Stealthily Yours

 It was a warm and still summer night ; the kind of night when leaves on the trees attain a state of inertia that surpasses the stillness of the night , the cicadas are too tired to sing and the owls and bats decide to go on an extended vacation . Bangalore city, once famous for its salubrious weather , was experiencing the identity crisis of the century , prompting its beloved citizens to seek a sleepy and restful succour 

Nirmala ,the picture perfect epitome of stealth , headed towards her destination, which was shrouded in a thick blanket of darkness, like a cat on a secret mission ,when the eponymous presence called the human conscience , decided to make its presence felt .

‘What are you doing ?’!’, exclaimed her conscience in sheer exasperation .

‘Nothing that entails such a dramatic response’, said Nirmala nonchalantly .

‘What do you mean by dramatic response !’, yelled her conscience , ‘what you are planning to do is wrong on so many levels’

‘C’ mon, you are making a minor thing sound like a crime’, said Nirmala , ‘ just this once and I will never do this ever again ..’

‘That is precisely what you say every single time’, bellowed her conscience , ‘but there is never a last time because you enjoy this travesty . You don't give a damn about the consequences of your actions . You have gotten away doing this deed every single time and that has encouraged you to repeat this act over and over again! Stop this and head back right away ! I insist !’

Nirmala realised that her conscience would have power over her only if she yielded to its call . And she was way too smart to give in to the call of her conscience! 

She promptly shut down the bellowing voice in her head and  threw it to the deepest recesses of her mind , from where it could not re-appear ,and continued her march of stealth . Soon, she reached the kitchen where the metallic gleam of the refrigerator beckoned her with its strange magnetic pull . She opened the door of the fridge to find a big bowl full of scrumptious gulab jamoons in all their sugary glory . Her eyes lit up with anticipation as she helped herself to two delectably golden brown and perfectly round shaped gulab jamoons. Nirmala savoured it with the wanton abandonment of someone who had broken her diet yet again! 


Image Design: Aditi Sowmyanarayan

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