Desert Rose

Prologue

ARNAV Singh Raizada had been driving for almost one and half hours on the Jaipur-Delhi highway. The climate was dry and humid and a mild dust storm had kicked in hindering visibility. The grassland was parched due to lack of rain. Most people would hate this desert landscape that was devoid of greenery. But not him.He loved it. He identified with it. This was his home.However much he travelled, he always came back here.

After an hour, he passed the Reliance petrol pump on the left and took a U-turn to reach the road leading toward the small village of Bawal. When he passed the Durga mandir on the left, he knew he had reached his destination. He parked his SUV. The memorial was not too far from here. As he began to walk, his thoughts went back to the fateful night three years ago when his parents had been killed in the road accident on this very same highway.

It had been raining cats and dogs that night and a lorry had lost control and collided into another one resulting in a pileup of several cars that had been driving close behind. In a matter of minutes, it was all over. Though the rescue team had reached the site pretty fast, there had been no survivors. They hadn't been even able to salvage the bodies as the lorries that had collided had been carrying flammable material causing a huge explosion.A small memorial had been constructed in the nearby town of Bawal for the accident victims.

He remembered the last conversation he had had with them and a deep regret clouded his eyes at the memory. He wished he could go back in time and correct it. But it was not possible now, was it? They were gone. He remembered how the accident had changed the course of his life. At twenty two, his hopes and aspirations had suddenly come crashing down.What would his life have been like if they were alive? He wondered. For three years, he had hadn't been able to bring himself to visit the site.

This morning, after performing the last rites, he had decided to come here on a sudden whim hoping to achieve a sort of closure.

The path leading up to the site was rough and gravelly. He was glad he had worn sneakers. As he approached the site which was up a slight slope, he saw a beautiful Desert Rose tree swaying in the wind. As he got closer, he saw a red dupatta flying crazily and he heard a girl's voice exclaiming something like ......Hey Devi Maiyya. As the dupatta flew straight at him, she lost her balance and began to fall, her hands flailing. Arnav covered the distance between them in seconds and his hands shot out reflexively as he pulled her flush against himself, one hand on her waist and the other on her back.

Arnav looked down upon the face of the girl in his arms. She was exquisite! She had scrunched up her eyes tight, as her fingers clutched at his shirt.The wind had blown her hair into her face covering most of it. As his hands moved of their own to reach up and move her hair, she suddenly opened her eyes. Luminous almond shaped hazel eyes. They were moist with tears that had trickled down her flushed cheeks. His eyes moved down lower to her lips which were quivering slightly. They were lusciously full and pink – the colour of the Desert Rose. Absolutely sinful! Suddenly, his body hardened against her softness and his head bent down of its own volition.

'Let me go!' she exclaimed suddenly, as she pushed at his chest, her eyes reflecting her fear.

'What the ___?' Arnav swore as he quickly came out of his trance. The girl then grabbed her dupatta that had draped itself over his chest and moved out of his arms. She turned around and ran into the dwindling twilight.

As Arnav stood looking into failing light, he wondered if what he had just seen was real or a figment of his imagination. What had made him do that? He shook his head as he strode up to the memorial. F@#$! He swore again...... he was getting married in a week!