I Will Never Trust a Man

CHAPTER ONE

T hinking of a very good, loving and much caring husband and a very happy home was Saratu’s dream. She wants to live a better life. She believed that the man of her dearest heart will come. She knew her dream will one day come to pass. She knew with faith and patience she can achieve anything. She had reached the stage in life when men looked at her twice with many of them looking at her forever until she had disappeared from their views wherever and whenever they saw her. She knew that a plenitude of young men would come across her everywhere she goes. Some would continue to stare at her until her back was finally swallowed by the distant horizon. But that doesn’t worry her. Her dream was to find the right loveliest man in her life. That was always her dream. Finding a loveliest man, a very happy home and living a better life had been the thoughts in her mind. Saratu is such a wonderful lady in the ‘young and hungry’ category that is very determined with lots of hopes and optimism that’s always talking about a brighter future for herself. She’s in that bracket of young people who put their future ahead of them before any other thing else. She had great energy and the nous and is always thinking of what she could contribute to the world. The bathroom door had been closed for long and Saratu had been inside for quite a while. She usually prefers to be the last person to enter the bathroom to bathe if on any day other members of the family were in the queue, because she likes to spend hours or even centuries in the bathroom, to linger and relax in the bath playing with bubbles. She started this when she was four. She will make the bubbles into different shapes and sizes and blew them away. Now that she is a grown up young lady, old enough to be a happy mother, she’s still doing the same as if she was still a child. Her childhood life never wants to leave her alone. She always derived pleasures from it and she laughs to herself. Now she will put the bubbles on her finely developed breasts and played with it. When she had laughed enough and felt satisfied, she will open the sink and drain the water and fully opened the warm shower and finish the bathe. She had been doing this in the bathroom of the house she was born and brought up. And as she did this now, the scent of her childhood stimulated her olfactory nerves giving her a burst of live. Made her muscles soft like white fluffy clouds and well processed woollen materials. Saratu closed her eyes as she enjoyed the warm shower. She finished and dried herself and went to her room feeling very happy. It was early jolly evening and her mother had been sleeping since after a long drive down from the Ministry of Finance. The father left the house about forty minutes ago and went into the town. He had his normal relaxation point when he’s doing any work at home. Saratu finished applying the chemicals she used for her body and sprawled in on bed, loosening up her muscles and joints. She was listening to sweet adagio which was easing up her boredom. She misses no single word from the tracks as her attention was gripped by it. She loves music, but not any kind of music but the right and interesting ones that are good to the ears, sweet to her heart and heal the soul. The wind was blowing gently in the trees outside with few birds squawking, squealing and twittering occasionally. Many of them were singing praises to God for the food He had provided for them and with good health as they usually ended their songs by asking for more before going to bed. This is an age old tradition that had come to be part of their existence. They also asked God to tell the farmers to allow them access to their farms so they could eat few of their crops. They always reminded God that they also belong to the same world and that they need just fairer treatment and not equality that we have been saying without practising it, and that they need to eat and live like any other living creature. They knew very well that equality is only a word of mouth from man, particularly from the self-serving, corrupted politicians so there’s no need to waste any time and energy asking God for it. All they wanted was for man to allow them have a little portion of what he produced for his consumptions. They aren’t taking any excess of the crops for sale but everything will end up in their stomachs. The birds always reminded God that He had promised them to be only consumers and not producers so He should always provide a way for them to get their food. All the birds said this in their prayers everyday. It’s like their national anthem. Saratu was enjoying her music in her room as there was nobody around to disturb her with noise. Her mother was awake now and watching television in her bedroom. Saratu still remembered when that television was bought and put in her mother’s room. It was in nineteen ninety, the year she was going to boarding secondary school. It was the only television they had then and which they were only allowed watching the ongoing programme or a cassette when they had finished their domestic chores and school homework. Only one hour was allowed for them to watch everyday, Mondays to Fridays at ten to eleven and two hours on Saturdays. They all go to sleep by eleven. No watching of television on Sundays for the reason only best known to their mother. Watching television to them was like attending a lecture in school. It followed a very strict timetable, even much stricter than most of the schools nowadays. They didn’t know actually who first thought of the rule, whether their father or their mother, or both just think at once about it. But Saratu thought and in fact had that strong belief that it wasn’t their father’s rule which put their mother in the driving seat as the enforcer. Whenever they travelled their mother will always carried the key to her room with her. That was what made Saratu to think that their mother was the brain behind that restriction. Sometimes they may stay a little more than the one hour and if their mother wasn’t around their father will say nothing, allowing them to watch the television for as long as they wish which of course confirmed her theory. Saratu wasn’t very keen on watching television as most times she was in her room listening to music or doing something else. They wondered whether their mother really knows the importance of television to the life of children. On school days when there was too much work to do the children didn’t care to turn up to watch television for they have to do their homework and face their studies. With those kinds of olden days’ rules it made them not to understand what the programmes were all about. They just watched the television for watching sake. It was a disjointed kind of watching programmes that never add anything to your knowledge. The children only had memories of seeing different people moving randomly about without understanding anything. It was like watching an aeroplane passing over your head. That once it disappeared into the horizon, the memory also disappeared into your mind. Children of other families in the same area and of the same age as them had televisions in their rooms. Saratu can’t explain why her parents, especially their mother was so stricter like that as though she was of the so-called deepest