Baldness attacked him by the time he was twenty five. At thirty three now he has a sparse growth above his ears and at the back of the head. The rest of his head is dotted with individual hairs standing too far apart like dots of mud splattered on the side of a car on a rainy day. They seem too bored to grow to any substantial length to provide some semblance of cover to the bald areas.
He stayed in a stark white house with white floor tiles, white ceiling fans and white fluorescent lights. His possessions included two comfortable beddings, a plastic table, a chair, a few plates and spoons and a number of books. The books were seen stacked in a shelf or on the floor and a few were found scattered around his bedding. Whenever he was free from his work he will curl up in his bedding with the latest book that captured his attention.
With his intense eyes and attitude, easy smile, mild manners and careless way of dressing he created a unique impression of contrasting characters in the minds of people he met, like an un-melting scoop of ice cream swirling in a steaming cup of black tea. He had a girl friend who stayed in a different city and used to visit him once every two or three months. She loved ice creams and kept eating them. He detested sweets and kept telling her that she will grow fat with all the ice cream she ate. Somehow miraculously she remained thin and kept smiling at him every time he told her that she will grow fat. On more than one occasion i have watched their mild but intense exchanges with curiosity.
Me and this bald headed friend of mine used to go out for long rides on our bicycles on weekends. At times we will run for a couple of kilometres in the local park. As you probably know getting out of the bed early in the morning is the most challenging part of exercise on any day. One Saturday, early morning I managed to haul myself out of my bed as soon as i heard the wake up alarm. the trick here is to get yourself out of the bed while your brain is still fuzzy and not give it any chance to analyse the situation and come up with excuses. After getting ready i took out my bicycle and rode towards my friend's house. I reached and rang the bell and my friend let me in.
He offered me a simple smile, turned around and ambled ahead to his bed room wearing his over sized shorts and dilapidated T Shirt. By the time i took off my shoes and reached his room he was already curled up on his bed with a pillow folded in two under his head and a book in his hand. Me standing at the bed room door blocked the sunlight coming from his balcony window and cast a shadow on his book. He looked up and a slight widening of his eyes betrayed a hint of surprise at seeing me in his house. Then having remembered that he himself has let me in only moments before he caught himself, carefully placed a finger in between the pages of the book to mark the place and asked :
"Do you mind waiting a little while? My maids will be in shortly and we can start as soon as they are done."
I nodded my head in agreement and sat down on the floor with a magazine that was lying around and was soon immersed in an article on a Cup of Perfect Tea.
A strong knock on the front door was followed by the sound of the door opening and his two maids walked in. One was dark and thin with an unremarkable face and the only thing that told me that she is a women was the clothes she wore. The other one was fat and fair with generously proportioned body, shining eyes and a voluptuous mouth full of widely spaced teeth. She was anything but beautiful but radiated a certain sensuality.
They entered the house with an air of confidence and authority and totally ignored my presence on the floor. The thin one took a broom and started sweeping the floor while the fat lady cleared up the kitchen counter to cook for the day.
Disturbed from my reading, I sat on the floor watching the motes of dust dancing in the golden beams of early morning sun and occasionally replying to the questions from my friend. A sudden feel of chillness in the otherwise warm morning made me look up into the eyes of the dark maid. With a barely perceptible flick of her head she told me to move out of her way or else i will be unceremoniously swept and dumped in the dust bin. I promptly got up and walked to the balcony not wanting to inflict up on myself the pain, humiliation and discomfort of being swept and dumped in the bin.
On my way to the balcony i tried to throw a friendly smile at her which met with a frozen armour around her and fizzled out.
At this moment my friend the bald man asked from the bed room : "Coffee?".
It sounded more like a suggestion than a demand. The thin maid turned around and looked at him. In that moment everything about her seemed to change. Gone were the frosted armour and the aggression in her stance and her featureless face showed a few lines at the corners of her mouth and around her eyes which hinted at a slight smile and there was an unmistakable sense of warmth around her. She walked into the kitchen and told the fat one "Sir will have coffee now" which was met with a sensuous smile and twinkling eyes.
" As usual, he will have it without sugar."
"You don't have to remind me every time, i forgot only once."
Listening to their conversation i felt that it was advantageous to have such maids who remembered our preferences. Listening to the bubbling, stirring and cutting sounds from the kitchen i let my eyes wander aimlessly and happened to notice that the other bedroom door was closed.
"Oh!, so there is a guest at home."
I remembered the familiar lady's sandal I saw near the front door when i was taking off my shoes and figured out that my friend's girl friend was at home.
I continued waiting in the balcony for the sweeping ritual to be over so that i can resume my reading. At this moment the other bedroom door opened and I saw pleasant and familiar face of the girl friend which was now partially hidden behind a curtain of dishevelled hair.
She mumbled a greeting and glanced into the kitchen ; " Oh, so they are making coffee for my boy friend."
I was not sure what to make out of the tone she used . I looked into the kitchen and saw three steaming cups of coffee on the kitchen counter. The thin maid was adding copious quantity of sugar to two of the cups. I thought of telling her that I will have mine without sugar, but then remembering her cold eyes I decided against it.
The thin maid picked up two cups and came out of the kitchen. I dusted my hands against each other in preparation to receive the coffee. The maid walked straight into my friend's bedroom without even glancing in my direction. Seeing her enter his room, my friend got up and sat down on the bedding and she offered him a cup. Then she sat on the floor beside the bedding. The fat one soon joined her with the other cup of coffee and they all started drinking their coffee. I looked around and found the amused smile on the girl friend's face which was obviously due to the incredulous expression on my face.
