The Life of a Night Lily

Chapter 2 – The Long Road to Darjeeling

Year 2231, July

Central station, New Babylon

“I don’t get it, why can’t you fly there like normal people?” my brother asked. “You’ve read the letter like all of us Masoud.” father said, the strain in his voice clearly audible. “They told us to send her off by train, so here we are.” My mother did her best not to weep anymore, it felt like it was all she’d done after the annunciation.

“Are you sure you got everything? I’ve packed everything they asked for. A grey sari, slippers and your identification card. I packed your favourite clothes too, it’s fall soon I know how you like your jeans in the fall, and your br-brown sweater…” she managed before starting sobbing again. I looked at her, she’d been like this for days and no matter what I said I couldn’t get her to calm down. “It’s ok mom, I think we’re gonna wear uniforms…” I said, hoping it would soothe her. It had the opposite effect.

“Last call for Kathmandu, last call!” the conductor bellowed. My brother walked up and hugged me. “If there’s anything be sure to write and I’ll come and bust some heads, you hear?” he said and smiled reassuringly. I smiled back flatly, brushing some hair from my face.

My mom and my dad hugged me too, whispering their good byes in my ear. While I was hugging them, I saw someone in the swarming crowd of the station. I saw Rajan, standing behind a pillar of steam coming from a vent in the ground. I hadn’t heard from him in days, his shirt was unbuttoned and the cotton vest under was visible. He looked at me with tired eyes. Sad eyes. The image flashed my mind for an instant, I blinked and he was gone.

Did I really see him? “Young miss, I’m going to have to ask you step on the train.” The conductor told me as he prodded my shoulder. I shook off the image still on my retina, took my luggage and pulled out the handle, tipping it on its wheels. I waved meekly to family. “Bye then.” I said. “Oh I can’t watch…” my mom winced, leaning on my father’s arm. I bit my lip, intent on not aggravating their pain as I boarded the train.

I pulled my luggage in and got help from the conductor to haul it up on the shelf above my seat. I sat down and looked out through the window on my grieving parents. I felt a slight jerk and saw the platform starting to slide away from me, them standing on it. They’ve lost a daughter today. “They’ve lost me. What does that make me?” I thought. “Nothing?”

I bit my lip and a tear streamed down my face. “Damn it, they saw it.” I thought as my mother’s crying intensified. I wiped it of my cheek and simply looked down at them with my teary eyes. It didn’t last long though, I’d shed all my tears during the last few days, and there would be a while before I could cry more.

After the train had gathered its speed and was moving swiftly through the suburbs, I eyed the letter we had received from the school. Like all tangible documents it was a piece of electronic paper. Actually it’s a misnomer to call it paper since it’s actually plastic, but that’s what it’s called. It is a page of plastic paper that like any view screen can show anything it’s programmed to show. Electronic papers like these are hardwired to show one and only thing, the moment you infuse the data into it, it becomes fixed and can’t be altered. They we’re more like static web pages than classical letters.

This particular letter was a bit special, because it was time coded. In exactly 3 minutes and 20 seconds it would unlock the second part of the message. The first part told me that my train ticket was booked and paid for, what to bring to the school and when and where my train was leaving. It also included a small gallery of pictures of the school. It looked like an old mansion restored to include all the modern comforts but keeping the traditional style from the colonial era.

“Message unlocked.” Soft letters appeared on the screen. I touched the link on the paper and the message popped up.

Dear young Servant Farah:

My name is Servant Lakshmi Buhpathi and I am the principle of the academy that you are to spend your coming four and a half years in. You are as of right now on your train headed for Darjeeling. In just a few hours, you will be at your new home, at the Academy of the Night Lily.

I brought down the letter to my lap and looked out the window.

Night Lilies. The commonwealths most luxurious and prestigious courtesans all hail under the banner of the Night Lily. Many said that they band together in a sisterhood, exchanging valuable information extracted from their owners, making them powerful, and sometimes wealthy, women. Others say that they are nothing but overpriced sex toys for their lecherous owners.

Few and far between and rarely shown by their proprietor, little was known about the life of these women.

I’m not sure what you know or have been told about the Night Lilies, so I will attempt the difficult task of summarizing our school and our sisterhood for you.

