The Love Tower
Genre – Fiction
Sub-genre – Romance
Length of blog – 3000 words
Chapter
One
Down in the rias where Vancy went to college,
was where he was first acquainted with ‘The Love Tower’. Its magic amongst his
collegemates was enormous – in hushed tones though. It was a mythical place to
go with your current lover or crush and as per tales galore, by the time you
were through the night you would realize whether you are meant for each other
or not.
Vancy had only heard of it in passing in his
first year of college. He was new to this place and he did not have any crush
on any one yet. And so, he had pushed the topic under the rug. But as he got to
know his fellow classmates and got a clique of his own, the topic of the mystic
‘Love Tower’ did pop-up on and off.
His landlord had brushed aside the topic.
“A load of college crap”, he called it.
Vancy had got the chance to bring it up the one
time he had made a valiant effort and got up for his host’s Sunday morning
breakfast invite. It had been the umpteenth time the landlord had invited him
for breakfast.
“You know every day I am at class. Its only
Sunday’s I get”, Vancy had told George, the landlord, “And Sundays is the one day
that I get to sleep until late.”
“A pool up in the mountains linked via a bridge
that can tell whether you and your mate are compatible.” George continued, “A
load of bull, another excuse for all you youngsters to party.”
Vancy had heard a similar version where the
bridge way up high in the clouds made way to a spring. The journey precarious
and testing enough to bring out your partner’s true colours. Which is turn
would make each of the person in the relationship look at each other in a
different light.
In his second year, Vancy was introduced to
Myra – from afar – he followed his classmate’s finger to a suntanned huge-figured
girl.
“She knows the love tower’s location”, Jason
continued, “They say she goes there quite often.”
“She leads people there for a small fee”, Iain
sitting next to Jason said, “She calls herself the ‘oracle’, but will deny
anything when asked upfront.”
“Yes, one only gets to her via a friend who’s
been there”, Jason continued, “The chosen few”.
He made quotations in the air with the two
fingers of both his hands.
“And imagine the queue of references she gets,
we would never get to her”, Vancy said.
All looked and Vancy and laughed. The topic
drifted.
It was
not until Myra had passed out of the final year when Vancy remembered her. He
was falling for the new girl in their class. She had curly hair, was exactly his height
and flirted with him on and off. He had asked her out and she had agreed. Vancy
was scared at the rapidness of the emotion. The meetings had become more
regular and planned. And too quick he thought, she had visited his mum’s place
in the city with him. His mum had not raised an eyebrow, but that was how she
was. Then Daliah had introduced him to her mother over whatsapp video call. She
too did not look impressed. Tomorrow they four were to meet over coffee and
hamburgers at the city mall. Neither did Daliah’s mother nor did his mother
know about the ‘meeting’. Vancy was confused on what to name the encounter. A
casual time-bound convenience or meeting of the parents. And here he was unsure
of Daliah. She was cool and caring when close but had seen her staring into
space as if thinking about someone. After college, she never answered a call as
she was almost always busy on another call. She would call back however, after
a couple of hours though.
Iain and Jason were quick to point out the
same.
“Maybe she has a lover – and its long distant
right now”, Jason continued, “But you can always be the closest dick available.”
They had all laughed. But Vancy’s misery grew
no less. The term was to end and they Vancy understood Daliah too was unsure
about him. A couple of fleeting kisses in elevators was all that they had
exchanged. He had noticed that she always made sure to meet in public places. A
couple of movies, that too at the start of their friendship. Vancy was looking
forward towards the finals when Daliah had suggested the night trip.
They had been on night outs earlier and there
had always been company around. So Vancy was surprised to see her alone –
especially after she had messaged.
“Bring your swimming trunks”
They took a cab out of town towards the railway
station near the foothills of the nearby mountain.
“Where are we going?”, Vancy continued, “There
are no trains stopping until tomorrow morning.”
“I have been sent the directions”, Daliah said.
They got off at the railway station which was
deserted.
“We need to walk along the railway wall until
it is climbable”, she said pointing at her phone screen.
They walked southwards, parallel to the tracks.
The river they had just crossed in the cab was on their right. The mountain
slopes which could be seen in the background over the railway wall on their left,
gave an eerie look.
After a short trek the wall shortened as the
slopes gradually touched it. Here, they climbed over onto the tracks and as per
Daliah’s pointing-finger started to trudge back to the railway station.
“So, this was all to enter a railway station?”,
Vancy said as they took the stairs off the platform into the administration
building.
“Be quiet”, Daliah said as she pointed to the
phone,” There’s supposed to be a guard on duty.”
