Bare Bones (Short Story)

Bare Bones (part-3)

The men standing next to Yuta were making small talk about the tall coconut trees and how hard it was to find a climber these days. Some occasionally took out a cigarette and asked his fellow small talkers for a lighter. Some winced at the sight of their clay embroidered leather shoes. Apparently, the shoe brands didn't have the Kerala terrain in mind while making them.

The music stopped. Silence suffused into the palatial grounds separated from the graceless clamor of the Queen of the Arabian Sea by a 25m by-road.

It was time for the funeral.

By the time Yuta finished his drink, the coffin was moved outside and people had already gathered around it hindering Yuta's vision. But there wasn't much to see anymore, it was the same process he witnessed at grandma Patricia's when she fell on the bathroom floor and broke her neck or when uncle Nithin crashed into a utility post after a snake got stuck between the spokes of his Royal Enfield. And so Yuta returned back into the deserted house.

The expulsion of human life created a peaceful aura in the drawing-room, the floor had wrinkled mats and the neglected trays had empty glasses and half-eaten snacks.

The Eight legged furry creature still stood watch over the drawing-room in the right corner. On closer inspection, Yuta noticed a gray tablet stuck to its abdomen. It had the size of a, now discontinued, 25 paisa coin.

It was an egg...

Yuta sauntered past the drawing-room and took the stairs to the 1st floor. As his fingers started wrapping around the handle of the bathroom door he noticed some whispers, it would've probably gone unnoticed by the prayers and cries going on outside. The owner of that voice was probably a woman. Again!. But this time it was a man. This conversation among the whispers kept up. Its volume increased as he gently made his way to the bedroom. He stretched his wrist out to reach the doorknob but unexpectedly the knob twisted from the inside and a lady in a ruffled blue saree greeted his eyes. She gave a very brief and surprised glance at Yuta and scurried down the stairs.

"Come in Yuta!"

A voice called him from the inside. Yuta recognized this voice. His knees suddenly froze, he wanted to run away but he couldn't move his legs. The room that smelled like air conditioner and wooden furniture now felt like the Antarctic.

"Come in Yuta!" Uncle Peter beckoned gracefully.

Uncle Peter was buckling his pants in a lackadaisical manner but had stopped when he noticed Yuta at the door. The previous somber expression had vanished from his face replaced by an amused smile.

"Its been a while Yuta. How's my sister?"

Yuta knew better than to look him in the eye. He stood with one leg into the room with his head pivoted to the floor.

"Well. I suppose she's still screwing with foreigners. Some people have very weird fetishes Yuta. Your mother is one of them." Uncle Peter strode across the room with his unbuckled belt dangling on his pants. He reached out to Yuta's shoulder and pulled him inside after which he closed the door. Not forgetting to lock it this time.

"You don't believe it do you? That she fucked a random foreigner and got pregnant with you. I don't!" He laughed hysterically. He held his palms against his stomach probably to prevent it from throwing up the housekeeper's saliva. He slowly muffled his laughter and replaced it by periodical spurts of snickers.

"That's a nice excuse though. Can't tell her family that she fucked her own...". His speech was interrupted by quiet sobs from the boy standing at the corner of the room. His shoulders were shuddering. Yuta tried to maintain composure but his attempts were futile.

"How graceless! Is this what your mother taught you!" Uncle Peter said with a sigh as he ambled to the bed and sat on it.

"It seems you need a lesson in manners. Lisa also lacked manners. I taught her a lot but it seems god took her away from us before I could complete the duty her real father failed to accomplish. Nevertheless, you can be sure that it won't happen in your case. Come here, lets see what we can do." He declared like a dentist after seeing teeth that looked like a public toilet bowl. The doctor knew there wasn't much to be done and he himself personally didn't want to do it but he had to since it's his job. It wasn't because he liked it, he just had to since it's his 'duty'.

Duty...

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Hello guys! Astor here! Here's some of the jargon that you probably didn't know about.

The Queen Of the Arabian sea- its a nickname given to the port city of Kochi.