Hey guys, no questions or explanations... Lets just say I'm crazy! Lol, here goes another...
"Footprints"
"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same."
Chapter 1: Fire and Water
Lifting veiled eyes, she braced herself for a look at the zealous skies, finding it very much like what was expected? dusky, grey? Blinking quickly, she retreated her gaze towards her rain-soaked clothes. There was a howling storm; one as such seemed to occur rarely? In sync with her mindless observation, she suddenly found an image in her mind come alive through a haze. Dark, passionate? overwhelming? Closing her eyes for a minute, she allowed the unseen eyes of her mind slowly etch out the details of the familiar eyes? and then abruptly opening her own. The air seemed to have thickened just as quickly, and she found herself unexpectedly short of breath. What was she thinking? And why? after so many years. The water stuck to her for life, and she decided this was all getting to her head? An unexpected breakdown of her car, no available taxis thanks to this unforeseen weather, it all had her in a hazy state. Shaking her head she pulled her dark, lavender chunri over her head? letting her fingers linger there for a few minutes before stepping back into the muck.
Taking a few hesitant strides, her mind fluently distanced again as her eyes stared deeply into the mud? A current of startling air brushed past her cheek, leaving a spiral of shivers run down her body. Again, she felt herself falling at the thought? the memory? Why now?
(Flashback)
Faraway the cawing of soaring birds clung to the soft air. Waves of fierce water raced against one another, rising... and falling... as they touched the delicate sands. As far as the eyes could see, a mass of tan-coloured dust lay as an open blanket, untouched by wanderers? but inescapable to an admiring gaze?
They walked along, taking long, uncalculated strides. The tender sound of their footsteps was muffled as their feet stepped into the moist sand. There was nothing awkward about the silence between them? it was soft, peaceful? compassionate. With passionate eyes, they scanned the plain before them. A yawning sun was readying to bid adieu in peaceful setting, while the sluggish clouds parted for a blend of colours to fill in the blankness. It was a scene of tranquility.
The sky seemed to descend to the grounds in these few minutes, as her aimless thoughts touched the zenith of content. Here, as she walked quietly with this man, her life before this moment slipped into the abyss of the forgotten. The missing piece of her jigsaw had finally been fit into place? A slender, timid smile formed discreetly on her crimson lips as the tender touch of his skin touched upon her own. His index finger had seemingly found a place in grasping hers, while the later responded with a curl? interlocking in consent. The demanding voice of water crashing more violently against the shores filtered into her thoughtless state. Her thoughts suddenly gained momentum, even in there blankness? Why was the water raging? her heart pounding? An unknown fear crept within her heart and she realized that her feet had stopped. Was it right to disturb this peace?? Why was the ocean so furious? It suddenly seemed so near to her? as though something had awakened within her, after long years of dormancy. Before the silent questions could be addressed, she felt the ground beneath her give way? Looking up, it dawned on her that her fears were nothing? Nothing in the arms of this soldier who now carried her so gracefully, to a place she did not know, nor perhaps cared? This solider, her soldier? if love be a war.
Presently, the nameless insecurities within her dimmed against the spark of soothing embers peering into her through the dark reservoirs of his soul-searching eyes. It was as though nothing beyond this moment had ever existed? she hadn?t existed. How could she have ever existed? without him? It seemed such an unfathomable idea? unnerving. Clasping her hands further together behind his neck, she continued staring at the dusky features intently? as though rendering them entirely her own, carving them in her memory. The gentle smile retreated upon her lips again, void of any fears?
She could hear the ocean more closely now, as he carried her towards the indefinite line between water and earth. In a hazy state, her eyes fleetingly wandered behind him? a single set of footprints engraved freshly in the moist dirt. But the singularity was deceptive? It marked not the journey of one, but two? which had somehow become one. The thought made her muscles unravel in their rigidity. Words were less in expressing what she felt? it was just something of experience.
?You see those footprints Maithali? Whenever you feel you?re alone, remember them? Remember them with thoughts of me, carrying you? in your solidarity? You?ll never be alone?? (Maithali... Ye nishaan dekh rahi ho... Jab bhi kabhi akelapan mehsoos ho na, toh inn reth mein dabbe nishaan apne zeham mein bhar lena... Tumhari tanahai mein bhi main shaamil rahoonga...)
