short stories

the evolution of

Chandra always thought that kisses were...strange. Quite slobbery, with too much saliva. He wondered how such an interaction came to be in the first place. His mother always shielded his eyes during kissing scenes when they watched Bollywood movies–Chandra can't imagine what she would do if she saw him right now. Perhaps slap his shoulder, saying his name as if he was Krishna and had been caught stealing butter. Instead of averting eye contact, his hands are all over the place and his brain is melting into his chest. Eyes closed, hands twitching and wanting more–the existence of kissing, to Chandra, has proved to be a useful one.

•

Honey dewed lips shine in moonlight as if water had splashed them before–it may have been a blessing from a god, with ten white horses running his chariot as his almond eyes see much more than the sky in front of him. Chandra wonders if this is the person he has subconsciously yearning for; a person who lifts his chin up and asks the constellations to rain down upon them. He feels complete, stardust running through his veins as honey dew lips lets his ethereal bangles skim the surface of his skin. Chandra never expected to fall infatuated with a god.

•

Chandra has a girlfriend, a kind of rejuvenation after his immortal lover could stay no longer. She has round eyes lined with black eyeliner and hands that are slightly chubby but still lithe, as oxymoronic as that sounds. She is an oxymoron, full of contradicting truths that make Chandra ponder until his mind swirls like a calming storm, the eye being her sanguine cheeks. She tastes like watermelon flavoured candy and her hands slip through Chandra's shoulder blades like water around coarse trees. He already knows that this will never last.

•

Chandra finds himself tracing chiseled outlines with his pecan coloured eyes, his banyan tree coloured skin glowing with golden undertones as sunlight runs after him. His father asks what he is doing with his life, and with his expression carefully contained, he almost says, "chasing after straight boys." He manages to see one particular person he has kept his eyes on since the beginning. Soon they are in each other's arms and hickeys dot Chandra's neck like rocks protruding from a waterfall, disrupting his smooth skin with plum coloured bruises that he covers with his hands after everything is done. Twisted sheets curl about them and Chandra notices that his hookup sleeps as if feathers are near his nose, delicately making them rise in a plume of white as he exhales before letting them rest down again. Chandra is tempted to see if that is true, but realizes that his time here is done. He gathers his things and walks towards his house, hoping that his mother and father aren't home from their long shifts yet.

•

Chandra is not young anymore. He is tall and lanky and for some reason, the source of many people's attention. "You're so pretty," some white girl says, "for a brown boy." Chandra turns around and walks away. He found out yesterday that the person he lost his virginity to was a football player. He has a girlfriend, and he is the most popular junior. His name is Eris, he picks up. All Chandra can do is blip around him and forget everything that happened last night. It hurts, and so does the adolescent boys in his gym class calling him a fairy. He hides everything under frigid expressions that he thinks are normal, and channels his stress into studying and getting marks to become the engineer his parents always wanted him to be.

•

Chandra decides to study photography and film. He finds his interest after getting a project with a boy who smokes while he takes photographs and hangs the cigarette from his teeth as he critiques them. As they sit with Chandra practicing capturing beauty in a camera lens and the boy shaking the ash off of his cigarette, he notices that the boy's ebony skin illuminates the almost blue and olive green colours of his veins. Chandra asks for his name and the boy looks mildly surprised, slipping out a "William," through the smoke surrounding him like clouds on a rainy day.