Everything I Do - RiKara SS

18

Chapter 18

Wind
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Omkara wondered for a moment whether she enjoyed pulling disappearing acts on him, or making him run like a maniac more. He had woken up to a silent and empty room that morning, to find the chilly silver sunlight filtering into the room and the bedside clock displaying half past eight. Ri was nowhere to be seen. He had remained laying in for a moment, going over their conversation from the previous night in his head; reminiscing the flavor of each word she had uttered, the honesty in her eyes – the determination with which she had held him. He did not want to hope, but he could hardly help himself. She was a wayward wind and he a helpless feather – being blown away by her tides, wherever she pleased to take him. 
It took him another fifteen minutes to realize she was not in the bathroom or anywhere in their house. To his relief her clothes remained hanging in their wardrobe, her makeup and perfumes scattered over the dressing table. The next few hours he had spent searching for his wife, in the art school, the hill parks she had grown fond of and every other place he could think of; only to find she was not to be found anywhere. 
An unshakable fear taking toll on his heart, gripping it in a vice like hold of pure terror, he drove back, past a certain tea stall they had visited once. It was as if his sight was fine tuned to seek her out, that he found her petite frame, knelt on the front of the tea stall, her camera focused on a pair of kittens and three kids who were feeding them. What caught Omkara’s eye, as he made a dash towards her was the way she was dressed. Ri had forsaken the Anarkali suits she had started to wear after the marriage. Instead she was dressed in a pair of dark jeans, a purple sweater and a dark blue scarf – something the Ri of yore would have worn when she was taking a stroll. 
She looked up as he approached, wrapping up her shoot and smiled – really smiled, before getting up, wiping her hands on her jeans. 
“I finally managed to capture that much reputed sunrise,” she said casually, setting the camera down on one of the wooden tables. “Without freezing myself or getting into another accident.”
“What are you doing here?” He finally managed to ask her, seating himself in front of her, across that short wooden table. She raised an eyebrow at him as the fat woman who owned the tea stall brought them their tea.
“Have some tea, Sunshine! Somebody’s having a bad hair day,” her tone was sarcastic as she offered him a cup. The aroma of that warm beverage, combined with the warmth of her tone lifted his spirits, Omkara grinned as he stretched out an arm to take it. Their fingertips brushed together slightly, over the surface of the metal glass and Ri broke their eye contact first. 
“Must be the cold weather,” he commented on the “bad hair” part of her greeting and added after a sip, “it’s bitter.”
“I don’t take sugar,” Ri informed him, helping herself to a sip. He watched the way she had the glass of tea sandwiched between her palms, transferring warmth to her fingers. “It takes away the joy of tea – anyway I was waiting for you.”
“For me?”
She nodded, took another sip and sat her tea down, delicately wiping her lips with a napkin. 
 “We have to go somewhere.”
“Achcha? Where if I may ask?”
“Dharamshala,” she said nonchalantly watching him freeze with a corner of her eyes. “Yes, I’ve seen that address you keep shut inside your drawer. She lives there doesn’t she?”
“Gauri – Main –“
“You know you want to go,” her tone was mild yet certain. Ri lied her hand over his on the table, her eyes looking into his. “Wounds don’t heal until you clean them, Omkara. You will never move on until you see her, know about her and close that chapter of your life with a full stop.”
“What will I tell her? It’s not that simple –“
“Sometimes you don’t have to say anything, kuch cheeze feel kiya jaata hai, express nahi.” She stood up, pulling him along with her, “now come on, we need to start moving if we hope to reach there before evening.”
“Gauri – suno toh –“ Omkara called after her, seeing that she had already taken a few steps towards the car. Ri turned around, touching her finger to his lips, effectively cutting him off. 
“I know I’ve asked for many things, but you’ve always denied. Iss baar mana math karna – for me?” 
He had never known her eyes carried such a magnetic pull. They were darker than he had originally thought, flecked with gold, and toned in a spectrum of emotions. They were bottomless, luring to drown in their depths, he felt himself bound by that gaze, as she took his wrists leading him to the car. 
“I knew you wouldn’t say no,” her tone was gleeful and he let the sound wash over him, drinking in the sight of her hair being swept away by the breeze, revealing the side of her neck for the lazy sun beams to dance across; soaking in the warmth of her fingers around his wrist; marveling at the way her tiny steps synced with his, as if they had been stepping together for all eternity. 
And then he knew; he couldn’t have refused even if she had asked for his life. 
**