OS: Hopes And Desires
He stood silently under the shadow of the huge oak tree. His one hand in his jeans pocket and the other held a bunch of roses. His shoulder propped against the solid trunk of the tree that faced the street. His whole body was tense, his dark pools scanned the street that lead to the temple with the intense and total focus of a besotted lover who craved to get a glimpse of her.
He took a deep breath and slowly blew it back out, trying to relax his body and telling himself that he must be insane to take exactly the same position, morning after morning, for the girl who failed to acknowledge his love for her, who failed to admit that she too loved him.
But here he was...again, gazing at the almost empty road that she crossed daily, waiting impatiently for her to show him her innocent face that had captivated his dreams. And then when he spotted her, a huge smile would appear on his lips and a new hope would light in his heart that finally today she would accept his love in the form of a rose that he brought for her. But sadly she never accepted the roses even though they were without the thorns .
Everyday she attempted to crush his feelings unaware that they blossomed even more.
He grinned to himself, like a stalker he knew about her daily routine. Everyday at this hour she left her ashram, followed this route to offer her prayers at the nearby temple. And then return to spend the remaining day behind the closed doors of the ashram. Seriously was this the way to lead a life? He shook his head.
The dark clouds in the sky thundered loudly and it started to rain. He didn't care. When he didn't care about waking up so early every morning then he wouldn't care about this rain too. He glanced at his watch one more time. As far as he knew her, she wouldn't miss visiting the temple. She would come. She would surely come.
He thought about the first time he had seen her. At the crack of dawn she had come to the banks of Ganges to offer her prayers by taking a dip into its holy waters. Dressed in a pure white sari she stood like an angel with eyes closed and hands folded together. Her wet black tendrils stuck to the side of her face as her delicate lips whispered a prayer. Her look of innocence and vulnerability had caught him in her unintentional web. He had been a prisoner there ever since.
It began to pour even harder as she firmly held her black umbrella in one hand and the Pooja plate in the other one. Carefully attempting to save her sari from getting dirty she walked down the lane. She was already running later for the temple and she didn't wish to go back home to change. Though her mother had suggested her to skip her prayer today but she didn't agree.
Rituals were not meant to be broken but to be followed. And she religiously followed them because she believed in them and not out of fear of society. Yeah she didn't care about what people thought.
Really, she didn't care about the society? Perhaps not on this matter but when it came to him she definitely feared what the people around her would think. It was this fear that didn't allow her to accept his love. It was this fear that forced her to curb the emotions that she felt for him.
Yes she too felt something for him. She wasn't insensitive. She wasn't heartless. She too had a heart but that heart was scared to beat for him.
She hoped he would understand her plight and move his steps back.
Steps that she couldn't match.
Steps that couldn't lead them together to a brighter future.
She hopelessly hoped that he would understand her reluctance. And she definitely hoped that he would stop waiting for her. Those beautiful roses were not meant for her, they couldn't beautify her life.
The grey clouds above turned darker. No sane person would purposely get drenched in this rain. And she secretly desired that he was one of them. Her heart that she curbed from beating for him wished to look at that oak tree. The same tree under which he waited for her daily without fail. But her mind wouldn't allow her to gaze in that direction. She wouldn't care to see whether he stood there or not. It was his life and he knew better what to do with it. She didn't care. Yes she didn't care about him. She reminded herself constantly and with her head low continued to walk.
However the lightening struck in the sky startled her and her worried eyes immediately ran in his direction. Her jaw dropped when she saw him standing there, getting soaked. When their gazes met, he smiled broadly. She shook her head in disappointment. Just what was he thinking? Or was he not thinking at all? What was the need to get wet? Did he wish to fall sick? What kind of love was this? It was sheer madness! Nothing else.
Her heart wished to go upto him and offer him her umbrella but no she wouldn't do that. She wouldn't show that she was worried for him and that he mattered to him.
Praying silently that he left on his own and didn't return she made her way to the temple.
From the corner of her eye she caught him still standing there, probably even looking and waiting for her with some hope in his heart. However her mind pushed that thought aside. She wouldn't think about him, wouldn't care about him.
But her heart, her rebellious heart couldn't stop worrying about him.
*********************************************************
It wasn't pouring today. In fact the sky was all clear with no traces of grey clouds. The sun was rising and its glow spread across the sky. It wasn't humid though the air still carried the sweet fragrance of wet mud.
* sneeze*
Rubbing her nose she began walking to reach the temple. Yesterday it had rained heavily and thankfully because of the down pour the otherwise dirty street had cleaned up.
*sneeze*
She wrinkled her nose. Probably she had caught cold. Though last morning she had an umbrella still she had gotten wet.
And he had nothing to protect himself from the rain. Immediately her head shot up and before she could think, her eyes were peering at that tree.
He wasn't there. Yes today he wasn't waiting for her. An unknown fear crawled within her. After getting drenched had he fallen sick? Caught flu or something more serious?
She hoped not.
Even then what was the need for him to wait for her in that kind of weather?
She whispered a prayer for his well being. Her eyes searched for him. And before she knew she had crossed the lane and was now standing under the same tree. Irrespective of the weather conditions and irrespective of her coldness toward him, for several days he had been coming here. She circled the tree but he was nowhere to be found. She didn't know why but heart twisted on finding him missing.
But hadn't she hoped that he'd give up on her? Didn't she desire that he stopped waiting for her and went back to his world that had no place for her? Then why was she upset today?
She closed her eyes as the questions that her mind was throwing at her pained her. Probably he had run out of patience. Maybe he had actually gone back.
She swallowed hard.
And then all of a sudden she felt something soft falling on her. Opening her eyes she looked up and was surprised to see him sitting on the tree branch. A smile crept on her lips.
Grinning down at her he showered her with petals of the roses he had collected for her. His eyes always hoped to see her smile and his heart desired to shower her with his love. And today he was doing just that.
Today he witnessed his hopes and his desires become one and the sight was simply beautiful.
He jumped down the tree and began walking toward her. She at once dropped her gaze, she couldn't glance into his eyes that were filled with love for her. She was embarrassed, he could see that. However it pleased him to know that both his absence and his Presence affected her.
He raised his hand to touch her but she moved her face slightly. However he didn't drop his hand and plucked a rose petal stuck in her hair. The petal tenderly kissed her cheek and her whole face turned crimson.
He smiled at her and closed his palm that had that rose petal. For him it wasn't an ordinary petal, it was something that had touched her softly and intimately.
He would treasure this rose petal forever.
my previous one shots
The Fallen Flower
