Interlude III: Cosmic Limbo
The air was charged with electricity and her skin was on fire. It felt as if the only soothing balm to the fire was his touch though it left a trail of heat in its wake. He breathed in every inch of her skin, her breath warm and quivering as if her lungs were working overtime to provide assistance to the erratic beating of her heart. Hours before they had eaten a dessert made of jaggery as primary ingredient and he could taste its residue on the corner of her mouth. She giggled when his breath disheveled the hair above her ears and they tickled her silly.
"Khushi," he whispered. She whimpered at the jolt that ran up her spine when his breath caressed her ears. She swallowed thickly and could only muster "Hmm?" Her inner voice chastised her for lack of vocabulary and reducing all conversations to caveman-esque communication.
"Stop thinking," he said caressing the shell of her ear with his nose. She let out a guttural moan in response. 'Definitely caveman type', her mind bit out violently. She was disoriented for a moment at the sudden lack of contact as he pulled his face away from side and hover it few inches above her face. She looked at him, confused. "Don't think about what is happening, don't analyse how or why is your body is reacting. Just feel okay?" He said and kissed her nose. Crimson flood to her cheeks and nodded at him, biting her lips. He smiled wanly as she raised her back a little and pulled him to her. She molded on to him in perfect synchronicity and could experience the perfection they created when their bodies moved in an unspoken symphony - there were no doubts, no imperfections, no cracks or facades. She gave into the feeling as much as he did and together, they created magic. He took them to the brink and she allowed him to as he consumed her in entirety and they both fell into a cosmic limbo.
When she opened her eyes, she could see Arnav's eyes boring into hers and held secrets.
"How long have I been asleep?" She was embarrassed for falling asleep right after he cradled her head between his neck and shoulders.
"About forty five minutes," he said nonchalantly brushing back hair from her face. "It was fun to watch you sleep and entertaining too since you talk," he said flashing an amused smile. Khushi looked horrified.
"What did I say?" She asked slowly.
His eyes softened at that. "It was just my name, a couple of times." There was hint of pride and a chunk of adoration in his voice. When he first heard his name escaping from her dream, he had felt a surge of emotion whose depth he couldn't fathom. The feeling was inexplicable as her voice had ushered out her innermost thought process and he was incredibly touched to find out that he was a part of it.
It was so achingly beautiful to see her murmur his name in depths of her sleep. He kissed the space between her eyebrows when he felt tear pool in his eyes and she had said out loud his name again. It was as if her body was so well tuned with his touch that her consciousness picked up the markers exactly and gave her the comfort she needed.
Even in her sleep she needed him. His heart ached a little at that realization.
"And I took a picture of you sleeping," he said showing her the Polaroid shot of her. "When you are sleeping it's just...different, you know?"
"Do I look different??" she asked looking at the picture not following what he was on to.
"You do actually." He said and trailed a finger on the face in the picture. "Do you remember a photo you lost back in school?" She nodded, memory finally filling it in.
"Well, I took that photo. I saw you sleeping on your bag - unafraid who would watch and content to be surrendering to dreams in middle of chaos. It was utterly bittersweet for unsure reasons but hauntingly beautiful. While you were sleeping I couldn't see the layers of complexity you wrapped yourself in, there were no puzzles, no predefined paradigms; your face was completely raw and unguarded. When you sleep, you are like that. I felt in that moment that I had unraveled the mystery that you are which had been stalking my mind persistently. And then you opened your eyes and I then had a new mystery to solve."
"I am not sure if I find it romantic or mildly disturbing," Khushi said thoughtfully propping up her elbow and supporting her head on open palm. Arnav rolled his eyes. "Why didn't you ever get together with Lavanya?" She asked out of nowhere. Arnav whipped his head towards her and looked at her opened mouth. This was definitely not the thing he wanted to discuss when he wished to spend some quality time together.
He sighed. "Why do you want to know it now, after all these years?" They had been together little less than a decade and she had never asked him that. It intrigued him when she simply shrugged in reply and looked at him expectantly.
"I can give you some reasons but I know that they aren't sufficient because they aren't. Lavanya and I were great together and being with her was amazing. But I just couldn't ignore why my mind went back to you over and over again. I saw you in class and you both blended and stood out at the same time. In one sweeping glance a person could easily ignore you and just hover near Lavanya. People don't have the kind of time to know everyone first and then just stick with those who complement the most. If it had been like that then the world would have been a perfect place and all relationships would be near perfection." He mused.
"You were attracted by my oddity?" She summarized for him.
"No. I was attracted to your facade of simplicity." He said pinching her cheeks.
"What about you?" He asked haltingly.
"Why I didn't get together Lavanya?" She asked laughter evident in her eyes. He rolled his eyes and covered his hammering heart with her hand. The answer was important to him and he let her know that.
She placed her cheek on his heart and smiled inwardly when it jumped few pulses. "I was a grey moth settled in a shadowed corner and absolved in a world of my own. And then one day a new student walked into my class and I looked up. In his eyes, there were bright lights." She stopped and exhaled slowly. "Like a moth to the flame." She whispered to his skin and delivered her words directly to his heart. And he was hit by wave of melancholy and love all over again.
Next Chapter: Chapter 22 - Lucifer
Edited by RockBarbie - 12 years ago
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