You are as of right now a courtesan. Your job is the pleasure and well being of your owner. Yes, owner. You are as of right now owned by the Academy and when it is pleased with your training, you will be commissioned or sold to the highest bidder.

This training includes all the skills that you will need to succeed in your life. You will learn the pleasures of the flesh as well as the ones of the mind, the eye and the ear. You will learn control over your own body and over your own mind. I will say no more in this simple letter, there will be a formal introduction at the academy when you arrive.

As principle the academy’s students have known me in a multitude of ways. As a principle, as a Mistress, as a judge, as a despised nemesis, as a beloved friend or sometimes just a simple shoulder to lean on.

You have to understand that my job is your education and it will always come first to me. Sometimes you will not like what I tell you to do, but at times I promise you that you will revel in the rewards of good behaviour.

Now for your first assignment Ayanna:

As you may or may not have noticed, you have a transfer in Kathmandu but your ticket is not valid for the travel between Kathmandu and Darjeeling.

I immediately stopped and felt my heart skip a beat. I opened my backpack and reached for my ticket. I felt it on my fingertips and pulled it up. “Departure: New Babylon, Destination: Kathmandu” it said. I looked back at the letter.

But do not panic Ayanna, there is a ticket on this train with your name on it, that will take you from Kathmandu to Darjeeling. But you will have to earn it.

You will take all your luggage including backpacks, coats, jackets, shoes, and so on. You will move to the back of the train to the dining car. There you will look for a man named Merchant Abjiri Agarkar.

You will approach him and say the precise words “It may be monsoon in Mumbai, but I hear the weather in Darjeeling is wonderful this time of the year.” He will respond with “I prefer it by the winter, when the leaves fall.”

You will follow this man’s orders as if they were my own. He will be my eyes and ears on this train and he has your ticket. Obey him, and you will have it. Fail, and you’ll be stranded in Kathmandu.

Yours sincerely,

Principle Servant Lakshmi Buhpathi

I looked down at the letter fearfully. “What does that mean? I’m… I’m not ready for this…” I slumped in the chair. I quickly closed my eyes and immediately thought about what happened too runners, those who defied Kalki’s orders after their pruning. Exiled and cast out of the commonwealth to never return. Cast out to the turbulent and dark world outside, alone.

I swallowed hard and stood up, pulled down my luggage from the shelf, slung my backpack over my shoulder and started walking down the aisle to the back of the train.

After excusing my self for what felt like the hundredth time and passed through at least 10 cars I arrived with my unwieldy packing to the dining car. Like the rest of the train, it was sleek modern steel combined with eloquent wooden furniture draped in a beautiful green upholster. The car was relatively empty. A waitress, a bartender and four customers where all who could be seen in the car that would easily fit a school class or two.

I adjusted my strap that was sliding over my shoulder and grabbed my luggage and started walking down. The two nearest customers where female, I walked past them. The third customer had the blue caste mark of a scholar on his forehead, so I walked past him as well. The bartender was a servant, so I disregarded. The waitress was a woman so I walked past her as well.

The last man in the car was sitting with his back towards me and drinking coffee while reading the news on his paperscreen. I walked past him and peeked at his forehead. Yellow mark, he was a merchant.

My stomach felt like a storm in an ocean. I hesitated and must’ve stood besides him for nearly a full minute. He ignored me. Finally I closed my eyes, bit my lip and slid down in the seat across from him. He looked up from the paper towards me.

”Finally got his attention.” I thought. “Yes servant?” he asked me. He was a man in his thirties, dressed casually. Well-trained heavy shoulders and a large jaw. A day or two of bristles on his face, making his jaw line even more apparent. I looked at him a couple of seconds before I realised that I was staring.

“It mah…” my stale voice crackled as I started speaking. Embarrassed I cleared my throat and looked down at the table. “By the lord, why does he have to be so handsome?” Then I realised something and for the first time in a long while I smiled. “He looks a bit like Rajan, but all grown up.” I thought and closed my eyes.

“It may be monsoon in Mumbai, but I hear the weather in Darjeeling is wonderful this time of the year.” I said and looked him straight in the eye. He looked at me for a couple of seconds in silence. My smile vanished “This isn’t him?!” I thought. Blushing heavily, I turned my eyes away and tried to say something but the words wouldn’t come. I looked out through the window instead.