life faith. They bought them a radio cassette player to put in their rooms but can’t buy them a small television. They were like children from poor families. That was their parents for them. Whoever thinks of the rule that was signed into family law was left for them. Growing up Saratu knew there will come a time when such rule can’t affect her. She knew it’s a fleeting rule. But it was hard trying to come to terms with such rules their parents had invented. Saratu thought she will never have such a superstitious mentality in her own family. It was simply stupidity, absurdity… more of a delusional kind of action rather than the reality of life. It was not that their parents had no money to buy televisions, for they are far, far better than many families. Both of them had money and good source of income. Their father wasn’t so keen about watching television. It was like he watched it when he had absolutely nothing very important to do. And that was one of the reasons that he doesn’t care of putting one television in his room. And also his lack of interest to buy one and keep in the sitting room further supported the assumption that it was their mother who influenced the idea of not allowing them to watch television for long. Their father got his information on what’s happening around the world in newspapers which he never missed reading them. He had a delivery of one in the morning and one in the evening. And from his interactions with friends in town at relaxation centres he got all the news making headlines globally. Saratu had always told her sister and her brother that their mother’s ancient day rule won’t applied once they leave the house for school or when they all reach eighteen years. The thought of the restriction sometimes pains them terribly, but they would only murmur their angers and hissed in their hearts. That was all their revenge for the action which they considered was very unfair to them. Do you think that those children whose parents bought them televisions are enjoying, their mother had always said this to them. Whenever she said that they pretended as if they were happy, but right inside them they hate to hear her said that to them. She always left them seething in their hearts. They were always very careful not to let her see their reactions, although she usually didn’t look at their faces. And when she was out of sight, they murmured their dissatisfactions and angers among themselves. Neighbours visiting them always found it very, very uncomfortable to be watching the television in her room instead of sitting comfortably and with free minds in the large sitting room. Many neighbours wondered why she should have such a monopoly and control over the television. Most of them had always expressed their dissatisfactions and one neighbour, a woman had visibly expressed her displeasure at one time by saying that she was disgusted and only over her dead body she will go and sit down in a woman’s room like hers watching television. Saratu’s mother is a woman of ordinary intelligence, but not sharp, but attractive, not necessarily very pretty but sexy and appealing. But if you pulled their mother out of that unclear family ideology of restricting their children from watching television and put her on a neutral platform, she’s a wonderfully dedicated, determined and very supportive wife to her husband. She’s a truly soft natured woman. She moved along very well with her husband, but she didn’t just eat and swallowed anything he said to her. She had very good judgement and always made excellent informed decisions for herself and the family. She’s a very lovely mother when it comes to real family and life issues about any of them. To be honest, she’s very determined to see her children excel in life. She had made sure they have good education. When Saratu came back from school on holiday she was graduated to watch television for three hours everyday. But today Saratu is a grown up young woman who had all the freedom to do almost just about anything or at least, to listen to any kind of music, watch any kind of programmes and much more. She’s somebody who doesn’t need looking after. She had all the reasons to make decisions for herself at her own volition. Today Saratu had her own room, the one that she can use if she wished to speak intimately and alone with herself. This room was all for her, she had the authority over it; she can decide to close it or to lock it at her own volition. Now she had marvellous years of living in complete freedom from parental authority over her personal life. She was given the room because she had reached the stage to have some suitors flying around her like vultures at the abattoir. The parents knew she was really grown up and need to have her own way. She had changed the room so that entering it you will feel as though you were in another house. It was her little world, peaceful, comfortable and suited her own way of life. She had her own electronics to herself. She decorated the ceiling, the walls and put beautiful pictures and antiques. She spotted the walls with innumerable colours. The air inside was sweet with the freshly scented flowers exuding the irresistible odours. It made the room luxuriantly very inviting. Entering her room will give you a voluptuous happiness. All other rooms had lost their views and comforts.

Sprawled on the cushion in the quiet sitting room was Marbyen who was reading her Chemistry textbook on the topic, how to balance chemical equations. She was enjoying it as she liked the science subjects very much. She had just returned home from seeing her friend some few blocks down the street. They attended the same boarding school and had been good friends since childhood. There was no one around in the sitting room to disturb her study. Although it may not be comforting to read there, but she was enjoying her reading as her full concentration was on the topic. One good thing about her was that she took her studies very seriously. She’s an ambitious young girl. She had always says she wants to be a medical doctor. She had no second thought about it. She’s a very intelligent girl and had said she will hold on to her dream until it was realized. Saratu has lived with her parents throughout her life. Throughout, her life has been oscillating between her parents’ house and her school. She only lived very briefly with her great grandmother for eight months when she was ten years old. She was expected to live with her again after completing her primary school education, but by the time she was in her final year, she had left the world to meet her Maker. They are three, two girls and a boy. Saratu is the eldest of the three with the boy Shalchang the youngest who’s now sixteen years old. He’s in his fourth year in the secondary school. He’s also very intelligent and promising young man. Marbyen the second daughter was also in the secondary school. She’s nineteen and will be finishing her school in the next five months. Both of them were in the boarding schools. Their father works in the ministry of education while their mother was a businesswoman. She studied business management. She’s a local contractor who was enjoying her business. She had executed quite a number of contracts for the local councils in the states; the highest of those contracts were in her own council.

