The Tale of a Model, 2010
By: Vidanage P. Karunaratne
Published by WSIC EBooks Ltd.
Copyright May 8, 2011 by WSIC Ebooks Ltd.
Smashwords Edition
Smashwords
Edition, License Notes
This
ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may
not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to
share this book with another person, please purchase an additional
copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not
purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please
return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for
respecting the hard work of this author.
DEDICATION
To all my past girl-friends
and to my present girl-friend, my wife
“A fool who is aware that he is a fool, for that very reason, becomes a wise man.
The fool who thinks that he is wise is called a fool indeed.”
--Lord Gauthama Buddha in Dhammapada.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents appearing here either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
CHAPTER ONE
After partaking an early light dinner prepared by her, Sherine and her Guru, Professor Vivek were sitting together on a long sofa watching a popular teledrama telecast on the television. Vivek conspicuously saw the tired and exhausted look on Sherine’s pretty fair face and decided to find out why. He slanted his head to her side and looking askance at her asked compassionately:
“Girly darling, you look very tired; even your eyes too seem very sleepy. Is there any problem? Are you alright?”
“You are right, my darling Sir. I feel very tired and sick as if somebody has battered me. Do you mind if I place my head on your lap and watch the teledrama?” she requested with a cute sweet smile.
“Sure, honey, I don’t mind at all” saying so, he moved himself to the very edge of the sofa and made his lap comfortable for her to posit her head. Reclining herself on the sofa, then she placed her head on his lap almost burying it therein.
“Are you comfortable now, darling?” asked he and began stroking and fondling her head and brow smoothly reminiscent of a scene wherein a dear father consoling his young loving daughter. Thence he saw her beautiful bright blue eyes gradually becoming drowsy. She whispered almost inaudibly heaving a deep sigh: “You may not realize it, my deity, if I could be like this with you forever, I’ll be the happiest girl in the world. Oh! What a serene solace I am feeling in your loving lap and being fondled by you in that manner!”
Whilst they remained in that posture for a considerable length of time, Professor Vivek Vidanage, in his nostalgia was going down in his memory lane. He functioned as a Senior Executive attached to several large Institutions in Sri Lanka during a long period of time prior to embarking on a professional career in lecturing at the State Universities in Sri Lanka and also on the task of training Senior Executives in large Business Organizations. During the period he served the Universities in their Visiting Faculties, he reminisced that he encountered many turnaround events in his life. The very first was his loving two daughters migrating to foreign lands with their husbands and kids almost simultaneously, creating a painful lacuna in their closely-knit family life. The second event was Rani, his loving, devoted and faithful wife for 35 long years passing away all of a sudden. Soon after her demise, with a view to diminishing the trauma from which he was apparently suffering, he rented out his large two-storey house in Nugegoda and joined his two daughters in the United States of America and Australia where he embarked upon extensive studies in the Science of Human Engineering which discipline was not available in the Sri Lankan Universities. Being with his two daughters for a period of little over one year and satisfactorily completing his research studies, he thence returned to Sri Lanka and obtained employment at the American Institute of Higher Learning (AIHL) as a Visiting Professor in Management Studies.
Vivek recalled that Sherine Gamage happened to be a student who enrolled herself at the AIHL in the current year to pursue her studies leading to the Degree of Bachelor of Management granted by University of Maryland in the USA. As he was the most Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Management Studies at the AIHL, he used to deliver a considerable number of lectures to the students in the Faculty and consequently he found Sherine attending many of his lectures. He noticed that she was one of the prettiest girl-students in the Institute and thought that it was no wonder as she happened to be a rather popular model by profession. As she reminded him of his own wife, Rani in her early twenties, he thought to himself that she too may be in her early twenties.
From the very outset of his career at the AIHL, Professor Vivek had become the most loved and respected Academic among the student population perhaps mainly dependent on his easy approachability and kind and courteous behaviour demonstrated with his perennially wet compassionate pair of eyes which the students, especially the females, regarded as a cynosure. Sherine was one such female student who became especially attracted to him in that manner and acknowledged her appreciation with a coy, pleasant smile extended towards him.