The grabble by the railroad tracks where just a grey blur as they passed by, the rolling landscape further away was easier to fix my eyes on. I mustered up enough courage to look back at him. Slowly I turned my eyes, wanting to sneak a peek at what he was doing. He was still looking at me.

I quickly turned my gaze back to the window, feeling like an idiot. “You know…” he began. “This is a bit silly, but I really feel that it’s better in the winter, when the leaves fall.”

Relief. I had thought I knew the meaning of this word, but it got redefined in my mind after this moment. I exhaled audibly and looked at him. He smiled. “I’ve got something that’s yours. It’s in my cabin, grab your things and we’ll go get it.”

“He wants me alone?” I wondered too myself. I stood up and walked after him with my things. We passed two cars further back in the train until we got to the last car, containing two cabins. The one in the far back was his. He walked up to the door and it immediately recognized his retina scan and hissed open.

He walked in and tossed his jacket on the small sofa. “leave your luggage in the corridor, and close the door after you.” He said. I let go of the handle to my steamer and dropped the backpack. I walked in and closed the door after me, feeling a jolt in my belly as I heard the door click shut.

He was a handsome man, with broad shoulders, trimmed hair and powerful hands. I clenched my thighs together. “By the lord, Ayanna, you’re acting like a slut. You’ve hardly exchanged pleasantries with the man and you’re already getting ready to do him!” I thought to myself.

“Take off your clothes.” He said as he opened the small closet and pulled his backpack out. “What?” I thought and said aloud at the same time. “What?” He stopped and looked at me. “Be glad you’re not in school servant, they’d not be all that pleased right now.” He said with a smile, apparently amused over the situation. “Now off with them.”

I turned around with my back to him and started to pull my sweater off. An approaching sense of panic raced through my mind. “What does he want with me?” I thought as I studied him in the corner of my eye, as he was rummaging through his backpack. I pulled of my green t-shirt and dropped it on the floor. I kicked my slippers of and undid the knot at my waist that held my khaki pants up and slid them off me.

Crossing my arms self-consciously over my chest, I turned around and looked at him. “There it is.” He exclaimed and pulled out a bundle of cloth out of his backpack. He turned his heads and looked at me. “The rest too.” He said and pointed a sweeping finger at me.

I had never undressed completely in front of another man before. I always wore a nightgown at home in front of my family, even in front of my own mother. Rajan had never seen me in anything more revealing than a swimsuit. I turned my eyes down and felt the heat rise to my cheeks as I hesitatingly undid my bra-strap and dropped it to the floor. “And the panties…” he added.

I put my thumbs inside my panties, slid them down and stepped out of them. I looked down on myself and covered my naked body. My right hand covered my chest and my left hand covering my crotch from his intruding gaze.

“Hand me your clothes.” He said and extended his arm towards me. “And stop covering yourself up silly, I’ve seen naked women before.” He chuckled. “Women? He thinks of me a woman?” I thought. I touched my caste mark briefly. I handed him my clothes but kept myself covered, not daring to show my privates to a complete stranger.

He looked at me scratching his chin. “Hm, you still have one piece of clothing left. Give me your hair band.” I reached up and touched it, hadn’t even thought about it. I always have my hair in a tail with a few strands free over my cheek. I quickly undid it and handed it too him. My straight black hair fell out over my shoulders.

“This is crazy! What the hell am I doing? Standing naked in front of a total stranger?! Alone on a train on my way too a boarding school for courtesans? What happened? I was happy, I had a boyfriend, I had a family that respected me. And now? I have nothing.” I thought as I looked down on my naked body.

Then, the cruellest thing so far happened to me. Abjiri opened the window with one hand and tossed out my clothes with the other, shoes and everything. They disappeared from sight the instant the wind caught hold of them. I looked at him, stunned in disbelief of what had just happened.

“What did you just do?!” I shrieked. “Are you cra…” he put his finger on my lips. “Hush young servant.” I’m not exactly sure why. Maybe I realized the folly of yelling. Maybe I felt he knew better than me. Maybe I kind of liked him too much to complain. But regardless, I fell quiet.

