The One Where They Run To Save Their Lives Or Their Modesty

Once upon a time, there were three women who decided to go on an all girls' trip and get "Independent, don't need men" stamped on their bio before they turned thirty or turned pregnant.

Like happy little squirrels, they charted out a grand plan... booking synchronised flight tickets to and from various parts of the country, scouting little known "exotic" locations within short driving distance of Bangalore and zeroing in on Horsley Hills, getting advance bookings done at the nice-sounding Governer's Bunglow, Superior Room, no less!

They spent the next few days dreaming of the promised lovely, deep woods, the long, winding walks, hot flasks of tea and good books to read.

D-Day arrived. Armed with backpacks, sturdy shoes, hearts filled with pride, and excitement that threatened to burst out of their chests, they headed to airports all across the country - Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore.

A day, a night, hours of gossip and lots of window-shopping later, they were on their way to HH.

Hooray for flower power. Three cheers for the biker (Ahem, Car) chicks. Make way for the nature birds. World, here we come.

The first sight of HH lifted their already soaring spirits further up. But the next brought them right down.

The men at the counter weren't exactly what you'd call friendly. They tried to swindle them out of the nice Superior room and give them a shabby little pigeonhole instead.

"Madaaam, there are only men in the next room. You see, aa? We will not be responsible if something happens, aa? I suggest you take the small room Madam. Only for your own safety madam".

Our three ladies conferred. "Sure, it's upsetting". "But who's to say the creep is even right." "I say we take it". "Yeah! I second we take it". "Sure, I third it!"

As you can see, our chicks are actually tough birds. Stirred, Not Shaken.

They got the big room alright. And congratulated each other and themselves. "If those men think they can treat us like silly little scared city girls, they have another thought coming. Scared? We?! Hah."

Of course they almost ended up propping up the heavy dresser against the common door that linked the adjacent room, Of course they made backup plans for where to run, hide and meet in case they were attacked in the dark of night. But that just counts as prudence. Not fear.

They then adjourned to the dining area for tea, snacks and eventually, dinner. Nice place, they mused. Good we did this, they hugged themselves.

Feeling benevolent towards the world and now a little ashamed of the backup plans, they started back for the rooms, a 1o minute walk through the sleepy little town.

Talking, Joking, Laughing.

Until ...
"Hush".
"Stop".
"Listen".
"See!"

An SUV passed them by. With four big, hairy men inside it. The one at the wheel looked drunk.

Hearts bursting, this time not with pride but with a bit of anxiety, they looked on. The car passed them by. False alarm. Phew. They let out the breath they were collectively holding.

For only a minute.

The car then stopped. And reversed. And drove back towards them. Heads down, they continued to walk, though at a quickened pace.

The car passed them again. And stopped. And reversed.

All pretences of bravado thrown to the wind, the three broke into a sprint.

Strategies were quickly discussed and discarded - to stay in the light to avoid potential attackers but at the risk of clear visibility, or to stay in the dark to mislead them?

Quickest routes were assessed and taken - the short but steep one, or the long but flatter one?

Not till they reached the relatively safe haven of their hotel, and not for some time after that, did the flutter subside.

The car came up right till the entry point, and then left.

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Two nights and days later, they returned proud owners of "Independent. But may occasionally need spouse to walk five steps behind".

The last sentence is in parentheses, small font, and ONLY to be shared when asked for. Hush!

Introductions, or something like that.

Not sure if we can call these introductions, given our mutual accord to not go into specifics, which include our names, our workplaces' names, our spouses' names etc etc.

But for what it's worth, we are:

E : The smart one. Hails from Delhi, Lives in Bangalore. With husband N.

• Has a penchant for dressing well, which is a far cry from her college days when her wardrobe consisted of one faded blue jeans and a few odd tees/kurtas. Can often be seen wearing dangling earrings.
• Capable of being icy when she wants. Not given to extremeties.Very balanced.
• Likes to think she sings well, but doesnt find her audience agreeing.
• Fond of painting. And is given to other artistic pursuits.
• Has a flexible body structure, ranging at times from "somewhat healthy" (purely in the matrimonial-ad-sense), to "chubby", to "sickly thin" to "just right".
• Her husband N is the cutest person living south of the vindhyas with roots in the great indian cowbelt.

S : The cute one. To be called SVB hereforth and forthwith, to avoid confusion with the other S (see below).

• Hails from and lives in Bombay (or Mumbai for the MNS' benefit). With husband S, a Bengali Bhadralok.
• Expectant mom.
• Would like to, and occasionally tries unsuccessfully to, be mean and nasty at times. But her efforts fall flat, in face of her incurable innate cuteness.
• Inclined towards reading.
• She was last known to be painting a bowl. Inference is she is given to arty-types stuff as well.
• As cute people usually are, she's chubby and has a skin to die for.
• Her hair is her nemesis, being all frizzy and stuff.
• Pretty family oriented in her actions.
• Shares a very cute and amusing (for spectators) relationship with husband S, wherein they are polite and far from demonstating any kind of emotion towards each other. Shy and cute :)

S : The hyper one. Or Stg, for future reference. From Delhi, in Delhi. With husband Tee.

• Likes to think she's cool. But ends up being fussy, hyper and, well, uncool. She likes to blame her parents, esp her mother, for it... what with being an only child and all.
• Given to music and movies.
• On the slim side. While people think it's in her genes (and she likes to maintain that impression), she actually works at it by watching the weighing scale like a hawk, every morning and every evening.
• Loses temper at a hat's drop. Comes across as friendly and pretty confident, but is insecure at heart. Gets hurt pretty easily. Given to sulking.
• Would like to grow up and is actively working towards it.
• Has been known to sport hair lengths ranging from waist length to cropped up. Currently hovering between a bob and a (ugh!) blunt.

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Posted by Stg