Choices

CHAPTER | 2

"Twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five." Gauri counted the coins in her hand. She looked up with a scorn on her face as if she were trying to mock the sun that was encroaching its heat on her. "It's only twenty-five rupees for the past two hours for standing in the signal light."

Gauri counted the coins again and then put them into a small pouch and stuck it inside her blouse. She looked at her best friend and rolled her eyes when she saw that her best friend was only tucking her saree properly before the next signal was to land on them.

"Yes, yes, you look like a princess. Come on now." Gauri pulled her friend into the road when she saw the signal turning red.

Gauri always envied her friend, Madhu. Though she looked more like a man than a woman, the grace that he carried compensated for it. Gauri never could call him as her and some part of Madhu had appreciated it, Gauri mused, for he never asked her to call otherwise.

Madhu was everything Gauri wanted to be. He was smart, beautiful even when he shaved every other day and was content in what he got. Even now, with only a plain saree that was torn at the pallu, Madhu looked more like a heroine than a mere transgender waiting in the signals begging money to fill his stomach.

"Is my bindi okay?" Madhu asked Gauri before they headed to business.

Gauri wanted to yank his hand and make him understand that nothing mattered here. Not how he looked, not how good he was at heart and not even the fact that he had talent. The only thing that mattered was he liked the same gender... as if it were a crime.

There was a time when Gauri had gone to the hotel to ask if she could work there as a cleaner. The pay was good, and she would get to take home the leftovers. What more did she need? But one look at her, the manager of the hotel had thrown her out, laughed at her face and threatened her not to come back.

That was when she learnt that nothing mattered unless you persuaded and was astute in your own way. She had met Madhu only a year ago and she often saw herself in him. The naivety and the ignorance radiated on his face and Gauri made sure that he wouldn't undergo the same ill-treatment that she once went through.

"Madhu," she sighed. "No one cares. Just make sure that you make at least a fifty today to fill your stomach. You know that Chacha will not give you food even if it is only a rupee less."

"I can persuade him." Madhu winked, letting out a playful smile on his lips. Gauri had to remind herself that Madhu was not a man, he was just like her... a hijra who liked men and wanted to dress up like a girl. She couldn't risk having a crush on the guy just because he looked more like one.

Not wanting to get caught, Gauri turned her head away. "That's only with you. What should I do?"

"I'm going to share it with you." Madhu declared generously. "What are friends for? Now, get to business, Gauri. We don't want to lose any customers today."

Gauri chuckled at her friend's declarations. She liked how Madhu was light-hearted even when their living conditions were less than okay. Nevertheless, she was grateful for the company. If not for him, Gauri didn't know how she could put on a brave face every day with the given circumstances.

She vowed that she would stay by his side no matter where their lives took them.

---

The customary two claps usually made men cower with fear, especially when the whole gang came up together showcasing their power of unity.

There were no men who didn't fear them and at times, that thought alone made Madhu feel like he had conquered the world. That he was indispensable and not a weakling.