Much Awaited II
Hello people! finally at 1 AM I get this urge to write a sequel to the previous OS. So I ditch sleeping and write this down. Its unedited so am sorry for errors in advance. I just noticed there were sooo many errors in the previous ones! Screw my habit of posting unedited stuff!
Anyways, comments and criticisms are most welcome. Happy reading!
He silently listened to his cadets as they raved along about random stuff. From their exams to the latest gossip, everything was thrown in the conversation, making it jazzy and mildly interesting. He could not blame them for being predictable as it was he who had passed their age. They were all still the same lot who knew how to enjoy and introduce humor into any grave situation. Somewhere he thanked the higher power for protecting his students. It was tough to come out unscathed from ordeals like these. He could see that they were still emotionally intact and warm, unlike him. He still had wounds which he knew would take long to heal. But he was glad to find some reasons for the smile that was playing on his lips.
He was waiting for her. As promised he was to take her out for dinner. But due to some strange reason he did not feel the pangs of impatience associated with dinner dates. He could sit here and wait for as long as it was required because the knowledge that she would be here was certain. He had spent a major part of his life swinging between uncertainties and he found himself waiting for a fixed appointment extremely relaxing. He kept on contributing to the conversation while keeping out an eye for her. She appeared after some moments, looking a little nervous. He felt like laughing out loud. Did she think he was some kind of hindi movie hero who would take her out and propose her? He was way too damaged to even think about shouldering such a big emotional responsibility. This was just something he promised in a moment of recklessness. And he did not regret it at all. They needed to have a relaxed conversation or more like he craved for her company.
He got up from where he was sitting after taking their leave and walked up to her, signaling her to accompany. She had chosen to dress simply in a dark kurta and chuddidaar with her hair thrown back. It was almost as if she had simply decided to come at the last moment without prior notice. He noticed ink stains on her hands and asked her, "Were you working on something important? We can postpone this if you have some other things to complete."
She smiled a bit before answering, "Yes, but I finished it. I wanted to be completely relaxed for this evening so had to settle things well in advance. Now incomplete assignments won't bother me."
"That's a good decision." He commented as he stepped out of the Academy gates with her following him. They were going for a long walk as he had decided to ditch the driving plan at the last moment. She was not wearing heels so it should not be a problem but he thought asking her would be a better idea.
"Do you mind if we walk?" he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jackets. She shook her head, matching his stride.
"This place has not changed a bit you know" he spoke suddenly, his voice melancholic. She waited for more.
"It was just like this when I came here to take admission here years ago. The same trees, narrow roads and beautiful clouds and most importantly the aura of the place have remained untouched of the misfortunes that it has nested." His voice trembled a bit as he raised his hand to touch one of the pine trees dotting the roadside. He slowed his pace but did not stop.
"It's a comfort to see familiarity now, isn't it? I remember I used to pray God for an adventurous life as my routine bored me. But I guess the boredom was not really a big price to pay for security." She added thoughtfully as they continued to walk. She could see a storm building a distance. It would be raining heavily by nightfall.
"You are right. It wasn't." he fell into another period of dead calm as they crossed almost a mile, with him walking with his head bowed while hers was raised, taking in the scenery. None of them felt the need to break the sense of placid beauty.
"Lets go over there." She said suddenly, pointing to the end of the road from where it descended into the vast valley. He had been there a lot of times during his training and the secluded corner provided a good point of view. It was one of those small nestled places not many people cared to visit. As usual, it was deserted except a lone couple who sat on a rock, holding hands.
She walked to the very edge looking at the vast stretch beyond her. Mist had begun to engulf the peaks the small streams played around. There were no flowers in the valley as winter was approaching and everything was in different shades of green. The sun had almost vanished away but there was a lot of light scattered around, swiftly moving towards the folds of darkness. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes before looking at his side where she stood.
"We should have come a little earlier. We missed the sunset." He said tilting his head. She laughed and shook her head.
"This is fine. Don't you see how it is? We cannot see from where the light is originating but we can sense that the source is there. This is like our life- we can feel that something in our future is pulling us towards it, that one ultimate source of light. We spend a lot of time looking for it, forming our expectations around it. Some of us are lucky not to miss it but the ones like you and I have to wait through the night to finally discover our source of warmth. That's the part of life we are looking for and then we hold on to it, trying to protect it from everything else. It comes and goes but we realize that it exists just for us and we don't lose hope because we know that it will come back."
He stared at her open mouthed and she raised her eyebrows after a few minutes. He chuckled and whispered, "Gosh Naina, you have grown up."
She smiled and said, "Perhaps. Is that a bad thing, to grow up?"
"I don't know. I have been trying to figure that out since I grew up. Tell me something, did you find your setting sun?"
She looked up into his eyes and held his gaze for a few long moments before answering
"Yes I did. And I will wait for it every time it goes down because if I stop doing that, I will lose my purpose." She turned away silently and walked back to the road. He did not follow her and kept standing there gazing at the fast diminishing light with a hazy vision. She came back and took his arm. Her touch startled her. He had not expected this.
"We will be late. Its weekend and if we don't hurry most of the good places will already be packed. I am hungry, Sir."
He freed his arm and pulled her into a soft, one sided hug before whispering into her ear
"You will never have to wait again my love."
End
Edited by ivre - 13 years ago
Cricket
