Sorry for the massive delay guys and thanks for the patience... I'm still kinda busy, but that's no excuse for leaving you guys like that for so long I suppose! Therefore, a small... nonetheless a update... thanks for bearing with me and please continue to do so!
Recap: For a moment, all was forgotten… Now as she turned, his eyes made out the black-beaded necklace hanging from her neck… the dash of red on her forehead… Her lightly kohled eyes gleaming, as a soft smile played on the crimson lips…
Part 2
As he stood there… his face expressionless, masking the chaos building within, he couldn't help but wonder at the small smile. It's authenticity having deepened as his gaze wandered to her misty eyes. Uncounted minutes relapsed, as she held him in her sight… the various shades of emotion etching over her face, incomprehensible… yet somewhere, a familiarity felt… Suddenly, the smile faded, giving way to a frown… her eyebrows twitched upwards slightly, a perplexing look contorted her face… as though broken from a reverie… Taking a step back, he watched the ends of her lips curve up once more… as she gently hit the back of her head… reminiscing perhaps. Her fair skin now turned a darker shade of cerise at the cheeks, implying an unintentional hint of embarrassment. As she continued stepping back, her smile noticeably deepened… as her hand now pressed lightly against her forehead… her eyes downcast… yet their gaze beyond grasp… As her feet ceased, she turned… her hand having slid to her side, while she looked away into the night… her back facing him…
He stood still… aware of her every move… yet helplessly immobile himself…
Her slender fingers enclosed the metallic chain woven skilfully; accenting the swinging chair it was a part of… Slowly, she lowered onto the seat… still holding the forgotten support of the chain… lost amidst moments labelled forgotten… but which were stubborn in their presence. All the while, the smile on her lips… continually radiated with an undying glow… her eyes… looking… but not seeing… Her ears seemingly deafened to all as a voice broke through the silence… The voice coming from the door to the far right, left slightly ajar… "Prachi Di!!… Wohe ganna…" (Prachi Di!!… That song…)… Soumya's voice faded away as she ran back in, perhaps answering to another call…
An unexpected calm overrode the turmoil just moments before torturing him… The confusion overshadowed by the sight afore… He wondered at her strange behaviour… Unwontedly, he felt the betraying smile dance lightly on his lips… as he recollected her transition… from the awaiting wife… to the shy schoolgirl like…
Hmmm… ye zameen ruk jaaye… aasmaan jhuk jaaye… tera chehra… jab nazar aaye… The soft tune resonated in the background… as it freely escaped the speakers from which they arose… Soumya had perhaps found her song… The relevance of the lyrics to the situation caught him off guard, and he struggled to subdue the unwanted emotions… but it seemed control was the one thing he lacked… when she were around…
Unknowingly, the smile creasing his face continued to linger… as all else had momentarily been wiped out of memory… Only the moment… reigned… His intention was far from his grasp, but nonetheless, his feet proceeded towards her seated figure. The wind silently raged, sending her waves of black hair to the direction of their stride. His feet ceased inches apart from her seated frame… his hands hidden beneath the cover of his trouser pants… shaking… as he silently observed her unmoving figure. Suddenly, she looked up startled… A mixture of shock and awkwardness once again evident through her changing features… Slowly, she stood on her feet… her expressions nakedly giving away her surprise… As though still in a transitory phase between reverie and reality… she extended a hand ever so cautiously… as though in fear of it being all… but a figment of her imagination… Feeling the rough, unshaven texture of his cheek beneath her palm, her rigidity seemingly had relaxed… and composed just as quickly… realizing she had just allowed him to witness her inner most self… Almost immediately, her eyes fell to the ground… as her fingers nervously twitched the end of her veil… He could feel the amusement rise within him, as he watched her push back invincible hairs behind her ear… her lightly parted lips, wanting to speak… but at loss for words… her eyes unable to meet his…
An unexplained urge to burst into laughter threatened his composure… Suppressing the strange feeling, he narrowed his eyes at her… crossing his arms over his chest. "Tune khanna kyun nayi khaya?" (Why didn't you eat?), he asked without emotion… or so was the intention. She looked up at him now, meeting his gaze for the briefest moment, as though assessing his words… Mujhe kya padi hai… he thought stubbornly to himself, but he knew he was betraying himself with the untruthful consideration. While he stared at her relentlessly, she seemed to be scattering as her eyes danced wildly in opposite ends… "Woh… main…" (I… was…). Before she could finish her failing statement, he hushed her as a wild flicker of anger threaded through his veins having learned her uneaten status. "Ye drama kyun huh?… Ye vrat toh biwi apne patni ki lambi umar ke liye rakhti hain na? Tere ko kya agar main jeeyoon yaan…" (Why the false act?… This fast is taken by wives for the long life of her husband's right? Why would you care if I live or…). He addressed her with startled eyes feeling her fingers brush softly against his lips… She held them there for a moment, as though making sure his sentence never completed… and as though once again aware of her vulnerability… she removed her extended hand just as quickly as it had hushed him. Her filmy gaze did not fail to meet his as she replied with a disappointed demeanour, "Aisi baat aap…" (Such a thought…). Her unstable voice faded out as she rested a hand over her mouth, turning hurriedly to leave…
Cheers,
dc