Vivek sold his motor car just before he migrated to foreign lands and since he did not feel the dire need to purchase another one on his return, because of the fact that his only travel outside home was limited to arriving in and returning from the AIHL, he was in the habit of getting a hired taxi-car for that purpose. His method of travel was very soon observed by many students who used to attend the Institute in their own motor vehicles either self-driven or chauffeur-driven and they made it a pleasure to offer him lifts to his home. One day, soon after the conclusion of one of his lectures, whilst he was resting a while in the class-room, he saw Sherine approaching him adorning her pretty countenance with an alluring broad smile. He noticed that she wore a tight-fitting pair of jeans and a matching blouse.
“Sir, may I have a word with you?” she asked and when he nodded with an appreciative bland smile, she said, “Do you have a visiting card, Sir?”
“Oh! Yes, I have, Sherine” replied he and pulling his wallet from his trouser pocket, took one of his visiting cards from it and gave it to her. Thereupon he saw her perusing it attentively and turning her smile into a broader and more alluring one and remarked: “Sir, I am staying in a rented out room very close to your residence little beyond your lane at the farther end. But as I take the main road to come to the Institute, generally I don’t pass your house. Sir, if you don’t mind, it is a pleasure for me to pick you up and drop you back home when I travel daily to the Institute. Am I fortunate enough to get that privilege from you, Sir?”
Vivek smiled gratefully and uttered: “Sherine, you are so kindhearted to offer help to a person who seems fit to be your father. After all, dear, you keep on reminding me of my dear departed wife when she was in her early twenties and my two lovely daughters who are far away from me now. Therefore, I have no heart to decline a most kind offer coming from a daughter like pretty lass. By the way, Sherine, how old are you?”
“Thank you very much, Sir for not declining my humble request. I am now twenty three, Sir” she mentioned with a grateful sweet smile and added, “Shall I keep your visiting card with me, Sir?”
“Alright, you may, dear” she heard him saying and said, “then Sir, from today evening itself I think I’ll have the privilege of being your humble lady chauffeur, alright?”
As he nodded appreciatively, she took his leave and left the classroom.
*****
On that day, for both Professor Vivek and Sherine the lectures were over by 4.00 p. m. When Sherine drove up to the Nugegoda Town under the proper directions of Vivek, the moment she brought her car to a halt near the gate of his residence, alighting from the car, he opened the gate and invited her to admit the car to the front garden.
“Sherine dear, park your car under that shelter” he said smilingly, “come on; let’s have some cookies and tea.”
Once they entered the large two-storey residence, Vivek lucidly observed the pleasant smile that spontaneously sprang up on the pretty face of his student, may be in profound appreciation of its well-kept nature and obvious cleanliness. She looked asquint at him and asked, “Sir, may I look around your house for a while? I am really surprised the way you have kept it so nice and clean being alone too.”
“Thank you girly, for your appreciation” he uttered and holding her hand added, “don’t worry, I’ll show you the entire house a little later but before that shall we have some tea to refresh ourselves?”
Trekking along with him to the pantry, she undertook the preparation of tea while he opened a tin of cookies and sliced some cheese taken out of the refrigerator. While having tea, their dialogue dwelled on many topics. As they were driving home, he on his own disclosed to her how happy and contented he had been when he had his wife and two daughters with him in the same residence. Since she had not divulged anything about her personal life to him, she made use of this opportunity to disclose some matters concerning her past and her career. Sitting comfortably on her seat, she heaved a deep long sigh and smiled pleasantly and began talking.
“Sir, I think you are the kindest and most sympathetic person I have met in my whole life. Therefore, I regard it as a privilege to disclose many important things concerning my life which I am very certain that you’ll never reveal to anybody. To begin with, do you know, Sir that I am still unaware as to who my father was, whether he is still living or dead? We hail from a remote village from down south and my mother brought me up with so much of difficulty until I passed my Advanced Level and qualified myself to gain entrance to a University in Sri Lanka. As we were downtrodden socially as well as financially, my mother didn’t have the capacity to send me to the University and consequently I had to find employment to sustain ourselves. As I am fortunate enough to be endowed with beauty and good looks, I could become a model in which profession I earned enough to sustain my mother and myself comfortably.
