The Hero and the Fool
A lot happened in those next eight seconds.
In fact, he would later reflect on how those few seconds of his life stretched until it made him feel as if he hadn't moved at all... that if anything had happened to the woman, he would be the one to blame...
He looked at his hand in shock, unable to believe that the woman had quite literally slipped through his fingers.
Her ring fell from his palm and rolled dangerously close to the cliff's edge. He quickly put a foot over it and slipped it into his pocket before it travelled any further.
With a heavenward sigh and a quiet, self-damning curse, he looked down at the water.
"F**k."
He couldn't do this. He was too high off the ground. It was too terrifying, too much for him. He couldn't do it.
Except...
The memory of her large, fear-filled eyes just seconds before she fell returned to him. A second later, he was already jumping into the river.
The water was ice cold and kicked at him like sharp needles. He had never been a particularly strong swimmer - having always preferred to keep his feet firmly on the ground - and it took everything he had to fight his way to the surface. Even then, the tide instantly pushed him back underwater.
His mouth opened and closed in a desperate attempt to breathe as the salty water burned his eyes. With all that was happening, it should have been obvious to him, an instantaneous realisation that kicked his reflexes into gear. Instead it came to him like a holy revelation...
He was drowning.
The thought threw everything into focus and suddenly, the water became all too clear. His senses sharpened and panic began bubbling in him too quickly to control. He frantically kicked at the water, attempting to break its surface, but soon, a sweet lethargy swept through his limbs and dulled his movements.
He was drowning...
It wasn't too bad. In fact, when he embraced the water's calm, he felt more content than he could ever remember feeling.
This world was just borrowed time, after all...
* * *
Ami chini go chini tomare
Ogo bideshini
Tumi thako shindhu pare
Ogo bideshini
Ogo bideshini...
Whispers of a woman's voice enveloped him. He smiled drowsily. She sung with comfort and familiarity, a lilting voice that hummed as if she was cooking on a Sunday afternoon or tracing patterns onto her lover's back.
Ami chini go chini tomare
Ogo bideshini...
His smile froze. Finally, after all this time, his body became alert to the danger around him. His eyes snapped open while his limbs flailed clumsily in an attempt to get out of the water.
How long had he been down here? How close was he to death?
A sudden burst of energy shot through him and he used it as an opportunity to furiously kick himself upwards. After so many wasted attempts, the water relented and finally allowed him to swim up to the open air.
Salt water poured out of his nose and mouth; he frantically gasped for breath and tried to ignore the searing pain. His lungs, meanwhile, screamed in agony while his heart hammered angrily in his chest.
Somewhere on the river bank, as his eyes began to adjust to the sunlight that suddenly assailed him, he saw the outline of a woman walking away.
Kumkum Bhagya
Bade Achche Lagte Hain Naya Season
Cricket
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