Deftly balancing the twenty rupee note and the small cup of coffee that he had bought with the money between his fingers, Sushruta tried his best to complete the transaction with the coffee vendor against the rhythmic rocking of the train, as it steadily passed through the greenery of the Bengali countryside on a spring afternoon. The compartment was fairly crowded, as a lot of passengers were making their way to the town of Santiniketan, which has been famous in the collective consciousness of Bengal due to its association with the Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore and the university that he had founded almost a century ago. Not wishing to make a fool of himself in front of so many people and to not test the patience of the coffee vendor, who was eagerly waiting to sell the beverage to potential customers in the compartment, he somehow managed to transfer the twenty rupee note and placed the coffee on the tray in front of him. Sighing in relief, he gingerly took a sip from the styrofoam cup, steadily reflecting on the purpose of his journey.

Sushruta was an average person, by every stretch of the imagination. Working as an employee in a reputable multinational company for fifty hours a week, his appearance easily betrayed him to be the overworked thirty year old corporate wageslave, no matter how hard he tried to look nonchalant and cheerful. His brown eyes, magnified by the lens of his thick-rimmed glasses, looked tired and exhausted. His t-shirt was sweaty, partly because of the sheer humidity of the weather and partly because the train was running late by an hour at this point. Without admitting to himself, he was anxious, which was evident from the fact that he was tapping his legs underneath the tray on which he kept the coffee cup on rest after taking periodic sips from its contents.

He had planned for this trip, or rather, for this temporary retreat from the monotony of having to commute from his house to his workplace on a daily basis. Unfortunately, it seemed that the exhaustion and anxiety accompanying him as an overworked employee was following him to his retreat. The delay of the train was a huge cause for his worries, as he was intending to take some photographs of the full moon night that was free from the ever-present light pollution of the city, which would become exceedingly difficult to do if the train reached the destination late in the evening. After all, despite being a town that boasted the presence of a central university recognised by the federal government, the town had all the trappings of a settlement that remained relatively untouched by the tentacles of urban living. Naturally, if the train was late on arrival at the destination, he would be able to secure transportation only for reaching the hotel before all forms of local public transport would become unavailable for him to go anywhere else. The next day was to be the observance of Holi, a festival that the rest of the world knew as the festival of colours, which would further complicate his desire to seek any transportation within the environs of Santiniketan as most of the local transportation operators would be intoxicated. All of these thoughts and feelings made him feel unhappy, making him wonder if undertaking this planned retreat was worth all the planning and expectations.

“Are you okay? You look worried”.

Sushruta had closed his eyes, resigning to whatever fate that life had in store for him at this point. He had leaned back against his seat, hoping that he'd get some time to nap for a while before waking up to disembark from the train the moment that it rolled into the platform of the Bolpur-Santiniketan railway station. However, hearing the sudden remark from an unexpectedly sweet-sounding voice, he abruptly opened his eyes and gazed upon the person - or rather, the woman, who had spoken a few moments ago.

His first instinct was that of annoyance and exasperation, for he wasn't expecting to be disturbed in the state of mind that he had found himself in, even if he had known that the vacant aisle chair would be occupied by another passenger at some point during the journey. On seeing that it was a woman that had spoken, he sighed and did his best to control his immediate emotional reactions. He nodded, acknowledging the woman's concern, unsure if the woman was going to sit beside him through the remainder of the journey. Weighing the potential consequences of a hostile and unwelcome demeanour towards a literal stranger, he sighed heavily.

“I guess I am”, he admitted while finishing the remaining coffee and tossing the emptied styrofoam coat outside of the window. “I mean, I’m okay but there's a lot going on in my mind right now. But it's really nothing big or serious and I think I’ll be alright,” he smiled at the unknown woman and sincerely added, “thank you for checking in on me”.

The mysterious woman smiled back in good humour as she settled down on the aisle seat and made herself comfortable. Sushruta could notice a mischievous sparkle in her eyes, but her eyes also reflected a deep reservoir of emotions that he couldn't possibly comprehend at the moment. As she sat down, Sushruta quietly began to observe the woman's physical features. Her hair was cut really short, which ended at the nape of her neck. She had a slender body, but she was also appealingly voluptuous at the right places. Wearing a yellow kurti and white leggings, her clothes were in the traditional colours of spring. However, the most attractive thing that caught his attention were her deep and dark eyes, which spoke in its own language. For the first time in a long time, he was drawn to a woman, even as he tried to hide it with a facade of disinterest.

“Oh”, the woman playfully and cheerfully continued after she sat down beside Sushruta, “it might not be big or serious for me but I can see that it's really important for you.” She caught a strand of her hair between her fingers and tucked it behind her ear, as she continued, “I know I’m a stranger, but in my experience, sharing your troubles with a stranger is really helpful”.

