Jeevika boarded the plane with no small amount of trepidation. Viren held her hand as though it were the most natural thing in the world, leading her to their seats. Their bodyguard followed, taking a seat a row behind them.
She couldn't help but feel extremely nervous. This was her first time on a plane and she'd heard the height was dizzying; she had no idea how she might feel at such an altitude, not to mention the amount of movies she and Manvi had watched, in which, plane crashes were a common theme...
"Jeevika, are you okay?" Viren asked with his sweet concern.
She nodded, forcing a smile to her lips.
He smiled back teasingly, "Because you've been cutting off the blood circulation in my hand ever since we boarded the plane."
She let go immediately, embarrassed that she'd been so obvious in her anxiety, but he kept her hand in his, saying, "Jeevika, I know this your first time in a plane. Let me tell you something, the first time I took a plane flight, I was a teenager. My father decided to take me along with him for one of his office meetings and I was excited because I loved spending time with him and I wanted to get out of Chandigarh and see new places. As soon as I got on the plane, I couldn't move. All I could think was how high we would be flying and how fast and that absolutely terrified me. But, as soon as the plane was flying smoothly, my father told me to look outside the window."
"And?" she asked, intrigued.
"It was beautiful. It was nothing like you would ever find on Earth. As the plane was rising, the sun was setting. I couldn't see the city anymore, all I saw were clouds and the sun, and it felt so peaceful. Most people don't get to see such things in their lives that make them feel so serene."
"I find peace at the Ganga," Jeevika told him softly, "Because I can speak to my parents there and tell them all my worries and fears."
"Exactly," he smiled, "It feels the same way. Although," his tone switched from quiet reflection to subtle mischief, "I think I've been feeling that way ever since I met you."
She blushed, lowering her eyes, smiling and he played with her fingers on the armrest between them, outlining their shape as though attempting to memorize them, before threading them with his own. She liked the pattern their hands made against each other, interspersed; hers, small and slender, his, larger and rougher, their wedding rings gleaming brightly.
The flight attendant's voice soon resonated from the PA system, informing the passengers to buckle their seatbelts and turn off all cell phones. Jeevika turned to find the seat belt at her side, but before she could pull it, Viren stretched around her to pull it for her. His face was very close to hers and his eyes flickered down to her lips for the briefest of seconds, before he seemed to remember where they were and tugged the belt around to buckle it across her lap. Even when he moved away to buckle his own seatbelt, Jeevika could still feel the heat that had rushed to her cheeks at his closeness.
Her mind now turned to other fears, as to what to expect on their honeymoon. She loved Viren and she trusted him completely, but she couldn't help but feel a sense of apprehension that came with experiencing anything new and unknown. But, was there any real reason to fear? Her mind suddenly caught onto exhilarating memories and sensations...of his hands caressing down her arms, pushing her hair aside...picking her up in his arms and laying her down...sweet, melting kisses like sugar on her tongue...little things, like mere proximity and loving words that evoked such feelings of liberty and boldness in her that she had never felt before. None of that was fear-inducing, rather it all left her in a dazed sort of bliss, but was that not scary in itself? That one person could make her feel so many new, confusing emotions? Or was that what people defined as love?
"Jeevika?" Viren's voice startled her out of her racing thoughts and she flushed rosily again.
"H-haan, Virenji?" her voice quivered slightly as she attempted to regain her composure.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked, tracing her bangles absently.
Her breath caught in her throat as she struggled to think of what to say.
"Are you still worried about the plane flight?" he asked. The plane was just taking off.
"A little," she nodded, taking a peek out the window, as the plane started moving along the runway, but his hand pulled her face back to him.
"Not yet," he told her, "Not until we're in the air."
He hadn't moved his hand, still holding the side of her face; in fact, he seemed to have forgotten about it, simply looking at her searchingly, as though to decipher what she was thinking. "Are you happy?" he asked.
"Of course," she replied. She was feeling happy...but also worried, bewildered and scattered. She switched the focus onto him, "Are you?"
A sincere smile lit up his entire face, a smile that bespoke so clearly of how he felt that no words were necessary as answer. She looked down, unable to meet such an open expression, but his fingers tilted her chin back up and he asked her again, although this time, his question was full of deliberate meaning, "Are you happy?"
She couldn't answer so directly, but a smile rose unbidden to her lips and he seemed to have been satisfied with that answer because he didn't question her further, but wrapped an arm around her, letting her head rest against his shoulder.
The plane rose and she felt an unpleasant sort of sensation, with the sudden change in air pressure, but Viren's arm tightened around her and he stroked her hair comfortingly. Some moments later- she couldn't tell how long she remained, eyes shut tight and nestled in his arms- and there was a definite shift in the atmosphere, the plane seemed to be gliding more smoothly. Viren whispered against her ear, "Look out."
She opened her eyes and lifted her head and what she saw astounded her. For, just like he had told her, there were no blocks of gray and green and brown that represented the city below, for they had risen above the clouds. It seemed as though they were in an entirely different world; one of soft, insubstantial things that wisped through one's fingers like plumes of smoke, of pale pink tufted clouds, edged with lavender and of bright golden ethereality. For that was the sun, and the sun no longer appeared as it always did, faraway and impossible to grasp, but entrancing and real. She hadn't realized her hands had been pressed to the glass, until she suddenly remembered where she was and she turned back to look at Viren, to see what he thought of this beauty laid out before them, but he wasn't looking outside the window, he was looking at her. And if she had been looking out in a dazed sort of rapture, it was nothing compared to how he was looking at her.
And in that moment, her fears fled, fell away completely and crumbled to dust where she'd left them, at Earth, on ground. All of them. Because she could no longer be afraid in such lovely, exquisite ambience and she could no longer be afraid when she had this wonderful man, her husband, gazing at her as though she was the only thing in the world that mattered, as though she was his entire world.
His hand found hers again, entangling their fingers together once more and she realized what he'd meant about finding peace with her was true because she'd never felt such serenity without him.
