Daastan [#MissionDesi]

Chapter 26

Next day, we went to a local park. The day was comfortable to bask in the sunshine since monsoons had announced their arrival last night, big fat drops still visible on the leaves, sparkling like diamonds.

We sat under a humongous tree, its branches spread out to its sides. Sujatha was wearing a salwar kameez sans make up. None to hide her beauty. She took out a flask and poured two cups of hot steaming coffee. While sipping coffee, I looked at her above the rim.

She looked content as if she had been at this game of hide and seek for so long and finally it was nearing the end so she would now skip happily to her home.

Love was in the air! Bougainvilleas drooped down on the compound walls, welcoming the guests. An azure butterfly fluttered its wings, circling us once and then landing on the coffee flask. It opened and closed its wings, aware of its surroundings. Sujatha shifted a little and it fluttered once again, rising up and mixing with the cloudless azure sky.

I lied down on the mat we had spread over the dry grass. She sat, her legs folded beneath her. She hummed a song and I plunged in, both of us lost in a similar world where time and space meant nothing. She was lost in me and me in her.

She sounded like an angel. Of course she was well trained in Carnatic music while my voice wavered as if I had been electrocuted. I looked up and saw her shoulders shaking up and down, stifling giggles.

As if me looking was a thumbs up for her, her giggles spilled out. She slowed down to catch her breath but soon another episode started. My heart filled with such a joy! Her laughter was addictive and I joined her. This time, we matched, soul to soul, heart to heart.

Her anklets played a tune as she unfolded her legs and stretched them straight on the mat, laying one on top of the other and leaned her back against the tree.

We sat under the cool shade of the tree, talking about things, an endless stream of thoughts flowing between us. She had gone back to her chirpy self again. Sometimes she would become conscious with me looking at her, hanging on to each and every word she spoke as if I was ready to catch any word carelessly falling down from her mouth, not letting any go down to waste.

My breath caught in my throat, constricting it as she sang our song from long time back and my heart spewed out questions, Should I tell her? Will she understand?

Of course she will, my heart said. Look at her! She's ready. She was immersed in the song, eyes closed, and expressions on her face mirroring her words, a river flowing and meeting the vast ocean, not afraid of its great expanse. Its salty water then spilled out of my eyes. Plop! It fell on the mat. I wiped it, tucking away all my deepest emotions under the mat.

She opened her eyes and saw me looking away. "Was it that bad?" She grimaced.

"Couldn't have tortured more!" I said making light of the situation.

I was still trying to make up my mind. Was it really that important? Was it the right time?

My innermost thoughts were reflected in her features. She tilted her head and said, "You seem to be struggling at something. What is it?"

I smiled, a dull one, half of it lost somewhere, biding its time.

I sat up. "I have something to tell you. I haven't exactly been..." Just then my phone vibrated in my pocket. I took it out. My office no. flashed and I was transported to another world.

After hanging up, I looked at her. "I have to go back for few days. Urgent business came up. I'll have to leave."

"When?" She asked, her eyes not meeting mine.

"Today."

She looked at me with pleading eyes. "Will you come back?"

I whispered a yes. My heart felt a sense of déjà vu as if it had felt that before.