SARATU! Her mother called. Maaa’aah, she answered in a drawl voice as she bolted out of her bedroom to meet her mother in the sitting room. Marbyen had since left the sitting room and was in their bedroom. They are very respectful children who don’t wait for anyone to call their names twice before they come. If they are busy at the very moment of the call, they will inform the caller immediately, pleading for few minutes to finish up. Yes, Ma, I am here; Saratu said with a courteous voice as she entered the sitting room. Please can you go to the market and buy some few things for us, the mother said as she entered. Ok, what will I buy? She asked with a soft voice. She has a smooth and slow drawling voice. She sat on the chair waiting for her mother. I will give you the lists in a moment; wait as she took a paper and pen and put down some to-do-lists. Let me get ready then Saratu said, then got up on her feet and returning back to her room to get herself ready. Saratu primped herself up. It took her some few minutes and she was back, thanks to having had her bath earlier on. With her mouth slashed of red lipstick, her long black eyelashes like spider’s legs and gorgeously dressed, Saratu waited patiently for her mother to finish writing down the lists of items. The mother was taking her time so that she doesn’t forget the important things she wants her to buy from the market. Saratu wore a slinky transparent white top with a bluish black coloured blouse that was just above her knee. The elastic band at the waist gave a nice snug fit. She wore a gold necklace, diamond plated earrings, glisteningly expensive waist beads and an anklet on both legs. The wrist bangle and the anklets were silver. She was in an astonishingly glamorous ensemble. To go with these was a deep, rich, black shining cover shoes and with her average height frame, the whole make-ups enhanced her already natural beauty and she was ravishing. Her skin was exquisite and her amazing eyes greatly enhanced her beauty. The blouse revealed her attractively sexiest posteriors. She looked uniquely appealing. Her mother looked at her for awhile with some few thoughts, but quickly discarded them away. She wasn’t in the mood to make any comment, as she only murmured, that’s very nice; my daughter looked very stunning. She knew sooner than later she will cease to see her in the house except when she comes for visit. She was an attractively enticing and sexy young woman and in the slightly weaker evening sun, she appeared most powerfully beautiful than before. When she lowered her head down in an attempt to avoid direct contact with her mother’s glancing eyes she became much prettiest, and even most strikingly ravishing, particularly that in the action her features caught diagonally the pinkish rays of the evening sun which made transparencies of her face accurate. At Saratu’s age now, her beauties were of three parts. The first part of her beauty was the work of creation, the second probably of civilization and the third part was that of her artificial make-ups. It was evident that such a nature as hers would have greatest attraction from a man as that of Bathsheba’s taste and attraction from King David. Her mother was now thinking when the family will lose her to a man of her dream.

Saratu looked the spit of her mother in some way with the dark blue eyes and black hair, but she was twelve steps or more far, far beautiful than her with her thin sweetest lips, webbed neck, long pointed nose and long black hair that hangs down behind her like fruits of a peculiar tree in the primeval forest. Her younger sister maybe, could be agreed to be the perfect spit of their mother in all respect, both by her voice and reactions to emotions. Their strikingly handsome brother was a spitting image of their grandfather with his height, hazel eyes and short black hair and olive complexion. Saratu, being the eldest daughter was born too quickly so she hasn’t enough time in the womb to copy all the characteristics of their mother. Her mother raised her head and looked at her, then cleared her throat slightly. Here is a list of what to buy, the mother said as she handed her the lists of items to be bought from the market. Saratu collected the list and looked at it briefly. They exchanged glances with sweet smiles as she made her way for the door. As she was going, she folded the list and put it in her handbag. Till I come back Ma she said with a grin over her shoulder. Safe journey my astonishingly stunning daughter, she said with a happy voice, laughingly looking at her as she walked away. She kept staring at her with some thoughts. I am optimistic she will soon find a lovely man of her dream, the mother said quietly as her back disappeared from her sight. Saratu headed for the bus station clattering along the gravelly pavement. Escaping down the road, out of the quiet house into the amazingly noisy traffic, Saratu was now been escorted by her own thoughts. She crossed the wide road to join a bus queue which was a bit longer as the bus which was supposed to have come before this time had a mechanical fault and therefore there was a backlogged of passengers. Saratu looked up at the passengers waiting for the bus and closed her eyes momentarily, fervently wished for the bus to arrive in time as she joined them in breathing the air at the station. Her face glittered in the late evening sun. She let her eyes to roam at will upon opening them. There was nothing much to see really, aside from those waiting for the bus and the busiest traffic all around them. And far and near, the pedestrians at various points in the streets, who were going on their normal businesses. Her eyes suddenly drifted to a bus going down Simpank road. When the bus was out of sight, she returned herself to her immediate environment. One middle aged man was trying to hold her interest by smiling sheepishly at her, but she ignored him as she turned her head away and then opened up her handbag, looking at nothing in particular inside it. She did this all in an attempt at putting the man off. She kept her eyes there, as she glanced at the man with the angles of her eyes. The man realised she had no interest on him. He could tell by her action. But he didn’t want to give up very quickly on her. He tried what he could do, even coughing and clearing his throat loudly, something he hadn’t done before in his life. Saratu knew it was a deliberate act to make her look up in his direct. She suppressed a convulsive laughter as bouts of guffaws hit hard deep inside her abdomen. She fumbled inside her handbag to make it look like she was seriously searching for something. She was even murmuring something in her mouth with some tightening of her face. But looking at her carefully on the face, you could see it was full of concealed laughter. Right from the very first moment her eyes accidentally fall upon the man, her heart had no tinniest interest on him. Saratu didn’t like anything from the man, even the nice suit he wore. The man was gorgeous and attractive. It was really very strange to the man for Saratu not to have even the tinniest interest in him. He couldn’t remember when a woman had refused to look up at him the way Saratu had done. That’s the irony of life sometimes when you think you deserve more of something from someone, but couldn’t even get the tinniest of it. Sometimes women had some stupid behaviour towards men when they didn’t like them. Saratu continued to fumble with her hand in her bag as she waited in the queue for the bus. The memory of the embarrassing neglect Saratu had plastered on the man will surely lingers in his mind for many more weeks. He was still thinking and imagining what really put Saratu off from his assumed attractive nature. When a woman didn’t care less about a man, there’s virtually nothing he could do to draw her attention to him. Women are very crazy animals but sometimes they behaved very stupid and idiotic too. And once they didn’t like a man, they didn’t like him and there’s nothing anybody could do to convince them. It was only when a woman saw that time was running out on her that she will do everything inhumanly possible to hook any man in his stomach.

