Pretty Girl In High Heels

Her mother had neatly ironed her school dress late last night. Zeba was intensely adored and pampered by her parents. Today morning while Zeba was putting on the school uniform she felt a weird uneasiness. The knee-length skirt somehow made her feel vulnerable and exposed. Her mind wandered to understand the reason for her averseness to the dress which she had been wearing for the last ten years but her eighty-five billion neurons did not provide an answer. In an instant, Zeba's thoughts deviated to the excitement of joining her friends in this new session of the school where she will be a student of class XI.

Although Zeba had been a student of Benhur school for the last ten years, today she felt excited. She stood in the senior section line exclusively earmarked for the class XI and XII students. Her countenance also radiated her happiness of being the first position holder among girls in the just concluded ICSE examinations. While she stood in the line waiting for the school assembly to start, she silently nodded acknowledging the gestures of her friends which she perceived were due at her academic achievement.

Zeba's thoughts were punctuated by the sudden silence which heralded the presence of the school Principal on the dais. Mrs Simone was a petite character with a voice that exemplified a long career as a teacher. Without taking a moment, she opened the Book of Hymns and on rote started 'Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name………….'. The students standing in columns dictated by their class followed her words line by line. Abstract in her own thoughts, Zeba too followed the routine.

On usual days, the assembly would have dispersed after the prayer but today was the first day of the new session. Mrs Simone addressed the students extolling the virtues of being kind, obedient and honest. Some students paid heed or pretended to do so; some others bided their time. Mrs Simone did not pay notice to what the students did, she continued her prepared speech although speaking extempore. At the end of her address, Mrs Simone congratulated the students who had passed the board examinations and announced the names of the meritorious students. Zeba's heart raced when her name was called out being the first-place holder among girls. Amidst the din of the claps, she heard another name Jawed who got the first position among the boys. Zeba and Jawed walked to the front and stood on either side of Mrs Simone. The students clapped in unison.

It was the second time that day when Zeba felt a tinge of shyness while she stood in front of the school assembly in that white and blue tunic and skirt. Some strange instinct made her feel embarrassed. She made a mental note that she will opt for the school uniform which provides cover to the full body.

Benhur school admitted both girls and boys however the sections were different, it was only in the XI and XII classes that both girls and boys shared a common class. Jawed was happy to be given so much attention in the assembly. By and large, he was reticent in revealing his emotions but today it was difficult for him to hide his glee. Although he had seen that beautiful girl many times during class breaks, today he came to know that her name was Zeba. Standing with Zeba, albeit with Mrs Simone marshalling the distance, Jawed found a strange pleasure filling his thoughts. It was in this backdrop that both Jawed and Zeba felt a bout of excitement when they realized that both were in the same section.

In the academic journey of any individual, classes XI and XII are the toughest. There is a quantum jump between the standards of the X and XIIth classes. Zeba also realized this hard fact quite early. She was always burdened with work and had the lingering burden of living up to others' expectations in view of her stupendous performance in previous board examinations. She realized that Jawed was very bright, invariably he was always the first one to answer questions in the class. Although direct communication was still far too infrequent, Zeba harboured a silent admiration for Jawed.

Besides acknowledging her intelligence, Jawed found Zeba an attractive girl. There was something in her which was infectious. For no obvious intention, Jawed found himself fabricating trivial reasons to court Zeba in conversation. Jawed's mind, however, was still baffled why he had developed a longing for Zeba.

Benhur School every year celebrated its annual day on July 5. This year was no different. The school administration had informed the students about the forthcoming festivities. Students from every class had prepared cultural programs for the event. The school administration had given the responsibility of anchoring the event to Zeba and Jawed.

As part of the run-up to the upcoming event, there were numerous situations when Jawed interacted with Zeba. After a few awkward episodes, Zeba found Jawed to be a good-mannered shy boy. Jawed too looked forward to his practice sessions with Zeba.

