Misc. Erotica ...And My Mother doesn't Remain Ours

[garamrohan]

It took nearly an hour to track down everything on Mummy’s list, navigating the crowded stalls until the bags on my shoulders felt heavy with the weight of potatoes and grains. Task complete, I decided I deserved a reward. I headed straight for my favorite pani-puri stall, the alluring scent of tamarind water was pulling me in like anything.

"Make it as spicy as you can," I told the bhaiya, desperate for the burn of the chili to distract me from the lingering frustration of the match.

I was just about to pop the first hollow, water-filled shell into my mouth when a heavy hand slammed onto my shoulder, nearly making me choke.

“Akele akele? Eating all by yourself?”

I spun around to find Vicky and Sumit standing there, wearing identical, devilish grins. I groaned inwardly, but I couldn't help a small smile. "Fine, fine," I muttered to the vendor, gesturing for two more plates. 

We stood around the thela, the evening air cooling our skin while the fiery pani-puri heated our palates. We talked about everything and nothing—the neighborhood gossip, a movie someone had seen, a joke from class. And suddenly Sumit burst into laughter. We turned our heads in the direction he was looking at.

There he was - about twenty feet away - the man we teased as Rambo stood facing a brick wall. A bright, Hindi movie poster had been pasted there, and he was staring at it as if he had lost himself in another world.

It was obvious what he was looking at. The poster showed the movie's actress in a bold, revealing backless blouse, looking back with a seductive expression. He stared at her so hard it seemed like he had forgotten the noisy market was even there.
Vicky made a crude joke and started laughing, and Sumit joined in. But as they laughed, I felt an uncomfortable knot in my stomach.

I knew it was just a natural human instinct, but seeing it felt strange and wrong. It was jarring to see a man in such a miserable, broken state; someone who barely had a roof over his head; still having the same desires as any other man. Seeing him dream sexually about a woman like that while standing there exposed me to the reality I didn't want to think about.