THE THERAPEUTIC TALKS

She is so scandalous

Smitesh's mind was free today after many erratic days. His heart was not pounding and he could breath swiftly. The sky coincidentally was blue after quite some time. It was raining heavily after Eid al-fitr but now the early days of Autumn could be sensed. His mood was not so autumn before as he was giving his last papers of graduation. The exams started just after Eid and he wrote them amidst heavy rains and black clouds. The last year and school leaving exams were real stains in his academic life. He performed like quite an apathetic student. But, the final year caught up with his expectations and he did really shine. It was not only the academics but he appeared in the college's literary magazines too. In addition, he led his business classmates as the group leader to win Inter-college 'Business idea competition'.Smitesh left college as the apple of English and Business professors' eyes. But, life still lacked something he could not define. It seemed like the melancholy that started during the last two years of school has been perpetuating even today.

Smitesh was watching a video diary of his favourite video creator when he could hear a chariot coming up. The flinging chariot slowed down as it stood a few steps away from Smitesh. He walked up to the chariot and the charioteer gave a formal smile. Smitesh returned a similar smile and put his luggage up on the chariot. The charioteer began riding and Smitesh made himself comfortable. As the chariot started moving, the grieving people inside the big cars smiled and waved at the chariot. Smitesh enjoyed the attention and gave a broad smile. Every time the chariot stopped at traffic signals, kids would interact with the horse in their own funny pidgin. Sometimes, it would seem, they understood each other. Smitesh felt it was the power of love that made them speak and listen patiently. On the other hand, the adult strangers' eyes had the desire to own the horse. They typically saw future with the horse rather than living in the moment. Smitesh was honestly happy today after a long time. It was like he unknowingly had the desire for free air and a horse ride. 

The ninety-minute journey was no fatiguing specially after a self isolation of around ninety days. Smitesh's eyes were ajar throughout. He and the charioteer shared some chicken sandwiches prepared by Smitesh. The journey which began from the urbanised area around Smitesh's residence passed along a long single road engulfed by tall pine trees. The chariot then took a turn and entered a vast area. It was man-made effort from here onward. 

A polished long pavement laid between two Kanchar trees with yellow flowers. It was all grass around the trees. The grass was clean and in standard length, not spawning wildly. One could say that they were trimmed from time to time. The pavement ended and the chariot stopped. Smitesh got out of the chariot and looked at the beautiful ranch styled house before him. The downward sloping crossed hipped roofs with visible fascia and gutter in parts were spread along the house in four different parts, including the attested garage. There were two dormers giving it an archaic look in a good way. Four windows were present along with the main door, The garage had a long shutter with two vintage cars inside. A simple wooden patio with chairs and a long table built with bamboo gave a rural ambience

Smitesh walked slowly in an attempt to surprise his grandparents but the horse's neighing already thwarted it. His grandfather dressed in a white cotton shirt and black half pants walked towards Smitesh, supported by the trusted home helper. The grandmother draped in a long nightie followed her husband. There were big smiles on faces of the people reuniting.

The ranch house was as beautiful from inside as outside. A big parlour had one corridor on the right side. It led to the master bedroom for the grandparents. A guest room was built adjacent to the right side of the master bedroom. The rooms inside had big bay windows except for the normal sliders in the parlour. The stairs for the upper floor started towards the end of the parlour. They opened sideways with the trusted helper's room on the left side and a spacious room for Smitesh on the right. These top rooms had slide windows to their front, visible from the front of the house. However, Smitesh's room had a bay window to the back side and gave a beautiful view.

Smitesh freshened up in the restroom which was situated outside the house. It was always a good feeling to bath and get rid of the travel-weariness. He felt at peace feeling the air swish and being naked. A nudist Smitesh always felt full and happy while being rid of clothes. This probably was the reason he worked on getting a physique he could flaunt. He actually tried keeping the clothes off every time he was alone. It was not always for arousal but the inner feeling of relaxation he knew he felt. He came out of the restroom and gave a quick look at the stable situated beside the house. It had two horses including the carrier of the chariot he travelled in. Some chickens were moving around in the stable and eating the rice grains offered by the stableman. A little servant quarter was built alongside the stable for the gardener and stableman Smitesh had a hearty lunch after the bath. His stomach was overfed in an amount of short time owing to his nagging grandparents. 

Smitesh's post lunch nap turned into a long lay off from the planet Earth. It was probably the sleep every man of this polluted Earth seek. By the time he woke up, fireflies were out there in the woods of the state. He realised he was late enough for his workout but still decided to run a mile in the beautiful main road.Even after being chased after by the old people, he refused to have supper. 

The moon was almost indecipherable but the sky still looked beautiful. Smitesh crossed the gate and the long road less traversed by had a few cars speeding up. The buzz of bees and insects was melody to the ears. He started running at a slow speed and prepared himself for a longer duration. A few bystanders were shooting photos in the beautiful location while daily labourers from the tea gardens were returning home.

Smitesh probably had the best hold on his anxiety after the recent overdose last year today. But, he could still not enjoy the nature as extraordinarily as he could before. The author's attitude towards beauty was somewhat fading. The focus however remained intact while working out.

Smitesh's movement halted in an abrupt manner when he identified a face from far away even in the darkness. He became self aware and hoped the other person's eyes did not meet his. He quietly kept running forward and was confident he escaped her eyes. 

The woman being talked about here was Miss Bandyopadhyay, the English professor of his college. She was most hated and most loved. She was known to have some ideologies and never shied away from giving opinions. She would come to the college wearing half sleeved blouse and tried looking beautiful. Some colleagues opened the blouse with horrendous looks. The same men slut shamed her behind the back.

The college president and those with political affiliations were no different. There were rumours that her husband had a change in his beliefs and ideologies owing to the manipulative propaganda spread by hypocrite Sadhus. They did not sleep together for six months and the hypocrite old man actually had affairs. Smitesh's classmates defined her as a pseudo-liberal. They said that she was actually against God and religion. Further, she was described as a femi-nazi who could not cope up with in laws and relatives of her poor husband. The support for her came in the form of a few girls who were complete different personalities in real life and in social media. Smitesh thus formed no opinion about her himself but hoped that she was a good person.The surreptitious nature of Smitesh presently was not the fear of interaction but an incident. He did grow very much extrovert over the last year but not enough to interact after what happened between them.

When these thoughts were paving their way into his mind, an unexpected runner caught up with him. Dressed in a black sport bra and long track pants, she said with a giggle "Hello! You changed for good, like, very good". A pale-faced Smitesh stuttered "Hello Madam!".