PERFECT LOVE STORY (Part 2)

2007-
It was chill cold there. All the athletes were already up on time before me. Mamma had told me not to run but I wanted to. Because I couldn’t tell when will be my last run? I wanted to feel the edge of the air on my face when I shoot through the track. We had come for the regional meet in Bengaluru. The place we stayed near Yalahanka was a place of beauty. The morning were so cold. I wore my jersey and hurried to the stadium. The stadium was covered with fog. People on the other side of the stadium were camouflaged in the fog. I liked that weather. I was reminded of my visit to Meghalaya. The nature is a poet, a romantic poet in this hour of morning. When I think of romance, how can I not think of Vishnu? I imagined myself with him walking together in a weather like this. Fully covered with gloves and scarfs… and laughing at the smoke that comes out when we speak…

“Thinking about me?”

I was startled by the unmistakably familiar voice.

“Why would even think of you?” that was a complete lie.

“Because you are missing me”

He was so damn right. It was such a confident reply. Can he read my mind?

“nah… I am not.”

“ a girl walking alone in a romantic morning, admiring the beauty of nature and imagining herself with a loved one and smiling on her own will surely do show she is missing someone and in your case that someone is me”

I stopped walking and gave a cold reply “you are just assuming things.”

But however hard I tried, I was feeling happy from inside. He can feel me… read me… that brought a kind of madness in me.

“Hmm… it’s ok if you are so shy to accept the truth. I can understand.”

“Why on earth you are behind me Vishu? I mean Vishnu” the words slipped out…

He gave my favourite smile. “Please continue Ms Paavana Prabhu.”

“Yeah. I was asking why you are doing all these. Can you not see so many pretty girls out there? In your own class? I thought you see yourself in mirror. And I am not that pretty” that was the dumbest reason I could come up with.

“Oh, that means you think I am good looking”

“Yes” I admitted. “But I don’t care if you have looks or not and all that”

“If you care or not but to be on the safer side I am good looking as you say. Ain’t I? Then what’s your problem with me?”

“I should be asking that question”

“Now I want an answer or an explanation from you and not a question”

“Ok. Listen… I can’t. Because I am still in high school… and I am too young now”

He laughed… “Is it? Don’t tell me you are so small that you haven’t hit your puberty yet.”

“Nonsense…”

“No. it makes sense. I know you are big enough to be the mother of my children”

I wanted that to be true. I badly wanted it to be like that. To be the mother of his children. The small Angeles who resembles him. But there is always a BUT…. In my case.

I started walking. I wanted to show I am done with his stupid talk. Actually I didn’t want him to see my reddened cheeks.

He came walking behind me… I felt his smile and the joy in him.

“Wait Paavana. I know you are a runner and faster than Me.” that was an exaggeration. “You know something, have any guess on who will be the female master of ceremony for this year?”

“I don’t know” I told walking ahead.

“You can try to guess”

“Hmm… Tanusha?”

“Wrong. She is someone you will be jealous of seeing her with me.”  Suddenly I was curious. I wanted to know who she was.

“Who is it?”

He started chuckling, “I knew this”’

“What?”

“That you are already started feeling jealous of an unknown girl and curious about her”

“Stop assuming Vishnu…” I yelled irritating at how well he can see through me, “yeah I was curious about that unfortunate girl. I don’t get jealous of anyone for you”

“I wish so. And don’t regret it later. You better accept me” he told winking an eye.

I opened my mouth to tell something rather shout at him but his phone buzzed.

“Ha Abhi, coming… Tell him am still in room…You know where I am…” he spoke on his phone smiling at me.

A baby smile. A smile I could give him but not for long. I was terrified at thought of his smile turning to tears.

“What are you thinking? To accept me or not?”

“Stop joking”

“Ok, let’s go. PET sir is already on his highest temperature even in such a cold place”

We started jogging towards the stadium.

---

“Best of luck my lady” I heard a voice. I was on the running track for the 100 meters race. My lady… the words sank in my heart. I saw myself leaning on his shoulders… A happy couples…

“Stop thinking about me Paavana. Concentrate.”

I both love and hate it when he can tell things that I think in my mind. He looked nervous just like my mother was when I told her I want to go for the regional meet. He gave me a thumb up sign. I concentrated on the 100 meter length and made a mental calculation.

The gun made a shoot.

I remember running. Probably much faster than I did in practice or before. Cutting the tape and then my vision became blur. All of suddenly I felt weak. And the next thing I knew was I fell on Vishnu who came running to hold me from falling. I felt safe in his shoulder and the black blur over powered me.

When I opened my eyes I was in dispensary of the. Sapna and Kriti were sitting near my bed. I was afraid if something happened that revealed my disease.

“How are you feeling now?” Sapna asked me. It wasn’t an unusual tone and I was relieved.