Her distant eyes lingered at the imprints, freshly moist in the dirt... A few absent strands of hair danced lightly before her gaze, but they formed no barrier to her yonder view. Her features were calm, inflexed... Slowly, she turned her eyes back towards him. He was standing still, but there was no indication of tension... Her attention shifted from his calm features towards the direction of his sight... A dreamy complexion of sunset hues awaited her in warmth. But even this marvellous vision seemed to hide something of an intense passion.
Chalka hai?
Jahan se aankhon mein?
Woh rang sunehra dekha hai?
Sab pyaar ki baatein karte hai? maine pyaar ka chehra dekha hai?
Feeling icy warmth upon the ends of her toes, she realized she was now sitting on the shores... her arms still clinging to his neck, as though this were impossible... without him. She knew it was. Releasing him, she shifted to a position direct to the fallen sun... leaning against his chest while he sat behind her. His arms which had now sat loosely to her sides, now enclosed upon her... effectively sealing her from all else.
Time lapsed into the insignificant... as they sat there for minutes uncounted. Blinking indifferently, she thought she felt a light imprint of his lips upon her temple... it lingered, filling any remote place of emptiness within her.
(End Flashback)
Blinking, he ceased the memory in its course? sealing it back where it remained? irremovable.
A thin trail of silent curses fell through with the next few breaths he exhaled. They came in heavy sighs, as though having neared a fatal edge. Lifting a hand, he ran it through his dark mane? over his eyes? surprised by the moisture that had unknowingly formed on his face. He had ventured so close? so close. How? All of that was insignificant now, wasn?t it? It had been for years? had it not?
Looking to the side, he recalled the half-full glass, which he had at some point discarded on the small table. Slowly, the rest of the scene returned to him. Half-full? half-empty? what difference did it make to him anyways? He laughed inwardly? a sarcastic, low laugh.
So persuading himself, the rest of him returned? the same, bitter-sweet nature of? His eyes wonderingly poured over the name sticking out of the document set afore? Vikram-Aditya Mehra.
Seene se laga kar rakha jinhe?
Hum jin ki khaatir hi khaakh hue?
Ehsaas ye hota hai ek din?
Mutti se? woh rishtey? phisal gaye?
He could again hear the swift whistle of wind and rain pounding in a vicious challenge to each other outside. In some strange way, it seemed to satisfy him? Getting up with the glass in hand, he took slackened steps towards the window revealing a retiring city. Just a few hours, he thought. It had been but a few hours since he had stepped into this damn city, and that?s all it took. Bringing the acidic liquid to his mouth, he relished the burning sensation in his mouth. Mumbai City? a city of dreams? one that had shattered all his. Sweet irony, he thought with a wicked grin lazy-ing on his lips.
Water streamed down the window pane? as though trying to burn the unseen fire inside. Foolish downpour, he thought, this fire has been burning for years? it?s going to take more than one of your most brazen attempts to quench it.
*~*
Extending a nervous hand outwards, she braced an unexpected fall. Looking up startled, the rain soaked through her thoughts again. The wind churned violently through her clothes, threatening her dupatta, but she clung to it defensively? who knew what would unravel with its unveiling.
Ek pal ko? ye toofan aata hai?
Ek pal ko saare lehron mein?
Iss reth se lekin sadiyon taq? kadmon ke nishaan reh jaate hai?
Reh jaate hai?
With an unknown instinct, she suddenly had an urge to look up again. It was as though something were there, following her. Fighting off the urge as a stupid, insignificant feeling, she decided to move on towards her apartment, which was thankfully only a few more minutes away. But as she set a foot forth, she found it difficult to move. Instead, she looked upwards again? A blinding stream of moisture washed over her face? while she fleetingly caught the stormy sky, and the dimmed lighting of a large building. There were lots of windows, but it seemed none of them were lighted. Strange, she thought. Dismissing the mindless observation, she continued on hurriedly.
Comments/ Criticisms/Suggestions all welcome! - Song is from a t.v. serial that used to come on Zee TV called "Reth"...
Cheers,
dc
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
