The Unventured Passions

Green with Envy

Stars had lit the sky like snow-flakes in the night, yet it appeared still, like an old photograph. Batuk saw Rai walking towards the open of the terrace floor. In the moonlight her golden beige saree glistened like a pearl drop. He noticed her beautifully pinned hair knotted on top of her head revealing her slender neck and shoulders. Rai was indeed beautiful!

"The night sky is how I came to wish to fly. It is the most beautiful art, alive with in raw energy, a song for the eyes." Rai let out a long held breath.
"At times I felt as if I could feel it vibrating somehow, whispering in a way the ears cannot hear."

"Wow! You have your way with words." Batuk came closer and stood beside her by the crafted railing of the lonely terrace.

"Isn't the stars beautiful?" Rai gasped.
"Sometimes I wish for a shooting star... So that I could wish for...", she paused.

"What do you want to wish for?" Batuk asked softly.

"For something that everyone craves..." Rai turned around to look directly into his eyes, making him lower his gaze in uneasiness.

"You have never been alone with a girl, have you?" She let out a soft chuckle and looked back at the sky.

"Not really... Only Bondita."
Batuk murmured.

"Bondita is a lucky one. But, your brother has his way with women, I must say." Rai chuckled again.

"Dada has his way with a lot of things... I'm not as good as him." Batuk nodded his head and smiled.

"What if I say you are better." Rai swallowed hard and looked at Batuk with a serious expression. Her eyes bore deep as if with an intension of piercing his soul.
"I like men like you... Simple, straightforward, less complicated."

"Well... I might not be as simple as you think I am." Batuk teased her.

Rai didn't respond. She sighed and smiled with a meaningful gesture.
"But, you two have a striking similarity, I give you that."

"Everyone says so. But, honestly there is no comparison. He is anyday better." Batuk smiled and looked up at the dark starry night sky.

"Better? Really? How?" Rai rolled her large eyes at him quizzically.
"Alright let's see... He is a little taller than you... And a bit muscular..."

"One and a half inch taller to be precise and yes, he exercises regularly." Batuk intervened.

"And you?"

"I just swim."
His innocent shrug made Rai laugh.

"That's why you are leaner than him, you are younger, a little tanner than him... But, I know why."

"Why?" Batuk asked.

"Because, he had spent most of his life in England and you amidst the soil of your motherland, free as a bird." Her warm gaze intensified on him.

"He is famous, and I'm no one." Batuk added.
"And he is popular with women."

"But he is taken, and you are not." Rai inched a step closer making Batuk's heart beat faster in an unknown apprehension.

"What if I say I'm taken too." His voice shook a little as he turned away from the girl and stretched his eyes in the dark beyond the horizon.

"And, what if I say I don't believe you." Rai's voice quivered as Batuk turned towards her with a newfound strength.

"What if I say I'm taken by my motherland, Raimoti." He hushed, touching her chin lightly, making her eyes meet his.

Rai gasped at his words.
"A Krantikari!"