The Unnaturals . Book 2

Part 2 The Tirade

Chapter 2

The Tirade

Silently those hooded eyes had been watching them for quite some time .

Eyes glittering , nostrils flaring , she stood there transfixed . Unable to move forward , unable to move away , too shocked to move a muscle . After some time , the silent figure dressed all in white , slowly withdrew .

She stood behind an old banyan tree looking at the ground . She listened to the chirping of the cicadas , letting the shock of the earlier moment wash over her . How long she stood there she didn't know . After a while she took a chance and furtively looked at their direction .

Duke and Piku were sitting up , hugging each other tightly . She coughed aloud announcing her presence , allowing them a chance to gather themselves .

Hearing the cough , Duke quickly withdrew from Piku's arms , moved away and stood up .

Piku didn't hear anything . He was still in a daze and loathe to break away from his dreamlike state . Seeing that , Duke gently tugged at his hair and softly said , 'Get up , someone's here .'

Before Piku could react, that someone was upon them . It was Shyama , a widowed distant cousin of Duke's Ma and his self proclaimed second mother .

When her husband died , Shyama was left penniless and thrown out of her home by her husband's children from his first marriage . She was living a life of penury in a temple in Benaras when in desperation she reached out to her only rich relative , Asharani , Duke's mom .

In the letter , she begged for shelter and said she'll do any menial job in return . Duke's mother was expecting her third child then and had her hands full with a boisterous 5 year old Duke and his clingy 3 year old sister , Lilly . She happily agreed and persuaded Duke's father to bring her over as a nanny for the kids .

Shyama arrived , took one look at fair and gorgeous Duke and took him in her arms . In the past decade she had been more of a mother to the eldest kids than their own mother had been .

'Avishek shona , she drawled slowly , using his formal name , in that special voice reserved only for Duke ,'Your father is calling you. ' 

She looked only at him ignoring Piku completely .

She pulled at his arm and said , 'Come quickly , you're all dusty , quickly change and go talk to him. '

Duke headed home , turning back once to take a quick glance at Piku , who was getting up now .

In the grove under the tamarind tree now stood just two people .

Shyama spoke  with her back to Piku .

' What do you think you were doing to him ? '

She asked in a tone that made it clear that she blamed Piku entirely for the scene she'd witnessed .

Piku stood there dumbstruck , too surprised by the hatred in her voice to respond .

'If I ever see you go near him again or so much as touch a single hair on his head, then just see what I do to you .'

Now Piku reacted . Looking down at her from his immense height he said , gently ,

'Mashi , we are best friends . Soul mates . Please try to understand . We are not doing anything dirty . It's not like that . '

Her face twisted and darkened with rage . She now faced him .

'Soul mates ?............. kii ? ' Her tone dripped with sarcasm .

'Since when does a servant become the owner's soul mate ? '

'Have you forgotten your position ? You are a mere servant .. one word from me and your father will be kicked out of the zamindari . '

'Then what ? What will you do ? Go back to East Bengal ?'

'Roam around with a begging bowl in your hands ? You're nothing , a servant's brat . Chakorer po ! '

'Eating off the Roychowdhury families leavings . How dare you think of yourself as Avishek's equal ?'

'You're not even equal to the shoes he wears . Know your place and stay there or else be ready for what I'll do to you and your entire family .'

They stood facing each other while Shyama continued chewing out Piku .

'Trying those ungodly , unnatural things with my child ... I knew the moment I set my eyes on you that you are poison . Dirty , unholy , evil brat ! Brahman my foot . Always following him around everywhere he goes . Trying to spread your poison into him . Well, I won't let it work . I know how to keep a bastard monster like you in your place . '

Having said her piece , she didn't wait to hear Piku's response and just left as silently and swiftly as she'd arrived .

Piku stood  dumbstruck , immobilised with shock . Tears of shame and humiliation were stinging his eyes . He silently agreed with her. Yes , he didn't deserve to touch the shoes on the zamindar's heir's feet .

He knew that .

Wiping his tears he headed home .

The next few days , Piku was racked in misery . 

He was going through the painful discovery which Duke had faced already . 

He realized that he'd passed the point of no return . There was no way for him to go back to being the easy going best friend , just a playmate for Duke anymore .

The mere thought of Duke made his heart thud painfully in his chest . He spent each night in bitter self recrimination for losing control and allowing all his feelings to be laid bare . He faced the bitter bitter truth of the unnaturalness of his feelings towards his childhood friend , his mentor .

He was attracted to him . Longed to touch him . Just the thought of Duke's body made him feel heated . He was frightened by the storm of feelings Duke raised in him . He had no one to talk to . The only person he wanted to talk to was the very instrument of his torture .

He knew that the gap between them was not just of gender . Although that by itself made any relationship between them impossible .

But it was also the unbridgeable social distance . The gap between the master and servant , the mega rich and the landless gentry that his father called himself .

He wondered how he's going to keep this on . In the middle of all the activities of Durga puja , it would be easy to pretend to be busy and ignore Duke . But he was scared of the day the pujas would be over .

'What will I do then ? How will I avoid him then ? '

Nothing made sense . Shyama's humiliating words had become his own inner voice .

'servant', 'poison', 'ungodly ', 'unnatural' , were going round and round his chaotic mind .

He wet his pillow night after night as his heart pounded in his chest and his head throbbed continuously . Each night he spent twisting and turning in torment until finally he passed into an exhausted stupor .

The only person in the Bhattacharjee family who noticed Piku's bloodshot eyes was Rajani , Piku's elder sister .

Piku had no idea that this was a mere beginning . The beginning of something momentous , something overwhelming that would create havoc in his life but ultimately bring him unbelievable joy .

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