Vancy
put is finger to his lip and followed her to the roof of the building. The
six-floor building looked puny in the shadow of the mountains- which could be
seen in as silhouette. They headed for the street facing corner of the south
end of the building.
“The building is as big as the platform”, Vancy
said.
On reaching the end Daliah climbed on to the
parapet of the terrace. There were around eight to ten pipes extending onto
another building. Daliah started shimming along the pipes towards the other
building. The pipes were less than a foot apart and fist sized in diameter.
Vancy slowly put his weight onto the pipes to see if they would take their
weight together. The pipes yawed but held. Both shimmied across the 12 feet of
pipes. Daliah had opted for her bum on one pipe, two hands either side. The
second pipe was free, where her knees would hover and the third pipe on which
she had her legs. Vancy opted for his bum on the second pipe not only to
distribute the weight but also to have some support if he leaned too far back.
They reached the other side where the pipes
continued into an opening. They could continue to slide into the opening which
was precisely the size of a sitting person. They had entered the opening an
into a small hollow room from which music was emanating. The roof was
reflecting the water in it. It was a water tank. A lady waved towards them.
With ground being seen below them, Vancy got a little courage to crawl like a
camel towards the huge woman. She smiled at Daliah and nodded at Vancy.
“Found the place easily? If you follow the
directions it is pretty simple”, Myra said.
Vancy
found himself face to face with Myra.
“This is Deyl”, she introduced them to a mountain
of a man who was behind her. He would have to be, looking at her size. Vancy
smiled at him. Music was playing from another corner of the tank which was
about 24 feet all around. A few boys and a girl seemed to having a good time in
the chest height water. Although, Deyl and Myra seemed to waddle in the water
which barely reached their waist.
“Get undressed and enter the water”, Myra
continued. “Don’t worry about them. They would be leaving soon.”
One of the other guests waved their glasses at
us.
“Hope you like whisky”, Deyl said.
Vancy had finished making his peg and tuned
around to see Daliah in a flimsy net bikini. Her shapely breasts bobbing on the
water. Only the darkness hiding the evident. Vancy took a huge gulp.
After some fair chitchat with Myra and Deyl,
Daliah and Vancy headed to one of the corners of the tank. The other group had
long gone. A few kisses and Daliah jumped onto the pipes above.
“Its too wet down there”, Daliah said.
She was right. Vancy looked at his fingers
which had now wrinkled. She shimmied to the middle of the two buildings and was
enjoying the mild breeze. Her shapely-figure in full view under the moonlight. Vancy
climbed onto the opening of the tank. He started towards Daliah.
“The truest test is for one to roll the other from
there back into the pool”, Myra continued from behind them, “Blindfolded.”
Daliah stretched and lay over five of the
pipes. Vancy turned to push her towards the tank.
“Let me blindfold myself”, Daliah said and
removed her bra and started to cover her eyes with it. But before she could cover them.
Vancy started to kiss her on the lips. He hugged her while Daliah pushed him
back.
“You reek of whisky”, Daliah said.
Vancy found his knees shake on the flimsy
pipes. Each grabbed the pipes with both their hands. They sat and waited for
their bodies to dry off. The dark mountain in front of them only differentiated
by the stars in the sky. The darkness followed down the mountain wall below them
– the glint of the parallel railway tracks setting a boundary. The shapes of
a tree branches below them could be made out by the gentle tremble of the
breeze. After some time they left the same way they came.
The final exams upon them, Daliah and Vancy were
busy. After which, they left for their respective homes with not too much to
talk about between them. Daliah was always distant when distant, and Vancy got
used to be single again. His job hunt yielded into a fancy corporate job. Vancy
had forgotten about Daliah; the love tower episode now just another drunk
college night out.
Chapter
Two
Vancy had got a job in the city.
His college days back in the rias, a memory waiting to be forgotten. He had
joined a firm which was looking to increase its workload and so a score of them
had joined together.
Vancy was taken aback by a
slender girl who seemed quite knowledgeable during their one-week training. He
later understood that she had joined from their competitor, hence the knowledge.
“Do not tell anyone”, Wasi
continued, “And thanks for asking, coz now I know I have to dumb myself down a
bit.”
Thus began a long-lasting
friendship. Or so he thought – until Vancy felt the trainer was calling upon
Wasi too often. Even during their unofficial-training-completion-picnic, he
felt a twang of jealousy when they walked together for a bit.
Vancy realized he was in love.
But, Wasi talked a lot about the long-haired guy who was their peer. One day he
saw her talking to him after work and shortly started dating him. It was all
too quick. The love of his life had been so close to him and yet now she was
with someone else. He could not believe his luck. Months passed where he got to
know firsthand how they had gone spelunking, an overnight picnic, a weekend away. Then
one day Wasi invited Vancy along.
