Recap: She stared at the clock… the big hand resting half-way between the five and six, while the small one sat somewhere near the two… Her gaze then shifted towards the window… the night grew deeper with each "tick…" Lingering on the extraordinarily bright moon, she was brought out of her thoughts once more by the tap against the door… There was an urgency in it's done… almost a desperation… She got out of her bed, setting aside the book in hand. She had of late, a great difficulty in sleeping and had attempted various resources to aid her… the latest of which was reading. Curses… who could it be at this hour… The thought was overwhelmed by curiosity and more prominently, a fear… as her eyes fell upon the bold frame leaning against the doorframe…
Part 6
"Adi…?" As the name left her lips, a smile danced upon his. A knot of uncertainty twisted in her stomach. Recalling the strange feeling haunting her since the moment her eyes opened this morning, she only felt more nervous. All throughout the day, an unexplainable feeling had shadowed her… She couldn't explain, but the thoughts were stubborn and her will to dismiss them… effortful, but in vain. Momentarily, she ripped her eyes away from his smirking face, at the recollection of the fact that he had ever since, in some way or another, maintained in her mind.
Absentmindedly, she shifted her weight as his eyes dug through her exterior. A slight irritation welled up inside as she felt his lips curving deeper upwards, making the endearing dent in his cheek soak through his skin. Taking a deep breath, she desperately searched for remnants of her restraint… restraint from that which she knew not, and yet feared encountering. As her eyes met with his once more, the words left her… the irritation dissipated as though never there. His eyes… they burned. The gentle film lining the outskirts met with faint moonbeams peering through loosely kept drapes. She jumped slightly, startled as her foot unknowingly met with an upturned end of the large area rug. Bracing a fall, her hands flew into the air, as her eyes closed at the prospect of hitting the floor …As her eyes meandered around his domineering form, towards the door… it dawned on her, the distance she had travelled at his every firm step forward… pulling her backwards… A sigh of relief escaped her slightly parted lips as his feet ceased inches away.
"Maithali…" Her eyes studied the lips as they recited the name… her name… almost as though it were a plea. His breath reeked of alcohol, assuring the gentle glaze on his eyes. She wanted to turn immediately at the abhorred smell, but her reflexes failed to cooperate. "Mujhe tumse baat karni hai…" (I need to talk to you…) Almost instantly, her eyes met with his… The confident tone in his husky voice told her that he was not completely out of his senses… He had knowledge of the surroundings… But… It wasn't the dimness, she knew… The normally hazel eyes were currently dark… deep as the night… fervent. Blinking away her surprise, the thought drifted through her mind… Is he in his senses? Silence… As her body relapsed into reality, her deaf ears were summoned by the faint, yet ever-present voice of Soham Chakrabarty… The captivating voice had somehow wandered the various corners of the compartment… finding her… like him…
In dino…
Dil mera…
Mujhse hai…
Keh raha…
Tu… kaahb sajah…
Tu… jeele zara…
She could feel his eyes map her entirety… After an endless pause, she mustered up the courage to speak… Managing only a whispered tone, she tried to avert her gaze from him… Despite the darkness, it was as though he could feel her every twitch… "Aadhi… hum baat subabh bhi kar… sakte hain…" (Aadhi… we can talk in the morn…) It was as though he had come with a made-up mind… as he interrupted her in a coarse whisper… "Abhi…" (Now…) Unknowingly, she took a step back, taken aback by the momentary ferocity in his tone. Running his hands across his roughened features, he shook his head ever so slightly… Quickly looking back at her, with the same firmness, but the tone had shifted to a softness scarcely noticeable by the oblivious wanderer… "Mera matlab… kal kisne dekha hai…" (I mean… who knows what tomorrow holds…) Crossing her arms across her chest protectively, she allowed herself to ponder at the situation… One thing she knew… Be it the last day on this Earth… he would have his say… The thought made her tremble slightly. The air suddenly seemed to have thickened… or so it seemed to her… A hint of suffocation could be captured from her unnoticeable, yet quick breaths… Nodding gently, she walked to her room to change… realizing an empty house with him and her… was ample enough to make her jitter… As she walked into the darkness, she could feel his eyes outline her silhouette… Confirmed of her dread, she knew there was no way he would make it home tonight… unless she destined him to it…
***
Ye raat kitni gehri hai… na jaane iss raat ki chadar ke taleh… kya chupah hai…(This night is do deep… who knows what lies beneath… this veil of darkness…) The thought unexpectedly came to her as her feet continued along the same rhythmic pace… as his… Her eyes followed his slightly slugged pace, which she deemed a result of the alcohol running through his veins. Rubbing the length of her arms, her eyes took a glance at her lost companion as they strode in silence. His dark eyes had focused somewhere into nothingness, while his hands fidgeted precariously in the pockets of his denims. Her eyes squinted in a mixture of curiosity and admiration. Masquerading one's true self with such ease… it was commendable indeed. As she looked away, playing with a loose end of her hastily pulled back tresses… she couldn't help but ponder over Adi. Everyone was aware of "Adi", but Adi had always been a mystery. Curses… what was she thinking? Rather than probing at the purpose of his sudden arrival, here she was musing over…
Shaking her head lightly, she shrugged away the thoughts… suddenly aware of his arm encompassing her as her feet failed to cooperate in a moment of uncertainty… Looking up, her eyes met with the dark, intensity-driven pair. An unnoticed minute passed as he held her captive in his piercing gaze. Reality slowly seeped through the moment. Wriggling slightly, she mumbled a "thanks", cautiously straightening herself. The irony of it all she thought… Nashey mein hai wohe… aur kadam mere zameen par dagmagah rahe hain… (He's the one who consumed the alcohol… and my feet are the ones unable to stabilize themselves on the ground…) As they continued walking, the momentary eye-lock lingered somewhere in the air… It was as though even the silence had something to say. The strange thoughts made her more nervous and she found each step forward taxing her energy…. The silence before the storm… She shivered.
