Trace of Incense
Chapter One
During mid-January, it's cold in Guwahati, the gateway to India's northeast. Today, Ajoy is not at home. Being a senior government officer, he has to be on a four-day official tour away from the city. Coming home from her office, Anjali, Ajoy's wife and also a government officer, has a hot-water wash of her hands and face to feel fresh. She asks Leena and Lakshmi, both her maidservants, to prepare tea and something solid to eat. Arshana, her fifteen-year-old and the only daughter, is playing outside with her lovely dog, Tommy. Anjali also asks Nripen to take tea and snacks with her.
Nripen is Anjali's driver. He is a bachelor, tall, fair, stylist and hand some. In fact, he does not look like a driver, as he wears costly shirts and pants, more often he prefers jeans. He has been driving Anjali's car for the past several years. She does not behave with as her driver. She honestly considers him to be her friend. When both are alone in the moving car, she sits on the front seat, left to Nripen.
'Tonight you stay in my room, since Ajoy is out on tour', she tells Nripen inside the moving car while coming home from office in the evening.
'What about your daughter? Do you think she will not mind?' asks Nripen.
'She is my daughter, and she knows and trusts me. You need not bother about her.'
During the evening hours, Nripen sits inside Anjali's bedroom and watches TV programs of his choice. Anjali has to attend some visitors in her drawing room till half-past eight at night. As soon as the visitors depart, she closes the door and puts off the light so that nobody could come and disturb her. She wants to enjoy the night without Ajoy being by her side on the bed. While passing through the inside corridor towards her bedroom, Anjali finds the light of her daughter's room on.
'Arshana, are you still studying?'
'Yes, mum'.
Anjali says nothing and she straight enters her bedroom to see what Nripen is doing. As usual, he is watching his favourite program on TV. She sits on her bed and Looks at Nripen. He looks back to her eyes. Both smile and remain looking at each other.
Nripen gets tempted. He stands up, comes near her, embraces her and starts kissing.
'Not now,the entire night is there to enjoy ourselves,' she pushes him a bit off. He goes back to his seat and starts watching TV again.
Anjali enters her kitchen where the two maidservants remain busy in preparing dinner. It'll take another hour to be ready. She opens the cupboard, picks up two empty glasses, a jug of drinking water and comes back to the bedroom. She puts the glasses and the jug on a small table, brings out a bottle of whisky from the almira, opens it and pours pegs into the two glasses. She also mixes water in both the glasses. One glass she passes on to Nripen and taking the other glass in hrt hand, she starts sipping slowly. Nripen follows her.
This is a usual scene for the past about three years inside Anjali's bedroom when her husband is out on tour. Except her grown-up daughter and the two maidservants, nobody knows that Nripen sleeps whole night with Anjali when Ajoy is away from the city.
After three-four drinks, both Anjali and Nripen think that they should have their food. By the time, dinner has been laid on the table. Arshna also comes out of her room and gives company to her mother. The three take dinner happily and gradually enter their own bedrooms. Arshana goes to her bedroom and puts off the light to sleep. The two maidservants having taken their od silently retire to their common bedroom.
Anjali and Nripen enter the bedroom. She closes the door and asks Nripen to prepare the bed. The tipsy driver somehow manages to do the job. Anjali puts off the light. Both sleep side by side on the bed. Nripen takes the initiative to make love. He takes her into both of his arms and starts kissing her. Anjali responds equally.
'Do you really love me or you simply desire only sex from me?' she asks.
'I don't know exactly what gives me the pleasure of being with you; but sex with you I enjoy terribly', he replies.
'But as you know, I do not have any physical relationship with my husband, are you really serious about maintaining our this friendship?'
'I love you madam, I really love you'.
'You don't call me madam. You call me Anjali'.
'Yes Anjali, I love you as much as I love your car'.
'How can it be? I'm not a car.'
'No you don't misunderstand me, I'm illiterate, I don't know anything about lovemaking with an educated lady like you. But I really love you'.
Nripen drags Anjali to his both arms and starts kissing abnormally. Anjali does not say anything and allows him to do whatever way he likes. She enjoys the company of Nripen.She likes the way he cares for her while sharing the bed like tonight. Both enjoy terribly, physically and mentally.
But both have different reasons for such enjoyment. For Anjali, she is deprived of such enjoyment from husband who is suffering from high degree of impotency. So he has stopped having physical relationship with his wife. For Nripen, he gets the fresh opportunity to be with a woman in such a way. He considers himself to be lucky. He believes that he is in love with her and without her; his life will be drab and meaningless. No woman so far loves him so much as Anjali does.
As both get exhausted, Nripen wants to put on his sleeping dress; but Anjali does not all him to so. She grabs him with both her arms and presses her breast against his chest, He also embraces her and both remain silent as the night advances
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