And She Kissed a God

1. Sound

And she was late. There were stories of kings who died waiting for their queens. At that moment, walking into my four-room apartment, I could belong to this category of kings, a silhouette of a mythical past.

I returned to the kitchen to check on the dinner table. The candlelight was fluttering in the wind; the wax was melting faster than I had expected. I was concerned that my candlelit dinner might end up without candles. The wine on the table glimmered in the moonlight, and my hands began to sweat. During our time together, she had never been late, whether it be for a fancy dinner, a dull ceremony, or a late-night party. I often wondered how a man like me could have ended up with such a punctual girl.

However, she was still late.

I scowled and crossed to the balcony, peering into the apartment in the western wing. The place was locked, and as usual, she had forgotten to turn off the lights in her bedroom.

Then a knock broke the silence and I hurried to the door. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and was met with the sight of her in a black saree. She'd never fail to make my heart skip a beat.

"You are late." I managed to say.

"Thanks for reminding me."

She burst through the door with a bag slung over her shoulder, shoving me aside. She tossed the bag onto the sofa and turned toward the kitchen. Her feet stopped dead at the door, and I caught a glimpse of her brown eyes twitching and the smile she was trying to hide. Normally, I would have nagged that she had arrived late. But let's face it, some smiles can steal our words.

The atmosphere in the room was tense. After all, it was our first anniversary. As we walked to the table, I pulled her a chair, and she sat down.

She said, "I noticed you changed the curtains yesterday."

"Yes, I did," I said with pride. "I also put the books away, cleaned the house, cooked beans, fried the fish, and bought wine on the way home."

I took another step forward, my face, my lips dangerously close to hers.

"You're wearing a green shirt."

"I like green now."

"I can't believe how much things have changed in a day."

I poured her a glass and said, "You are late. Everything okay?"

She then wiped her fork clean with a tissue, rolling it into a ball and throwing it into the bin a few feet away. "The fish looks delicious."

"I just fried it. You're the one who cooked it."

She rubbed her nose with her wrist. Her last desperate attempt not to smile. It was an inside joke. The smile meant I had arranged the perfect date after she challenged me that I couldn't do it. This argument had been the main topic of conversation for the past week.

We ate in silence, the moonlight streaming through the kitchen window illuminating our wine glasses. My endless attempts to move the table to a better spot had paid off. The curry was salty; the fish was raw around the edges and that was why wine helped. It reminded her that I had not completely ruined the meal.

"You forgot dessert, didn't you?" she said, biting down on her last piece.

She was ready to give me that evil grin.

I put my fork down and went to the fridge and got a bowl of mint ice cream.

"You are late," I said, sliding the bowl towards her.

She put her fork down, hit her hand over the table and laughed. "Okay, you win! You can't just ignore it, can you? I know my rants about your behaviour will come back to haunt me someday."

And everything came back to normal. Or I thought so.

"But seriously, what took you so long?" I asked.

"I don't know. I just took a nice long bath in the evening and . . ."

I raised my hand. "I've heard enough."

"It's not that long."

"It's not that long." I imitated her.

"Don't imitate me."

"Don't imitate me."

She grabbed my shirt and drew me closer to her. As we were kissing, I noticed that the moonlight reflecting off the wine glass was the same colour as her lips.

"I love you." She mumbled between the kisses.

"I love —" I pulled away from her.

I heard something — a sudden, yet sharp thump. Something fell or struck something. I double-checked the sound's path as I looked back from the window.

She dragged me closer. "What happened?"

"Did you hear that?"

"Yes, I heard you stopping after 'love'."

"You sure?"

"What am I supposed to hear?"

"You heard nothing?"

"No," she said. "Are you alright?"

I entered the living room, returned to the table, and stood behind her, scanning the open space for an unfamiliar presence. "I heard... something."

She took the wine bottle into her hands. "No more wine for you then."

"Shut up."

She stood up and strolled behind me, taking her plate to the sink. "Quit messing about. We still need to watch a movie.

Distracted, I said, "Okay."

I continued looking for that something.

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