TORA'S CONVERSION

I am a female ascetic and I call myself Tora which I heard is tigress in Japanese. I am the youngest of 3 daughters of my parents and will be 20 next birthday.  My sisters have married and have settled elsewhere. How do I look? Well I am attractive, am fair and am slender and tall. I have long hair reaching up to my hips which I’ve knotted behind my head. I wear ochre robes concealing the feminine curves with which I’ve been amply endowed. I am unlike my sisters and have decided to be a nun. I drew inspiration from my dad who is a popular lecturer on philosophical matters and he had no objection to my resolve. I decided I would live my life privately without going into some monastery.

One day I got wind of the fact that someone was needed to be an entrant into a new unknown region. It required courage and good health. I offered myself for the job. I was interviewed by Skip who would command the expedition. Skip said “Tora, this job requires a lot of guts as you would’ve to go on risky space travel and besides you would be going into new territory all on your own.”

I said “I’ve the guts. I’m reconciled to death anywhere. You see I’m a nun who has renounced the world and have made up with the Maker.”

He said “Congratulations! You’ll be the first woman space traveller to the planet Tellus. It is earth’s twin, younger by about 800 years and is evolving.”

I got concurrence from my parents to undertake this journey. Skip called me and said “I’ll be in command of the space ship. It will take off from here and reach Tellus which is uncharted territory. Once I drop you there you’ll be on your own as I go into orbit.  I’ll come down to you once you’re ready or face some danger from man or beast.”

I said I understood it all.

He continued “After we take off from here I’ll set the course to Tellus. I’ll orbit around it to find a suitable place and time to land. I’m sure you understand about needing a suitable place. The timing is also important. I plan to land you early in the morning so that this craft won’t be widely seen. I’ll then go into orbit again for say 4 or 5 days or even less in case you need help due to some danger. In that event I’ll try to reach you in about 3 to 4 hours.”

I asked “How will I contact you?”

“You can’t. However, I’ll maintain contact through this bead. You fit it into your ear as some ornament and you’ll receive my messages. Remember I can voice contact you only for the short while I’m overhead in orbit.”

“How will I contact you if I need your help?”

Skip said “See this little hair clip. You will fit it into your hair. When some need comes take it off and press the button on it and I’ll be with you as I said.”

“Can I take my change of apparel in a bag?”

‘Okay. Earlier I had thought of landing in the middle of mountains near Ficoq but it’s very cold there. So I’ve decided to land you in the region of Rubi Isle which has a tropical weather. Getting to land you correctly will be tricky as there’re no ground facilities on Tellus. I hope you fully understand the risks you’re running if you decide to come along.”

He spoke into the phone and said to me “Would Friday, that is in about 36 hours, suit you?”

I said “Sure. I’ll be ready.”

“And no need to give unnecessary publicity to your mission.”

I said “No one except my parents will know.”

The craft was ready around midnight on Friday and we blasted off. I was a bit frightened but then novel experiences like weightlessness absorbed me and I was at peace with myself.

I don’t know how many hours or days I spent on the spacecraft. Skip phoned me from his tower and said “We’re now directly over Tellus. I’m trying to put you down in an hour or so.”

Like he said I was on the seashore as planned. It was early morning perhaps too early even for fisher folk as the beach seemed empty. Carrying my bag I walked on a trodden path when I saw fairly large sized monkeys jumping from trees. I got a message from Skip: Due to lack of ground support I’ve landed you on Monkey Island instead of on Rubi Isle. Monkey Island is said to be a wild place due to inhabitants. Be cautious.”

Now fear overtook me. I wondered why I volunteered for this journey. Suddenly there was a man’s voice shouting and I turned to look. He was a tall man completely naked.  Will he kill me? Or rape me? I’m still a virgin.

He did neither and led me to a settlement. He took me to the largest house where there were guards and they allowed us in. And in a moment a fairly young lady who was completely naked came and sat on a sort of throne. On her orders, 2 nude male guards unclothed me totally. I assumed she was queen and saw she wasn’t about to harm me. She made me sit near her and ordered the guards to withdraw. She attempted conversation but I was totally ignorant of the language spoken on Monkey Island. I had had no breakfast and was starving. I signed asking for food. Soon breakfast was available to us. It was palatable though it had an unfamiliar taste.

After breakfast there were proceedings which kept queen busy till lunch time. Again we were served dishes unfamiliar to me but nonetheless eatable. A young woman with a prominent mole on one of her breasts kept coming in to talk to queen. I assumed she was a confidante. Dinner was served early and after that it looked as if queen asked the woman with the mole to leave. Queen led me to her bedroom where there was a large bed stuffed probably with hay.

The next morning I was allowed to go out freely and I went and had a sea bath and swam in the warm waves. On returning I found queen presiding over probably some affairs of state. I got a call from Skip. He said “Be brief. I’ll be beyond contact in minutes.”

I said “All fine here.”

Another day passed like the first. The next morning I was lying awake when I saw someone stealing in. It was a male and I could see he had something in his hand. He approached me thinking I was asleep but I landed a kick on his scrotum when he shouted in pain. Queen woke up and got guards to come in. The man had tried to murder me with a knife! Later there was, I assume, a trial of the attempted assassin when the woman with the mole was present. I thought the accused was her father. When queen gave something like a verdict, the woman with the mole pounced on queen and tried to assault her. But guards quickly overpowered her. The way she was shouting pointing at me, made me to suspect she was charging me perhaps with some crime. The man and the woman were led away by the guards. The next day I felt I had had enough of the place and summoned Skip. He arrived in only a couple of hours and I was again on the space craft travelling back covering my essentials with whatever dress I had packed in my bag.

When I reached home my parents were happy to see me. I told my dad “It’s time you fix up a suitable man to marry me. I’m no longer interested in being a nun.”

What made the change? I couldn’t tell my parents the underlying truth: If a woman could give me so much pleasure which I enjoyed, how much more would a man be able to give me? I’m sure the woman with the mole was queen’s mistress till I arrived and jealousy had made her attack queen. My experiences were such that I realized I couldn’t live without love making!  Asceticism wasn’t attractive!  Thank you God! Thanks an awful lot.

END