The Annual day had arrived, and the guests were taking their seats. The dais was shielded by a heavy curtain. Jawed and Zeba, still seated in the green room, we're ready to take their place before the mike once the curtain was raised. These were anxious moments. Both Zeba and Jawed were busy replaying their lines in their mind. The minutes passed very slowly, Jawed glanced towards Zeba, he realized she looked pretty in those black trousers and white shirt with a loose tie. Jawed's sight caught a glimpse of her feet which sported a silver anklet and the golden thin-strapped high heels. He realized that as part of the school uniform girls always wore black shoes. For a moment his eyes got transfixed to those lovely feet in high heels. Zeba's basic instinct prompted her that she was being looked at. She looked towards Jawed. As if on cue, she asked 'Jawed what are you thinking. Jawed, with his eyes still riveted to the anklet sitting softly on the delicate feet, said in a soft voice 'your feet are beautiful'. Zeba's gaze met Jawed's sheepish eyes. She blushed. The clock struck 2, someone entered the green room and signalled to Jawed and Zeba. The curtain was raised and the annual function started. 

Zeba and Jawed lived up to their academic reputations in the Class XI annual examinations. Jawed got the first position with Zeba in the second spot. Class XII was even more hectic than Class XI. Most of the students had joined additional coaching classes and were preparing for competitive examinations. Jawed had also enrolled for a reputed coaching and his attendance in the school became erratic.

Academic preoccupations played heavily on both Jawed and Zeba. Time flew fast, the class XII examinations were around the corner and the students skipped classes to prepare for the board and other competitive examinations. The extreme pressure of studies provided no time for students to divert their attention to friendships. In due course, Jawed and Zeba also lost touch.

Jawed qualified for the JEE examination and got enrolled on a B Tech course at a college in Hyderabad. Losing the comfort of home coupled with the demands of the course left Jawed with little time for himself. His new friends provided solace to his needs for extra academic endeavours. Zeba became just a relic of his memory.

Zeba's life had fewer twists and turns. After passing the class XII board examination, her parents were of the view that it was not advisable for Zeba to go to another city. Zeba got admission into the undergraduate course at Allahabad University. She too found new friends and within no time forgot the days spent at Benhur school.

Three years is a small time for a teenage girl enjoying the relaxed atmosphere of university life after a gruelling twelve years of convent discipline. Zeba passed undergraduate and got herself admitted to a master's course in Psychology. On the academic front, while Zeba was learning the theories of Sigmund Freud and Jean Piaget, nature was also playing its role in making Zeba fulfil the purpose of life. Zeba looked prettier than ever. Her perfectly chiselled physique made her stand out from her peers.

While Zeba was still in university, marriage proposals come flooding to her parents. Her parents had discretely tried to read Zeba's mind regarding her inclination. Zeba was steadfast in her stand, she wanted to finish her studies first. Her parents, therefore, put on hold any marriage plans till Zeba completed her M.A.

Zeba did exceedingly well in the final examinations. It was just fifteen days past her examination result that one evening her mother confronted her with biodata and photographs of three boys. Ostensibly Zeba didn't react. Although she shared a very friendly relationship with her mother but discussing a future mate in an open conversation was too preponderous. Zeba's mother realized her daughter's discomfort and left the room leaving the photographs and the biodata with Zeba.

Even in a solitary setting, Zeba found a strange awkwardness in looking at the photographs and the details. In times of digital manipulations, every photograph looked straight from a glossy fashion magazine. The biodata also provided no clear understanding of the answers that Zeba's brain wanted in its endeavour to fulfil the evolutionary instinct of mate selection. After the initial cursory look, Zeba went through the profiles again. Her eyes caught sight of one photograph which ignited a far-fetched memory deep inside her brain. Despite an unfaithful faint resemblance, Zeba could not piece together why her mind singled out this photograph. She went through the biodata and realized that the boy was three years older than she was. The boy was self-employed and had a big business. They lived in an adjoining city. It was on the third attempt that Zeba's mind retrieved the memory and she recollected that the photograph with the biodata lying before her on the bed was of Amir, who almost two decades back used to go on the same rikshaw to school while Zeba was in lower classes. A faint smile crossed her lips. She started recollecting how they used to fight for the best seat on the rikshaw. Amir evoked fond memories.  

Subsequent formalities did not take time. The marriage was fixed and hectic preparations started. With age on her side and the excitement of marriage, Zeba looked like a beautiful princess. There were many pre-nuptial festivities. The Haldi ceremony was underway. Friends and relatives, as part of the custom, were applying curcumin paste on  hands and feet of Zeba. With eyes half shut due to a myriad of strange emotions, Zeba was enjoying the moment. Someone straightened her legs and exposed her ankle. Zeba's eyes caught sight of her feet bathed in turmeric water. She closed her eyes, out of nowhere a memory flashed before her closed eyes. She was sitting with Jawed in the green room waiting for the curtain to rise. Jawed said 'your feet are beautiful'. Zeba's mind replayed the memory, the ensuing cacophony inside her mind and outside made Zeba open her dreaming eyes. She realized her friends were singing in chorus the Sapna Awasthi wedding song 'banno teri ankhiyan….'.

