Choice

Day 1 , 7:15 P.M. , Cubbon Road, Bangalore.
All that I wanted that day was to reach home before it poured. I hate driving in the rain. It had started drizzling when I took a turn to Cubbon road in front of Manipal Centre. I stopped towards the side of the road to put on my jerkin . And I saw her !
She was stunning.. Her beautiful deep eyes, spotless radiant skin, silky short hair, a sort of unexplicable charm made it impossible for me to take my eyes off her. Though she had put on a little extra makeup and worn clothes which were not quite modest, I was simply captivated. I knew it was weird of me to look at another lady that way, but I wasn't too worried. She was beautiful !
Her perfume , however, was anything but pleasant. Strange, I thought.
Suddenly a tall, dark, elderly man walked past her . She smiled.
He asked her, "How much ? "
She said , "3"..
He said, "Oh thats too much.. Will you come for 2? "
She smiled again. And walked away with him.
I froze ! My heart started pounding really very fast as I drove back home..

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Day 2, 7:00 P.M, Cubbon Road, Bangalore

I was clearly tensed by the time I crossed the signal to enter Cubbon Road. But I was looking for her. I wanted to see her. Just once.. She had cast some sort of a spell on me . And I cringed at the thought of what I had seen the previous day. It tensed me more to realise that I was looking to see her yet again ! What was I thinking..
And there, I spotted her. She was again, beautiful. She stood there setting right her pallu . She wore a thin pinkish saree which showed more stuff than it ought to. And that just added to her beauty, I thought ! Now I had to make some reason to stop near her. And I did. I smiled at her, awkwardly. She smiled anyway-- the practiced, sensual smile .
I said "Hi".
She smiled again.
I asked, "Can you please give me your number? "
She stared at me strangely for a moment, hesitated , but recovered very quickly and told her number.
I wrote it on my cell and drove off .. My heart beating really really fast! I was asking myself what I was upto ! I just couldn't think clearly. Everything seemed very fuzzy..
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Day 5, 6:00 P.M., Coffee Day, M.G. Road, Bangalore
I had finally convinced her to meet me to have a talk ! I had no idea if I was doing right things. I had no mind to think about it. I seemed to be in a daze . In some sort of a magic , lost in her thoughts. I had wanted to learn about her. Learn about people like her. About their pains, their agonies behind the smiles, the makeup, the annoying perfumes..
She sounded very friendly while we chatted randomly about weather, traffic, food, movies and my work. Then with great courage, I asked her The question.. What led her to be what she was..
While I prepared myself to listen to a mushy story, I was wondering what flavor would hers contain specifically.. But..
She laughed aloud, looked into my eyes and asked " Why did you become an engineer? "
I was taken aback a little , but answered "Well, I wanted to be one.. It seemed like a good option to learn things that I was interested in... But I asked you a different question? "
She laughed again, a ringing absorbing laughter.. And said .."A different question? I thought it was about choice! "
I was not sure how to react! "You mean.. You chose to do this ??"
"Yes", She said .
Words like exploitation, harrassment, immorality were making random rounds in my mind while I looked at her.. Not knowing what to say next !
She broke the ice.. By that smile and suggested that we should have a coffee..

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Day 5, 8:30 P.M, Coffee Day, M.G. Road, Bangalore
"So , I lost an evening" , she said, showing mock anger .
I thought I should say "Its my pleasure!". But I did not .
I smiled, plainly.
And said "Bye!"