ANIKAA & THE ESCAPE- BOOK 2 OF ANIKAA SERIES

THE NIGHT

"Rachel dear, have you ever seen a group of baboons ambling in shorts-by the beach?" asked Anikaa in a sincere tone.

"No," said Rachel, amused.

"Look ahead. You'll witness the implausible of this world."

Rachel rolled over on her lounge chair and chortled. In front of them, the whole Kapoor family- Nishant, Malvika, Naina, Avinashh were clicking pictures in different poses. Naina was donning a just-for-name black bikini; while Nishant, Avinashh and Malvika were wearing shorts in god-forbid colours.

"And, here comes my brother who can't resist the temptation of clicking a groufie with the overzealous baboons," said Anikaa in a singing tone.

Rachel chuckled again as Nishant beckoned Prashant to be part of the pictures.

It was just a week ago, when Malvika called Shireen with a proposition of a combined family holiday of Mehras and Kapoors giving her cliché line- "After all we are going to be one big family." Anikaa, after much cajoling by Shireen, her mother agreed to be part of the gathering. So, here they were sitting in the middle of surreal white beach overlooking inviting turquoise sea in one of the most picturesque places in Asia- Maldives.

"Is Naina wearing anything or am I in need of specs?" asked Rachel, lifting her shades for a better look. "I'm glad there are no paparazzi here. With that scrap of cloth she is going to attract every male eye on the island," she said peering at Naina with total contempt.

"I must say I'm impressed with Naina- quite resourceful she is," said Anikaa giving one of her characteristic- I-know-everything smile.

"Mam, why do I get the feeling that you know something?"

"Because I do. I overheard Naina and Prashant yesterday- she was persuading him to have a mini honeymoon over here," said Anikaa covering her face with a wide-brimmed beach hat.

At once, Rachel got up and took off her shades to look at Anikaa's face. No she was serious. Whatever, it was but Rachel was certainly not prepared for this revelation.

"Relax Rachel. Prashant is an adult," said Anikaa without lifting the hat.

"Did Prashant agree to it?"

"No, I don't think so. He is a bit conventional in these things. And, that's why Naina is trying her best to seduce him."

Now it all made sense to Rachel- why the bikini was so embarrassingly small? Why Naina is giving hot shots to the camera and the hell why she is going in the sea?

"But, they will be married in next two months. Can't she wait?"

"On the contrary, they will be married in two months. They should hurry up," chuckled Anikaa.

"You're not serious?" said Rachel with an incredulous gasp.

Anikaa straightened up removing the sun hat from her face.

"If Naina wishes to experience love with Prashant before marriage then it's absolutely acceptable to me. First of all they would know each other better; secondly they can improve the love between them and thirdly, if they are not compatible they can move on."

"God! I don't believe you are advocating sex before marriage."

"It is a ubiquitous phenomenon. Why? Do you think Karan is a virgin?"

Rachel blushed at Anikaa's comment, thinking about her relationship with Karan Sturrock who she was dating for last two months in which they kissed once. Their one time kissing can also be attributed to their long-distance relationship as Karan lived in New York and had made only three visits to India so far. However, would she be comfortable if Karan wants to take their relationship further? Yes, she was quite reserved about sex as she was born and brought up in an orthodox family where, girls were not educated after an age of 18, love before marriage was a sin and sex was unimaginable. In fact, everything except breathing was a big no for girls in her community. But she changed. With Anikaa, her life changed, she looked at the world without a crystal ball. There were no rules, no guidelines, and no restrictions. Anikaa Mehra gave her the life that every girl would die for. So, here she was lolling in a pink bikini in middle of Maldives beach but sex before marriage? No, that was still a big step for her.