Until I Found You

5. Sundaze

The next morning,

It was 9 AM when Ram's sleep broke.

Contrary to the turmoil he felt the night before, the morning brought a sense of calm to him.

For the first time in ages, he had enjoyed a deep, uninterrupted sleep. He felt light in his chest, and a smile formed on his lips as soon as he opened his eyes.

As he rubbed his eyes, his mind started replaying events from the previous night.

His smile broadened remembering the conversation with Priya. Her comforting words and soft touch had worked wonders and put his heart to peace after so long.

Soon enough, his smile transformed into a full fledged grin, recalling how she had prepared his favourite pasta to cajole him.

"Cute toh bohot hai Priya," he thought, picturing her with the little pout that she had throughout dinner.

Thinking about dinner, guilt suddenly took over him.

He squeezed his eyes shut remembering how he had raised his voice at her, slammed the door in her face and ignored her for those few hours.

And despite it all, she had forgiven him in a heartbeat. In fact, it was her who had come to apologise to him first.

Rubbing his forehead, he sighed, rolling over to grab his phone from the bedside table.

A smile broke out on his face again when he saw the home screen showing that it was Sunday.

It meant spending another day entirely with Priya and Pihu.

"Aaj toh movie day bhi hai!" he grinned.

Last evening, before things had gone south, the two girls had agreed to watch a movie of his choice this afternoon.

Filled with excitement, he jumped out of bed and got to his morning routine.

Once done, he stepped out into the living room.

He found Pihu sitting in the middle of the room with a coloring book spread out before her.

He chuckled silently seeing her so engrossed in her task, with her tiny tongue sticking out from the side of her mouth as she coloured along the edges of the lines. Oh, how much he loved this little girl and her antics!

His eyes then shifted to Priya, and his heart suddenly went into a frenzy.

She stood in the kitchen with a serene smile playing on her lips as she stirred something in a pot.

She was wearing a simple t-shirt and pyjamas, her hair open and tucked neatly behind her ears.

With no makeup on- just a touch of lip gloss- she looked effortlessly beautiful.

He had always seen Priya as pretty, but this morning, something felt different.

Something about her had taken his breath away.

He did not know if the change was in her or him.

If she looked different or if he was seeing her differently.

But something was definitely different.

What he was feeling was unquestionably different.

He kept looking at her, mesmerized, as if under some kind of a spell.

"RK!" Pihu exclaimed upon spotting him, "Aap uth gaye! Good morning!"

"Goo-good morning," he replied somehow, his eyes still on Priya.