He deboarded the metro train unsure, indecisive. Walking up the escalator with reluctant steps. His conscience mocked him, berated him for what he was about to do. He carried on, he had decided to do away with the frustration for once. As he walked out of the station the sun had just set, the white disc evening moon could be faintly spotted in the mirage of hues that was the dusk sky. He took the turn he had never taken before and walked along the narrow bylane. Bustling with activity as was the custom in the old city, he saw numerous stalls n carts selling everthing from daily essentials to apparel to food to electronics. He spotted a shady little chemist shop in a corner.
As he walked back from the chemist further onto the road, it widened. The sky grew darker and the air, chilly owing to the december winters. The CFL tubelights and LPG Bulbs came on from the adjoining establishments. To his left was the Ancient Gateway of the city basked in the milky white moonlight, to his immediate right, his destination for the night. The street. Abuzz with primetime activity, the street. He shuddered once again, a violent shake in the legs and arms. He slowed his steps but continued to walk tilting his head upwards looking at the tiny windows of the old time shackles. Women stood at the windows wearing loud clothes, louder makeups smiling through the blackened teeth. Did he really want to do this? Yes, for all he had endured guilt was a small price to pay. But a significant price nonetheless. He continued to walk when a voice struck him from behind, "600 Your Age, Right now". He didnt want much choice, how would that have mattered anyways. Averse to speaking too much, he nodded at the man. The man led him across the road to one of the many dark staircases. His heart his mind felt as dark and shady as that staircase that took him to a hall occupied with a couple of ladies sitting on chairs and a toddler playing about on the floor. As the man ahead of him smiled at the ladies, he was escorted into a tiny box of a room. Painted a meloncholy blue on all four walls, the room was barely high enough for him. The only furniture inside was a rickety bed made of wooden planks topped with a thin mattress and a soiled multocolored sheet. The man took his tip n left while he sat on the bed unsure of why he was here in the first place. Did he not always despise this entire setup? Pledge to keep a personal distance from it all through?
He ignored the shreiking questions in his head. The door opened again a girl about mid twenties in age walked in. A very ordinary face, dark complexioned but overdosed on some cheap perfume. Clad in a dirty green salwar suit, adorned with bright red lipstick and dark kohl laden eyes. She came and sat down on the bed next to him.
This was it, the moment he had dreaded, ever since he had decided to do it. The moment of truth. His first time ever at getting intimate with someone, and in this despicable fashion. With someone, for whom it was her profession to gratify, her bread and butter per se. But his decision had been final ever since it was first made. He had decided to do away with the frustration for once, the frustration of being the nice guy.
No words were exchanged, none were required. They both stripped out of their clothes while he turned around to slip on the protection he had come prepared with. As he turned back around to face her and took a look at her true female form, his mind sprinted over to someone else, someone he knew more closely. Closing his eyes, his mind fixed on a different face, he held the woman in front of him, in his arms and kissed her deep and hard on the lips. Exactly like he had wanted to do to her. A wish that never realised. The passion in his kiss made his paid companion forget for a moment that she wasn't her, for an extended moment she forgot her existence and became her. As she joined in his ecstacy, a drop of water formed in the corner of his eyes and words escaped his lips, "I love you". The kissing did not stop nor the woman spoke back . The tears from his eyes continued to flow. Amidst his tears and their maddened tongues wiggling hungrily inside each other's mouth, he lay her on the bed while she opened her legs for him. Slowly he entered her and for the first time ever, felt for himself the divine union of a man and a woman. Her name escaped his Lips. The silent tears flowed out harder this time, while he continued to slowly stroke deeper into her, his lips glued onto hers. Occasionally he spoke in an unidentified ecstacy, rambled, "You know I had always loved you, the shape of your eyes, the warmth of your fingers around mine, your smile, the twinkle in your eyes, your mere presence was all i desired, was all i lived for". His voice began to break. As his strokes got more brisk so did his ramblings, "I wanted you to stay, get old with you" "Despite everything, I wanted you to stay". Many ramblings later, He climaxed. And everything stopped as meaninglessly as it had begun.
She had stayed still all through tha act like she was used to it. Like it meant nothing to her
Not willing to face her again, he looked away as he dressed up. She sat up on the bed saying nothing.
Fishing his wallet out of his pocket he placed the money on the same bed and left without as much as a glance.
She sat there on the same bed thinking about the person she was, before she finally picked up the money and put it in her bag. Later She went up to the bathroom to cleanup for her next client.
He walked down the same flight of stairs, back through the same busy street abuzz with primetime activity back to the same metro station without a single thought.
Had he got rid of his frustration?
He had tried..