CHAPTER TWO

T he place continued to swell up with more passengers. Young and old people were waiting patiently at the bus station. The older people looked a bit shagged as their faces looked gloomy in the late evening sun. Buses to other routes were plying the road as many pedestrians were heading towards the town centre. Many people living along the route supply by the delay bus service were returning home on foot. Normally these old people had company, but as they were now going to use public transport, their dogs weren’t with them. When they are using their personal cars, they usually had places reserved for their family pets. Saratu was still bending her head down with her hand still in her bag, but there wasn’t much rummaging inside it now. Slowly and gently, she rubbed her right eye with the back of her forefinger. She was just praying for the bus to come so that she could disappear from the place. She then yawned and raised her head up briefly, looked away a few distance and returned her gaze in front of her. Her eyes fall on a big naked seed of a huge oldest tree standing right at the station, as she started playing with it, rolling it under her foot. After a few minute of great determination to break the seed with her foot failed, she chuckled and then raised her head up once more looking at the oldest tree, starting from the bizarre highly exposed buttress roots, to the hard scaly trunk, its jowled neck and up to its crooked straggly branches like hair of an orphan who badly need shaving. The tree had red, yellow, brown and not so pure green leaves and kinky twigs. Saratu looked at its hard spine with ragged scales like that of a tilapia. The body had numerous lumps of different shapes and sizes. The tree had seen many, many seasons and its life is more inclined to the left than to the right, Saratu thought. Many of the straggly branches were dying up and Saratu thought it won’t live for another two seasons. What on earth doesn’t get old and die she said quietly to herself. Life is like a drug prescribed to a patient by a medical doctor, when you finished the years prescribed to you on earth you quickly disappeared. This very thought made Saratu to look at the older people at the station. She shook her head gently. Very few trees around could slightly come much closer in years to this oldest tree. All around where her eyes could see, she couldn’t see any tree as old as this one at the station. She briefly took her mind away from the tree and it escorted her eyes to look at almost everyone that was at the station waiting for the bus. Those who had been there for long clearly wore frustrated faces. Many people were sitting down, including the man who was trying to draw Saratu’s attention on him. Mr want-to attract attention is tired Saratu said quietly with a chuckle. Saratu looked at her watch when one bus drove passed. Today was quite different and strangest for most people as they had never experienced any delays like this in years since the ministry of transport and transport departments in the state and councils were reformed. For the older people, no matter how long it will take for the bus to arrive, even if it’s some million years, they will still wait for it because they had free concessionary bus tickets and besides, they had nothing special to do where they were going, other than going for shopping. They are all retired and now on older people’s benefit. So, now it’s time for them to go from shops to shops on free transport to fill their leather bags with anything their hands fall upon in shops and return back home. The remaining part of their lives now is for eating and entering buses to wherever their old minds gave them on free concessions. Saratu had wished to go and buy everything fast and return home in time, but that wish is now out of the equation. But as it was now, it didn’t matter to her. Life, this life Saratu thought, one had to admit sometimes whatever comes their way and has to take the rough with the smooth. Saratu surreptitiously threw a last glance at the man who was now sitting with his face in his palm, eyes closed and obviously appeared exhausted from his day’s work. She felt pity for his state of the moment. Seeing him in that state, Saratu quickly threw away the thought about him and concentrated her mind on waiting for the bus to arrive. She had closed her bag and it was now hanged on her left shoulder. A sharp feminine voice suddenly arrived at the bus station as almost everyone raised their heads to look to the direction it was coming from. Ooohohho, come on Gbegs some nice gist for you, Dirbong, a young cute lady coming to join the queue shouted. Saratu flicked her hair backward, turned her head and stared at her as if she had wanted to say something to her as her lips vibrated momentarily. Saratu chuckled, shook her head and turned her eyes away, to look at the direction from which the bus will come. The young lady continued to call on her friend as she approach the station. Irritated by the incessant calling and the sharp voice, Saratu angrily turned her head and looked at her again. Of course, not bothered by the number of eyes hitting on her exquisitely attractive face and sexy eyes, she continued. She saw Saratu staring at her and she turned her head away with slight seething in her heart. Where have you been the whole day yesterday, I didn’t see you yesterday; she said her voice low now. I have been longing to pass an interesting gossip to you. You are terribly missing what is happening in town. It was the latest romances and romp in town, she had wanted to add. Dirbong was bent on telling her friend what was happening in town, you know what, she continued as she approached the line. Still, she wasn’t deterred by the kinds of eyes that were looking up at her. There was no shame or fear on her face, not even a hint. It was the crazy gossiping of young women as usual. Saratu turned her head again and looked poisonously at her, but she reasoned that she wasn’t talking to her so there’s no need to do anything. Saratu had seen her before, but there was nothing in common between them that could warrant her talking to her. She shook her head and thought with a carefully neutral voice. She was irritating to her for her twittering voice like a small bird. She hated her extravagant talk in public places like this. She knew she will be one of those quick tongues foul-mouthed types with that her shiny green eyes. Dirbong continued talking as she came. By the time you hear this new gossip you will… you will… she was saying as the other young lady looked at her with the eyes that told her this was not where to gossip. She needs to keep whatsoever gossip in check; lest… When she saw the crooked expression on Gbegmikat’s face she sensed she wasn’t happy with