The sincerity and simplicity of her words made Sushruta’s attempts at maintaining a wall of sheer disinterest crumble into a thousand and one pieces. He was amazed at how this woman had, in the matter of a few minutes, had completely disarmed him of his exasperation and weariness. Taking another sigh, and shrugging his shoulders to add more emphasis, he said, “So I’m on this trip that I had planned a month ago, and I had decided to visit Santiniketan to take pictures of the full moon. But the train's running late, it's Holi tomorrow and so I don't think that I’d be able to do anything except being cooped up inside my hotel room”.

The woman raised her eyebrows, in what seemed to be in a state of amusement. With a smile on her face, she asked in playful disbelief, “That's the thing that was troubling you? It looks like the universe has sorted out your troubles neatly. I’m a doctoral student at Kala Bhavan, and I know Santiniketan like the back of my hand. Don't worry about getting around, I know a place where you can get to click some perfect pictures”.

Hearing her words, Sushruta couldn't help himself from being both awestruck and impressed with what the woman said. Not only were his worries out of the window, but to also sit beside a student of Rabindranath Tagore's own university was an honour and a privilege in and of itself. He knew the fame of Kala Bhavan - the Institute of Fine Arts - whose faculty included painters like Nandalal Bose and sculptors like Ramkinkar Baij. Although he wasn't the superstitious type, Sushruta still wondered how life itself can make the impossible become possible in a single moment.

Before he could say anything in protest, however, the woman looked at him and shot back, “I know what you're going to say, and I don't want to hear it. No, you're not going to cause me any inconvenience, because I don't live in a hostel. Besides, it's rare to bump into a complete stranger that you find interesting, and you're certainly quite intriguing.”

Sushruta blushed as he listened to her complimenting him, even if he didn't realise what exactly made him interesting in the deep and sparkling eyes of this woman. “Thank you,” he somehow managed to say, before continuing, “not to come off as creepy or anything, but you're a piece of fine art yourself. I’m surprised that you're studying fine arts, when everyone should be studying you”.

Now it was time for the woman to blush, but there were also the hints of a smirk that was playing on her lips. “I don't know about everyone, but I can see you're keen on studying me. By the way,” she offered her hand to his for a handshake as she continued, “my name is Abira. It's a pleasure to meet you”. Sushruta firmly grasped her hand and gave her a firm handshake in response, as he replied with a smile, “My name is Suahruta and the feeling is mutual”.

~

The brightness of the full moon filled up Sushruta with awe and wonder, as he looked at the dial of his watch while sitting on the carrier of Abira’s bicycle. Even though the train was late to arrive at the station, as he had rightfully feared, the trip wasn't going to be the disaster that he had worried about. Abira had accompanied him to his hotel, and then they had a passable dinner, which was compensated for by the engaging conversation that they had between each other. Now, as they rode through a dark road flanked by trees on both sides in silence, he couldn't help himself from wondering how his fate had changed so drastically. He was so fascinated by the moonbeams sneaking through the foliage that he didn't realise that Abira had stopped the bicycle.

“We're here! Get your camera out, this place should get you some good pictures of the moon”, Abira announced as she got off from the seat.

Indeed, Abira wasn't wrong with the choice of the location, for it was absolutely perfect. On the banks of the Kopai River, which envelopes Santiniketan, the full moon shone so bright that it made the water appear like liquid silver. Heeding to her advice, Sushruta immediately took out his camera and configured its settings, while Abira parked her bicycle and sat down on the grass near him. Satisfied with the settings that he had made to his camera, he began to click pictures of the moon from various positions and angles, as Abira quietly watched him do his job. After ten minutes or so of clicking hundreds of pictures, he sat down beside Abira.

As both of them browsed through the pictures that he had taken of the moon, discussing and commenting on which picture ought to be the best, Sushruta began to feel uneasy. He was sitting very close to a beautiful woman, who was physically and intellectually attractive, removed from any semblance of human civilisation. He could feel himself getting hard and erect between his legs, and Abira's random acts of touching him now and then didn't help with the situation. However, he did his best to maintain his composure.

Happy with the pictures he got, he turned to Abira, saying, “These are some of the most incredible pictures that I've taken in my entire life, all because of your help. Really, Abira, I don't know how I can ever thank you for helping me”.

Her lips curled into a bright smile, which competed with the bright splendour of the full moon. “You don't have to thank me, because I do like helping people, especially the people I like”, she said as she looked at him closely. Suddenly, her eyes widened in surprise, as she remarked, “And it looks like something else about you needs my help as well”.

