1st August, 2016

It had rained like it never rained before…

The sky was a lousy shade of grey, and the tall trees swung their heads and swirled their branches in the pouring rain. Roads had begun to clog with the heavy showers from the high. Streets were clearing up quickly, shops were closing down; and the animals of the street stayed put to their clans, too scared to come out of their shelters.

While everyone chose to stay at home, one young girl was determined to go to school. Turning a deaf ear to her mother’s persuasion, tackling the weather head-on, umbrella in hand she set out for school.

She was hardly halfway through, when the water rose to as high as her knees. Fighting against the cold wrath of nature, she was moving on, sloshing through the water, when a strong gust of wind came hurling towards her, and blew away her umbrella. Thunder rumbled, lightening flickered. It was getting dark and cold, and she was getting drenched to the skin. Yet one thought gave her the courage to move on—his thought, to be able to see him at least once. She had come this far; nothing could stop her anymore. Holding on to her faith, she kept moving on.

On reaching school, she hurried her way to the washroom. School was relatively deserted, with just a handful of students in each classroom. Was coming to school worth all the pain? Oh! Why’d she even doubt that! Shoving aside her thoughts as she dried herself, wiping every drop of water from her arms and legs, her mind grew impatient to catch his sight!

One minute went after another. She was sitting in the portico, her eyes searching for him everywhere. But he was nowhere to be seen. A frenzy of thoughts congested her mind. What if he had decided to stay back at home? Had she taken all this trouble in vain? Or what if he had, indeed, started off, but is stuck somewhere in this terrible weather? Or what if he’s in trouble! She was getting worried, she could wait no more… she closed her eyes and prayed that he’s alright.

In the middle of her prayers, cutting through the petrichor, a familiar musk hit her senses. Her heart started pounding rapidly against her chest, each breath she took called out his name. She opened her eyes and looked to her side. There he was, walking slowly towards her, the young gentleman with brushed black hair, intense eyes, and a smile that was enough to light up this dark gloomy day.

She looked up at his face, “I thought you wouldn’t come,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes. He leaned closer to her. “I’m sorry to keep you waiting,” he whispered in her ears. And as they got lost in each others’ eyes, their hearts danced together to the rhythm of the pouring monsoon rain.