Guess What?

I absolutely hate shopping and  try not to go to the malls as much as possible. But kids have school holidays and I decided to take them to the movies..and one thing lead to another and we found ourselves in Kmart..and guess what? They already have Christmas decorations out for sale..and I grumbled as usual ” why do they even bother taking the decorations off the shelves after Christmas? they should just continue to sell them! We haven’t even celebrated Halloween for Pete’s sake”

And as I grumbled and mumbled, my youngest made a beeline for the Christmas chocolate section. She started to  read all the labels and said ” Thorntons, I have never heard of Thorntons”
“Did you say Thorntons?” I asked her
“Yup” She replied, took the box from the counter and showed me..
Bloody hell, I thought.. I haven’t had a Thornton’s Chocolate for 15 years!!

My father used to say, “a chocolate is a chocolate if it is a Thornton”..
And I always remembered the name..
And then I went to UK to study..

Each morning, I walked past the Thornton outlet on my way to Uni..I am not a fan of Chocolate..but the way they displayed the chocolates were simply awesome..They were also very expensive. I was an International student from a third world country paying premium tuition fees. So though the chocolates looked lovely and nice, the chocolates stayed in the shop shelves..But I loved looking at them as I walked to my class every morning.
Right after the shop, I had to take a right turn to get in to the by lane that would take me to my class..
And in the evening, I used the same lane to go back home..
And that is when I saw her..
The first time I saw her, I was actually scared.
She wore knee high boots, very tight red colour mini skirt, a leopard print top and a tiny leather jacket. She had the 80’s style hairdo ( head full of curls) and as soon as she saw me she said
” hon, you want me to to do you?”
I practically ran all the way back to my apt.

I grew up in conservative India. Of course there were prostitutes..but the ones in Kottayam used to come out only at night and even then they hid their faces under the umbrella,
The local prostitute near my medical college used to come to the STD clinic regularly for treatment..but she too never propositioned to me. Actually, if the senior registrar never told me about her history, I would have never even known that she was a prostitute..Except for her fascination for colourful pink sarees and pink lipstick, she was just like all the other female patients!

So, though I was 23 and well educated and not really a prude..I really didn’t know how to deal with a brazen  prostitute who thought I could be her customer!

I think she knew I was “one of those” women and loved to shock me..
Each evening, I left the University hoping she won’t be there and if she was, I looked down and walked as fast as I could. And without fail, I would hear her throaty Yorkshire drawl ” hon, how about tonite?” “for you 10 quids” etc etc..
Clearly she enjoyed harassing me..

Some days she wasn’t there when I left the Uni and I began to worry about her and it was such a relief to see her again the next day.
And the days started to get short and got more and more cold and I could see her struggling to keep herself warm.. She would  walk up and down the lane,rubbing her palms and patting her cheeks every now and then..
It was snowing heavy one day and as I trudged over the heavy snow but still warm in my parka..She was leaning against the lamp post.. still in her mini skirt and tiny leather jacket..She didn’t even have a hat or mittens.. and I realized, it was just a chance of birth.. that I was warm and she wasn’t..and it occurred to me..that whatever happened to me in my life, there is so much I have to be thankful for..

As for the Thorntons.. I told my youngest ” a chocolate is a chocolate if it is Thorntons”

 

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