The Touch

It was a cold night, stars filled the sky as pearls split over a black marble, glistening around the moon. I stood at the Mahalakshmi store, near Toto’s cage.

      “Look Toto, who’s back,” I said in elation, playing with the talking parrot. Toto is the most beautiful and clever parrot I’ve ever seen. He is very playful when I am around, he never bites, he only loves. Sometimes Toto tries to pronounce my name but doesn’t enunciate my name properly. 

     “Ky g, jhalis ki ata mothi. Kiti divas tya Toto barobar khelnar?” a lady said yanking my shoulder. “Shobhte ka tula?”

     “Me khelnar, mala avdte karan Toto majha friend ahe!” I answered in a retorting manner, jerking her hand from my shoulder.

     The lady was mad at me, she left making a face. I didn’t care instead, I walked into the store. As I entered the store I spotted a beer bottle placed on a table. The only thought that popped in my mind was that Raghu uncle might have started a new business. Raghu uncle owned this store and was my dad’s closest friend. Whenever I walked past his shop he always smiled at me or every time he visited my house he got chocolates 

For me and my sister.

     “Hey, uncle!” I waved at him.  

     “Kya chahiye ladki?” Raghu uncle sighed. A disgusting smell traveled out his mouth. He was intoxicated. It felt like he was sweating alcohol.''

     “Ek shaving blade and Parle-g biscuits,” I replied holding my breath. Raghu uncle walked to the back of his shop. He had no control over his body, 0 coordination and he stumbled a few times. When he was back he handed me a pack of matchsticks and a pack of Oreo biscuits. When I asked him to give me the stuff that I wanted, he denied it.

     Instead, he looked into my eyes with a wicked smile. I had to accept what he got and pay. While I was paying him for the stuff I purchased, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards him. He brushed his hand against mine, he touched me for the very first time. His fingers ran up and up to my elbow and soon touched my Kurti. The hand that went up my elbow was as rough as a porcupine's body. The coldness of his touch started to expand all over my body, it sent shivers down my spine. I had goosebumps on my hand. Before even he could take his hand inside my Kurti, I jerked his hand and refused to move away. I froze. I felt wrong standing in front of him, all alone by myself at 9 in the night.

     It was hard for me and my mind to proceed from what just happened. At the moment I stood there motionless, darkness accompanied me and the silence was the only witness. It took me about a minute to push myself from Raghu uncle and run away from the niggling place. I ran as fast as I could, leaving all the stuff behind at the counter. I had no idea where I was going. 

     Eventually headed to the terrace of my house from the backdoor, quietly. Locked myself inside the washroom. My legs shivered and my heart ached so badly. When I looked at myself in the mirror, my eyes filled with tears, head about to stop working or maybe about to blast . I wanted that touch to vanish from my body, so I scrubbed my hand with everything available inside the washroom; shampoo, handwash, soap, colgate, and whatnot. Everything remained the same, the cold touch was still present on my hand, it passed from one part to the other part of my body. It was an inevitable experience.

     Everything seems the same, I can still feel 'The Touch' on my hands. I'm left with this haunting memory to cry upon. Whenever my mother asks me to buy some stuff from the Mahalakshmi store, I lie, I deny. I feel like some people grow and move on from their childhood to adulthood. On the other hand there are people like me who never escape their childhood, it is still a part of them which makes them feel safe. The only thing that bothers me apart from that incident is, did I lose my friend, or did I lose the child in me?