They were sipping at a coffee shop near their office. Maya had taken a latte and her friend, a cappuccino.
He looked quite trim and she asked, "What do you do to keep yourself fit?"
"I work out at home at least an hour each evening and a couple of hours on weekends. In addition, I try to walk at least 5 kilometres every morning," he said.
"The footpaths in Bangalore are terrible, and the roads are dusty and full of potholes." she said, adding, "You walk on a treadmill, perhaps, to keep away from all that and vehicle pollution?"
"No," he said, "There's a little wood about half a kilometre from my house, which is ideal for walking. I love spending time there."
"Wood?", she asked, "You are really lucky to have the lung space so near! I would love to see it."
"Why don't you join me this Sunday morning?", he asked.
She smiled to herself. That was a beginning she liked, she thought.
"That would be wonderful," she said.
"Wear some comfortable walking shoes. It's just a mud trail, and pretty easy," he said, adding, "And remember to wear long pants to avoid thorns. I will pick you up from this coffee shop."
On Sunday morning, she turned up at the coffee shop duly outfitted for the walk. He picked her up and drove her to the edge of the wood and parked in a spot where his vehicle would be clearly visible to other road users, so that they could avoid it.
The wood was the property of the Forest Department and had a fence around it. They entered through a gate, which had a board specifying the timings the forest was open to the public. There was also a board with the "Do's and Don'ts" – advising them what they were supposed to or prohibited from doing there. They, however, had a discussion on whether the board should have read "Dos and Don'ts" or "Do's and Don't's". The discussion was inconclusive.
The walk itself was fascinating. They could hear the creaking of the bamboo trees as they bent in the wind and grazed against a neighbouring tree. They could hear the calls of various birds. They even managed to spot and identify a few, though they did have a small dispute on the identity of a particular species. Anyway disputes are part of the deal on the path to friendship. One should not let them break a friendship.
After covering around a couple of kilometres, they looped back by another route back to where the car was parked. He drove her back to the coffee shop.
As they parted, she said, "Let's do it again next Sunday."
He replied, "Sure. My pleasure," as he drove off.
She did not call him during the whole week, so he called her on Saturday, to check whether the plan for Sunday was still on.
She responded in a frigid tone, "I tried to look up that wood on Google Earth. I also looked up the map and find that area is full of large houses. I find that there is no mention of that wood anywhere on the web. Are you trying to pull a fast one on me?"
He was terribly confused. He asked, "What do you mean?," adding, "I took you out there last Sunday. Maybe you looked in the wrong place. I can take you there again tomorrow as we had planned. You can check it out for yourself."
"Okay," she agreed, "May be you can pick me up tomorrow morning at the coffee shop."
"Certainly," he confirmed.
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He looked quite trim and she asked, "What do you do to keep yourself fit?"
"I work out at home at least an hour each evening and a couple of hours on weekends. In addition, I try to walk at least 5 kilometres every morning," he said.
"The footpaths in Bangalore are terrible, and the roads are dusty and full of potholes." she said, adding, "You walk on a treadmill, perhaps, to keep away from all that and vehicle pollution?"
"No," he said, "There's a little wood about half a kilometre from my house, which is ideal for walking. I love spending time there."
"Wood?", she asked, "You are really lucky to have the lung space so near! I would love to see it."
"Why don't you join me this Sunday morning?", he asked.
She smiled to herself. That was a beginning she liked, she thought.
"That would be wonderful," she said.
"Wear some comfortable walking shoes. It's just a mud trail, and pretty easy," he said, adding, "And remember to wear long pants to avoid thorns. I will pick you up from this coffee shop."
**
On Sunday morning, she turned up at the coffee shop duly outfitted for the walk. He picked her up and drove her to the edge of the wood and parked in a spot where his vehicle would be clearly visible to other road users, so that they could avoid it.
The wood was the property of the Forest Department and had a fence around it. They entered through a gate, which had a board specifying the timings the forest was open to the public. There was also a board with the "Do's and Don'ts" – advising them what they were supposed to or prohibited from doing there. They, however, had a discussion on whether the board should have read "Dos and Don'ts" or "Do's and Don't's". The discussion was inconclusive.
The walk itself was fascinating. They could hear the creaking of the bamboo trees as they bent in the wind and grazed against a neighbouring tree. They could hear the calls of various birds. They even managed to spot and identify a few, though they did have a small dispute on the identity of a particular species. Anyway disputes are part of the deal on the path to friendship. One should not let them break a friendship.
After covering around a couple of kilometres, they looped back by another route back to where the car was parked. He drove her back to the coffee shop.
As they parted, she said, "Let's do it again next Sunday."
He replied, "Sure. My pleasure," as he drove off.
**
She responded in a frigid tone, "I tried to look up that wood on Google Earth. I also looked up the map and find that area is full of large houses. I find that there is no mention of that wood anywhere on the web. Are you trying to pull a fast one on me?"
He was terribly confused. He asked, "What do you mean?," adding, "I took you out there last Sunday. Maybe you looked in the wrong place. I can take you there again tomorrow as we had planned. You can check it out for yourself."
"Okay," she agreed, "May be you can pick me up tomorrow morning at the coffee shop."
"Certainly," he confirmed.
**
As he was driving to the wood, after picking her up, he said, "You must have made a mistake and looked it up in the wrong place on Google Earth. Let me show it to you after we reach."
"Are you insinuating that I cannot locate things correctly online?," she asked, with a confrontational attitude.
He backed off from the confrontation. Anyway disputes are part of the deal on the path to friendship. One should not let them break a friendship, he thought.
As he parked his car at the same spot as the previous week, he said, "Here we are! Look, you can see the wood we saw last week."
"Where?," she asked, "I don't see any wood here. I only see a palatial bungalow beyond the gates!"
To his horror, the wood had disappeared from before his eyes and all he could see was a big house with a circular garden in front of it.
Confused, he blurted, "Oh, yes! I see the house. Where has the wood gone?"
Then, he confided, "Sorry! I confess! There was no wood at all. I just hypnotized you into believing that there was a wood and we had walked in it. I just wanted to spend some time with you."
"Oh my god! And I had believed every bit of it. That wasn't a very nice thing to do, but I will forgive you this one time, considering your motive," she said.
"Oh my god! And I had believed every bit of it. That wasn't a very nice thing to do, but I will forgive you this one time, considering your motive," she said.
She smiled and murmured to herself. "Gotcha!". It was exactly what she wanted – a person who would do every bidding, satisfy every whim and follow every instruction she gave. Every word he had uttered from the time they had first met, including the previous sentence, was at her behest. A companion, whom she could mesmerise and control to such an extant that he believed he had hypnotized her and had her in his control! She had him exactly where she wanted him. After all, she was Maya1..
Author's note: I have not named the gentleman in order to protect his identity, as some of you may know him. Any name will work here, for most men often revel in the thought that they are in control and free to make their choices, when, in reality, they are not.
Author's note: I have not named the gentleman in order to protect his identity, as some of you may know him. Any name will work here, for most men often revel in the thought that they are in control and free to make their choices, when, in reality, they are not.
1 Maya means illusion or magic.
***
