N. Anjum
Sherry was sitting in the night club , alone and disappointed….
It was the club where the elite would usually come.. With his elbows crossed on the table,Sherry was watching everyone… Suddenly his eyes spotted a slender figure girl,who was dressed in an orange coloured mini skirt and a skinny sleeveless T-shirt,two buttons of which were open revealing her cleavage. Rosy and fair colour,dagger like eyebrows,serene lake like eyes,golden mushroom cut hair…red ruby earrings…in her left wrist she had an elegant watch,and a locket set right around her neck…dark red lipstick and matching nail paint with a wine glass in her hand she was lost and dawdling slowly to the music being played.. Her lips were stating allegiance to the wine…
At that specific moment,he was being served with both wine and beauty served.. he wasn’t able to decide which one to choose between the two..
“Hello mister! I am Reenu! People here come to ward their sadness off! “ Snapping fingers to wake him.up from his lostness she offered him to dance , which startled him.
“Hello! I am Sherry! “ Sherry said moving up elbows from the table
“Move your lips and say goodbye to the sorrows of the world.” Reenus said while pouring more wine in Sherry’s glass.
The wine in the glass faintly mirrored his reflection.
“ Oh! It’s totally intoxicating!” He murmured moving away the bottle before him.
…on gaining consciousness……
“Learn to take care of yourself.” Ane poured whiskey with safin soda in ber glass and said smilingly.
“If there’s none to take care…. of….then..”
“Try again…” She smirked and ruffled her hair,and went away.
“This bitch would be of great help.” Sherry mumbled, tossing his hand on table sly watching her and gulped down the whole bottle down.
Wiping his mouth with his sleeve,he took a long stretch and stood up straight..
Every time Mr P.K Khurana promises election ticket but at the precise time he returns Sherry disappointed always. Half of his life was wasted around Khurana to the point that he left his wife and kids but when he spotted Reenu ,his despair began to change in hope. He had decided that this time he will play it like chess and Reenu would be his queenand somehow he will attract this queen to him. Every night he would visit the club only to meet Reenu. She was the sexiest girl to visit the club. Both of them recognised and used to look at each other coquettishly. Gradually both of them used to get close to each other…
Sherry began to take her along to the Rajiya Party meetings. He promised Reenu that as soon as P.K Khurana gives him the electorall ticket and becomes MP ,he will be endowed with a lot of funds and thus he will marry her with full pomp and show. Now they had gotten so close to each other that she began to get intimate with him…
With elections coming close by the announcement of the candidates of the Great Union was made. Only a few seats and candidates were to named. In those, there’s a tug of war for over half a dozen seats. Most likely ,the announcement of candidates will be done tomorrow. This time he will throw such a chess man before P.K Khurana that VIP ticket would be his but how to do that , thinking of this,he was ruffling his hair while pacing around…
“Sherry darling!” Only then Reenu called him entering the room.
He startled hearing her voice. His steps froze. She needs to be prepared no matter what it takes for PK Khurana. He thought in his mind taking a cushion in his hands lying half -stretched on the couch. With half open eyes he kept watching her.
“What’s the matter Sherry? You seem to be sad,are you alright?” Reenu enquired rubbing her hand gently on his forehead.
“Reenu! I tried to go away from the world but couldn’t!”
“What? Are you drunk? What non sense are you talking about?”
“Yes Reenu! But now when you have arrived my sorrows seem to be vanishing away.” He said while holding Reenu by her hand and pulling her towards him that she fell right on to his lap. He kissed her on the lips that intoxicated him but suddenly Sherry restrained himself while to combing her tresses and said “ Reenu! Today is the test of our love, true love is tested in trying times, whatever form the difficulty takes,if today I ask something from you…. would you be able to give that?”
“Sherry! Have I ever refused…even before our marriage, I even slept with you.”
“Yes Reenu! Please do one thing for me… I shall be grateful to you forever.”
“Just name it Sherry, I will sacrifice my life for you.”
“No Reenu! Your life is too precious to me,it is just an ordinary thing that you have to do.”
“What…..?”
“Satisfy PK Khurana somehow,so that the electorall ticket becomes mine this time. He promises but always disappoints at the right time. Right now the Great Union has named their most significant candidates. Some knots are yet to be unknotted and the biggest page is about Seemanchal. Everyone has an eye on it. Mr Khurana holds this ticket necessarily with him. And this scoundrel Mukesh,,what trickstery does he do before Khurana that he’s shown green flag everytime, everytime hile secures seat! That scoundrel has been ruling over the Seemanchal seat over a long time.Reenu darling! Help me erase Mukesh’s page this time…Reenu darling earn Khurana’s trust somehow,win over him…
“Win over him….? What do you mean?”
