Arakshi OS - The Dive towards Freedom

"What are you doing?"

"I don't know."

She runs away from me. Towards the cliff. She wipes away the tears streaming from her eyes. The strong wind whips through her hair and leaves it in a tangled mess. But she doesn't seem to care. Her pace quickens as I try to catch up with her.

"Sakshi!"

"I don't want to go back. I want to run away. From expectations, responsibilities. I want to run away from the rules, the constraints. I want to live."

She stops and faces me. The wind blows her hair across her face and for a moment it is hard to read the expression in her eyes. She pushes her hair away and I see the desperation in her eyes. The will and the determination to move away from everything. Life has, perhaps, thrown too many things at her. I failed to see the pain behind her twinkling eyes, the desire to run away. Until today.

I guess, everyone has a breaking point.

I followed her as soon as I saw her storming out of the office in her scooter. I knew, something must have gone terribly wrong. She never leaves without a word.

She is silent as I look into her eyes. The dark blue sea gleams in the bright sun behind her. It is so different, so beautiful. Such a stark contrast to the pain that is visible on her face.

I inch closer to her and her face softens.

"I am tired, Arjun. I am tired of living by the rules. I want to escape somewhere. Where I can be myself and not what someone else wants me to be. I want to be free."

For the first time, I actually understand her. She and I have never agreed on something before. We have always argued and mocked at each other. To me she was always the girl who had never gone through any pain in her life.

"Break the rules. Now." I say.

I am smiling at her, and I don't know why.

She looks at me, blinking her eyes as if I just spoke to her in a foreign language.

"What?"

"Don't do what others tell you. It is your life."

"Sometimes I am not allowed any choices."

"Well, then you make your own choice. You run away."
"And what happens to the people I leave behind? What about the guilt that follows after?"

"Well. Let us leave it behind. Leave your thoughts behind. At least, for a moment."

"What?" A faint smile appears on her face.

I do not know what I am saying. I just know that I want to see her happy.

I walk closer to her and gently hold her hand. She looks shocked and I laugh. I pull her closer to the edge of the cliff. She hesitates for a minute, unsure of what I am about to do.

I glance towards her confused face and say, "Let's jump."

She looks down at the sharp drop to the deep blue water sparkling below us. There aren't any rocks here. Just water.

"No obstacles. Just a dive towards freedom." I say.

"Are you ok?" She looks at me, her face appears bewildered.

"You said you wanted to break the rules. You wanted to run away. Well, do it. Don't tell me you don't know how to swim."

"Are you for real? You never once talked to me. And now you follow me out here and ask me to jump off a cliff? So, you want me to die?"

I laugh and say, "No. I want you to feel freedom. Even if it is for a while. Trust me, it will wash your grief away."

"So, you have done this before?"

"No." I smirk at her. I am never this impulsive.

Something in me has changed. Maybe it is the cliff. Or maybe, it is her.

The wind has picked up its pace, almost as if it wants to push us off the cliff. I gaze at her again. She stands there biting her lips and watching the gentle waves in the water below. I see her closing her eyes; a few last tears pour out and dry instantly in the strong wind. Her grip tightens on my hand and all of a sudden she says, "Ok. We'll jump."

"Are you sure?" I ask.

"We are in this together, ACP Arjun Rawte."

I smile at her words. Somehow, I see an unbreakable bond forming between us. That of friendship. And trust.

"On the count of three." I smile.

"One..." She starts, a smile appearing on her face.

"Two..."

"Three!" She shouts.

And we jump. I look into her eyes as we fall. Everything feel liberating, the weightlessness, the sound of the open sea approaching us and the pastel blue sky above. It is open, free. I feel like a bird that flies in the sky. A bird with no destination, no goals in life. Just one wish, to live. To live without any rules. Just like the girl whose hand I hold.

We shout out as we hit the cold water and shoot straight down. I see blue around me as we swim up to the surface, towards the light.

She comes up to the surface just after me. Her face is different. It now glows with a happiness that I have never seen before. She splashes water at me and moves her face towards the sun above us.

I hear the happiness in her voice as she shouts, "This is my life! And I want to live it the way I want. Do you hear that? I don't want to live by your rules. And I don't care. Today, I don't care." And she looks at me, her face lit up by a smile.

"So, how was it?" I ask.

"I felt it. I felt freedom." She squeezes my hand underwater, and I smile.

I wished that moment could last forever. When I could only feel her warm hand under the cool water. With the deep blue sea around us and the gentle sounds of the waves lapping against the edge of the cliff.

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