Vignette : In the Rain ...

"Hey there, Sleeping Beauty, wake up."

Ragini rolls away to the other side of the bed and pulls the blanket tighter around her. He had chatted through the better part of the previous night and had kept her awake. And she needed to sleep badly.

"Ragini, come on, wake up," Nachiket pleads, shaking her shoulders.

She looks up through the clouds of comfortable sleep and peered at him drowsily. He looks happy, fresh and energetic. Ragini smiles. She couldn't help it; his smile was infectious, and she felt warm and cozy within.

He has been smiling all nonstop for the past two days and practically bouncing with energy, even though it's only four am and everyone else in the house is asleep. One look at his face though and she feels rejuvenated.

"It's raining Ragini. Come on outside" he requests happily.

Happy, we are both so happy that we are giddy. We have finally found our ways back to each other and we know that this time, our relationship is for keeps.

Ragini thinks.

They have always loved the rain, and marvelled how it managed to cleanse their souls every time they celebrated their love under it's caring embrace.

Rimi jhimi gire sawaan

Sulagh, sulagh jaaye mann ...

A snippet of a song plays in the back of her head as Nachiket pulls her towards the terrace, smiling with delight. They take care not to wake the children and family up, and other residents of the society, as they climb those stairs, his palm warm on hers. His mouth curves into a smile. And so does hers.

"It's beautiful outside, Ragini. Come on." He says.

"Okay, but I am in my night dress. Let me get my gown at least" she puts forward.

He shook his head. "No no no, Ragini. No one's going to see you but me."

She blushes furiously, though it didn't matter anymore, does it? It won't soon. The inevitable that can't come soon enough is hanging over them still, but now it is the anticipation of that union that keeps them going. For now.

He grabs her hand as they scurry up the stairs, glancing furtively at each other like a couple of kids sneaking out at a sleep-over and so afraid they'll get caught.

Once they reach the terrace, Nachiket pulls her outside and rushes off the staircase landing right into the gentle early morning rain. He throws his head back and laughs. "Isn't it beautiful, Ragini?"

She laughs hard as she finds no other appropriate response to this question. Yes, it's beautiful.

Nachiket in the rain, smiling like a blissful child is intensely beautiful. Free from his worries. Confident in his love.

Yes, it is beautiful.

"Ragini !" He calls again, opening his arms out for her.

Tossing his head from side to side, droplets of water rolling down his chest. Oh how, she envies them.

She walks tentatively into the rain and reaches him, the coolness of the rain drops not enough to tamp down the warmth enveloping her entire being.

She lets him lift her up and spin around, soaking her through. After a while, she drops barefoot onto the hard yet wet terrace floor and grins at him. He grins back and pulls her tight against his chest. It is almost like a dance in the rain, tangoing - without any music. The rhythm in their hearts enough to choreograph their movements.

He dips her low, then pulls her back up so quickly to make her head spin. "Tell me I'm crazy, Ragini," he shouts over the rain.

Ragini throws her head back and drinks a mouthful of the rain. "Nachiket, you're crazy!"

He answers gleefully, "I am, and I don't care!"

"Neither do I," Ragini yells back.

He spins her around once more and then abruptly lets go off her hand. Pulling her closer to himself, he mutters "I am in love with you, Ragini!"

She couldn't move. Because she knew that he was serious, that he expected nothing from her, that he merely needed to say it for the same reason he needed to share this moment with her. They both knew, in the most honest parts of themselves, that they were intrinsically joined together, for their entire lives.

"I love you," he repeats as she rests her cheek against the moisture gathered on his chest.

"I know, Nachiket," she says. One hand brushes her hair away from her forehead and replaces it by his lips. He proceeds to kiss her cheek and her temples. He then kisses her mouth. And then kisses her again and again, and again, as her hands clench his drenched hair as he leans down to her.

He pulls back and smiles in utter amazement, pleased with his handiwork, as he looks at her flushed face and lips. His hands leave her shoulders and wanders down her sides, to her waist, blazing fire trails across her skin. His fingers lingers over the soft skin, through the night dress, which was now a burden, a barrier between them.

He feels it too. Her reaction as a buried ember of a fire started burning inside her stomach, as she shivers under his touch.

"Wow," he whispers genuinely, truly amazed at the effect he has on her.

He guides her to the wooden bench by the side of the terrace. They sit down side by side, facing each other, as the rain cascades down over them - the mild drizzle giving way to a downpour. He lifts his hand and touches her jaw reverentially, stilling his fingers there, examining her face inch by inch with his eyes before he ventures to follow his sight, with his fingers.

He stares at her, trying to gauge her reactions as he now runs his hand down her shoulder blade and her left arm. He looks at her hesitantly but she nods at him, praying he wouldn't stop. He doesn't and neither does the electric tingle coursing through her veins. He moves forward and drops his mouth to her neck, his mouth creating a warm frisson on her skin otherwise cooled by the downpour.

She moans incoherently.

Satisfied by her response, his lips moves up to her ear lobe, and then side wards to press his lips against hers as his fingers hook into the straps of her night dress.

"Nachiket' she whispers urgently, her eyes stuttering close, as warning bells start ringing somewhere in the back of her mind.

He looks up as she opens her eyes, clouded with passion, trying to localize the sensation.

"Nachiket" she manages breathlessly, as her arms snakes around his waist.

He smiles against her cheek, then leans down and nibbles her further. "My Ragini," he declares.

Raindrops pelt her face and runs off his hair into her hands. He smiles impishly as she pulls him even closer, making her delirious with excitement. This was Nachiket, she thinks. Her Nachiket.

He squirms delightfully as she wriggles into his arms further, the incessant rain beating down her back. "You look incredible in the rain, Ragini", he says, his voice filled with love and need for her.

"So do you, Nachiket."

He almost seems embarrassed. "We should probably go inside though."

"Yes, we probably should. But let's stay here just another minute," she requests, kissing his chin. He groans his assent.

A few hair strokes later, he says. "Let's go inside. I'm sleepy."

She huffs a laugh at him. "What Nachiket, you don't want to sleep out here in the rain with me?"

He laughs too. "Actually, I do. But this is a nice society and neighborhood and if we are caught, we're going to be in great big trouble."

"You are in a constant state of great big trouble," she needles him, even as she stands up and shakes her wet hair back. Hand in hand, they climb down the stairs, dripping water in their trail, making way to their bedroom, towelling off each other, digging out fresh clothes, and curling up on the bed. He pulls her closer to his chest and she finally falls asleep with his hand over her heart.

...

The End