Zeba was married a few days later in a glittering ceremony. In golden sherwani and sporting a stubble beard, Amir looked dapper. Zeba wore an embroidered designer lehnga and in those pencil high heels encasing henna highlighted feet, she completed the perfectly blended married couple. With tears in the eyes of her parents, Zeba departed to her new abode.

Almost a thousand kilometers away in Hyderabad a new beginning was being scripted in the life of Jawed. After successfully completing his B Tech course he had joined a few small enterprises but continued his efforts for a government job. Today he received an email which brought him joy, a rare commodity in his life ever since he had lost his parents in the COVID wave the preceding year. He read the email several times, not that he did not understand its contents but because the contents gave him a reason to be happy. The email said that Jawed was being appointed as an Engineer in Konkan Railway and that he had to report at the Headquarters in Vasco de Gama in fifteen days.

The job in Konkan railway was professionally very satisfying for Jawed. Voluntarily he would work extra hours. One reason for his dedication was also because he had few distractions. While colleagues coaxed him to enjoy the Goan nightlife, he was contended to stay in his flat with books as his companion.

A month had passed while Jawed had been in Goa but he had not yet been to the famed beaches of the land. He made a mental note that on the next weekend he would take a taxi and visit the Calangute beach in North Goa.

Zeba was enjoying every bit of her married life. She was extremely pampered by her in-laws. While Amir was constantly busy with his business engagements, it was the insistence of his parents who had put their foot down to make Amir take a break and plan a honeymoon with Zeba. The couple decided that the best destination would be Goa. Flights and hotel were booked. With dreams in her eyes, Zeba embarked upon the journey to her honeymoon, recollecting all those stories from Mills and Boon which she had read as a teenager.

It was Saturday morning, Jawed woke up late. He had slept long this weekend. Even at 10 am his eyes wanted to go back to the dream which he was experiencing some time back. In dream, Jawed had gone back in time when his father took him to Benhur school for admission as a toddler in KG. In the next moment, he found himself playing cricket with friends. He vividly dreamt of the Benhur Annual function which he anchored with Zeba. While Jawed lay in bed lazily on that October Saturday morning, his mind went into slideshow of events of the past. He wanted to pause the slideshow while his mind reached Zeba's timeline. The phone rang and the taxi driver announced that he would be coming in an hour. Jawed jumped from the bed and started getting ready.

It was already night when Amir and Zeba checked into the luxury Le Meridien Goa near the Calangute beach. After dinner they decided to have a stroll, the smell of sand and sea was already in the air when they stepped out of the hotel. All roads pointed out to Calangute beach which was just a few hundred meters.

After a lazy breakfast at the hotel, the next day, Amir and Zeba decided to visit the famous Calangute beach. Amir changed into a Bermuda while Zeba slipped into a yellow t-shirt and loose jeans. They decided to walk to the beach.

Jawed reached the Calangute beach just before afternoon. The beach was crowded with motley visitors. A group of youngsters, probably part of a school excursion group, were playing beach volleyball. Interspersed in the crowd were many couples in various age brackets. It was not difficult to spot the honeymooners, unabashedly they threw caution to the winds while expressing emotions. There were others who were middle-aged, sitting quietly hand-in-hand listening to the sound of waves. Jawed aimlessly walked at the edge of the water. The sand was now getting hot. He got bored. The hot sun had made him thirsty and he decided to visit one of the restaurants just opposite the beach before moving on to another beach in north Goa.

The far table at the Tropicana Drink House offered a good view of the beach. Jawed ordered a lemonade and sat, his eyes following the sea waves in their synchronized dance on the sandy beach. Jawed realized this motion of waves was timeless, it must have begun billions of years back when the earth came into existence. Legions of mankind have viewed this natural phenomenon in awe, mesmerized by the beauty of the water and serenity. Through the glass walls, Jawed saw a couple walking toward the restaurant. His eyes again wandered towards the natural beauty. The second time his sight caught the couple, he felt as if his mind was searching for some lost memory. The couple was now at the door of the restaurant. Jawed recognized the girl. Even in those large sunshade eyeglasses, she was unmistakably Zeba. Jawed missed a heartbeat.