“Good.” He said and took a step backwards. “This is the Night Lilies official uniform, it is worn at ceremonial events and when you travel outside the school. It’s the only thing that you’re allowed to wear on your trip to Darjeeling.” He said and pointed at a bundle of cloth at the sofa. “…unless you want to do the trip naked. The police might have a problem with that, but I’m pretty sure that the conductor and all his male friends won’t.” he said and smiled haughtily. “Actually, I’m going to do you a favour. You’re going to have to earn them.”

“What kind of a favor is that? If he was really doing me a favor, why not just give them to me?” I thought.

I looked at the cloth on the couch and then back on him. “What do I have to do?” I asked. “All you have to do is apply that young and oh so impressionable memory of yours and memorize a couple of things for me.”

I looked at him quizzically. “Obey me without question, remember what I tell you and you will have your clothes and be sent on your way. Otherwise…” He looked at the uniform. “I’ll toss that out too.”

I wanted to ask him what he wanted me to do, but I was too scared. If he tossed out that uniform and left me, I’d be done for. No cellphone, no money, no ID… no clothes.

“I will now teach you to stand correctly. Firstly, put both feet on the ground” he said and pointed at me. Slowly I let down my right leg that I subconsciously had drawn up to cover myself. “Your feet shall be apart, slightly wider than your shoulders.” He told me.

I looked down and realised my feet we’re so close, my toes we’re bumping in too each other. I stood astride. He looked and me and said “Now your feet is in line with your shoulders. What did I say about that?” he asked me, his gazing penetrating my very soul. I cast my eyes down quickly. “You said my feet should be a bit wider than my shoulders.” I said quietly.

“When you address me, all your sentences will end with ‘sir’, understood?” he told me. “Yes… eh. Sir.” I said. “Now tell me again what you said about your feet and your shoulders.” He demanded with a now stern voice.

“I’m breathing faster?” I thought.

“You said my feet should be a bit wider than my shoulders, Sir.” I said and looked at him. I felt a slight jolt in my belly. “Of excitement? Damn it, not now Ayanna…” I thought. “Very good Servant Farah, you learn quickly.” He smiled. I smiled back at him and corrected the spacing between my feet. I could feel the air pass between my legs now, causing my cheeks to blush. “I can be damned happy I’m black, with all the blushing I’ve been doing and no one can tell a difference but me.” I thought and smiled shyly for myself.

“Also, your hands. They should be behind your back and clasped.” He told me. I immediately swung my hands and placed them squarely on my butt and let my left hand embrace my right. “Almost there…” he said and walked up too me. He put his hands on my shoulders. “Shoulders back.” he noted and gave them a simple nudge. I followed.

“Back in, chest out and… you’re done. This is how you stand when you’re naked. When you’re dressed, you’re feet should rather be a bit narrower then you’re shoulders. You understand?” he asked.

“Yes Sir.” I said. My small breasts we’re jutting out, almost as if presented for a viewer due to my shoulders being drawn back. My sex must’ve been clearly visible when standing this far apart with my feet. “Different owners have different rules regarding where you keep your eyes. I’m fine with you looking at me, but at the school they will most likely expect you to keep your gaze at the ground as long as they’re not talking to you. Some owners will never allow you to look at them at all.” He told me.

I looked at him. He was a lot taller than me, and bigger than me. I imagined him kissing me, caressing me with his strong hands, pushing me up against the wall, lifting me up. I closed my eyes and sighed softly. “Did he notice?”

“Your next basic position is sitting down. And when I say sitting down, I mean on the floor.“ he said and pointed down at my feet. “Sit.” He commanded. “Yes sir.” I sat down on my bottom with my legs gracefully by my side. “That may be the position of a movie star, but it is not the one of a slave nor a Night Lily. Stand.” He said.

I stood up, with my arms hanging besides me. He stopped in his tracks and looked at them. “Crap.” I immediately put them behind me and checked my footing, standing astride. He nodded slightly.

“Firstly you kneel. You don’t have to keep your hands behind you now.” He said. I descended down, standing on my knees. The carpet grated uncomfortably against my skin. “Then you sit down your bottom on your heels.”

I put my body down, sitting with my legs folded underneath me. It was a bit uncomfortable, but mostly because of the carpet. “Again, when you’re naked you’re expected to have at least two fists of space between your knees. When you’re clothed, keep your legs shut.” He instructed. I reached down and sat both my closed fists between my knees, measuring the distance.

