The Journey (2016)

The Campfire

Aaj Bhi Dekho Kal Jaisa Hi Na Ho
Aaj Bhi Yun Na Tum Sote Hi Raho
Itne Kyun Sust Ho,
Kuchh Kaho Kuchh Suno,
Kuchh Na Kuchh Karo,
Ro Padon Ya Haso,
Zindagi Mein Koyi Na Koyi Toh Rang Bharo
- Wake Up Sid, Wake Up Sid
[Trans: Even today, watch it isn't like today. Even today, don't keep sleeping like this. Do something, say something, cry or laugh, fill life with one or other color.]
The Campfire

"I love this weather!" Radhika grinned at the stretching ocean besides her. Another wave slid the earth beneath her feet and she felt the sensation heartwarming. Nikhil chuckled, walking lazily behind her as she skipped through the sand. He wore another white shirt today, accompanied by blue jeans. He had the sleeves on his arms and the hem of his jeans rolled up as he ambled through the soft land. His fever had reduced to almost nothing. Radhika tried to force him to rest but he insisted on going out for a walk. She had unintentionally fallen asleep in the afternoon after arranging for medications and by the time her eyes opened, it was already four. She realized that they really needed to work on their sleep schedule.

"Radhika," Nikhil called out her name with a slight Astrum accent seeping through. She turned to face him. "What's your favorite color?"

Radhika frowned and then laughed. "What?" Nikhil shrugged. She laughed and turned around, stomping happily on the wet sand, watching it leave a print until another wave wiped it away. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"It is such a common question; I feel like I am obliged to choose. I chose pink as a little girl because everyone else did. Then when I was about 9, I decided I wanted to be different and chose black, then there was a blue phase, green phase, purple phase..." she trailed off, letting the words linger for a few seconds. "I guess I just haven't figured myself yet. I can tell you it's black like the night sky, or white like cloudy sky, or blue like clear sky...but maybe I just like the sky."

When she turned around with a chuckle, Nikhil was standing there with his hand in pocket and toes buried in the sand. His eyes sparkled against the setting sun as he took a deep, troubled breath. "What?"

He shook his head and continued walking forward. He walked up a little and settled on the dry sand, letting the waves touch him every now and then. He looked at the setting sun and all the light in that moment seem to have settled on his face, shining brilliantly in his amused eyes. Radhika watched the sun set through his face, so beautifully that she had to remind herself to breath. When the shine was gone, all that was left was a red shadow. Nikhil turned to her and smiled. He patted the sand beside him, asking her to join him.

"You seem to love sunsets and sunrises." She remarked.

He laughed. "Who doesn't?"

She shook her head, "It's different. You look at them differently."

He looked at her in amusement again and then laid down in the sand with a sigh. "I think we all see them differently. Some look at them as beginning and ending and some look at them just for the colors it brings in the dull sky."

"But most look at them as a chance to start over." She looked out at the darkening water. "What about you?"

"I..." He trailed off, unsure of what to say. "I am not sure. But I surely don't see them as extremes. A sunset here is a sunrise on the other side of the world." Radhika nodded to his words, understanding what he was saying. "What do you think?"

She bit the corner of her lip. What did she think? What came to her mind when she thought of the brutal process? All that came were negative words. "I am not sure. I don't have beautiful takes on world."

"World isn't divided into beautiful and ugly." He remarked. She was going to lie, or change the question with a vague answer, but the sky reminded her of the evening by poolside, the promise she made with a stranger.