"Maithali…" her breath caught in her throat as once more, the name left his fine lips with such right. Her feet stopped in their tracks… Turning her head, an unexpected panic swept her finding the place next to her empty. Shifting her gaze expectantly behind her, she was assured of his presence by the long shadow stretched across the dark pavement. Tracing the outline, her gaze rested upon his handsome face distorted in inexplicable confusion… fury… She stared at him intently, when her eyes lowered in shame. Tightening her grip on the strap of her handbag, she pulled the base closer to her side. After a pause, she looked back towards him… It was as though he had not moved an inch… Her eyes narrowed in anticipation, perhaps the wait was over… Breathing a sigh of relief, she shifted her feet so they faced him… assuring him of having her full attention. As he ran a hand nervously through his hair, her curiosity intensified… His lips parted, but nothing came… It was as though he wanted to say something, but didn't know what. Her skin tingled in excitement at the feel of moisture hitting a spot on her skin… The droplet ran swiftly down her shoulder… disappearing somewhere beneath the pastel green fabric clothing her. Instinctively, her eyes went to the skies… as they burst with raging showers. Surprise creased her face as she ran towards him, startled by nature's spontaneity.
He felt his muscles tighten yet relax at the same time… Removing his eyes from the space she had just recently deserted, he looked towards his side… her damp hair magnetized itself to his arm. His face went blank… it was as though nothing outside this moment existed. Curses… What the hell is wrong with me… The soft patter of the rain hitting the cement echoed musically in the air… He didn't know why… didn't want to know why… but the feel of her presence comforted him. His lips parted once more… but sealed at the prospect of losing touch with the moment. He could feel her petite frame cling to his arm, encircling it with her own… oblivious to what she was doing… Suddenly, the grip on him loosened, as though reality had sunk in once more… She looked up at him with uncertainty, whilst instantly releasing his arm. He observed her intently as she scanned their surroundings. Unknowingly, his feet responded to the tug on his arm…
***
She exhaled deeply, while looking at the woman staring at her through the glass. A soft cream bore her supple skin, still tingling with the moisture. Mysterious layers of silky hairs extended beneath her shoulders… the ends coiled gently as desperate drops of water clung to them… So much for returning the sari… Bringing a towel to her hair, she observed the distinctly familiar surroundings through the glass afore.
Leaving a hazy Adi on the sofa, she had asked him to discharge his clothes to prevent catching a cold. He had not directly acknowledged her as his fingers explored his drenched hair. For some reason, she had felt the need to move away from his sight… and exited the room making an excuse of "freshening up". In her nervousness, she had stepped into the first room in sight… A room boasting of soft crmes and crimson… so honestly familiar… Whilst bringing her hand down in the rhythmic motion with the towel, Soham's voice found her yet again…
In dino…
Dil mera…
Mujhse hai…
Keh raha…
Tu… khaab sajah…
Tu… je le zara…
Hai tujhe bhi ijazat…
Karle tu… bhi mohabbat…
Her thoughts abruptly faded, as she felt another's presence in the room… Looking through the glass again, her eyes grazed upon him… A fresh paste of moisture gleamed across the open skin of his bulky upper half bulging through the unbuttoned half-sleeve… while the denims still garnished his lower body. Turning, she failed to react to the paled texture of her knuckles as she scrunched the towel in hand. For a minute, her eyes lingered upon his boastful figure… unsure of how to react and her eyes refused to part… Slightly taken aback by her own shameless observation, she pulled her eyes off him… rather clutching the fabric in hand tighter, while finding a place to disappear within the ground… Silence ensued… As she felt his eyes outline her various dimensions… Curses… She felt as though immobile, yet desired to run afar and not look back. Moments uncounted drifted in echoing silence as she delved deeper into a case of vulnerability… unable to escape the eyes holding her captive. Her eyes shift nervously towards the ground… where his feet bore the pristine white… She watched as they approached her… firmly… Looking up, she took a step back… the material in hand having lost it's purpose and place… as she stepped over it obliviously… Her heart thudded rigourously against her chest as his strides dared not slacken. Feeling the wall against her back, her startled eyes met his. A tingle of apprehension filled her flustered senses as she lowered her eyes. The warm breath releasing from him... stung her cheek as she stood paralyzed... After an endless pause, she turned towards him... For the first time ever, meeting his eyes equally. Trailing the firm jawline... over the unshaven stubble... the slightly parted lips... the firm nose... the fervent eyes... As though holding in a breath of air, she allowed her lips to part... "Aadhi...?" Her lips trembled beneath the covering of his finger as he hushed her... Tilting his head ever so slightly, she watched his eyes drift away from her face momentarily... and then back at her... Her eyes closed... allowing the feel of his cool hand burn her skin as it weaved through the feeble fabric... finding her waist... Feeling her body be pulled closer to his, a silent tear escaped the closed eye-lid... as his lips disallowed it from reaching the ground. As he moved his face away, his lips left a lingering sensation upon her cheek... Gently at first, his lips left imprints across her neck... and across her shoulder blade...
Ok, sorry guys I'm not the best at this so sorry! Hope it was ok... forgive the mistakes, its early morning and I'm too tired... Kinda long too...
Cheers,
dc