He stayed in a stark white house with white floor tiles, white ceiling fans and white fluorescent lights. His possessions included two comfortable beddings, a plastic table, a chair, a few plates and spoons and a number of books. The books were seen stacked in a shelf or on the floor and a few were found scattered around his bedding. Whenever he was free from his work he will curl up in his bedding with the latest book that captured his attention.
With his intense eyes and attitude, easy smile, mild manners and careless way of dressing he created a unique impression of contrasting characters in the minds of people he met, like an un-melting scoop of ice cream swirling in a steaming cup of black tea. He had a girl friend who stayed in a different city and used to visit him once every two or three months. She loved ice creams and kept eating them. He detested sweets and kept telling her that she will grow fat with all the ice cream she ate. Somehow miraculously she remained thin and kept smiling at him every time he told her that she will grow fat. On more than one occasion i have watched their mild but intense exchanges with curiosity.
Me and this bald headed friend of mine used to go out for long rides on our bicycles on weekends. At times we will run for a couple of kilometres in the local park. As you probably know getting out of the bed early in the morning is the most challenging part of exercise on any day. One Saturday, early morning I managed to haul myself out of my bed as soon as i heard the wake up alarm. the trick here is to get yourself out of the bed while your brain is still fuzzy and not give it any chance to analyse the situation and come up with excuses. After getting ready i took out my bicycle and rode towards my friend's house. I reached and rang the bell and my friend let me in.
He offered me a simple smile, turned around and ambled ahead to his bed room wearing his over sized shorts and dilapidated T Shirt. By the time i took off my shoes and reached his room he was already curled up on his bed with a pillow folded in two under his head and a book in his hand. Me standing at the bed room door blocked the sunlight coming from his balcony window and cast a shadow on his book. He looked up and a slight widening of his eyes betrayed a hint of surprise at seeing me in his house. Then having remembered that he himself has let me in only moments before he caught himself, carefully placed a finger in between the pages of the book to mark the place and asked :
"Do you mind waiting a little while? My maids will be in shortly and we can start as soon as they are done."
I nodded my head in agreement and sat down on the floor with a magazine that was lying around and was soon immersed in an article on a Cup of Perfect Tea.
A strong knock on the front door was followed by the sound of the door opening and his two maids walked in. One was dark and thin with an unremarkable face and the only thing that told me that she is a women was the clothes she wore. The other one was fat and fair with generously proportioned body, shining eyes and a voluptuous mouth full of widely spaced teeth. She was anything but beautiful but radiated a certain sensuality.
They entered the house with an air of confidence and authority and totally ignored my presence on the floor. The thin one took a broom and started sweeping the floor while the fat lady cleared up the kitchen counter to cook for the day.
Disturbed from my reading, I sat on the floor watching the motes of dust dancing in the golden beams of early morning sun and occasionally replying to the questions from my friend. A sudden feel of chillness in the otherwise warm morning made me look up into the eyes of the dark maid. With a barely perceptible flick of her head she told me to move out of her way or else i will be unceremoniously swept and dumped in the dust bin. I promptly got up and walked to the balcony not wanting to inflict up on myself the pain, humiliation and discomfort of being swept and dumped in the bin.
On my way to the balcony i tried to throw a friendly smile at her which met with a frozen armour around her and fizzled out.
At this moment my friend the bald man asked from the bed room : "Coffee?".
It sounded more like a suggestion than a demand. The thin maid turned around and looked at him. In that moment everything about her seemed to change. Gone were the frosted armour and the aggression in her stance and her featureless face showed a few lines at the corners of her mouth and around her eyes which hinted at a slight smile and there was an unmistakable sense of warmth around her. She walked into the kitchen and told the fat one "Sir will have coffee now" which was met with a sensuous smile and twinkling eyes.
" As usual, he will have it without sugar."
"You don't have to remind me every time, i forgot only once."
Listening to their conversation i felt that it was advantageous to have such maids who remembered our preferences. Listening to the bubbling, stirring and cutting sounds from the kitchen i let my eyes wander aimlessly and happened to notice that the other bedroom door was closed.
"Oh!, so there is a guest at home."
I remembered the familiar lady's sandal I saw near the front door when i was taking off my shoes and figured out that my friend's girl friend was at home.
I continued waiting in the balcony for the sweeping ritual to be over so that i can resume my reading. At this moment the other bedroom door opened and I saw pleasant and familiar face of the girl friend which was now partially hidden behind a curtain of dishevelled hair.
She mumbled a greeting and glanced into the kitchen ; " Oh, so they are making coffee for my boy friend."
I was not sure what to make out of the tone she used . I looked into the kitchen and saw three steaming cups of coffee on the kitchen counter. The thin maid was adding copious quantity of sugar to two of the cups. I thought of telling her that I will have mine without sugar, but then remembering her cold eyes I decided against it.
The thin maid picked up two cups and came out of the kitchen. I dusted my hands against each other in preparation to receive the coffee. The maid walked straight into my friend's bedroom without even glancing in my direction. Seeing her enter his room, my friend got up and sat down on the bedding and she offered him a cup. Then she sat on the floor beside the bedding. The fat one soon joined her with the other cup of coffee and they all started drinking their coffee. I looked around and found the amused smile on the girl friend's face which was obviously due to the incredulous expression on my face.
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