“But, Sir, my mother never wanted to abandon her small house property in our village and come to Colombo with me. Anyway, as she was not sure whether she will live a long life, she transferred that renovated house property in my name on a deed of gift. About three months back, she succumbed to the heart ailment she was suffering from for some time. After giving her a decent funeral in our village, I entrusted that house to the four female boarders who have virtually become our family members and started residing in Colombo permanently. Sir, I am an orphan now and that may be the paramount reason for me to get drawn to your exceptional kindness and compassion” stating thus in a quivering voice, she glanced at him with tear filled eyes.
At this juncture, Vivek came very close to her and stroking her head sympathetically muttered, “Don’t you worry, Sherine dear, when you are near me, I feel like having my third daughter with me. So, if you encounter any problems, please remember that I am always there to help you out, O. K……”
She then passed several humorous glimpses at him and asked, “Sir, please don’t get angry with me for asking this unwanted question from you. What is your age, Sir?”
“You silly little lass! Why should I be angry with you for asking my age, ah? I am now 63, you know; exactly 40 years your senior!” he replied with a mild laugh.
At his reply, she seemed rather surprised; with almost dilated pair of pretty blue eyes she remarked: “I am not joking, Sir, but you really look about 10 years younger than your age. In fact, Sir, all the girls in our class think that you may be around 50 or 52. And I must frankly disclose that they all think that despite your seniority, you are the most charismatic of all the members in the Academic Staff with an appealing attractive personality.”
“Do you also think so, Sherine dear?” he queried with a hearty laugh and glanced at her with a queer look illustrating hilarity.
“Why not, Sir? On the very first day you came to deliver a lecture to us, I observed it and told the other girls in the class about it and they all agreed with me. Somehow or other, they have come to know that presently you are single and started teasing me connecting your name with mine and asking me, ‘how do you like to become a Professor’s wife?’”
As he did not respond to her verbally but only grimaced, perhaps she thought it prudent to change the topic and stated: “Sir, do you know that I assisted our Miss. Sri Lanka, Monica Pereira at the 2010 AIFA Festival as an associating model? They made a handsome payment to me for my participation and services and with that money and with some additional money in my Bank, I purchased my Tata Indicar that I am using now. Anyway, Sir, my sole ambition is to become a graduate in Business Management and get employment as an Executive in a large organization and not to remain as a model throughout. And that is the precise reason I enrolled myself at the Institute to do the Degree.”
“That’s a very wise step you have taken, my dear” remarked Vivek, “by doing so, not only you can enhance your current knowledge but also improve your knowledge of English. I am prepared to help you not only in the subjects I lecture at the moment, but in the other subjects you offer, as well.”
“Thank you very much, Sir, it’s so nice of you to help out this poor orphaned girl” she said slowly with downcast eyes.
He again stroked her head with heartfelt sympathy with a pleasant smile and said, “Hey, girly, you wanted to see my house, didn’t you? Come with me, I’ll show the entire house to you step by step. O. K…..”
Thereafter, starting from the ground floor, he took her to the upper floor also and showed her the entire house; he saw a fascinated look in her bright blue eyes and asked smilingly, “so dear, what do you feel about my house?”
“It’s a marvelous house, Sir but you are staying all alone in it. Sir, will you scold me, if I make a humble proposition?” she inquired displaying a pretty pair of twinkling eyes.
“Sherine dear, you know very well that I don’t become angry for anything. I strive to shed away jealousy, anger, hatred and arrogance as a means of purifying myself. As such, you can ask anything from me, without any fear of my becoming angry, alright?”
She then smiled coyly, “please, Sir, will you permit me to come and reside in your house as a boarder? I can pay you the same rent I am presently paying to my present landlord. If I am fortunate enough to get a chance like that, I think I am going to live in a heaven like abode.”
“Don’t be so silly, my girly, do you really think that I am going to charge a rent from my third cute little daughter, ah? Certainly, I don’t mind at all, if you come to here to reside even today” he declared determinedly.
Quite unexpectedly, he witnessed her kneeling down before him in a worshipping mood and in a quivering voice murmuring, “You are my Godsend guardian, my respectful Sir, my Guruji!”
