Once Upon a University Campus

A Miracle

The sky continued to weep while Shivaay held Annika as tight as he could without squeezing the breath out of her. Their hearts churned wildly even as the howling winds drummed up the storm. Still strangers to this inexplicable melancholy, the two lovers wondered at the state of their hearts in their own ways.While Annika's cloudy eyes could no longer look at him, Shivaay on the contrary could not take his eyes off her.

"It hurts, it bloody hurt, I never knew it did, this bad." Shivaay thought aloud. "It is not that we are going away forever or for a long period of time for that matter. We still are in the same city, just a phone call away. But still, it hurts to think that you will not be here in this house. The part of my brain that can still think is telling me that I am being silly, that I could stop by at your campus anytime and see you, talk to you, hold you in my arms just like this, but it is hard to convince the other part that mysteriously continues to be sad. The more I try to be in control, the more tangled a mess I end up." He grew quite. Annika was perplexed. She had always seen him in absolute control of all his emotions except his anger. That something else could affect him deeply was news to her.

A retreating rain reduced its pitter patter, winds stopped howling. All that Annika could hear was Shivaay's thumping heart and water gushing out of gutters to flow in tiny creeks. All clouds are supposed to have a silver lining, including the heavy monsoon clouds. Providence divine had decided that this was enough of melancholy and sent a few gentle rays of scattered golden sun to light up their hearts and everything else.

Annika looked up to see a stray beam light up their faces. A lone beam of sunlight from the window behind them reflected on their faces by a small artwork hung on the walls as if the all rejuvenating life force called sun wanted them to savor that moment they were together. Ms Sunshine's therapeutic sunlight was here. But this time it was also a pair of soothing hazel eyes, that looked at her like she was the only world that pair of eyes knew. Without a thought her fingers reached out for his face, running along his bearded cheek. Strangely the bread did not prick or was it that her rough life had rendered her fingers less sensitive? She noticed how taut his neck muscles were, melancholy was indeed stressful. A greenish vein throbbed as he swallowed emotions he could not find words to express. She touched the throbbing vein gently and ran the back of her fingers against the length of his beard, now it felt rough, like super fine sandpaper. Shivaay ever so slightly turned to bring his lips close to her fingers and kissed them gently.

"All is well, sweet heart. We will be fine." he held her hand, kissed it several more times, as if, more than anything else, he wanted to convince himself that everything was good. He cupped her face and wiped off the remnants of tears at the brim of her soft brown eyes with his thumbs. He slowly drew himself close to her face when they heard the door knob turn. Annika sprang up like a deer and ran to a safe distance. Shivaay pursed his lips and boxed his fist at the couch disappointed at the lost opportunity.

Annika shrugged and straightened her kurta waiting for Saahil to emerge. A groggy Saahil went straight to the bathroom without paying attention to the visitor. After what seemed like an eternity, he emerged, still groggy but hungry.

"Annika Didi, shall we eat now?" he mumbled, eyes still heavy with sleep.

"Good Morning Saahil." Shivaay seemed to have recovered from his disappointment. Annika glared at him, accusing him of being untrue. Was it not a moment ago that he was complaining about loss of control over himself? Ah! There he was perfectly in control, as if nothing ever happened.

Saahil rubbed his eyes and mumbled "Bro! Good Morning. You here at this hour? Did you feel like eating Dhalia and Halwa with 200 grams of ghee?" He grinned, his eyes finally wide open.