The Journey (2016)

The Rain

"Yeh aankhein hain dil ki zubaan,
Khwaab roz roz dekhe naye..."
- Matargashti, Tamasha
[Trans: These eyes are the voice of heart,  sees new dreams everyday...]

The Rain

The vintage coffee shop was quiet except for the rhythmic music of rain falling. On the table was a cup of coffee with beautiful pattern sipping through its white curves. The warm beverage evaporated the remaining water and a comforting aroma filtered the air. There was softness and warmth surrounding the atmosphere in a strange comfort. Across the room a young man sat by the glass wall, his gaze staring blankly at the clouded chaos outside. Was he there all this time? There was someone on the other side of the room, closer now. A woman sat with a book in her hand, lost in a different realm. There was a presence on the left. Nikhil was smiling. His eyes were as bright as the stars million light years away, twinkling and teasing.

"Radhika." His voice found her, a soft lullaby somewhere far away. She heard it again, but Nikhil was here then why was his voice so far away? "Radhika? Radhika!"

In an instant, the vision vanished but the feelings remained. Radhika breathed in the smell of coffee and turned left to find Nikhil bent over the bed, trying to wake her up. "Good morning!"

He smiled. He was dressed in a green shirt with hoodie over it and denim jeans. A bit of his black hair falling over his forehead as usual. Radhika closed her eyes again and pulled the blanket over her head, not ready to wake up yet. She was feeling lazy today.

"Come on, sleepyhead!" He tugged at her blanket but she put all her strength in keeping it where it was. "Really?" Despite the heaviness weighing her eyes down, Radhika silently giggled under the blanket. "Well if that's how you want to be..." Radhika held on to the blanket with all her might as Nikhil started tugging on it. When he almost removed the blanket, she rolled over and covered herself again. "Now you're challenging me, sleepyhead."

Nikhil crawled over the bed and started pulling the blanket again. When he couldn't do it easily, he grabbed the edges on her side and pulled off almost half of it. Her silent giggles turned to laughter. She rolled over once again, grabbing the other end of the blanket and hiding herself underneath. She always annoyed her cousin by keeping the blanket over her face and not waking up, but never had she woke up to a morning full of laughter like today.

"That's not fair!" He huffed with exasperation. Radhika peeked through a corner and said,

"Loser!" Nikhil tried to take the chance and pull the blanket but she wrapped herself secure once again.

"Fine then!" He said before she felt the weight of his hands pushing the blanket into her sides, tickling her. Radhika gasped in surprise and her laughter escalated. She tried to roll away, trying to get out of the blanket to breath. But then she found herself on the ground, her back slamming onto the carpet. "Oh crap! Are you all right? I am so sorry, I didn't realize..."

Nikhil stopped apologizing when Radhika sat up with a hand on her head, laughing like a madwoman.

"Oh god! I haven't laughed like that in ages!" She said as she had the last of her laughter. Nikhil could only stare at her in amusement as she walked into the bathroom, a hand still rubbing her head where she must have hit the floor.

When Radhika came out of the bathroom after freshening up a bit, Nikhil was at the table, working again. He had a laptop on his thighs as he stretched his legs out onto another chair and typed away at a furious speed. His eyebrows were knitted in concentration as his eyes moved up and down from the screen to the keyboard. There was an empty cup of coffee on the table and Radhika realized where the smell in her dreams came from. The lights were still on in the room and the curtains were all closed. Radhika wondered what time it was.