you have done a great job of capturing those! Best wishes for BAT!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Deepa

      Thanks for stepping in...The human mind itself is like an ocean churning a myriad of thoughts and emotions....Sometimes high, sometimes low. Thank you :)

      Delete
  14. You are brilliant in conveying the emotions, Jaish! Happy for Akshara and I love the message you have given through her! Love your writings, keep it going!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Arti. Your continuous support is a tremendous boost. Thank you :)

      Delete
  15. whoa! brilliant.... i hung on to every word!

    ReplyDelete
  16. we are never too big for our parents...they are always for us
    ATB for BAT

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. True Karan...Parental love is unconditional...Thanks

      Delete
  17. I liked the way you ended it, I could picture the dead body :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Initially thought of stopping at the point where she converses with her dad...But then added that portion as well ...Thanks :)

      Delete
  18. beautiful story, hope hundreds of boys-girls get to realise the mistake and od the sensible thing, Loved the line where she hugs her father and cries ..

    all the best for the contest

    Bikram's

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Bikram. So many teenagers get misled and make terrible mistakes in life...

      Delete
  19. Well written :) congrats!

    Most often realization is late that people whom we trust a lot let us down when it matters most; conversely people whose love we take for granted and do not reciprocate, always stand by us, come what may!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Mahesh,...We often shun people who love us truely in search of dreams that are fake,....

      Delete
  20. Well narrated. I was rooting for Akshara to take the right step, and she did!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thats lovely Jaish! You are a great writer, as always! :) I was very worried when it was a school going girl... man what kind of problems you put our minds in!! :D

    Do stop by my blog! Cheers - Kappu

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ha ha Kappu ,that was a sweet comment. Thanks....Real problems are worse....Just need to glance at any news website!

      Delete
  22. Good work Jaish. Thankfully Akshara realized on time and that hopeful thing is top notch here :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Wow.. good that there was a premonition for her not to go ahead with her plan!

    But perhaps, the Kavitha woman would've saved her too.. Can't say but glad she wasn't there to find out :) Well narrated, Jaish..

    Leo at I Rhyme Without Reason

    ReplyDelete
  24. nice one,woman trafficking has been high in big cities.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Excellent tale.....it brought my heart to my mouth... such an excellent narration!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Brave & thinking girl.
    Jaishree, you are brilliant at narrating stories. they way you took us through flash backs in that short time is really amazing.
    Hope & wish you win Jaish :) All the best

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for that comment Mak. Had me grinning from ear to ear :D

      Delete
  27. Another nicely written story, Jaish. Your stories are simple and really engrossing. Love them. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Divya,

      Thank you. Glad that you enjoyed the read :D

      Delete
  28. That was a narrow escape, which reminds I wasn't breathing easy till it all ended. Beautiful work with a strong social message and I hope it drives home its intent to the blinded teens.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Umashankar. Teenage is a very delicate period when one will not know which way to head.

      Delete
  29. like everyone else, even i am glad that she escaped. and i do want the same punishment for such people.

    lovely post as usual.

    ReplyDelete
  30. You have a great story teller in you Jaish!
    All the best:)

    ReplyDelete
  31. Very nicely written Jaish :)
    Akshara was lucky to have listened to her conscience. Some people fail to listen to their inner voice even when it warns them of the imminent danger.
    Keep up the story-telling :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jay Singh . You are correct , if one takes a minute to listen to the conscience , a lot of dangerous situations could be avoided . Sadly some people don't do that !

      Delete
  32. Whoa! What a brilliant narration. While reading the initial parts I was hoping for Akshara to take the right step. I am glad she did!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Great story Jaishree and quite enthralling too !! All the best for BAT 30.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Engram . Good to know that you liked it .

      Delete
  34. Your narration got me so involved---am i happy that you gave it a happy ending !

    I wish all girls who are thus lured come to their senses before their life is destroyed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wish the same too Indu . These girls ESP those at a young age can be easily lured and their lives get shattered because of that . Thanks for the comment .

      Delete
  35. I am glad that Akshara could escape .. the story was so well narrated that for a moment I was worried about Akshara.

    ReplyDelete
  36. You paint such beautiful imagery Jaish, I absolutely I adore your writing. I love the part where she's at the beach and she sees people around her and finally realizes her guilt, this was beautifully narrated. I am losing count of my favorite posts of yours. Every post seems brilliant in its own right. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Akshay. You are a constant source of support and encouragement and I am all smiles after reading that comment...Thank you so much!

      Delete
  37. It was kind a predictable. Just what I thought.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stepping in and for that comment Muthu..... :)

      Delete
  38. Such men deserve to be dead. Very engaging read Jayashree.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Good story and thank god the girl saved herself with some common sense. Lovely write up Jaish :)

    ReplyDelete
  40. scary, jaish! great narration that kept me glued till the end!

    good luck for BAT :)

    ReplyDelete
  41. Really a nice engrossing story...

    ReplyDelete
  42. Nice story :) :) I was biting my nails as I read and hoped that Akshara would get away in the end :) I am glad she did!!

    ReplyDelete
  43. A happy ending, yay :) Very good storytelling. I wish all Aksharas realize in time. Enjoyed the read. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Akshara... Hmmm I loved the name again and her character.. Glad she escaped at the end.. Keep writing.. All the best..

    Someone is Special

    ReplyDelete
  45. Very good story with a message .. Well written ..
    You have a nice blog here .. Keep writing!!

    ReplyDelete
  46. Thanks a lot Arthy . Thanks for visiting

    ReplyDelete