her. She grew cold and her eyes narrowed. Her arrival and her words had caused some angers in some people’s heart as you could see frowning faces looking at her. As she joined the queue they whispered to each other. Ok, I will tell you when we alighted from the bus, she said. Saratu looked at them and hissed. This is what these young girls are always good at—salacious gossips, Saratu murmured. They always had aplenty supplies of gossips. She was furiously telling herself not to show her angers out. Saratu despised gossips in all forms. The bus arrived as the driver grounded the bus to a halt in front of the waiting passengers and all joined it as the two ladies went far to the back seat. They were talking with very low voice and laughing. Saratu could still see them in the central viewing mirror used by the driver to see the passengers in the bus. The bus, after delivering the locals to their various bus stations, finally stopped at the market station and as soon as Dirbong alighted, she started the gossip. The other lady, Gbegmikat looked around to make sure that no one was near them to hear what she will tell her. She’s always very careful when she’s talking about someone, as she does not want to be called tomorrow for anything. Yabyen had found another admirer, Dirbong said quietly. I heard them talking about it yesterday when we were going to Dadur. A man in his thirties, she said. Yabyen was very happy the way she was talking about her new catch, saying that he’s a very kind and handsome man, very fascinating and sexually attractive. Is that what she said, asked Gbegmikat, laughingly. She had gone to a dinner dance with the man and they had agreed to go for a holiday for two weeks at her place of choice. Gbegmikat grinned to herself and shook her head. Women of today are well known for cheap submission to men, Gbegmikat muttered. She’s not interested in serious relationship, I can see. She won’t learn from her past, Gbegmikat said angrily. She had been hurt two or three times by men, but she didn’t care to take her time. She was badly hurt in the last relationship, Dirbong said looking quickly around her. The man was sleeping with her everyday and I learnt she even became pregnant two times from the act, but aborted all. One night nine month scandal… and then it… she’s still asking for more. They said in unison and laughed noisily. At the end of the day the man had gone and married another girl. Which sort of wantonness is that one from a young and beautiful woman like her? The shame of it… ? Which shame, Gbegmikat said, her face crinkled with anger and disappointment. She’s doing that deliberately to humiliate women, Dirbong said. There was no amount of words that her mother didn’t use on her when the second man slipped off her hands. Is this how you are going to continue with your life, this man will carried you today, used and dumped you and then another, another, another, another and another like you are a vehicle for hire? She’s just practising luxury love with lustful men and nothing more. Her mother had chastised her severally, but she will not listen. Her behaviour had brought disgrace on her family. She’s a changeless woman. They chattered away happily as they went into the market. Gbegmikat turned her head sharply as she heard some footsteps behind them. They slowed down to allow the people to pass. If one didn’t take advice one would end up loosing at the end, Gbegmikat said. It’s not your business, that’s usually what many of us would say. Do you see the possibility of Yabyen changing in the future, Gbegmikat asked. For where, that one won’t change again, probably in the next world, Dirbong said firmly. A leopard can’t change its spots. They convulsed with laughter. The crushing down of her second relationship didn’t teach her a lesson. Can’t she sees the scars on her, Gbegmikat said rhetorically. Once you had one episode of sexual experience, you won’t want to stop again, Gbegmikat said with a serious voice. She’s a trollop. Men will continue to leave her high and dry until she wakes up one day to discover that she had passed her menopausal years long, long ago and no man will even want to take her to bed again, even if there are no other women again on earth, she had better take what she got very seriously Gbegmikat said as they hooted with laughter. If that’s what she wanted with her life, then she should just go for marriage of convenience, Gbegmikat said. They increased their laughter. But what worries me was that all her affairs were driven by pure lust. No love lost… it’s a life of waste. She lives a life of today and not for tomorrow, said Gbegmikat laughingly. That’s it, you have said it all Dirbong confirmed. They laughed. I don’t like her simply for relationships of physical attractions, I may say, Gbegmikat said. Looking behind her and sideways, making sure no one was near she said with a quiet voice, have you heard that Mamcit is pregnant and she had refused to tell her parents who the person was? She was involved in multiple relationships and sex like a she-goat so how would she know the man responsible for her pregnancy, Dirbong said as they chortled. She’s one of the floozies, sorry, a flighty we knew in our area so this is bound to happen to her. But that seemed to cause no harm to the reputation of the family as they don’t care. They still walked with their heads up. She said. It all depends, Dirbong, on who you are and more so, not in our society of today. In those good moral days, parents couldn’t stand the disgrace of their daughters having children out of wedlock, but today it’s been celebrated even far better than the day Jesus was born into this sinful world to redeem mankind. Many girls even finished having their babies with different men at home like, thereafter, they only look for any useless person to stay with. Then comes partnership, which many of us couldn’t understand the real meaning as was applied in business that young people would bear uncountable children without undertaking any of the right moral ways of marriage. A young girl will partner with a man or men to manufacture children without getting married. She said laughingly. Everything was all happening upside down and rather faster than we could imagine, Dirbong said. We had moved from devilish to devilishness acts and gross abnormal ways of life. That intricate value of a woman that made men to respect women, at least to a certain extent, had been completely eroded, pure and simple. There was something we wouldn’t understand here, almost everyone is a God-fearing person and those that are more in this disgusting act are the most holies of the holies. More and more young girls were now becoming involved in convoluted sexual relationships with men. It’s nothing but sheer prostitution said Gbegmikat.

