That Indian Woman | √

Chapter 23

*unedited*

Anvesha:

I stood there stunned. I watched him walk away, with a woman by his side. The woman clearly appeared to be Alexander's mother, with the way her smile matched his.

She was walking with slow, calculating steps away from the market with her hand linked with Alexander's. Her eyes were grey and her yellow coloured hair was pulled in a neat braid at the back of her head. Here face had a few lines, but nothing could take away the fact that this woman was filled with beauty.

I know he had seen me. And I know my father has seen me stare at him too.

"Who was that man, Avi?" My father asked me with slight curiosity.

I didn't know how to answer his question. Maybe...Papa, he was just a British man who I slapped and unfortunately let him enter my life. And guess what father? I feel a tingle in my belly whenever I see him. And father, this tingle has a name too. But I'm too afraid to give it that name because I don't want it to be true.

But I didn't want to die yet.

"I...uh, he was the British man I slapped." I said, concealing my shock and the other feeling.

My father's eyes widened and he looked at Alexander's retreating figure. And then suddenly, my father started laughing.

I looked at my father, confused. "What happened, Papa?"

My father shook his head and said, "It's just that, the man doesn't even look like a man yet. He looks like a little boy."

And then my eyes widened more now, with astonishment. "Yes...he is a childishly arrogant man." Who was I lying, I was starting to actually like his childish behavior.

...what?

I shook my head in vexation and then sat in the car beside my father.

❇❇❇

I was sitting in the forest behind my house. It was quite and peaceful. The sky was grey and I knew it would rain any time. I don't know why, but I was beginning to love this weather slowly.

I smelled the damp earth and it soothed my aching head. It was too quite in the forest, with just the sound of the flowing water in the stream.

I remembered the day I met Alexander here, and my face mouth lifted up in a smile. He had been so cold to me then, and I couldn't say that I wasn't the same with him. But I knew that now, things had changed between us. And I don't think it was good for either of us.

I shook my head as I didn't want to immerse myself with thoughts that made me slightly sad. I picked up my book and was about to start reading, when I suddenly heard voices from behind the trees.

"--you're here, acting like nothing happened!" It was a man's voice and the words spoken by him were layered by British accent. This man, whoever he was, had strained voice and so, appeared pretty angry.

My eyes widened because I think I had heard his voice somewhere before, not sure where.

Then, a frustrated voice of a woman shouted with the same ferocity to him. "Do you think we are going somewhere with this?!" The woman was clearly crying, as her words were chocked up.

It was wrong of me to eavesdrop on their argument like that, but what could I possibly do? I was frozen to the spot and the voices were nearing me slowly.

The man's voice softened. "I want to be with you." He said, and I stood up slowly.

They were probably standing somewhere in the trees behind mine, and I wanted to run away from here but there was only one route to my home, and it was from where they both stood.