Thereupon, he raised her by her shoulders and looked directly at her beautiful bright blue eyes; he saw them clouded with tears, perhaps tears of joy and consolation, he mused. In the ensuing moment, she leaned against him and posited her face on his shoulder and he fondled and stroked her head emotionally. She raised her fair pretty visage and smiling complacently asked: “Today is too late, Sir. As tomorrow is Saturday and we don’t have lectures, shall I bring my things here tomorrow morning, Sir? I can pack all my belongings in my car and come here.”
“That’ll be fine, dear. But, will your landlord refund the advance you have made to him?”
“My landlord is a she and not a he, Sir. I hope being a kind lady, she’ll deduct only this month’s rent and refund me the deposit I have made to her.”
“So dear, then the person concerned is landlady and not landlord as you mentioned earlier” he quipped smilingly.
*****
On Saturday around 10.30 in the morning, Sherine came to reside in Professor Vivek’s residence bringing all her bag and baggage as well as all the other paraphernalia belonging to her. She became profoundly delighted when she saw that he had allocated to her the best room available in the upper storey of the house complete with an attached bathroom. She felt more or less emotionally attached to him when he helped her to arrange the room in terms of her preferences. Once the room was completely arranged, he remembered how she like a small girl, approached him slowly and hugging him, planted a lovely affectionate kiss on his cheek and whispered, “this is a gesture of gratitude to the handsomest Guruji from his ever grateful girly student with heartfelt love.” He too acknowledged her gesture by stroking her head in a heartwarming manner.
Soon after the arrangement of the room was completed, both of them came down to the pantry to prepare lunch for them. Not allowing him to perform anything in the preparation of lunch, she made him sit on a chair and said determinedly, “Henceforth it is my duty in the house to prepare our meals and your job is to watch me doing it, O. K.. Sir?”
He responded with a broad grateful smile and uttered, “O. K…my dear girly, if that’s your wish then, I have no objection whatsoever. To tell you very frankly, my dear, I wonder whether those bygone days I relished very much are coming to me again with your presence here. And on your part, Sherine dear, never torment your innocent heart that you are an orphaned girl. Always regard me as your faithful Guru and benefactor who will stand by you in whatever calamity, alright!”
While cleaning the vegetables taken out from the refrigerator, she adorned her beautiful fair countenance with one of those bewitching smiles she used to display while she was posing as a professional model walking on the catwalk. She uttered in a sweet, melodious voice: “Today, I really feel like a member of your family, Sir. Would you on your part, for all intents and purposes, regard me as a loving member of your lovely family, Sir?”
“Why not, Sherine dear? As I mentioned earlier, I think I am about to dispel my loneliness and solitude and again arrive at the threshold of happy family life with your coming to reside with me in this peaceful haven of mine. I hope that even after getting through your Degree, you will continue to stay with me in my peaceful haven, will you, dear?” he replied complacently.
“I will now itself give you that firm pledge, my respectful Guruji!” she declared determinedly with apparent desire.
While lunch being prepared, both the girl-student and her Guru discussed many matters concerning their private and intimate lives. When they finally concluded their dialogue, it seemed that they had disclosed everything to each other making them extremely intimate mutually. He, as a matter fact, intimately felt that his ‘third and youngest daughter’ has come to stay with him forever and exhibited unrestrained fatherly love towards her. Nevertheless, since she had no experience whatsoever of being a daughter to a father or a younger sister to an elder brother, she thought that she failed miserably in reciprocating his fatherly love towards her. Consequently, he felt that the affection she extended towards him preponderantly dwelled on Platonic Love which meant purely spiritual love for one of the opposite sex. It became profoundly manifested when she made this utterance soon after serving food to his plate:
“Sir, this is my fervent wish; would you mind allowing me to fulfill that wish; that is to feed you with my own hands the food I have personally prepared?”
He smiled demonstrating heartfelt affection and love because her request was nothing unusual or unfamiliar to him. His two daughters, Manik and Menaka and wife, Rani were in the habit of feeding him from their plates with their own hands. Thus, her request brought him nostalgic memories which prompted him to say, “go ahead, dear, I really relish eating food from your hand.” Hence, getting the green light from him, she promptly sat beside him and serving some more food into his plate began feeding him with her right hand adorning her beautiful face with a satiated smile. Almost with the very first swallowing, he felt that her food was undoubtedly tasteful and delicious and patting her back he declared, “Sherine, dear, you seem to be a marvelous cook. Your culinary acumen is really remarkable, I must say! Actually, from where did you learn to cook so expertly, ah?”
