The Call
Chickchickchickchick….A bonobo’s mating call, echoed through the thick foliage of the rainforest.
“Madame it is raining love for the apes.” The safari guide proclaimed, as he walked ahead pretending oblivion to the love smitten couple, waddling behind him.
Nora blushed pink like a brightly-blown bubblegum as Rajeev winked. He tickled her palm, their intertwined fingers swaying.
Is he the right person? Her doubts pierced the bubble.
In the distance, the Congo roared like a captured beast. Tumultuous, its waves could be heard creating a ruckus. Some thoughts bothered her ebb and flow. Nora’s mind, too, was as fickle as the waves crashing. Right now her thoughts descended on her like a tsunami.
Was marriage the right choice? Her mind could never relax.
“Stop!!” Nora pointed at a cairn peeking through tall grass.
“How beautiful is that!” Her gypsy mind found solace in nature and its ways.
“Oh, those stones, they’re dime a dozen. The tribals here narrate a folklore about a bonobo madly in love with his lady. She…”
“Bro, stay on track. Let’s get to the river.” Rajeev punctuated his story.
Dreamy eyed, Nora put here foot down. “I want to hear it.”
“Nothing much. His beloved would wander off in lust, enjoying promiscuity. But he was monogamous. Loved her eternally. It’s said that the male build these cairns for his mate to navigate her way, back to him.”
Is it real or just an imagination? Nora wondered.
Despite evolution, the similarities between humans and apes were astounding. How despite her straying multiple times, Rajeev created multifold avenues for her to crawl back to him! Many bonobos flitted in and out of her life, but he was the real deal; a forgiving man who accepted her after many betrayals. Wearing colours of a nomad, Nora desired polygamous relationships. She thrived on dollops of modernized philosophy.
“Oh, come on Rajeev, don’t be a drag. Threesome would be fun.” Totally drunk, she had once proposed the inevitable to a flabbergasted Rajeev. He, yet again had let her go; his fingers never forming a grip on hers. His perseverance was enough to draw her back. Who then needed the handcuffs? His magnetism lay in his refusal to pull her towards him. He waited, grain by grain, pain by pain, like the oyster waits to become a pearl.
The home is where the heart is. The heart is where the waiting man is. Realizations dawned on to her.
Embarrassing herself yet again, Nora had returned. And this time for ever.
Chickchickchick… another copulation call echoed. The male surged with hormones. Rajeev's fingers continued their fervent stroking yet maintaining its loose grip. Her male too was inclined towards some good action. The trio reached the banks of the Congo. Now her waves curled in perfect symphony. The roars had reduced to childlike gurgles, she seemed an evolved woman today.
Why was it then just called Evolution of Man?
Nora, the matured woman, smiled pink like a full blown bubblegum, not letting it burst.
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