Each moment that he was alone, he
would find his thoughts straying back to her. Sometimes it felt crazy, to think
of her every moment of the day and to dream only of her at night. Yeah, love
was crazy that way. It intoxicated you with this sweet poison, of which it
never felt enough. Knowing a certain doom may be awaiting, yet to drink of it was
madness. He had his share of madness in life, and as he would always say, “what
is life without a little madness to spice it up?”
The distance was one of the factors,
she was a thousand miles away and the urge to be with her each moment was
overwhelming. It was as if, all he wanted was see her or hear her voice. Drink
her through his eyes. An insatiable thirst that would only quench by seeing her
till his very last breath.
I see you when I close my eyes,
and am still seeing you when I open them…
I hear your voice in my mind,
feeling your heart beat with mine…
His mind raced back to the last
time he had travelled those thousand miles to see her. It was like the whole
universe was conspiring to keep them from meeting that day. The almost missed
flight, her boss calling her at the last minute and asking her to come in
early, the supposed work load, and if that wasn’t enough, then her falling sick.
But then, love always finds a way. Landing at 7:30 in the morning and waiting
till 11:30 just to get her first glimpse, that’s 4hrs of testing time. Time,
testing his patience, and her misery.
They had finally agreed to meet
up at her place. She was giving him directions to her place, refusing to hang
up till she saw him. He got down from the cab and gazed up to her balcony.
There she was!! Standing in her red dress with that amazing smile… Smile that
made him forget the whole ordeal of the last few hours.
“So, finally we meet.”
She was still smiling, looking at
him, as if still trying to ascertain the fact that he had indeed come. It was
real. He was there for real. The longing to see him had finally ended. She held
his hand and led him indoor. He greeted her parents and spoke to them casually.
He noticed from one corner of his eyes, the smile was still playing on her
lips.
You deny missing me,
the smile in your eyes
tell me, that
your words are a lie…
“Amma, we are going out for a
while.”
“Where are you going in this
scorching heat? You aren’t keeping well. Stay at home.”
“Amma, he is with me, he will
look after me. And as it is, we will be taking a cab.” She turned towards him and
winked.
She was resting her head on the
back of the seat and had closed her eyes. He was holding her hand and gazing at
her.
“Can you stop looking at me?”
“Am not looking at you. Your eyes
are closed, how can you even tell?” He asked her in amusement.
“It’s not just you who can read
minds.” She said, still with her eyes closed.
“I don’t know when I would be
this close to you again, and since you aren’t feeling well, you won’t open your
eyes and I don’t have to look the other way to avoid the awkwardness. Just for
today, let me look at you to my heart’s content.”
“Why? What is it with my face?”
“As if you don’t know. You just
want to hear it from me, isn’t it? Can you just not talk for some time and let
me see you?”
She smiled and pulled her scarf
over her face.
“Feeling shy, are you?” He gently
pulled the scarf off her face and in the process running his finger over her
cheek. His heart was pounding against his chest. He wanted to put his hand over
her shoulder and pull her closer. But then, she had held on to his hand with
her fingers intertwined with his. He didn’t want to let go off her.
“Are you going to think over this
on your way back? Like the last time?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You know what. The last time I
was holding your hand you couldn’t stop talking about it. Should I take my hand
off?”
He held her more firmly. Not
wanting to lose the small connection he had with her.
“This is all I get from you, let
this moment be mine.” He couldn’t tell her that at least for this moment, be
mine. He knew it would ruin the moment. Not because she didn’t want to be, but
because she couldn’t. And invariably it would bring back all the reasons why
she couldn’t. It would ruin it all.
That cab ride was all he took
back home. She, on the other hand, had given herself to him, even if in pieces.
He treasured her with all those broken pieces, hoping one day, piece by piece
it will be all of her, for him, forever.
Flying through the night sky,
Stars don’t seem any closer,
a day with you, hands intertwined
you stay closer than those thousand miles…
- Eon Heath
p.s. - This is a continuation of the series posted under "The Ending" . Wasn't really planning to continue that series, but then, somethings just happen.
Photo Courtesy - Google