I looked up at him. “And my hands Sir?” I asked. I felt that jolt in my belly again. “That differs on your owners. Most want you to keep them resting on your thighs. “ he noted. I laid them there, it felt natural. “Others want them palms up on your thighs and I’ve met a select few that want them behind your back. You can choose for yourself.”

“I like it this way Sir.” I said and smiled. As I sat there on the floor naked in front of him, and looked up at him. I felt my pussy getting a bit wet. I froze. “Damn it Ayanna…” I bit my own lip as I felt a trickle of sweat running down my back.

I tried to disregard my excitement as he walked behind me, but then he touched me. He prodded me in the back. “Back straight, shoulders back.” He told me. “Y-yes Sir…” I said and cleared my throat.  “Let’s try it out then. Stand.” He commanded.

I stood up, feet apart and hands behind my back. “Close your eyes.” He said. I did. I stood there, naked in front of this total stranger. I wondered to myself why I trusted him. “Was it because he was handsome? That would be a stupid reason, could be true though. Or was it because my principle told me to trust him? A far more likely reason, but why did I trust her?”

Then I realised how all of this worked, why I was doing what I was. “Because Lord Kalki told me. He pruned me, and told me where to go. He told me to trust Lakshmi and she told me to trust Abjiri. How far would this chain of trust go? Would I trust someone Abjiri gave me too? How many links of this trust would I accept? Should I accept this link, between my principle and the man in front of me?”

My thoughts got interrupted by his hand  touching my hip. I shivered in excitement and exhaled audibly. I felt his warmth coming closer to my naked body, I slightly opened my mouth hoping for a kiss. He whispered in my ear. “In five minutes, room-service will enter this room and give you your ticket. Your uniform is on the couch.” His hand left my hip and touched my shoulder instead. “You will put your peers at the academy to shame… I can tell.” He said, and I could’ve sworn that he smiled as he said that last part. “Such a sweet girl… I really wish you we’re five years older.” His thumb caressed my cheek.

He kissed my forehead and without a moments notice, I heard the door close and I was alone.

I stood there and savoured the moment for a couple of seconds until I felt the train jerk to a halt. The internal speakers chimed softly, “We are now at New Delhi Central. Departure from the train is on the left hand side of the movement of the train. Continued journey to Kathmandu is scheduled in three minutes.” They informed me.

I opened my eyes and looked out the window. A small child and mother stood on the station platform and looked at me. I yelped and tried to cover myself up as I realised that I was stark naked! I fell down to the floor with an audible thud and started crawling to the sofa where my clothes where.

“Mommy, why was de lady nekid?...” the child asked. “What? Where?” an upset voice replied. Thankfully, the mother hadn’t noticed me. “Up dere…” The boy said. “What have I told you about making up stories young man? Come here, wait till your father hears about this…” the voices trailed off.

I exhaled. I grabbed the bundle of clothes and held it up, looking at it. It was just one long purple piece of cloth. One side was a soft dark golden cloth. The other was a beautiful purple cloth with golden embroideries on it. I sat with it in my lap and my finger reached down under it and touched my pussy. “Sopping wet…” I thought, not all that pleased.

Alone again. It didn’t take many moments before my thoughts trailed back to Rajan. “What would he do if he could see me now? Would he go into a furious rage, and fight until I was free? Would he weep for me?” I thought. I softly brushed my wet index finger against my thumb, feeling my slipper juices on them. “Or would this get him off? Seeing me like this?” I closed my eyes and forced myself to think of other things. The clothes in front of me proved a good enough distraction.

I held the cloth up in front of me. “Like a sari?” I thought a bit confused and looked around for the top and the underskirt. None could be found but as I turned the cloth around.

I knew how to put on a Sari, but I usually at least had underwear. I took hold of the hem and fitted it around my waist, making folds in the cloth as I went along and tucked them into my waist, supporting the Sari. I usually wore Saris to school, so I wasn’t exactly unfamiliar with them. I continued wrapping about half the cloth around my waist to a foot length skirt and then happy with the result, I used the other end to fashion a cover for my upper body.

