Beyond the Clouds

chapter 5

Chapter 5

Mumbai

"I can't even put my hands in your hair, it immediately gets lost." Ashish joked, running his hands through the mop of her curls. Dhwani sighed, the bump which balanced the bowl with popcorn going slightly down. "I might even start sneezing because of this."

"You are allergic to dogs, leave my hair alone." She said, getting up from his shoulder, eyes narrowing and nose scrunched up. Words couldn't do justice to the fluttering feeling in his insides whenever she did something.

"Exactly my point." He said, inching closer to her. She moved back, frowning more, holding him from embracing her. Pregnancy had made her more susceptible to sarcastic jokes, and there was no way Ashish was letting go of such opportunities.

"Are you calling me ... a dog?" She asked, placing the bowl of popcorn on the table. If Ashish could keep this picture in his mind forever, he would. The sunlight bounced off her skin, forming deep burrows amongst her wild curls. The curtains in the background swayed, from the slight wind. The dream catcher which she made and hung at the door, shook, at the wake of the wind. Ashish smiled, acknowledging that if heaven was earth, he was already thriving.

"Precisely." He said, making a nonchalant face, taking the bowl from the table. "Lay back here, and let me put this back on you. So much simpler it is."

Dhwani got up as fast as she could, muttering curses under her breathe. "Should have married someone else no, with straighter hair and less dog like. There was a line of girls your mother had planned anyway. Why settle with me?" She said, trying to put the slippers, for which her swollen feet showed show no mercy. Ashish laughed, pulling her towards him lightly. She fell back, her face still set on a frown. He continued to laugh, pushing his hands in between her curls, to bring her head close enough to his for him to place his lips on her temple.

"If I did, I would still need an alarm to wake up, right. You lying next to me and your hair finding their way in my nose in the morning wakes me up every morning." He said, while she looked at him, lips set in a straight line, unimpressed.

"If I had let go of you, I wouldn't be able to call this mine, right?" He said, pointing to the crinkle above her nose. Dhwani laughed, not understanding his obsession with the deep dent above her nose whenever she scrunched her face in confusion.

"Lie back down so that I can put this on your bump." He said, as she laid back down and placed her feet up above the couch. He patted her bump and smiled. It was surreal that he was going to be a father. He didn't know how to settle into that fact. But he was sure he will find a way. He always found a way.

--

Ashish was lost.

His eyes opened quickly due to the vibration in his phone. He was sat in the cabinet of files, an excuse to not be with his co-workers for lunch. He sighed looking at the caller ID, taking a few moments before he picked up the phone. "Hi Amma"

"Hi. How are you?" She sounded lifeless, but he was sure he did too, so he didn't even point out.

"Good. You?" He asked, as he sat down on the chair, as he dimmed down the lights. He suited better in darkness, nowadays, absolutely hating the light.

"Hm. How's Dhwani?"

"You can call her, you know that? She's okay, got a job so she's keeping herself busy." He said, as he flipped through the files, feeling a slight dent in his heart. He didn't ask her how the job was, or how her co workers were. When did he become like this?