Gbegmikat had a fair-haired, pretty face and a light complexion. She had an extravagant structure like a man, strong with brown eyes, well built and tall to fit. But what seemed to be out of order and oddly about her exquisite beauty was her snubbed-nose. Her body was extensively covered with hair as if she was on a special antihypertensive agent, which’s easily noticeable from her hirsute face and hairy forearm. She wore a beard like a man. She’s well endowed, but sexually attractive with lush body. She’s a full four inches taller than her mother. There was a pause as Gbegmikat brought out the lists for the items she had came to buy in the market. Saratu looked over her shoulder for the last time to see them as they were checking their handbags to get ready for shopping. She stopped to check her bag. She looked down inside her bag and there was no doubt in her mind as to what the contents were. She reached out for her own lists of items for the shopping. By the time she reached closer to the market, Saratu, who had been concentrating on finding her shopping lists, and rather enjoying her rummaging of her handbag at the side of the noisy, lively market took noticed of a young man who was looking very keenly at her. She glanced up; a bit startled, seeing a good-looking young man stalking over her obviously about to speak to her, her first reaction was one of slight social panic. Her senses were now working fast and hard to see if she had seen him somewhere before. No, I haven’t seen this young man before she said to herself. Who was this young man and what on earth did he want from me, she thought. Had she ever seen him somewhere? Did he know her or ever seen her, she can’t figure those questions out. She lowered her head and smiled quietly as the thoughts seemed to go on and on and on and on. He looked perfectly respectable and that air of gentleness too, she thought as she looked surreptitiously at him. She had an interest on him. He was well dressed, too, really handsome and I am quite sure he must have a very nice, sweet voice. His irresistibly muscular build and attractive face made an overwhelming impression in her heart immediately. How madly I had loved him already, she said quietly in her heart. Bindul was walking very stealthily like a lion which is stalking its first victim for food. He had great amount of politeness surrounding him. As she stood rummaging into her bag, Bindul advanced towards her. Bindul watched her with hawk-eyed. He was immediately magnetized by her strikingly beautiful nature. She’s really a beauty to die for, he thought. Everything about her was just perfect. She looked incredibly sexy in her fine clothes. She glanced and then resumed to her handbag. She knew from his face that he had an intention to talk to her. And she was ever willing to listen to what he will tell her. She had already made that decision in her heart. The faint whiff of his perfume strode her nose. It smelt very nice and masculine. It left a lasting impression on her as the whiff of his perfume lingered on along the busy tract of her olfactory nerve. Suddenly, she realized she had some talking to do with the young gentleman as he stalked at her like a lion to its victim and still determinedly trotted towards it, not wanting to go without it. She judged his age and magically somehow, she guessed it right and deeper down in her subconscious level, she said unknowingly in her heart; this is the perfectly right young gentleman for my life. Bindul now had an unrestrictive gaze on her as though he were her chief security guard. Saratu tried to gather her concentration, courage, energy, belief and willpower together in one place. He’s desperate to talk to me I can see that very clearly like the nose on my face she said quietly. Anyway, I am not afraid to do that, she muttered and pushing the thought aside as she zipped up her bag and held it on her right hand. She swallowed hard as his burning desire for her grew tremendously as she saw it reflecting in her eyes. She could feel her brassiere literally shrinking tight on her soft round breasts. A quiver passed through her as she felt as if her legs couldn’t support her weight. Her heart was thudding, her heart rate raced. Saratu immediately catches the-never-want-blink and never-want-surrender-eyes of Bindul. I have got to make an urgently very important decision for myself she said deep at the centre of her heart. Would I let him come into my life, he looks very convincing and my heart dearly loves him, she thought very quickly as she watched him coming closer. Her mind gave her no answer, except to tell her it’s your spirit and not your soul that will tell you what to do. Her heart was still pounding, but not with fear and her rate had reached a record high. Her body temperature was markedly abnormal. Just within this few seconds, her entire system had expertly communicated with every cell in absolute confidence. Her heart seemed much happier and longing for him. Her brain, been the general coordinator had fearlessly agreed and endorsed Bindul for her. Bindul had taken the courage to make a beeline for her. His movement towards her made her breath hitched suddenly in her throat. She took a little dainty step forward and stopped. She looked at him and the kind of courage he exuded surprises her as she thought, truth is stranger than fiction. She loved the way he carried himself and the air of courage around him. Bindul trundled closer to her as her mouth fall into a lovely smile. She laughed in her throat as she did everything and locked it there. He trusted in himself. Bindul is average height, black hair and olive complexion, virile and striking features that are impossible to be missed.