“Would you like to join us?”,
Vancy asked Sandy another colleague because he did not want to be the third wheel.
“But what about Wasi?” Sandy
said. And continued with her work as if no question was asked.
“She has a boyfriend”, Vancy
replied softly. The reply was redundant.
Everyone knew they had to be
together, yet Wasi was with George. Grinding his teeth he joined George and
Wasi at the train station for their overnight adventure. Wasi had kept a closed
lip about their trip. Vancy realized they were headed towards ‘the love tower’
as soon as they got off at his college railway station, back in the rias. He
kept mum as the overlooking mountain shadow fell over the railway station
parking lot which they had encamped. Obviously waiting for an opportunity to
sneak in, he guessed. But his guess turned out to be wrong, as a car stopped
near them and out popped Myra and Deyl.
“This way”, Myra said as she handed over everyone to carry a cylindrical backpack.
“Things we need for the party”, Deyl said.
They trudged back into the
railway station. Up the administration building and onto the terrace. No one
saw them so no one stopped them.
“Why are we going off a building
over some pipes into another building?”, George said.
“We could enter from there”,
Myra who was half way across replied, she pointed to the bottom of the other
building, but it would close by the time we leave. And one must know how to
leave. Right?”
George started to mutter
something under his breath. Wasi was starting her butt-shimming journey. Vancy
started simultaneously and faced her. He admired her logic of getting George
and himself to this place. For the first time in months Vancy felt delighted.
He assumed Wasi wanted to make a decision between George and himself. The poor
lass – Vancy felt his heart wrench at her plight – and she had resorted to this
place. He looked at Wasi’s face to see her reaction. Wasi was looking wide-eyed
at mountain behind Vancy. Her face did not have a manipulative shrewd look. But
then again, she did not know that Vancy knew that this was ‘the love tower’.
Vancy
smiled at himself. He would cross-question her in the next week. Not today,
today he would play along and play it by ear. Deyl who had gone first had
already reached the other end of the pipes and was undressing on a small
platform. Vancy had not noticed the platform the first time he had come, maybe
because it was a little brighter today or maybe because he had seen the rest of
it before.
He helped Wasi onto the platform
and let his fingers linger on hers for a few moments more than required. Wasi
smiled at him and looked at George who was still muttering something. He opted
to not enter the water but sat on the pipes outside and preferred to smoke his
pipe. Wasi too after some time went and joined George facing the mountain. Vancy
watched as she waded onto the platform and wrapped herself in a silk overcoat.
“No we do not come here every
day”, Deyl said.
Vancy was making small talk with
Deyl. Myra was ushering in another wide-eyed group.
“We try to collate a few groups
together”, Deyl continued, “We have no gain from this, people bring their own
consumables and sometimes more.”
He offered Vancy a refill.
“We can’t stop, you know, its
like a service we provide”, Deyl said
“More like a calling”, Myra
said.
She was back with them.
“I see how you are interested in
the kimono clad woman, who is uncertain about the smoky-head she is with”, Myra
continued, “Go up there and win her back. All is fair in love.”
Vancy eyed Myra who waded halfway
towards the other group and said aloud, “The true test of your love is to roll
your partner over the pipes blindfolded.”
A girl from the other group started
towards the stairs. She playfully beckoned at a guy from the group, who
followed her. Vancy followed them. Vancy pulled himself alongside Wasi, as the
couple giggled away blindfolded each other and started to roll behind them into
the tank area. Vancy heard the splash but he was looking into Wasi’s eyes as
she looked on curiously.
“When did you come up?’, she
said.
Vancy smiled and looked into the
mountains staring back at them. Wasi took one end of the scarf which was wrapped around her head
and held it in the wind, so as to grab Vancy’s attention with the other. Vancy grabbed the other end. The wind caught in the scarf like that of a sail-boat. The scarf formed a canopy
under which both of them sat.
“If it was like this forever”,
Vancy said, “Just the two of us.”
Wasi gave him a playful push.
Vancy grabbed the scarf and began to roll away.
Slowly, as if in slow-mo. The scarf wrapped around his eyes as he rolled farther.
Wasi had let go of the scarf – after a couple of rolls, Vancy tipped over the
pipes and landed into the still waters of the tank. He could imagine Wasi’s broad
smile at his play-acting. He lay motionless in the water not wanting to let
time flyby. The scarf unwinding to form a canopy under water. A few moments
later, he heard a splash and Wasi was under the canopy with him.
THE END
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