I wrapped under my arm and above my shoulder, making sure the fabric was crisscrossed at least once over my torso, wouldn’t want it falling off by accident now when I wasn’t wearing a top underneath. The sari was hanging off my hips and showed of a bared midriff around my waist, it crisscrossed up over my chest and covered my breasts, but left one shoulder bare as well. My hair hung freely over my back, reaching down to half way over my shoulders. The rest of the sari was slung over my shoulder, trailing down to the back of my knees.

I made some final adjustments and suddenly froze as I heard a knock at the door. “Y-yes, who is it?” I asked, startled. I quickly looked down on myself to check that I was presentable. “Room service. I have a package for you miss.” A voice said. “Ehm… Enter.” I said.

The door hissed open and a grey haired thin man entered with a paper ticket in his one hand. “I was told to give this to the beautiful lady in cabin 1512, no questions asked.” He said with a wheezing voice. I extended my arm towards him for the ticket and he gave it to me. “Thank you.” I said, with maybe a little too much apparent gratitude in my voice.

“Godspeed mi- oh…” he stopped and looked at my sari. “He recognizes it?” I thought. “Last time I saw one your kind was back in -47. She was also riding the train, but from Pune to Darjeeling I think. Beautiful she was.” he wheezed. “She didn’t look as sad as you do though. Anything wrong miss?” he asked me. I looked up at him, not expecting the question. “No, no. Thank you kind sir.” I said and gently laid my hand on his forearm without thinking.

“This man must be nearly 100 years old.” I thought as I looked up at him. His face was weathered and wrinkly from old age, cheeks that was starting to hollow out and teeth that looked like they where about to fall out. He was in no ways a handsome man, but somehow he calmed me. His recognition of me calmed me.

“Do you know where I’m going?” I asked him. “Do you know what I am… or what I am to become?” I wondered. He gazed at me emptily for a couple of seconds. Was he processing my question, wits getting slow with old age? Or did he just not understand why I would ask such a thing?

“Off course, you’re on your way to become one of them lilies.” He said. My face turned to an expression of disbelief. “And you would still touch me?” I whispered. “I’m about to become a whore.” I said, eyes watering. “Why did I even bring this up? I must love tormenting my self, let it go Ayanna!” I told myself in my head.

“Young miss, We’ll have none of that now.” He said and laid his hands on my shoulders and looked meaningly at me, and said slowly. “It’s an honour to meet you.”

Despite the tears streaming down my face, I felt happy for the first time in a long while.

* * *

Wearing only the piece of cloth wrapped around my body, a pair of simple sandals I found in the cabin and my ticket, which I had stored in one of the many folds of my sari, I got off in Kathmandu and had to run to get to my extension to Darjeeling. A well-groomed man in his later years held the door open for me courteously while his wife looked at him with a hint of distaste.

The majority of the people that I met didn’t recognise my sari for what it was. But a select few recognised it immediately and nearly all who did followed up on their recognition in some symbolic. A scholar stopped and bowed to me. A Brahmin woman slapped her husband’s shoulder, as he looked a bit too gladly in my direction. A young merchant raised his chin slightly and smiled in a youthful nod at me. An old lady wished me Godspeed.

I must say, I was used to getting a lot of attention, but this time I was actually enjoying it. I didn’t do anything, I just sat there in my sari, and people noticed me and I think respected me. It was a pretty overwhelming feeling, one that I had never experienced before but would do multiple times again.

I started to feel like a little princess.

As I got off in Darjeeling, there was a chauffeur waiting for me. He walked up to me and asked my name. When I replied, he said he would take me to the academy and that I should follow him. As I approached the minibus, I saw several other girls wearing the same type of sari that I did. “My schoolmates…” I thought. I stopped and looked at them for a while.

They we’re all fantastically pretty, with the graces of a model or a movie star, they stood around and chatted with each other. They seemed pretty nervous. I wasn’t the only one feeling like that then.

I approached them. “Hi…” I said and waved at them. They all turned and looked at me. One smiled and said “Hey you, what’s your name?”  “I’m Ayanna. Servent Ayanna Farah.” I said and curtseyed, slightly. “Hey, I’m Chandra.” A dark skinned Indian girl with curly hair said. “Hey, I said.” We looked a bit sheepishly at each other. I took a breath and tried to break the ice. “So… did a well trained man with a sexy jaw undress you on the train too?” I said and balanced a bit tentatively on my heel.