The new couple took a seat in the other corner of the restaurant. It was apparent that they were newly married. The girl sported bright henna on her hands extending up to the forearms. Jawed realized that Zeba had grown into a beautiful girl, although she was fuller than what his memory had in store, her face radiated the same infectious attraction which Jawed felt when he stood with her on the stage anchoring the annual function at Benhur school. Without reason Jawed's gaze moved down to her feet. The fine grains of yellow sand sticking on the wet feet also could not hide the attraction of the henna tattooed beautiful feet, Jawed noticed the silver anklet on her right feet. Jawed felt his adrenal gland was pumping an overdose of adrenalin.

Jawed continuously looked towards Zeba trying to meet her eye when she looked at him. Zeba, as part of her conversation with her husband, did intermittently look towards Jawed but her countenance showed no signs of acknowledging any acquaintance. Jawed was perplexed, his mind was still in denial with the fact that Zeba would not recognize him even in such close proximity.

Although the distance between the tables was such that it was difficult to overhear but Jawed sensed that Zeba and her partner were about to leave. Jawed saw Zeba take out a few papers and an assortment of cards from her bag. She wrote something on a piece of paper and then put the paper again in her bag. Nobody paid any heed, but Jawed's eyes caught the sight of a small paper falling on the floor while Zeba stuffed other papers in her bag. Jawed's second lemonade was about to finish. He saw the couple pay the bill and leave the restaurant.

While Jawed paid the bill and moved towards the exit, he passed the table where a couple of minutes before Zeba was sitting. His eyes hit upon a piece of paper lying upside down below the table. Jawed hesitated but on second thought could not resist picking that piece of paper. It was a hotel address card of Le Meridien. On top of the card someone had written 'Amir Siddiqui, room # 305".

Zeba's mind was getting confused. She was still not sure whether she should have acknowledged Jawed in that restaurant. She had recognized Jawed as soon as she had entered the restaurant, she also knew that Jawed was continuously looking at her. All during her stay in the restaurant she was conscious of Jawed's presence, her decision to remain oblivious was dictated by the presence of Amir. Zeba was uncertain how Amir would react to Jawed. Zeba debated within her mind whether her action of dropping the hotel card was a correct gesture.

It was dinner time, Amir and Zeba had a wonderful candlelight dinner. It was while they were having dessert that Amir received a phone call from home. Listening to the call he turned pale. The call was certainly not a positive sign. Amir told Zeba that their father has had a heart attack and that they needed to reach their city as fast as possible. The hotel managed to get the booking on the first flight from Goa to Varanasi next morning. Amir and Zeba checked out of Le Meridien early morning and boarded the flight back home.

Jawed also could not sleep. Zeba's memory kept haunting him. Before he dozed off, he had already seen that Le Meridien card a hundred times. He debated a thousand options why Zeba had discretely given him a clue to her place of stay. If indeed she did want to meet him, she could have acknowledged his presence at the restaurant itself.

Compared to Saturday, Jawed did not sleep long the next day. He woke up still confused. All his academic achievements failed to provide him an answer to his current situation. Without any outward reason, Jawed got ready and hired a taxi to the Le Meridien hotel. It was 9 am at the reception when Jawed reached the hotel. His steps were heavy and his speech a notch better than a slur. In a tone alien to his ears, Jawed asked the receptionist whether he can meet one Mr Amir Siddiqui booked in room # 304. Professionally the receptionist typed a few strokes on the computer and told Jawed that Mr Amir and his wife had already checked out early morning. Jawed felt a bout of melancholy. Although he knew Zeba was already happily married, a strange instinct made him yearn to meet her. Jawed was about to leave the reception counter when the receptionist asked him whether he was Mr Jawed. Without understanding the reason for this question, Jawed said 'Yes'. The receptionist handed him an envelope saying that Mrs Amir Siddiqui had left this envelope while checking out. She had instructed that if Mr Jawed comes to the hotel, the envelope may be given to him.

Jawed, with a thousand emotions swirling in his mind, took the envelope and walked out of the hotel. He found a secluded spot under a tree. Gingerly Jawed opened the envelope. Inside the envelope there was a silver anklet and a piece of paper on which somebody had written 'SORRY".