Together..AtLast!!-SS-pt 3 updtd pg.10 - Page 5

The melodious chirping of the birds awakened Anandi to a bright dawn.

She noticied that she is on the bed., with her husband sleeping next to her in a peaceful slumber.

She turned to his side and looked at his handsome face., he will soon wake up ., for it's time for his morning jog., she thought.

Her mind quickly reeled back to last night., when they had some sweet and tender moments with one another and remembered that she infact slept off on the couch in the living room and in his arms.

Perhaps., he could have brought her here into the privacy and sanctity of their bed room., she thought with a smile on her lips...

And as she looked into the adorable face of her husband., studying every feature as a lesson that is to be studiously learnt., her mind went back to all the bygone days just after her marriage to him.

She thought she can account those bright few weeks with Shiv, the best few weeks of her life...as yet.

Deep in her heart, She has always felt that she does not deserve Shiv. He is all light and colour and joy. He is openness and transparency and sharing. He is a gift for someone who is worthy. She felt that she is none of these things. Her Heart dwells in darkness of painful past. She has nightmares and regrets and fear. She knows too much about fear. She fears that one day, while he is looking directly into her soul, he will see exactly whatever it is that makes people hurt her or leave her. Then he too will hurt her, or leave her, and she knows she would not survive that.

Nonetheless, She is well-practiced at hiding her fears, burying them deeply away from the sight of others. But Shiv's proximity in the immediate period of her marriage to him has bought forward the fearful demons that she had kept locked away, surface again with their roaring ugly heads.

However , slowly., she saw beyond her fears and recognized him. She stepped into his aura and marveled at how right everything felt--how right it was when she opened her arms to him, when, for the first time in her life, she reached out for someone., how right it was when she kissed him last night, and she understood it then, all the unsaid things a kiss can mean, and she never wanted it to end. In every place where they touched, and every place she yearned to be touched, beyond anything she had ever felt before, it all felt so right.

By the pure magic of love, Shiv transfigured the solid brick wall that once locked her heart, her soul, into a creature that purred.

It was as if, with the loss of that one wall, all her defences fell, all her barriers collapsed. She is free to be herself. With time, and with only him, she learned not to flinch. She learned not to strike out in reflex. She learned not to hide away.

She tried to learn the pattern of his touch--the where, the why, the how. But He was an explosion of spontaneity, of unpredictability, of wanton eagerness. So she tried her best to cover her mistakes, to excuse her misinterpretations and make light of her confusion.

In return, he teased and tormented her., with her fear and her need, her denial and desire, her rejection and yearning. He retreated and advanced according to her mood, wove an unsteady path between her mixed messages - No..No..No.. and Yes..Yes..Yes... He reached for her at every opportunity, and allowed her to determine if they were to connect.

He seduced her with every touch, every sensation in his arsenal., the slide of his hand on her arm, the flicker of his eyelashes on her forehead and cheeks, the tickle of his breath against her neck, the pressure of his chest against her bosom . He tried everything he could think of, anything to get her to respond without fear, without terror, without pain.

She never once asked him, and he never once explained.

And finally., the day has come., when she began to relish his touch., yearn for his touch and feel whole in his presence.

A ray of sunshine that peeked into the bedroom., and dazzled her eyes., snapped her out of her reverie and brought her back to the present.

She thought she will have to get out of the warmth and comfort of the bed she shared with her husband., as she suddenly remembered the family is due to attend a function at Jaipur and will be leaving shortly.

Herself and Shiv had to stay back., as Shiv had got intimation for an urgent seminar to attend here in Udaipur.

A faint blush., suddenly crept up her face., realizing that they both will indeed be alone in the Haveli., from the early evening onwards., once the family leaves and Shiv returns from his work.

She could not wait for those moments to begin and got about her daily routine with a spring in her step.