Chandra covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. I smiled back at her. She leaned forward to me and whispered out loud “No, but a babe with the prettiest belly piercing this side of the Himalayans did.” She said and smiled shrewdly. Amused and blushing I looked down at the ground.

“You a bit insecure about me thinking women are beautiful?” she asked me. I looked up at her. “No, no. Not at all, actually I’m kind of relieved that you do. I think I do too… I’m just not used to it, I haven’t met anyone that’s gay before.” I explained myself.

“I really hope you are at least a bit of a lemon if you know what I mean, otherwise you won’t have a very pleasant stay at the school.” She whispered.

“How come?” I wondered. “Well, it is an all girls boarding school. What do you think’ll happen?” she said and smiled.

“All right girls, it’s time. The ten of you get into the bus, it’ll be a three hour drive to the school and we’re not stopping, so if you have freshen up do so now.” The burly man looked around. “All right then, get in.” he bellowed.

I took Chandra’s hand and quickly ducked into the minibus, making sure that we sat down next to each other. We grabbed the backseat. And started chatting about where we came from. She was from Pune, I told he I was from New Babylon.

Suddenly, a short and thin, dark skinned Indian girl silently padded up to us, with clasped hands resting by her waist. We both fell silent and looked at her. I felt my heart skip a beat.

Her black neck long straight hair framed her heart shaped face perfectly. Her face hinted of an eastern heritage with ever so slightly curved, big dark eyes rested shyly on the floor. She was very small, petite some would say, surely one head shorter than me. Her narrow shoulders gave her a fragile look and her small delicate hands made her more feminine than any movie star.

I felt a jolt in my belly, and a tingling in my chest. My heart pounded softly in my ears and just as Chandra took a breath to speak I interrupted her. “Hey.” I said and smiled. “I’m Ayanna, would you like to sit in m…” I interrupted myself, realising I was about to ask her to sit in my lap. “What are you doing?!” my mind barraged me.

Chandra spoke up “Would you like to sit? That seat isn’t taken.” She said and pointed to the one next to her. “Thanks…” She said barely audible. Her voice was just as fragile and soft as she looked. I felt warmth spread over my chest and thighs. “I’m Chandra.” Chandra said and offered her hand. I saw it and reached over awkwardly over Chandra and offered my hand as well. “I’m Ayanna.” I said happily.

She sat down and shook Chandra’s hand and then mine. I embraced it softly, like a rare flower. Feeling the texture of her skin with my fingers. Her touch was like electrical currents coursing through my body, reaching my brain faster than I could react. I didn’t let go of her hand. “What’s your name?” I asked. “Ehm…” she said shyly and looked at me. “Is something wrong? What did I do?” I thought. “I’m from New Babylon, where are you from? Somewhere in Bangladesh?” I tried, seeing as she didn’t answer my first question.

A loud harrumph was heard from above. The short girl looked up and finally my mesmerized trance was broken. I felt something warm and soft brush against my cheek. I looked up.

The awkward position I managed to press myself into had forced me to push my head against Chandra’s breasts, and without me noticing I had done so for the last 30 seconds or so. I let go of her hand and felt the shameful heat rise to my cheeks and sat back in my seat. Chandra corrected her sari while the Bengali girl giggled, apparently amused. “Finally, a reaction.” I thought and smiled back at her.

“I’m Mahi.” She said and bowed simply from her seat. “Hi…” I said and smiled back. I looked at her and she looked at me. She seemed happy to have made a friend so easily. I was looking at her for different reasons. We talked about this and that for a couple of hours. Mahi didn’t speak often, but when she did I listened with undivided attention. I watched her soft lips moving as she mouthed the words and the way her hair swayed around her face as she turned or giggled shyly. “I haven’t felt this way since… since…” I thought, but was interrupted by Chandra.

She looked around and motioned for us to lean in. “I’ve dug up some information… about the school.” She whispered. She got our attention.

“Ok, what have you heard?” I asked excitedly. “Well, I’ve spent the last week digging up info on the net about the school. Needless to say, there’s almost none to be found. But I did find a Night Lily that I was able to contact.” She said, with a proud smile.