Responding with an appreciative bland smile, she asked, “Sir, do you really think that my food is delicious? My mother was instrumental in teaching me how to cook nicely when we were together in our village.”
He nodded in the affirmative and said, “Frankly, Sherine, I think I must pay you for providing this type of nice and tasty meals which I am getting since Rani’s demise. She was an expert cook like you who always provided me with tasty and nice meals and I feel that those memorable days are dawning for me again with you being here.”
With twinkling bright blue eyes directly focused at his eyes, she asked in a subdued tone whilst feeding him continuously, “Sir, does that means that I am very close to you like Rani Madam? Am I qualified enough to take her place in your life?” and heaving a deep long sigh as if to drown all her sorrows, she whispered, “I think I’ll be the happiest girl in the world if I am fortunate enough to become the loving wife of a renowned erudite Professor!”
On hearing her whisper quite audibly, he grimaced sarcastically and squeezed her ear lightly and said, “You silly little nymphet, although you are 23 years, yet you think like an adolescent. Have you forgotten that 40 year age difference between us, ah?”
Thence, she too grimaced portraying the appearance of an obstinate tough girl and uttered, “Who cares about that hackneyed age difference, Sir? This is the 21st century; please remember that, my darling Professor of Management, O. K…! And haven’t you heard that sublime love which originates spontaneously from lonely hearts has no barriers like age, race, creed or religion or even social status?” Saying so, she served the plate with some more food and started to feed him enthusiastically.
“Hey, girly, now my stomach is almost full; I think I have eaten enough. Why don’t you serve yourself now?” he stated, perhaps in order to divert her attention away from the current amorous conversation, she mused.
Smiling complacently, she thereupon served the same plate with little more food and began partaking her lunch. However, he understood that in her lonely mind the seeds of sublime love that show no respect for age had already begun to germinate even without the explicit knowledge of her rational mind. Whilst having her lunch, he lucidly noticed the lovelorn looks in her bright beautiful blue eyes focused directly at his face. Being an extremely straightforward person, he thought of questioning her whether she entertained any direct feelings of connubial love towards him and also disclose to her about his own genuine feelings; feelings of paternal love towards her. Nevertheless, as he did not want to spoil her lunch by deviating from her line of thinking, he pondered awhile, and served her plate with some more food thus encouraging her to eat a little more.
*****
Immediately after lunch, Vivek watched with much enthusiasm the dexterity with which Sherine cleaned and wiped the utensils, plates and cutlery that were used to prepare lunch and thereafter swept and cleaned the entire pantry. A spontaneous contented smile appeared on his face when he realized how soon she had made herself a professed member of his family. Subsequent to finishing all her work when she came and sat beside him, he thought of showing her his compact library laden with thousands of books on many subjects.
“Sherine, dear, you are a very clever girl. I saw how methodically and neatly you cleaned the pantry. Come, I’ll show you my compact library. There are more than five hundred books on Management alone. You may read them at your leisure but don’t take them out of the house. And you are at full liberty to ask from me anything you don’t properly comprehend, O. K…” mentioning thus when he climbed the flight of steps leading to the upper floor of the house where the library room was located, like a small girl trailing her father, she held on to his hand and followed him there.
She became astonished the moment she witnessed the large number of books on the subject of Management arranged on shelves classified under various sub-headings. Still holding his hand, she asked, “Sir, have you read all these books, yourself?” displaying surprise. When he nodded and said, “Yes, dear, I have and that is why I have become a Professor of Management Studies today,” she looked asquint at him bashfully and quipped, “Is there any way, I could get that knowledge from your brain directly, Sir?”
At her childish question, he could not stop laughing. “Why, girly, do you think that there is a short cut to gather that knowledge from me direct, ah?” he queried her in the same laughing tone.
“Yes, Sir, there is only one way” she replied smiling shyly, “the girls in our class say that if I drink from your…………….”and at once clung on to his body hiding her face in his bosom and whispering, “I am ashamed to say anything more, Sir!” And he, in no uncertain terms, understood what she really meant to say.