Good day, I am very pleased to meet you Bindul said with a fruity voice smiling broadly at her as he came closer to her. She glanced up at him with a dreamy look on her face and continued with rummaging of her handbag. Murmuring to himself he kept moving closer to within reasonable distance that will be convenient for a good conversation. He has the courage of his conviction to talk to her. I had to take my courage in both hands to face her bravely. After all, we are all normal human beings; she’s neither a goddess nor God that had horns or big red eyes like a raging lion that will scare me. He said to himself. Bindul looked at her with unfeigned admiration. He noticed immediately that her eyes were those types that were very quick to smile. Reaching much closer to her he greeted her again in a calm sweet voice. At that point and distance, there was a dangerously malignant temptation in his heart to stretch out his hand and touch her body from anywhere. He valiantly suppressed the temptation. Too early please, he said deepest down inside his liver and asked the liver to detoxify the stupid temptation immediately. She looked up at him as her prettiest face was immediately illuminated by his politely sweet smiles and friendly laughter. Saratu noticed the sweetness of his voice immediately, which automatically confirmed her earlier assumption. She answered with a faint voice fair enough for a normal healthy ear to hear. But there was warmth in her voice. She laughed in her stomach and let out a tiny shy smile from the huge amount she had in her eyes. Happiness flowed through her blood vessels to her heart. Her heart immediately accumulated large amount of smiles, laughter and happiness in its four chambers. She was visibly very timid but confidently optimistic on a fruitful talk with him. In fact, she couldn’t really understand why she felt this way for she hadn’t experienced the way she was experiencing inside her. She had seen many, many young men like him, many of them had displayed attractive behaviour, but his was entirely different. Saratu said deep inside her. But she could swear her heart missed some uncountable beats and told her something a little about him. She flashed him a glance contaminated with smiles and laughter and quickly dropped her gaze to the ground in front of her. Bindul’s voice reverberated into her ears as he stared at her now in silence. It was soft, warm and sweet and charming too. A voice Saratu hadn’t heard from any man. It’s the kind of voice that could win any woman’s heart no matter how stubborn she maybe. A kind of voice that need just few simple words to complete its work, a kind of voice that get the positive answer from a woman at that very instant. What a handsome young man, sweet, very sexy she murmured deep in her throat. Admiringly, with adoring eyes, she watched the graceful way he moved. She glanced surreptitiously as Bindul gave her a devastating smile. Bindul fixed his gaze on her face as she half-closed her eyes. Smiles illuminated her face as laughter glowed in her eyes. Bindul’s mouth fall into a sweet laugh as smiles hovered over his face. Saratu wanted to drag her gaze away from his shimmering handsome face, but she failed woefully. Looking at Bindul to Saratu is much better than watching all the films in her life. Her eyes smouldered with love. The steady looked by Bindul mortified her as she blushed with shame, and suddenly dropped her gaze to her front. I am completely happy and absolutely very grateful to be talking to a wonderful young woman like you. Bindul said softly with the sweetest voice as he broke the silence. There was absolute truth in his tone.

CHAPTER THREE

F or my very poor eyes to just see you alone here today and even without talking to you would have been something very great and pride to me. He said flatly with sincere smiles and laughter on his face. I tell you, frankly with absolute certainty, seeing your not-weather; not-age dependent beauty is a perfectly curable medicine to my heart. Your beauty alone can heal men’s heart diseases. Saratu smiled as she looked up at him adorably, admirably with love filtering into her heart like spring water jetting out from the ground. She felt like dissolving with tears of joy. Every single cell in her body came alive. All the hairs on her body stood perfectly erect. She could feel her senses working earnestly, endlessly like they were industrial machines in active services. She had lost all powers to control her emotion. She could physiologically and biochemically feels the way her system had completely melted down and carried her mind away from all forms of thoughts in life. Her mind was now at zero level and she had no right over her own body. It was like losing her birthright. It’s been purely controlled by Bindul’s fewest anaesthetizing words. Bindul hadn’t started yet, but Saratu’s body had undergone tremendously different biochemical reactions. She saw herself as something else, something she couldn’t even describe on a real scientific perspective—something far, far more than the extraordinary. Her heart was now like that of a one hour old neonate which knew nothing about the earth it had been brought into. She no longer had any immunization for her system-paralysing words that were pouring out of Bindul’s mouth like water from a waterfall. She was now extremely vulnerable. Saratu saw Bindul as a man with very differently unique qualities. Her body had already given the answer and now, it only remains for her mouth to confirm the answer and her heart happily endorses it. He’s waiting for the positive from her at any moment from now. He knew she knew that she was already besotted by him as they looked at each other with undefeated love and greater allurement. They could see the kind of love in each other’s eyes at this very youngest stage. Saratu felt strongly in her heart that he had seen very clearly the words; I am already deeply in love with you boldly written in red capital letters on her glisteningly happy face. There was no way she could hide her feelings and expressions from him—bury her face in her handbag? No, she will end up suffocating herself. She definitely needs oxygen to live to enjoy the love healthily germination between them, walk away from him, no not I her character. She needed him most, she desired him sincerely. He stared lovingly at her as the effect of the stare generated tremendous heat energy into her body. She saw in his eyes he had already possessed her. The heat energy generated in her body had nothing to do with the weather. The sun wasn’t hot anymore and Saratu wasn’t wearing very thick clothes.