“What are you-”. Before he could even finish his question, he knew exactly what Abira was talking about, for it wasn't too difficult to follow her gaze. Embarrassed and feeling awkward, he moved a bit away from Abira as he apologised profusely, “I’m so sorry, Abira. This is really awkward. Please forgive m-”.

Without warning, Abira placed a single finger on Sushruta’s lips, beckoning him to be quiet. “There's something I didn't tell you this whole time”, she said as she looked directly into his eyes, “but ever since I saw you in the train, I've been very wet. I usually don't feel attracted to random strangers without knowing who they are, but there's something about you that has set me off. And getting to know you more has made me even more wet by now”.

In his silence, he was stunned. Sushruta couldn't have even imagined this possibility, even as it was playing out in front of him. Abira continued, “You said you didn't know how you can thank me, but I think you do know how you can, and I want you to thank me”.

“But I don't have a condo-”. Before he could hope to finish whatever he wanted to say, Abira leaned into him and passionately kissed him, sucking and biting on his lips as she got on top of his lap. “Fuck condoms, I want to feel you inside me”, she said in between her kisses, “I want you to fuck me like a whore and cum inside me”.

Emboldened by her words and the passion with which she articulated them, Sushruta cupped Abira's face in his hands and kissed her lips back with a ferocity that both surprised and delighted her. He sucked and bit her lips vigorously, making her moan in his mouth as he caressed his hands all over her body. Inserting his tongue to explore her mouth and to wrestle with her tongue, his hands found her soft and voluptuous tits, which rose and fell as she struggled to breathe in his grasp.

Soon, Abira found herself lying on the river bank’s graas, with Sushruta straddling on top of her as he continued to kiss her lips passionately. Her moans became loud, despite being muffled due to her lips being locked with his, as he began to grind her crotch with the erection in his jeans. Breaking their kiss, Sushruta began to kiss and bite on Abira's neck, sending her into a frenzy of gasps and moans, as his hands caught the hem of her kurti and lifted it up to her neck and revealed her bra. Wasting no time, he released her tits from its prison and began to suck on them and bite her hardened nipples, making her moan his name. He loosened the knot of her leggings and slid his hands inside of them and into her panties, rubbing her throbbing clit and the folds of her soaked pussy.

“Aah, don't fucking torture me with the teasing and foreplay, you bastard,” Abira hissed at the pinnacle of impatience, “just fucking fuck me already!”. Sushruta obliged, but he slid his fingers into her dripping cunt and fingered her mercilessly, leaving Abira helpless and wanting more from him. However, she didn't have to wait for too long as Sushruta took off his t-shirt and his jeans alongwith his underwear, revealing his thick and girthy cock glistening with his precum in the moonlight.

She was tempted to get up and take his dick deep inside her mouth, into her throat, but the sensation of the tip of his cock rubbing against her pulsating clit banished all such considerations. Without any kind of warning, Sushruta shoved his dick deep into her vagina, making Abira gasp and writhe restlessly underneath him. Wrapping her legs around his waist to lock him in place, as her body began to sweat profusely due to the intense heat of the situation, she began to relish in ecstacy as he fucked her hard and deep. She moaned and screamed in pleasure, as his cock made its way through her cunt, hitting her g-spot with consistency. Sushruta grunted and groaned, as he continued to thrust into her mercilessly, his fingers pinching and toying with her nipples all the while.

“Oh fuck, ah Sush”, Abira exclaimed in the zenith of her pleasure, “I’m cumming so hard for you, fuck! Fuck me, fuck me like the dirty slut that I am! Fill me up with your cum, baby!” She shrieked quite loudly and her body started to shake uncontrollably, as Sushruta knew that she was in the throes of her orgasm, as her juices flooded his shaft drilling into her vagina. Her orgasm was too intense for him as well, as he moaned out loud and shot his own cum deep into her cunt.

Breathless, with both of their bodies covered in sweat, Sushruta pulled out of her pussy and lay down beside her. As they both recovered from the intense orgasm that they had experienced, Sushruta wrapped her body into his arms and kissed her lips gently. Abira kissed him back with an equal amount of gentleness, feeling his lips curve into a smile as she kissed him.

“So,” Sushruta whispered after he had recovered from his orgasm, “did I manage to show how grateful I am to you?”

With her characteristically infectious smirk and with some chuckling, Abira replied, “Yes, you did.” Stroking her finger on his chest, she continued, “But you need to thank me for what happened between us just now, and you exactly know how to do that”.

Sushruta asked, “Tomorrow then. Your place or mine?”

Abira replied boldly, “Anywhere, for as long as you can show your gratitude to me, Sush”.