“You silly pretty lass! So, did you believe what those crafty girls wanted you to believe, ah? Sherine dear, they were only trying to pull your leg; trying to lead you on the garden path, you understand? There is no such short cut in order to acquire that knowledge; the only avenue available is to study hard and genuinely comprehend what you read. That is the precise reason I told you to ask from me anything you don’t understand in the proper perspective, so that I can provide you with the accurate answer” mentioning thus, he stroked her head posited on his shoulder rather affectionately and placed a mild kiss on her crescent like brow. Perhaps, stimulated by his move, when she raised her head and focused her pair of bright blue eyes at him, he in no mean magnitude, saw the tremendous love registered in her beautiful eyes. He then felt that her clinging metamorphosing into a tight caress that unintentionally took him to the pristine times when young Rani used to make love to him by entwining with his whole body. Thence he wondered whether young Sherine was endeavouring to enter his life filling the void created by Rani’s demise.
In the ensuing moment, he again felt her tight caress becoming somewhat bewildering making his whole body shudder in ecstasy suppressing his paternal feelings towards her. He very well knew that he was still sexually very much virile and turned somewhat ashamed when he found that his unprotected ithyphallic trying to run riot under his sarong. Does it mean that he too had begun to love her overstepping all the boundaries of ethical concerns, he pondered. Whatever the concerns may be, eventually he found that he too was enwrapping her torso tightly with one hand placed on her back and the other just below her orange like pair of buttocks.
In their solitary confinement within the four walls of the library room where not even a slight movement of another human being was felt and under the soothing breeze of the ceiling fan rotating overhead, the twosome was unable to fathom how long they remained in that intertwining posture. Clinging on to him by encircling both her hands around his neck, he vaguely felt her attempt at lowering his head and eventually placing a train of warm wet kisses on his quivering lips. When he remembered that he too was reciprocating with equal responses on his part in a more lascivious and vigorous manner, he discovered that his unprotected and untamed membrum virile becoming rather turgid and erected underneath his sarong, penetrating into her crotch over her skirt. Becoming profoundly aware of his manifest arousal, perhaps to facilitate a further deep penetration, she too encircled both her hands around his buttocks tightening deeper their magnificent conjunction. Thereupon, placing an eternal deep and long kiss on his lips, she murmured as if in a fantasy dream world:
“Please, my darling Vivek Sir, don’t ever keep on thinking that I am your third and youngest daughter; I jolly well know that you can’t maintain that type of relationship with me, because in the deepest point in your heart you regard me as your ever loving wife, Rani has come back to life in the form of young Sherine. Furthermore, in the past few minutes you, my darling Sir, proved to me beyond any doubt, your latent sexual feelings towards me. My Goodness! I never thought that you are that much stronger like a steel rod! It nearly pierced into me! Therefore, let us face the reality, my deity! For all intents and purposes, consider me as your girl-friend, lover and devoted and faithful wife from today onwards. To tell you the blatant truth, I don’t care two hoots for the age difference existing between us. Tell me, darling, who is there in this whole world capable of questioning us on that issue, ah? I am an orphan; you too are virtually in the same position. So let us for the time being, keep our love affair a top secret confined only to two of us. I’ll never say anything about ourselves to my colleagues in the Institute. Once I pass out with my Degree, we’ll get married; will that be alright with you, my darling Vivek Sir, my eternally loving husband?”
Professor Vivek, perhaps extricating himself from the sensual veil surrounding him, tried to face the reality. What his young girl-student, now turned his young lover-girl stated was the blatant truth, he surmised. Both of them belonged to the same category, more or less in the same boat. He was all alone, his loved ones being far away while she was all alone, being an orphan. In the circumstances, what harm being done if they continue to live together in their peaceful haven in total harmony and tranquility minding their own business, he questioned himself. Hence, adorning his fair countenance with a broad sensual smile, he cupped her round-shaped plump pretty fair face in both his hands and posited a deep amorous kiss on her red lips and uttered:
“Yes, my most beautiful nymphet, Sherine, what you said is all true and confirming the reality. From today onwards, let us be true lovers, my darling! We’ll quietly live together in this peaceful haven of us; you study hard and get through your Degree and I’ll render all the support you need to achieve that end. Thereafter, we’ll tie the nuptial knot as husband and wife, O. K... my golden angel!”