India Experiences (Short Story)

Dear Diary,

The day began as I woke up to the sound of Bobby and Ronny getting into some trouble, yet again. After getting up to a rude awakening, I slipped out of bed and got ready for the second day on my vacation. My “husband” and I were debating (yet again) about who should take Tina to the bathroom. I relentlessly had to take her. I was quite annoyed by this because I can’t just sit down and enjoy myself. I have “responsibilities” which I really do not want to do. When we got back into the car, we were on our way to the Sun Temple located in Konarak. It was awfully brutal outside. I had to wear very short shorts as well as a tank top. My “husband” was being a typical tourist. He wears a t-shirt (equipped with a camera around his neck), a pair of those light brown man sandals, which every tourist must have, a florescent visor and khaki shorts. I find it almost near impossible not to be embarrassed around him. Our tour guide, Mr. Kapasi, seems like a nice gentleman. While we drove around to our destination, Ronny and Bobby seemed fascinated by the animals. They even tried to pester a goat. As the day progressed, I learned a lot more about Mr. Kapasi. He has been a tour guide for five years as well as an interpreter. I was lost in a dream of thinking about Mr. Kapasi hard at work when Bobby and Ronny screamed out “Monkeys!” Oh, how entertained boys can be by monkeys. My “husband” just had to take out his camera snap a shot at the monkeys. We stopped after a bit to get something to eat. Mr. Kapasi and I took a few pictures and I promised I would mail them to him if he gave me his address, which he gladly did. On the way back to the hotel, Mr. Kapasi started asking me questions about myself and I explained how I did not love my husband and how Bobby was not my husband’s son. I told him how I was in pain. He said “Is it really pain you feel, Mrs. Das, or is it guilt?” That set me off the edge. I stood up and stomped away eating my puffed rice. Little to my knowledge, I was trailing the rice. This made the monkeys hungry for more…and vicious. Next thing we know, poor Bobby is being attacked by the monkeys. I could see all the bruises on him and I wasn’t even that close. I was stunned. I finally managed to escape the words from my mouth. I shrieked, “Mr Kapasi, do something, for God’s sake, do something!” He leapt up and took a swing at the monkeys. I ran towards Bobby. I reached in my bag to get him a bandage and helped him apply it. After that, all we wanted to do was go back to the hotel and go home. We want to go back to New Brunswick, New Jersey and leave India.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Das