Aboli

Part 1

"Sanyukta, pay attention to your lunch, it is getting cold." Anju tried to talk sense into her daughter who seemed lost in thought, probably plotting some more mischief for her amusement. "I am already done Ma!" She declared triumphantly, showing off her empty plate. "But you had an unfinished chapati in the plate when I last looked." Her mother was puzzled. "It's already eaten, please now can I go out and play? She pleaded, rushing to rinse her plate off, and then running off to the back of the house to feed the chapati hidden in her pocket to the cow tethered to the shed. "But you still have to do your homework." Anju called out to her. "I finished it all in school itself. I promise I will study once I am back from play." Without giving her mother a chance to reconsider the proposal the girl ran off to meet her friends Parth, YoYo and Jiggy.

The plan was to try and steal some green mangoes and guavas from the Shekhawat gardens. The brain behind the scheme was obviously Sanyukta, she was the most devious of them all, and presided over all the mischief they hatched, being resourceful enough to squirm out of a tight spot just in time before being caught. Her mother tried to talk her out of the crazy schemes she was always spinning, reminding her that she was a grown girl now, and that she needed to stop running around the neighbourhood chasing snakes and stealing fruit with the band of her ragamuffin friends. All the kids came from ordinary backgrounds, except for Parth, who was the most decent of the lot, the younger son of Harsh and Renuka Shekhawat, and sibling to Randhir, the Shekhawat first-born. Parth was too attached to Sanyukta to object to the raid of fruit from his own home garden.

"Sanyukta, the plumpest mangoes are on the tree in the back, the one which stands outside Dada's bedroom. But the trouble is Dada must be home now, we cannot throw any stones without being caught. We will have to climb to pluck the fruit. And we boys are too heavy to scale the tree, you give it a shot." Parth came up with what looked like the optimal solution. She did not want to admit that she was fine with the climbing, it was coming down that was the problem. Instead she just asked YoYo to try first, to avoid having to go up herself. They tried to haul YoYo up but met with limited success, he kept slipping back. Finally with consensus, they pushed Sanyukta up till she managed to get a grip around the trunk and using a short stick she began dropping the fruit that the boys deftly caught to avoid making a sound. Unfortunately a large cluster of fruit broke off causing a commotion.

On instinct the boys turned around and fled, leaving their leader stranded helplessly. She had not expected this, and she did not want to exhibit her panic as she struggled to find a way to get out of the situation. As she looked down her head started to spin and she clutched onto the branch firmly, trying to keep her eyes shut. She could well imagine the trouble she was in, if the Shekhawats complained to Anju she would surely be grounded. She opened her eyes slowly and  realised that crawling toward Randhir's bedroom was much easier than trying to descend the tree. She muttered silent curses under her breath, promising herself that she would deal with her gang severely once she got safely out of this problem, they were supposed to be there for her, instead the rascals had simply abandoned her to face the music. Come to think of it, she would have done the same had she been in their shoes.

Busy working on an important report on his laptop in his room and having heard the tell-tale sound of mangoes being plucked off, Randhir was startled by the presence of the teenage Sanyukta desperately hanging off the mango tree just outside his bedroom balcony. "Who is it, son? It must be those infernal kids, after the fruit in the garden." His mother Renuka called out to him. "No mother, just some monkeys." He was unsure why he had lied. He could see she was trapped and uncertain how to descend. "Here, take my hand!" He whispered to her stretching across, as she looked at him petrified. Slowly, an inch at a time, she crawled toward him, trying not to look down, until she was near enough for him to grab her and pull into his sinewy arms. Unconvinced that she had landed on safe ground she held him in a tight embrace till he could feel her heart beat wildly against his broad chest.

All these years he had known this little titch of a girl to be a imp, running around making trouble with the neighbourhood gang of boys, including his own brother and wannabe bad boy Parth. As he held her close her touch felt different. He became aware of the gentle swell of her breasts against his own chest before her breath steadied. Her slim body was offset by her well-rounded hips accentuated by her tight leggins. Realising where his mind was headed he distanced himself, looking her in the eye as she defiantly stared back at him, now that her brain had switched off the danger siren. "Where is your gang, did they run off with the fruit leaving you to fend for yourself?" He asked her, with an amused expression on his face. "I have to go, thank you for getting me out of the tree, we will try not to bother you again." She blurted out, as she turned toward his door to exit. 

He gripped her firmly by the wrist, now it was her turn to be startled. "Girl, I hope you are old enough to understand what my people will conclude if they see you leave my bedroom like this. Come, I'll show you the way out through the stairs in the back." He could see the flush on her face as his words sank in, she mutely followed his footsteps as he led her to the exit. "Next time weigh the consequences before you do anything rash. If you want fruit from the garden just ask Parth to get in touch with the gardener. We do not want any limbs or skulls broken here. I am sure Anju aunty will be eager to have you back home in one piece, with all bones intact." He warned her. "That was not why we raided the tree, just for the fruit!" She wanted him to understand how the thrill of adventure mattered more than the prize, but her lips remained glued. Instead she ran back as quickly as her legs could carry her, wondering why she had been unable to express herself before him.