Maria

Its late on a dark windy night. It might just start to pour any moment now. You look at the road, anxiously waiting, hoping to catch a glimpse of those distinctive headlamps, the familiar sputtering, wheezing, rattling of an auto. Your chances are slim; vehicular traffic has become sparse over the past half an hour. You have already tried waving a few down, without much success. "Pogadhu saar". Another one whooshes past you , the flying side flap revealing intimately entwined figures. 

You see another one and you walk into the main road to make sure that he sees you. You wave him down and put on your best imitation of  Chennai tamizh. "100 ruba". You are stunned. " Maatna  police ku".  Exasperated by your puzzlement he says " The". You are bewildered, worried and you understand nothing. You get in anyway. The auto starts moving. Its pitch dark inside. One side is already covered by the flap. The driver does the same to the other side.

You are nervous. You don't know what he meant about police . Maybe he is delivering a load? At midnight? Of what? You shudder at being caught with whatever it is.

Slowly, you hear movements and become aware of a living presence. Your mobile reveals the contour of a face and the silhouette of a shapely body.  You are startled by the blonde hair resting in a fringe on her forehead. The  blue eyes look at you. An anxious look.  But behind that , in its depths, there is a calm. Ive seen everything , those eyes say. All this in less than a few seconds.

Then it hits you. Thevidiya. Prostitute. You shudder at the thought of the auto being stopped simply because both blinds were down, to find the both of you. You reconcile yourself to that possibility, thinking " enna aida pogudhu?"; you've gotten in anyway and you might as well see it through. All this in less than a few seconds.

" Where are you from " you ask, going by the blonde hair and blue eyes.
 "Pondicherry" 
" Tamizh theriyuma?" you ask, a little foolishly.
 "Theriyum".
  
"Epdi?"
"Valandha edam tamizh dhaan"
"Ippo enga pora", probably the worst question you could have asked.
"ooru trivizha. Gramathula". 

You nod, understanding perfectly. Record dances were an integral part of festivities. But a blonde? The crowd would go wild, you suppose.

"Pondicherry la?" you ask, unwilling to finish. She understands. " Amma kalyanathuku munnadi porandachu. ammaku kalyanam aachu .3 pasanga. Theriyum. "

She melts you.

"Enakku... enna solradhunu therila" you manage to stutter. She acknowledges that, taking your hand in hers.

She is a prostitute, your conditioning tells you You though, have already bonded with her. You..You admire her. She, who has seen more of life than you ever will. She who has more depth than you ever will. She could submerge you in her life, swallow you, amalgamate you in her experience.

It is at moments like these that you catch a glimpse.  Its at moments like these that you commune with reality. A soft,tender, ethereal kiss on your cheek, her eyes closed. An eternity passes. You smile.