Love On The Pages

43

When we are happy, we smile, which causes our lips to upturn and, at times, widen, exposing our teeth. The sadness draws the lips down and sealed for words. Excitement is expressed through body movements, sometimes by jumping around and squealing with delight, sometimes by dancing without music and blabbering. Anger manifests itself in an unpleasant and unlikable manner. It consists of a flaring nose, clenched fist, and loud rude words. Confusion is you sitting alone, unknown to everything around you, with a frown etched on the skin of your forehead. But how should one act when the rush is of them all at the same time, with none overpowering and dominating the other? How were the face muscles to be moved and shaped?

Sana sat there with the same expression that her face couldn't portray and words couldn't express. Her eyes were wide with sparkles in them, her lips pursed, unsure which way to tune, her fingers fidgeting as if nervous, and her heart was racing like never before. She could feel him towering over her, his shadow blocking the sun's rays from reaching her. "Relax, relax," she patted her chest, speaking to it in a way that only she could hear. The fidgeting fingers pinched her skin, causing her to believe in reality. They were crossed soon, hoping it was genuine and not a ruse as her eyes opened.

"Sakshi, is he standing behind me?", She asked Sakshi, who could see the one behind her, without turning back. She wasn't sure what answer she wanted to the question she asked, a thousand times yes, but there was one time she didn't want him standing there, not when the possibility of him reading her diary was higher. She couldn't face him and deny the emotions that rush and surge through her and want to spill out but are held back for fear of being splattered and her being empty with nothing left to sustain her.

"Look back and see"Sakshi shrugged, not wanting to ruin the precious moment of peace they would share. Sidharth continued to smile as he watched her manoeuvre and took in a large amount of air. She felt like a breath of fresh air, and even after all these days of seeing her around, he couldn't help but notice the mole on the apple of her cheeks, the shades of black, mahogany, and coffee brown in her hair, and the earring he gave her back in Banaras hung on her bag as ornamentation. She was familiar, but it felt like she was meeting him for the first time. It's as if he's seeing her for the first time. He chuckled at how she asked Sakshi about him but didn't turn to look at him, because he was dying to do so. Look at her, like really look at her and just look at her.

"Main baith jaata hun, I don't see anyone occupying the seat", he said again and slumped on the chair, which was between Sakshi and Sana, closer to Sakshi, and he didn't even shift his chair to the end where she sat, else he wouldn't be able to look at her unerringly.

"Hi Sakshi!", he greeted her forwarding his hand for a handshake. She did the same. "Isko kya hua hai?", he murmured to her.

"Poocho usese ab mujhe kuch mat bolo mera kaam ho gaya!" she exclaimed sidelining herself from the matters of the lovebirds.

"Hi Sanaa!", he greeted, forwarding his hand for the handshake. She retained, not forwarding the hand. His tone seemed to have a tint of teasing, and she very well knew the reason for it. The Diary, which was still in possession.

"Hi Sanaaa", he greeted again, the smile not fading away even for a minute. Her blush was so evident but he had to wait and kill the urge to take a bite at those pink-tinted cheeks. His hand was still open for her hand. Sakshi nudged her under the table with her foot, making her glare at her. She quickly took back her foot and eyed her to do the needful. Rolling her eyes at her, she looked at him for the first time in a while, and everything else stopped mattering to her at that moment. Her hand worked on its instincts and came to rest in his hand. The smile broadened, and his fingers curled around her soft and small plam. It was so small compared to his big one. He looked like the sun, and she was sunflower to this sun. The only direction she could turn was him, else there was no movement. The smile playing on his lips was reciprocated with the tears beading in her eyes, not because she hated him smiling but because him sitting in front of her in person holding her hand with such firmness and yet so tenderly never could have been a fragment of the reality, but it was and it led to the rise of the tears flow down her face. The eyes that were staring in his, not deterring anymore to hide away the emotions, soon were veiled by her now wet lashes.