"Priapism" by Amitava Nag

Short Story

"Priapism"

Amitava Nag

Previous Page

Next Page

Moronic Ox Literary and Cultural Journal - Escape Media Publishers / Open Books Advertise your book, CD, or cause in the 'Ox'

Novel Excerpts, Short Stories, Poetry, Multimedia, Current Affairs, Book Reviews, Photo Essays, Visual Arts Submissions

About the Author:

Amitava Nag is a writer living and working in Kolkatta, West Bengal, India. He is also the creator and editor of Silhoutette, A Publication on Cinema and Allied Art Forms.

Now You Can

Follow Moronic Ox

everyday on

Facebook

The doctor pulls out a big syringe. He fills it with fluid. Ravi is nervous. Will this work? Is it a good decision to come here? His friend Samir suggested this place – cheap and effective.

“Don’t be afraid. You will have a big one for sure,” the doctor quips as he sees Ravi sweating.

“Is it just one time, doc?” Ravi is anxious

“Yes, this one is one time. If you react well, I will prescribe a two-month course of treatment. Then who can stop you? You will be hung like a horse.” The doctor’s large teeth are visible for a few seconds.

The doctor asks him to lie down then pushes the needle. A sharp, stinging sensation makes Ravi shiver; he almost faints.

“Lie down, lucky man. After ten minutes, try exploring the invader. Plunder what you are gifted with,” the doctor sneers.

He was the gullible one of his group of friends. The others would sometimes take money right out of his pocket to buy ice cream or drinks. Later, they would force him to buy Debonair. And as young men do, they watched the women in their midst. Why are you even looking at these girls?” they chided him. “You can have good, decent girls; leave these to us!” they would jibe at him.

Quite dark, the frame is occasionally lit by the flickers of a solitary streetlight. Soon the eyes of the viewer become adjusted to the opaque stillness of a winter light. The camera finds Ravi loitering outside a dilapidated one-story building, one of many in this part of the city. A man approaches Ravi from a dark alley

“Babu, what are you looking for?” he smiles.

“How much?” Ravi can feel the heat.

“Depends. Good College piece will cost more. Try one, Babu.” The predator closes in on his prey.

Ravi nods and follows the Pied Piper. There is no sound except the dry crackling of old leaves being trampled. A woman cries.

III

Kalpana looks at her watch. It is nine o’clock. Her accomplice confirms that the man has still not come out. It’s over half an hour now. Kalpana knows men don’t survive that long. She grows a little fidgety. It’s a rainy night. How long will she be on the prowl? But this is her job. A job she herself has taken on. This case would have been quite straight-forward. The customary background check was a bit polka-dotted, but that is okay. She knows that in most cases these dots vanish with time, they are not bothersome. She has prepared her report, the evidence, documents – everything is ready. The only remaining question surfaced when her assistant found that the man had been to one of those quack’s clinics.

Ravi looks at the torso of the pale girl. Poor soul, he thinks. She is still wriggling in pain, quite understandably.

“Are you a man or a beast?” she seethes. “You are so rough. No one has undone me like this.” She touches her tender insides, which feel like a ravaged city.

He is surprised. It started well, and he was happy that the medicine had worked. He had a huge hard on, and he couldn’t believe he could be so manly. The girl, who had introduced herself as Rimi, was coy yet apprehensive. He had promised to be gentle.

“You will have to teach me. You drive,” he suggested.

The face of Dipa, his childhood muse, came to mind again and again – she had rejected him like a sanitary napkin.

Kalpana reaches for her mobile. It’s on vibration. Kumar, his accomplice, gives a missed call. That’s what is planned. That means the man is coming out. Kalpana looks into the small mirror in her purse, just a tad of the lip-gloss – red. She unbuttons her shirt a bit, her round breasts swell to the cold air that blows past them. She spots him round the lane as she speeds up.

She hisses. He seems to be in a hurry. Kalpana follows him and holds his hand back.

“What hero? Don’t like me darling?” She bends forward a little. The men don’t refuse her curves, she knows. Only Sanjay has refused her, refused her to this point. She grows pensive for a while knows she has to do her job first. She will have to hold back her hatred towards men, at least until enough money is inside her purse.

“I have to go. I am not interested.” The man tries to break away.

“But you are my hero of the night. I won’t let you go. It’s raining, and I have not earned a penny. I will satisfy you. Guaranteed!” she pleads effortlessly.

“I can’t pay you much…” The man tries to fight his desires.

“You don’t have to pay for the pimp or the room rent. Now take me to your room!”

Kalpana’s solution.

The man is of two minds. His carnal desires are far from being satisfied. He can feel the bulge in his pants. He is not relieved. He knows he needs a girl now. But too much money is flowing out tonight.

She lies on the crumpled bed looking at the man. She has seen so many men, and each one behaves differently when it comes to proving his mettle. She feels like laughing out loud – poor men, their intelligence is confined only to this small head.

She moves a bit.

“What do you do, sir?” She tries to sound innocent

“I do business. What’s your name?” the man questions

“I am Dipa. Your name, sir?’

“You are not serious, of course. And you cannot be Dipa!” he suddenly flared.

“Okay, sir, if you wish you can call me Meeta…”

“I am Rakesh,” he states hesitantly.

“Are you married Rakesh?” Meeta asks.

“No. But I will be shortly. What do you think of me? Will I be a good player?” he chuckles

“Any girl would be privileged to have you. But why can’t you wait, if you are getting married soon?” Meeta rubs herself onto his hairy chest. Rakesh springs like a leopard

“Because I have to find out if I can do it!” he shouts. “The girls used to tell me that I was impotent, that I would never satisfy a girl. Now look at me… Look at me! I can rip you in two. You and any girl.”

“Don’t hurt me.” she says nervously.

“I will make you beg for help,” he threatens.

“Leave me then. And don’t marry!” Meeta gets up and tries to move away.

“Don’t try to run away. I have paid you to obey my orders!” His blood has been boiling for hours now and there is no sign of cooling.

VII

Kalpana senses that there is a problem. This man is not the type she thought he was. He is dangerous. She tries to pacify him, but her effort is useless. The strange erection of the man confuses her even more. How can he remain like this? What is his source of sensation? He talks about some injection; the quack must have administered some illegal drug to make him so inconsolable.

Kalpana considers herself. Is she so much different than this man? She also lost her love to petty politics, and now she is throttling her life in sleepless nights. Is there any decency in this life? And there are so many risks…

VIII

Ravi just cannot believe this. The doctor never told him that the effect of the injection would last so long. It’s more than six hours now. He still feels an urge, but Meeta seems disobedient. What if his new wife is like this as well? No girl has ever honored him for anything. A feeling of defeat seeps in. He looks at Meeta. She is still clothed. He picks up the table knife. “Undress!” he shouts.

“No!” Meeta is firm.

“I will cut you to pieces,” Ravi’s hands tremble with excitement.

“Do whatever you think you can. I am leaving.” Meeta turns to go.

The lights from inside have suddenly blown out and there is a shroud of chilly darkness that covers the space. The background score catches the piercing note of a siren and a police van pulls up outside. Kalpana comes out and speaks to the officer. The officer nods at her in affirmation. Seems they know each other from a previous encounter. He instructs his men to enter the room. Soon they come out with a body draped in a white sheet. They put the body into a van and drive away.

Kalpana looks at her watch. It’s past midnight now. She lights a cigarette and takes a deep breath. The officer has asked her to visit the police station tomorrow for a detailed case history. Before that, she needs to catch some sleep.