My Beloved

Chapter Nine

~KAIRA~

"My good boy. Who's my good boy? You are." In a voice that we use for newborn babies, I mimicked, "Go fetch the ball for me, Kalu. Go, go!"

We were in a park near my house. It was bustling with people, but not as much as what the big parks have. It was a small park with a small play area for children, a lawn for the pets to play on or for humans to spread their yoga mats, and a running path in its entirety, surrounding the playground and the lawn. Today's a Sunday, promised to Kalu as a play day. Hence, here I am with my baby to play, relax, and take a break from life.

Yesterday, after that incident and showing Mr. Kairav around, we parted ways. I have a habit now of coming home and blabbering all about my day to Kalu. When I told him about the calamity, he started licking my hand, his way of showing how concerned he was for me. Even now, he is not leaving me alone. Even if he goes a little far to fetch back the ball, he'll look back from time to time to make sure that I'm okay. Maybe the saying is true when it says, 'Love is a wet nose and four paws'.

It was a warm late Sunday afternoon. People started coming for their evening walks. The elders, along with their gang, were having a cup of tea just outside the park's gate. A noisy bunch of aunties just passed me and went ahead. I was now walking on the running path with Kalu. He doesn't like to walk by the road; he's too afraid of cars. As I was walking, I think I saw one very familiar face whom I just met yesterday for the first time. He ran past me, but I am sure it was him. Until I completed half of the track and decided to take a race, his full lap was over. He then saw me from some distance and waved his hand, motioning for me to wait for two minutes. He then went for his backpack that was there on the bench, a little away from me. He took his sipper out and drank water; his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, and some of the droplets glided from his cheeks to his collarbone, which was very much visible in the clothes he was wearing. His sleeveless black vest showcased his chiselled muscles, which were full of sweat droplets. He took the bottle and dumped the water on his face, nodding sideways and sprinkling water around him.

(Uff... he looks so edible right now! If I can just have a taste...

Shocked by my inner thoughts, I look away. I feel him approaching and sitting beside me on the bench.

"Are you okay, Ms. Kaira?" he asked.

"Yes. why?" I said, petting Kalu, not ready to look at him yet.

"You are all red in the face. Is it too warm for you today or something?" he said with a glint of amusement in his voice. That made me look at him only to see his poor effort at hiding his smile. I nodded my head sideways and started petting Kalu. After some time, I threw the ball again for Kalu to go and fetch.

"What's his name?" asked Mr. Kairav.

"Kalu." I replied. I was sticking to one-word answers as I was not sure whether my mouth would cooperate with me on staying shut and not blabbering out nonsense like yesterday or not.

"Is something wrong, Ms. Kaira? You are awfully quiet today. Did I offend you or something?" He asked while rubbing his neck—maybe just a habit.

But it was an action that again sparked memories of Kalil. As I thought more into it, although I had met him for the first time in my entire life, his eyes and even the embrace yesterday felt so familiar.

"No, no, and please call me Kaira. It's just that I'm not over my embarrassing blabbering from yesterday." I said it with nervous laughter.

"Oh, so we are on a first-name basis. Nice!" he said with a slight smirk. Before I could deny the implications of what he just said, he waved for me to not take it seriously.

"You don't need to worry about that; you haven't seen me blabber when I'm nervous," he went on laughing. "I even have a good laugh on that by myself, remembering some of my blabberings and even times when I said wrong things at the wrong place and time."

"Yeah. I guess we all do that." I said, watching his smile and smiling in return.

"You come here often?" he asked, looking at the children playing in the playground nearby.

"Every Sunday! It's Kalu's playday and mine to relax and take a break from life." I said I was getting back to normal.

"Oh, that's amazing! You care about your dog a lot; where did you get him from and for how much?"

"He's a gift from someone very special. And he cares a lot about me, too. I know you'll hear this from every pet owner out there, but he is actually very different from other dogs. Many of his antiques are so human-like, it surprises me, even after watching him every day for the past six months now." I said it spritely.

"Yeah, I understand. Some animals have that kind of ability, I guess. They often mimic their humans." He added, nodding his head and turning to face me. I look at him at the same time, which leads to eye contact.

Again, I feel a shiver going down my spine. What is it with everyone holding eye contact with me nowadays? We stayed like that, looking at each other, and I was again lost in a trance. But this one was different from what I experienced with Mr.Gaurav. With Kairav, it felt like the connection tugged on my heart somehow. His eyes flickering downward got me out of the trance. I thought for a second that he'd be looking at my lips. But then I saw his eyes getting fixated on my necklace, the same one that I have had with me since I can remember. He was staring at it so intensely that it became a little awkward after some moments.

"Pretty, isn't it?" I said to lessen the awkward air.

"Where did you get that locket from, Kaira?" He asked after some more moments.

"Umm, it's been with me since I can remember. Why?" I was confused.

"What do you mean by 'since you can remember'?" His eyes were shining with curiosity. I often get this reaction from people after they take a look at my necklace for the first time, but Kairav's questioning sounded more personal to me.

I didn't reply to his recently asked question, unsure about how much to reveal, which made him take his eyes away from the locket.

"Sorry, I think I crossed a line there. This is what I was referring to, about saying wrong things at the wrong time." He said, rubbing his neck and with a nervous laugh, after seeing my still sceptical expressions, "I was just asking out of curiosity, Kaira. I'm really sorry if I have hurt or offended you in some way."

"No, it's fine. It's just kind of personal." I said, hugging myself as the wind suddenly got cold.

"Yeah, yeah. I completely understand. Sorry for probing too much into it and making you uncomfortable." Kairav said, handing Kaira a jacket from his bag.

"Thank you," I said gratefully. "I think I'll take your leave now. Have a good evening."

"Oh, okay. See you tomorrow on site?" He asked me tentatively, probably embarrassed about his probing earlier.

"Yeah, see you." I called for Kalu and then left.

Once I got back to my house, I removed his jacket and kept it neatly on my sofa so that I wouldn't forget to take it tomorrow. While changing and keeping the locket in its rightful place, Kairav's words played in my head. I don't know why he was so curious about it, but his questions sure prodded at the wound that I tried so hard to forget.

The void in my mind stretched till the age of eight from my birth.