RiKara SS - REHNUMA - EPISODE ONE Pg 3 - Page 2

The smooth, brown milk created a contrast with the mug that lay on the table with the biscuits on the tray. the lustrous texture, topped with chocolate crumbles outdated the effect created by the coffee beans which placed themselves outside the mug, begging to be crushed! The vibrant aroma seemed to have extricated itself from the thick, cream coating over the surface, penetrating deep into my nose, watering her mouth ... Omkara would like this new recipe of hers.

Gauri walked out of the kitchen with the tray to see that her husband was tired and drowsy. He was stressed too ... that she knew. Both of them had left the Oberoi Mansion and shifted to their Studio Apartment just a few hours ago. She does not know what happened between Omkara and Mr. Oberoi or why did he get so angry or why did he simply throw all their clothes in a suitcase and told her that they have to leave ...

Omkara was lying back in a nice comfy lounging chair, eyes closed and arms hanging limp at his side. The smell of lilac is in the air and he can hear the sound of the distant ocean, it's waves rising... then washing up onto shore... then rising again. The roar is punctuated with the occasional bit of child's laughter or the squeal of a happy seagull that found a particularly delightful tidbit on the beach. Everything seems very peaceful and relaxing. Omkara had been waiting for this break for a long time.

He felt her fingers tracing the outline of his cheeks, working their way around his face, up towards his eyes then over and back down to his jaw. He kept his eyes closed as he was hoping for something like this. A facial massage from his wife is a rare treat and what better setting for it than the peace of the mid-afternoon near the ocean?

Once reaching his chin her fingers move along the jaw line; just barely making contact, almost feeling like a feather is being run across his skin. Back along the jaw they waft, up towards his ears. The sensation of having both sides touched this way at the same time is particularly appealing. It is a balance between feeling delicate because of their soft touch, and feeling safe because of the two practiced hands that are enclosing his face, protecting it from the outside.

He let out a slight giggle as the contact with his ears produces a tingling sensation. As the fingers find all of the contours on his ears, back and front, inner and outer, the tingling continued but it no longer tickled. The tingling spread even though he knows it is only his ears receiving the attention. He felt his lips part as his face relaxes as that sensation moves out to engulf his entire head. The pressure of the fingers increases slightly, more so on his earlobes, and his ears begin to feel warmer. As his earlobes are kneaded and the outer edges of his ear are stroked the warmth spreads, just as the tingling did. Soon his whole face feels flushed, and he suddenly felt embarrassed... but no, he is perfectly comfortable. The emotion has arisen as a memory of past times when he blushed and felt this same way when they had got closer for the first time. As he recalled those , tension drops out of his neck and his head seems to sink into the ground.

The two hands are now completely around his ears, cupping them as though forming a safe little heaven as the fingers find the small knots behind his ears and slowly work their way into the tension. The thumbs join the act at the top of his jaw, also seeking out the tiny little knots that have been hiding in the muscles of his face. It almost seems like they are moving in slow motion now as their circular strokes have slowed to a crawl. The increasing pressure though continually relaxes those neglected muscles. His mouth opens a little further and she heard a small sigh escape. But at this point he is almost separated from his body, his relaxation has gone so deep. He realized that the hands are working on him and are thoroughly enjoying the feel of his touch, yet paradoxically his mind does not really "feel" them. It's just experiencing the deepening sense of peace he has understood about him.

Her fingers and thumbs were now working in tandem, leaving behind the loose muscles that once held so much tension. They work their way back up the jaw line towards the chin. The combination of the feathery touch of the thumbs gliding across his cheek and the strong pressure of the fingers running along the underside of his chin makes for a particularly pleasant balance. Back and forth they go. His attention alternates between the touch on his cheeks that is so light that it seems to fade in and out, and the strong feeling under his chin that holds him safe and brings back that tingling. Soon the two feelings blend into one that is not quite soft and not quite strong but something wonderfully elusive.

Then the hands turned to his cheeks, which felt rosy and alive, almost uplifted even, probably from the grin that no doubt graced his features. His mind momentarily drifts to an old Norman Rockwell picture of Santa Clause with big red cheeks that is surely the way he look now. At first all he can feel is that light feathery touch again as all of the fingers start working their magic on him. It seems odd but even though his skin is barely being brushed he can feel it right down to the bone. He sensed each layer below his skin and immediately knew where the tension is, and as that awareness arises the tension drops away from him, like a tree shedding leaves.

Wonderful minutes or was it hours? later the fingers have found a resting spot where his jaw hinges and go back to that slow sinking pressure. As the fingertips sink further and further into that small island of tension the tingling sinks with them, going down through his cheek and reaching its tendrils into his tongue. As the sensation moves through the back of his tongue and up to the tip he briefly imagine what it would be like to have that area massaged. As he imagined this his mind's eye slips inside his own mouth and he see his tongue as though he were standing on it. The tingling he felt is visual, showing as blue sparks jumping along his tongue and arcing in from the roof of his mouth. As he watched the sparks move along his tongue the tingling moves with it. Finally as the blue lightning leaps off the end of his tongue the tingling stops and his attention jumps back out. He now had an awareness of his tongue, as though the lightning had stimulated it and got the blood flowing faster, making it swell slightly.

The hand rises higher still and he felt the fingers tracing the edge of his hairline. The fine hairs underneath react to the presence by bristling slightly and a vague itching sensation forms that is soothed as the fingers pass over each area in turn. The tracing continues, the fingers moving slightly downward with each pass. They started at the hairline but are soon following the outline of his eyebrows and temples. Once again the fingers slow to a stop at the indentation behind his eyes to work into the tension. As they go deeper his eyes start to felt sluggish and he become more aware of the effort it is taking to keep them closed. He let go of them and discover that not only were he holding his eyelids tight but also his eyes were also moving around underneath, as though searching for the daylight. As he released, his eyes go quiet and he can almost felt them droop inward and the inside of his head quite suddenly becomes more open, as though the muscle had been bunched up but was now free to take on its natural form.

As his temples loosen the fingers work on his eyes with that soft touch he had come to anticipate. Although providing a similar relief, this is much more gentle than him rubbing his eyes when they felt irritated. It is almost as though the level of irritation was so low that he did not notice it until these smooth fingers started washing it away. They move slightly harder along the outline of his eye sockets and as they do his internal "vision" momentarily lights up, showing him bright yellows and reds even though his eyes are fully closed. As the fingers continue brushing along the eyes the palms are lowered onto his cheeks, holding his entire face close, yet gently, in their embrace.

Her palms move in a slow circle, rotating on his face so that the fingers now reach his lips. Again he felt that familiar soft stroking as they trace the outline of his lips. This time he expected the tingling but it is particularly strong in this area. The fingers are moving so slowly it takes a full minute to make an entire circuit around his lips. Although their motion is barely perceptible the tingling is moving around quickly, flashing the entire width of his mouth and back, then flooding inwards to his gums. On each lap around his lips the fingers move closer, working their way to the inner part of his lips where they meet his gums. If it were possible for fingers to kiss this is how it would felt . Even though his eyes have been closed the whole time he have the sensation of closing them even further and as the tingling subsides he drifted off into sleep.