This is the time to get a real lovely life with a really authentic man she thought. This is of paramount importance to me like the air I breathe. She said deep down in her heart. Closing her eyes very briefly, she offered a very short quick prayer for success. A certain feeling mixed with happiness flooded into her heart. She felt somehow. She took a little courage with an effort to glance up at him. She had had some admiring glances from men. She had also had some adoring, alluring and most of all very lustful looks from men. Therefore, this very intimidating one from Bindul wasn’t strange to her. But it was completely different, and the few unique things she could see from it inter alia, were its purposefulness or undying desire, its higher possibility of achieving a great positive result and its strong effect on her. She judged his sweetest voice to be purely masculine and carried a determined win, win message. Saratu had had a happy childhood as their mother had pampered them with all her love.

They stared at each other for a while before she finally tore away her gaze with a fleeting smile and looked down at her front. Immediately there was an unfettered love for him in her heart. This is definitely the man for me, she said loudly in her stomach. Her thought quickly flew far, far farthest into the future. She had started thinking about the life ahead of them. Physically strong and very impressive figure with broad shoulders, averaged height and muscular thighs, she could see the hardest bones enclosed by these well developed muscles. She felt within her that if she carries Bindul she will really feel that she was carrying a man that can perform. She saw there was more to him for there were many things she could see in his sexiest eyes. She saw the future as brightest as the brightest star-like bodies in heaven’s paradise. She looked at him again, again but the glittering smiles in his eyes couldn’t allow her eyes to stay longer. She tried very hard to endure but she failed. She could feel him already caressing her with both his sexiest eyes and soft hands. She quickly thought for how long before they could be together in a room. I am very… very… very… and very happy to meet you Bindul sputtered badly before finally said happy to meet you with a soft voice and very calmly. I hope you will excuse my interruption of your programmes he said pleadingly. Saratu shrugged with I am also very happy to meet you here expression on her face. He smiled broadly at her. That’s alright with me; I am not bothered Saratu said with a smile as laughter hovered around the angles of her mouth. Thank you so much Bindul remarked. Bindul began in a pleasant and ingenuous manner with a sweet toothily smile. I am a kind of wondered… and I don’t know really whether you would be kind enough to let me talk to you for just a minute or two Bindul said with concentrated politeness. Saratu burst out laughing, then said, you had already talked to me for more than thirty minutes now and you were still talking to me, so which excuse do you want again from me. Or is it another person you were seeking the permission from she said looking around her teasingly. I understand what you mean she said sweetly in her kindest voice with her face quickly ornamented with smiles and laughter. Are you ready to talk to me now, you can go ahead, I am listening to you. Please have no time to waste; my ears are waiting for your words. She added laughingly. Slouching slowly towards the market, they engaged themselves in a warm friendly conversation. Now the two figures, one averagely tall and straight with virile strength, the other about a full three inches shorter, but whose body was about twice or three times the thickness of a normal male with two outwards growths and voluptuous curves were admiring each other. They are from the same council, but had never seen each other before. It was nice meeting you, you know. I am lucky to meet you here at this time. You are such a rare beauty I had ever seen and talked to. You mean a great deal to me. He said, starting the conversation very strongly now as she turned her head to look at him very briefly. It’s like… I had… well, am I right in thinking we have met before? I am not quite sure, really, but… anyway… whatever the case I am BINDUL . . . and you are… ? He said calmly, staring at her with sweet smiles on the face. She didn’t talk, but was just looking at him as her eyes ran from the longest hair that protruded on his head that morning after combing to the toes. Her eyes and stunningly beautiful face wore smiles and laughter. She examined him critically, admiringly with happiness in her heart. Her eyes finally came to rest on his face and her looks hovered there for quite a while. The name was still hitting her tympanic membrane and whirling around like a whirlpool in her ears. Her brain had released some neurotransmitters for uptake of the name for processing and analysis. Her serotonin level was very high for whatever reason she couldn’t understand. There was abundant love and admiration in her eyes for him and the love for him kept increasing like demand for a precious goods. Saratu’s life seemed to have begun from the very first moment she saw Bindul moving towards her. They looked at each other with covetous eyes. Bindul just smiled as he waited patiently to get her name strike his tympanic membrane. Her stared was purposeful and still the name ringing and whirling like a whirlpool which was waiting for the congested tunnel to allow its passage. The name was been prepared for onward journey to the brain. You don’t want to talk to me again, do you, Bindul asked slowly, gladly with a soft voice. I would have loved to continue talking to you all our lives, but I am cautious you will say this young man talks nineteen to the dozen, he said with a laugh. No, no… and me too, but I didn’t think so, believe me you can talk to me as you like, feel very free she laughed. I am enjoying your conversation and I honestly love that indescribably sweet voice like that a little bird that always sings at our backyard Saratu said flatly, amusingly, laughingly. He laughed. Please tell me your name now, I am pretty sure it will be as sweet as honey or even more than that he said cheerfully, pleadingly. I will, but it’s not easy seeing you for the first time in my life and… and I need time to get it right, she said with a tremulous voice. Smiles and laughter never leave her seductively attractive face. I will do so when I am ready, please she said with an excusable voice with a broad