Confected Castles : Of Cards and Dreams

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓣𝓮𝓷

The roads of KumarBadi were getting silent. The sky enveloped itself with the dark clouds, hiding the sun somewhere in the realms of the universe. The birds could be seen retreating; the citizens could be seen riding back to their homes. The winters caused early sunsets brushing the sky with the shades of grey. The ugly silence prevailed between the two of them as they rode through the town, in his car.

She was too busy leaning on the car's window and admiring the town getting silent. The rush was slowly disappearing, as if the land was calming itself down after its frenetic presence. Her mind was somewhere trapped in between admiring the peace of her town and the warmth of his cologne. She gave him a quick glance before adjusting herself again with the town picturesque. His face was stern and his eyes fixated on the roads, driving safely through the wobbled lanes. She felt strange. Strange enough to make her heart race and mind swallow the fresh cloud of thoughts. She was supposed to be with her childhood friend, reviving their memories together, laughing, smiling and teasing. But here she was, with a complete stranger, whose name she barely knew, who was a complete Oshobbo and who loves to cut himself off from the world, making sure that she reaches safe.

"Sorry!"

She turned her gaze confused. His voice was nothing more than a melody in that silence. A rhythm she could hear, a tune that felt sweeter to her than the strings of her sitar then. Her mind wavered in the calming waves of his sound, her brain still comprehending what he said in the moment. Did he just say sorry to her? What was he sorry for? For dropping her safely? Or for staying with her when Anirban left? Or for extending his hand whenever she needed? Her heart raced at a marathon speed. The unknown feeling of wavering in his calming voice mixed with the fear crept in her mind. She felt short of words.

"Umm may I ask you why?" She replied after letting enough silence passed through them.

No response. He ignored her question, as if a deaf.

"Bohira(deaf)." She murmured to herself.

"About yesterday!"

Yesterday? Oh yes! Rai Badi, the party, the moon, the book. Everything started making sense to her. She remembered how he snapped on her. But the fact completely slipped out of her mind in the blanket of his cologne. It was unknowingly calming.

"You should be! You just cannot simply yell on a random girl." She said in a duh tone, her gaze still lingering outside the window.

"And you just cannot simply take all the blame for a random guy!" He replied coldly, not caring to look at her.

So he still thinks of himself as a random guy, despite of them meeting thrice before. But he is a stranger, isn't he? And which blame was he talking about? Probably the one that saved him from his parent's outburst. She closed her eyes in frustration and leaned on the window back. She was caged in this weird dilemma, the strange games her mind played was busy playing with her. He was a stranger, who was staying with her at that weird hour, making sure to drop her safely. A gush of light swept her mind, as the thought crossed the fences.

"Thank you!" She muttered under her breath.

"If you are thanking me for.."

"Thank you! That's one of the polite words you must use if someone is taking your blame, instead of busting on them." She replied coldly, without letting him complete his sentence. He stared at her for umpteenth moments with shock dripping from every inch of his face before finally dragging his attention back on the road. They felt silent. But that lasted for mere moments when they heard low rumblings of the cloud.

"Don't tell me it will be raining now!"

"Please tell me it will be raining now!"

They both muttered together, with different emotions. Their gazes met immediately, throwing 'are you crazy look' at each other.