I followed her…. She was walking across the jet black asphalt surface which reflected upon her further the pounding sunrays as a perfect business partner to the ball of fire! A calm silhouette of the young maternal figure ambled from one paved path to the next of her locality; gently pushing ahead the perambulator as she hummed a lullaby and walked with equally rhythmic foot-steps…
The intricately painted eyes appraised the surroundings through the seemingly lost maiden demeanour. Protective she was of her bundle which smiled, gurgled, guffawed and giggled to the differing pitches of childish gibber being spoken to him.
The dignified lady metamorphosed into a jabbering kid who could roll on endlessly and keep her small packet entertained. The rosy blush on her pale cheeks enhanced the spectacle of her beam as she lifted her little sachet and quite literally threw him in the air; only to catch him with an even wider grin, arms outstretched so as not to miss her precious catch!
I could see her all through till she suddenly turned and disappeared into one of the lanes….
And I then decided to turn into the super-market to do a quick round of grocery.
I saw her there… Her clutch tucked under the wet, you know what? She performed the perfect balancing act and how! One of the lot of her five fingers connected to the upper limbs clutched as much as it could – a humongous bunch of the not-so environment-friendly polythene with possibly an assortment of all kinds of fresh edibles.
Well, the other hand, turned as if it had been in a sling – balanced as many packs as it could. And yet the brave-heart tried stretching across to pick yet another one. This time it was a bottle of ketchup precariously balanced in the grasp of her two, must say, sturdy fingers.
She did drop her whole load, not to lift it again. This time all of it went from the cash counter to a trolley eventually as she pushed the four wheels to her vehicle as she walked the last lap of her hurdle race with the baton of her grocery finally hitting the finishing line!
I too walked out with my errands done and sorted.
As I approached the elevator of my building, I saw her… The beauty of her tired eyes struck me as also the tightly fitting striped shirt she wore, which suddenly kind of hung loose from the girdle of her persona. Ah! The lady was cautious of camouflaging the growing heaviness of ……. More than what our first thoughts tell us!
By the way, hung from her slender shoulders, yes the collar-bone did show… was her designer bag – a medley of colours on a coffee background of pure leather against the drained profile I was seeing. Aye, aye… the perks of attempting to stash those dyed paper notes after taking on the load through the days? She got off on her floor with even brisker steps as the confines of her warm hearth invitingly called out!
The elevator halted its ascending journey.
This time, I saw him... Literally jostling with himself as he entered the sparkling space on the last leg of my routine journey that evening. He wore a pure steel grey three-piece with a tie that blended in well and appeared to be more like a twine to pull the six feet, broad shouldered, muscular necked load of a gentleman ahead.
I could not have missed his somewhat worn-out office bag hanging on one side and on the other… was a lady’s bag – a shimmering deep red, almost clamouring for attention at all times. There was more to him, I mean the mass that he carried – a simple lunch case juxtaposed against the (in)famous handbag.
