“Rain”, he spoke to me in a sudden joyful yell, “It’s going to rain now!”
It’s been long since anyone of us has said anything while walking. The late evening was moist, I could breathe it in and fill my senses with its warmth. It was so familiar, being there with him, walking on that road. Its the comfort zone, for both of us. A comfort zone we hadn’t shared since long.
And he had said those words, breaking the silence.
I gazed in his direction. I could see the pleasure that has spread across his ragged yet childlike features. The delight of the rain was causing him to forget everything for a moment, and look up at sky.
I looked up, along with him. The clouds weren’t that remarkable, but the delicate scent of soaked earth was already thinning out deeply in the environs.
… and it suddenly started raining cats and dogs. I turned to look for a shelter, yet he kept holding my hand, not letting me move an inch. we were thoroughly drenched in less than a minute. Those days rain was like him too, abruptly changing moods.
He had clenched his eyes shut, and his face was heavenwards, as he held my hand tight, like a child. I looked at him, and pulled him close. He was shivering, cold and drenched. I embraced him, he held onto me. I swear I could see there were tears, along with the droplets of water running down his cheeks.
A moment later, he pulled him self away, still shivering. He gazed once more at the sky, shouting, ” I am free.”
I was proud. He was a brave child. He turned, and looked at me, with his million dollar heart-melting smile. He whispered to me, ” I’m free.”
I smiled back, not saying anything, nudging him to walk. we walked. In rain. In silence. In solitude of each other’s presence.
We finally reach home, thankfully safe. As it has been raining now for hours. He is sleeping in front of my eyes, on the sofa, covered in a blanket, with a smile on his face. probably a good dream in which his world is perfect, flawless.
But I cant rest, knowing what an emotional soul like him, is going through. So far, in my life, he’s been the gentlest, most passionate guy I’ve ever met. And he is almost everything one girl normally looks for, in a guy.
I still can’t forget our long talk before it rained. His last words are still ringing into my ears like pounding hammers, not letting me think straight on any other topic than destruction of that person who caused him such pain. He had said, “… after all what I did for her… she left me… because… I wasn’t good enough…”
World is a strange place!