“May be the sun and ummmm….”

“Might be. You have beaten your own record. Can you believe it was 10.59 seconds? It’s very near to the world record. PET sir is so happy.”

“Yeah. He was praising you .He told he will coach you to the next Olympics” Kriti said

I din’t know if they were joking. But I was not sure to live till the next Olympics.

---

I was hoping Vishnu would be there when I opened eyes. He wasn’t. He might have had his event then. He is both high jump and long jump player. I was disappointed as I couldn’t take part in 200 meters race. But that’s OK. Nothing happened. I am still alive. I was afraid the darkness that followed after the race was the end. That I was lost in that black blur forever. Yet even at that moment I thought I was lucky that my last breath will be in Vishnu’s shoulders.

All congratulated me except Vishnu. I dint see him since I got up in dispensary. We were in sleeper coach bus heading back to our city and I knew he would come in. I chose a lower birth. As expected he came. But he ignored looking at me. I didn’t understand what for. He never misses a chance to be with me. But today was different. He went and took the last seat. Bus started. All the people in the bus were enjoying and I came to know Vishnu had won in both the events and was selected for nationals. I was happy.

As the bus started the noise and cheers ceased and soon everyone was inside their sleeping cabin. I had a wonderful dream that night. I and Vishnu were dancing on the clouds. The clouds were milky white. People around us were appreciating our dance. We were no more on earth. We were in air! He was holding my waist.my hands on his shoulders. He is tall. My head exactly rests on his chest. And I loved listening to his heart beats. He takes his hands off my waist and holds my hands. Our wings come out. Wing?! Yes wings. White, silky wings at our backs! We were flying and all of sudden the people around us opened their wings and followed us… we danced while flying and the dream felt so real that I was feeling the cold air on my face as I fly… Vishnu hugged me as we fly and his warm hands on my face…he took my face in his palms and brought his face near time… I was waiting for a kiss… but he is just caressing my cheeks?

Then I realized someone was actually touching my cheeks in reality. I opened my eyes slowly in darkness… it was Vishnu. I was still not completely woken. I sat back scratching my head. I rubbed my eyes to make sure it was actually Vishnu.

“I am real” he said softly. It was dark inside bus. Probably everyone else was sleeping.

“How come you are here? If sir knows…”

“shhh… talk softly, he won’t. He is sleeping”

“Fine. Why are you here?”

“I was missing you… seeing you smile in sleep, I wonder how I must have come in your dreams. Like, which costume was I in?”

“An angel” my brain has started losing the battle.

“That’s amazing.”

“Funny. You think I said that? You looked like a devil chasing me.”

“Stop hurting me” he said making a face. In love, everything looked beautiful. Even a boy…I smiled seeing his funny expression. Suddenly his expression changed. He looked sad and worried.

“Why did you want to run?”

I dint have answer. How can I tell him it was my last run on track?

“What if something happened to you? How can I live without…” he stopped there. I had a feeling he knows something about me. But then I was very sure, no one knows about my illness except my family and the doctor uncle and few previous doctors abroad who confirmed I dint have much days left.

“What are you saying? It was giddiness. You know, today’s was my fastest record.” I said trying to hide the fact.

“Paavana… You are just… just…” his worried face reflected the dim light from window.

He leaned over me. My breathing became uneven. I was sure he could hear that too. A small smile crossed his face. He slowly brought his face over mine leaving an inch gap.

“You have this bad habit of measuring the distance between us.” he said. “You better stop measuring. Because I am soon going to cover even that small distance.”

Saying that he kissed my left cheek, then right cheek, above my lips: my nose, below the lips: chin. I thought I was going to burst out of an unnamed happiness. He gave his last kiss on…on my forehead… he brought his lips near my right ear bringing Goosebumps all over my body “ I love You” he whispered.

“I don’t want anyone else to see you in this.” He covered me with the blanket.

My brain didn’t respond. As I told, logic was replaced by love… he gave a low chuckle and got out of my sleeping cabin and put the curtains in position waving his hands at me who remained like a statue forgetting to close her mouth that was parted in shock moments ago.

I have always known he liked me and loved me the way I do for him. But he expresses his love where as I am forbidden from doing so by myself. I was not eligible in this love game for I couldn’t promise him I would be with him till the end.

My sleep had gone. I struggled to get some sleep till we reach our place which is exactly 5 hours 49 minutes and 12 seconds from here as I calculated. I got up recalling the lovely minutes, his kisses… then I noticed that I was just on my night wares. My pajamas went up my thighs and my loose, partially transparent tank top couldn’t hide much of my upper part in that careless way I had slept. It was a shame… yet I sat there in the middle if the night, in the bus, smiling at my fortune…

###

( to be continued…)