This is a story from the time when I was 18 years old. New tenants moved into our neighborhood. In their family, there was a grandmother who must have been between 60 and 65 years old, along with her three sons and one daughter. One of her sons was already married and lived elsewhere; he only came occasionally. Since their house was close to ours, I often went over. Whenever grandma gave me some small task, I would do it for her.
One day, grandma’s granddaughter came to stay with them for a few days. Since I used to visit their house regularly, I met her. She looked quite ordinary—dark complexion, height around 5 feet. Her name was Sudha. At first, she didn’t seem special to me at all.
Days passed like that, but gradually we became friends. In the evenings, Sudha and I would play Ludo. I almost always lost to her because I wasn’t very good at the game.
One evening while we were playing Ludo, something about Sudha suddenly pulled me toward her. I don’t know what it was, but she didn’t notice any change in me. We kept playing, I lost that round too—and along with it, I lost my heart. I don’t know what happened, but I became completely infatuated with her.
That day, I looked at Sudha carefully. She looked so appealing. Her breasts must have been around size 26—completely untouched, like an unripe bud! I didn’t have the courage to tell her, “Sudha, I love you.” A few more days passed like that, but I still couldn’t say anything.
I went to her house every day, but I could never muster the courage in front of her. Every time I went, I thought, “Today I’ll definitely tell her,” but the moment I saw her, I froze like a statue.
Grandma used to go out for work every day from 10 AM to 12 PM and again from 4 PM to 6 PM. Sudha’s uncles and aunt also had jobs. That gave me four hours alone with her—two in the morning and two in the evening—when I could talk to her privately and confess. Yet, even after six full days, I hadn’t said a word.
I remember it was a Saturday. I wrote “I LOVE YOU” on my hand and decided firmly that today I would tell Sudha no matter what.
As soon as it was 10 AM, I sat outside my house waiting. The moment grandma left, I went straight to their house. Everyone else had gone; Sudha was alone. She was washing dishes, so I said, “Sudha, I came to show you something!”
I held out my hand with the writing on it.
Sudha didn’t even try to look. Maybe she already knew what was in my heart. She just kept washing. When she didn’t look, I held her hand and said, “Just look once!”
First she looked at me, then at my hand, read it, and said, “Okay, I’ve seen it. Now let go of my hand!”
I said, “First give me an answer!”
At first she refused: “I’m not giving any answer!”
When I insisted a lot, she said, “Fine! I’ll give you the answer in the evening. Now go, let me finish my work.”
I thought maybe she was saying yes, that’s why she was postponing till evening.
I felt very happy. I told her to come at 4:30 PM and returned home.
That day I was over the moon, thinking Sudha would surely say yes. I waited eagerly for the evening; every minute felt like hours.
At exactly 4:30, I reached her house. She was lying on the bed. I sat near her and asked, “So, what’s the answer?”
She said, “Should I tell you?”
I said, “Yes, tell me!”
I was so excited—the way she was talking, it seemed certain she would say yes. But when she spoke, I couldn’t believe my ears. She clearly said, “No. I don’t have any such feelings for you.”