“Win over….means what to you…..?”
Sherry laid chessboard……
“Darling! See it carefully …. The elephant from both the sides are on corners, after them are horses, after them the camels…. that’s artillery is laid…and in between them the is the king…and the queen… starts to play from the black and white horses,that is the white queen is placed on white squares and the black ones……the king from every side can move only one square and the square next to him,he has to wipe any piece from there….this time we have to defeat as well as oust Mukesh so that th3 dog can’t even stand up for a sip of water. These days,he visits the temple everyday, however he never steps foot there ever. This time we will baffle him like anything.”
“Okay Sherry! Whatever you say, I will do like that.” Reenu said while buttoning his shirt.
“Thank you Reenu! Tomorrow Mr Khurana will decide on the VIP seat. Before his decision about the seat we will go to his place.” Sherry said pressing her against his body.
“Okay.” Reenu said looking into his eyes.
Sherry started his motorcycle , dropped Reenu at PK Khurana’s and left.
“The next morning when Sherry visited Khurana’s villa, he patted his back and said with a stealthy smile,”Sherry! Now you have learnt the skill of politics,who wants what you have learnt to grasp that.”
“Thank you Mr Khurana!” Sherry said with folded hands.
“Noooo….” Khurana said biting his tongue.” You should not thank me but Reenu.” Khurana said while looking at Reenu whose lips flourished a dull smile.
Returning from Khurana’s villa,Reenu hugged Sherry and said in a sad tone “Sherry please marry me now…. please… because a woman no matter how modern she becomes,in India, if she sleeps with a man before marriage, people call her…..”
“Call her a prostitute.” Sherry said pushing her away from him and started to laugh loudly .
“Sherry! What are you saying?” She asked looking at him with moist eyes .
“ You are here after sleeping with Khurana, aren’t you full yet…get away from me..you neither are my wife not my girlfriend..but you are just a prostitute..who we use and throw away.” Sherry said while burning a matchstick, blowing it off and throwing it away.
“Tomorrow Mr Khurana will announce the VIP ticket.” He said snapping before Reenu.
Reenu left with tears in her eyes…
Next day when Khurana gave the VIP ticket to Reenu instead of Sherry ,he felt the earth beneath his feet is sliding away.
“Oh! She turned out to be a bitch! “ Sherry was gritting hi teeth repeatedly.
“Challenging her own benefactor!!!”
“How did this bitch of Reenu come suddenly in between…how can this happen…how did she get the ticket instead of me whereas PK Khurana had promised me that I could fight the election from any constituency I want and my seat was secure, suddenly before taking such a decision,he should have talked to me, I have been betrayed badly. This bitch came out to be too clever, I will show her her real place.”
He kept blabbering expletives against her. Sherry was in severe stress. Reenu’s face was flashing repeatedly before hee eyes. When he met Reenu she had a mysterious smile on her face..
She said to him “ Sherry! You are yet a child in tbe game if chess. You were throwing away the queen like a fly from milk but perhaps you don’t know that the queen connects both the elephants and the tanks’ power together..the queen, wretchedly can make any move against the king. She can move far away . She can play on any side of the squares and attack her opponent. Got it…my dear Sherry…that how is the queen powerful.” Reenu said widening hee eyes.
Sherry to was looking as her with bulged out eyes..
Reenu with a toxic smile on her lips said” Sherry if you lose the queen then the chances of losing the game increase manifold.”
“Each word pierced Sherry’s ears like lead…
“Sherry ! A woman is an innocent creature.. to play with her innocent emotions is a big problem..if she is provoked she can trample the greatest thrones and empires under her feet.” She said looking at him with hatred and disdain across her face
“Didn’t know you would be such a bitch….I won’t let you go like this… remember this.”
“You would be spared, only then dear…the game of chess doesn’t end this quickly..rather.. carefully… you have to make every move….oh how pitifully did you fall…?” To fool me is not this easy,you neither are left with fish nor fowl.” She remarked arrogantly.
Sherry was in a state of shock.
Reenu went outside swinging her purse in air where hundreds were waiting for her with flowers and garlands.. band was performed..and everyone was dancing to celebrate her feat….
N. Anjum, hailing from Srinagar can be reached at nahidaanjum2014@gmail.com