“Really? What did she say?” I wondered. “First she was a bit sceptical, but after I showed her my marching orders from Kalki she believed me. I did get the feeling though that she held a lot back, but she really seemed to be quite nostalgic about the school.” Chandra said. “How old was she?” I asked. “Maybe 30.” She replied.

“So what’s the school going to be like?” I asked. “You know about the school?” Mahi asked softly. “Yeah I do, now listen.” Chandra began and the two of us inched closer to her.

“There are three periods in our attendance at the academy. Each will last one and a half years. We will start out as juniors, then become sophomores and lastly become seniors. Now get a hold of this.” She said and looked at us. “We will have lessons in sex.” She said and smiled. Mahi blushed and I sat up straight in attention.

“You mean like sexology? Reading about biology and stuff?” I asked. “No silly.” She giggled. “I’m talking about teaching us how to make love to others.” I looked at her with big eyes. “Apparently, in our second period, we’re going to learn how to do it with women. And in our third period, we learn how to do it with men.” She whispered.

“What do we do in our first period then?” I asked. “According to her, the first period is like a trial period, hard work from when we wake up until we go to bed. I think we study the biology of sex then. Among other things.” Chandra noted. Mahi tugged gently on Chandra’s sari and tentatively asked, “How long is a period?” Chandra turned so we both could see her while we talked.

“A bit longer than a school year. Three semesters, one and a half year.” She answered. “Ooh…” Mahi responded. “So we’re here for four and a half years?” she asked. “I guess so.” Chandra replied.

“There is another school a couple of kilometres away from ours. The Academy of the White Tiger. It’s apparently like ours, but for boys.” Chandra explained. “Oh…” I cooed, liking what I heard. “We’re going to live in dorms, that are located in corridors that belongs to a specific house. There’s four houses, and each house has two corridors per floor and two floors. Each corridor has three dorms and each dorm houses three students. You with me?” she checked. We both nodded.

“Will we have to share bathrooms?” I asked. “I think so, she didn’t really say.” Chandra replied. “18 people in the same bathroom, that’s going to be messy in the mornings.” I pointed out.

The bus took a turn in on a small outlying road leading through the woods. After a while it stopped at a closed gate and the driver had to identify himself to a terminal in order for the gate to open.

“Now listen up, because this is important. You…” she said and pointed to both me and Mahi. “…are going to have a twin. Another girl that you will be doing everything in school with. You will do all assignments together, you will be graded together and you will most importantly live in the same dorm as your twin.” Chandra paused and looked at us.

“So, you’re going to live with your class mates?” Mahi asked quietly. “Not exactly.” Chandra said. “Each dorm consists of three rooms, and each room is inhabited by three pairs. One junior pair. Juniors are the ones attending the first period of the school. Then you have one sophomore pair. That’s the second period. And lastly you have a senior pair, and that’s off course the last period.” Chandra lectured on.

“So wait, we’re going to live with sophomores and seniors? How old are they?” I wondered. “Well, the seniors should be uh… three years older than us. So 18.” Chandra said. “Between 18 and 19.” Mahi noted from her corner.

I looked at Mahi. She hid so shyly behind her hair, but whenever she spoke she almost always said something smart. I watched as she pulled in her lower lip and wet it in her mouth. My gazing got interrupted by Chandra’s voice yet again.

“But here’s the thing. Apparently the seniors can order the juniors, us, around.” Chandra said in a solemn voice. “What? All of them?” I said, almost standing up from my seat. “Sssh! Quiet!” Chandra said in a covered voice. “Sorry.” I sat down, feeling a bit stupid. “Well? All of them?” I asked again, obviously alarmed. “No, not all of them. Just the pair in your dorm.” Chandra said. “What can they do to us?” Mahi asked with her faint voice. “I’m not really sure… The lily I talked to had to go then. But…” she said and pointed out through the window. “I guess we’ll find out soon.”

The three of us looked out at a collection of stone houses standing on a hill. A large marble house in five stories stood tall in the centre of the hill. Around it a number of smaller houses stood around them. A large garden could be spotted behind it. We drove by a wooden fence and inside a number of horses stood and treated themselves to an especially large tuft of grass. They looked up on our bus with curiosity as we passed by. In the distance, on another hill sticking out of the forest lay another mansion.

The Academy of the Night Lily loomed up above us, holding our futures.