Tender Collision

He was coming closer and closer, with his each step towards me, I was losing my breath. He didn’t stop until my back was pressed against the wall and his lips were breathing upon my face.

And then a moment of the most beautiful silence of my life, before he leaned in to kiss my left cheek slowly drifting down towards my lips. He paused a bit before kissing the corner of my lips, perhaps he was unsure of how I would react but he didn’t have to wait for long as the moment his lips touched mine, my lips entwined with his in a way that was to last a long long time. All the senses were lost and all there remained was the lingering wet touch of our lips. I can’t say how it happened but all I know is, it was and will be closest to real magic I will ever know in my life.

His arms that were wrapped around my waist loosened their grip as I opened my eyes to meet his gaze. Our breaths were heavy and our eyes were filled with such emotions and passion for each other, that we had carried all along but never really knew. I felt the warmth of his body for the first time. It was like the storm had passed and now we were cleansed; both anew and both moist with dew.

#Persephone

Wishful Wednesdays #3

That we’re making two reflections into one
Cause it’s like you’re my mirror, my mirror staring back at me

She boxes his arm hard which leaves him wincing. He cringes and rushes to box her arm in reply. Massaging her arm, she looks at him with anger in her eyes. He stands with his arm crossed against his chest and head tilted to his right.
“Idiot,” she mumbles under her breadth, continuously analyzing her arm for external signs of the boxing.
“I beg your pardon!” he chips in, half amused. “Do you expect me to just bear all your silliness?”
“If that’s what you call “silliness”,” she draws quotes in air, “then I guess what you did yesterday is called the height of silliness, right silly?” She narrows her eyes and gives a lop-sided smile.
“That was for what you did day before yesterday -”
“Which was for what you’d done day before that,” she completes, adding her part of the story to it.
“You’re such a kid,” He steps closer, almost towering over her and she throws him on the ground. He eyes her in confusion and senses both, anger and fear in her eyes. Getting up, he brushes the dust off his clothes and eyes her in anger.

She senses the danger, shouts out as he starts and runs away, crying at the top of her voice.
“What is that?” an old lady asks her partner at she stops to look at the interesting act in the middle of the market.
“Ah! Just the usual,” the other replies, not taking her eyes off the supplies she’s scrutinizing at the grocery store, “They’ve been fighting since they were kids. They’re 18 now but their antics still continue.”
“But shouldn’t someone save that girl? That boy will kill her!” she adds, horror stricken, as she notices the boy chase the girl while the passersby feign ignorance.
“Oh! Don’t worry. She’s a devil herself. Just wait and you’ll know that she can bring him down.”
She lady starts to interject but looking at the scene in front of her decided to keep quiet. The girl, having found a rod, now runs after the boy, who chickens out behind a shopkeeper.
The lady’s partner now looks up at her and smiles, “We’ve been a witness to their love-hate relationship. They love each other sincerely. It’s their way of showing that they care. They are each other’s mirrors.”
“Mirrors,” she ponders over the word, “It seems very familiar…like I was hearing it now…somewhere.”
And the song continues to play in the background while the two continue their chase.

Wishful Wednesdays #2

“How about a cup of coffee?” he asks.
She turns around and eyes her colleague in confusion. They’d just wrapped up their work for the day and she wanted to head back home as soon as possible for a good night’s sleep.
“Sorry?” she asks again, not sure if she’d got that right.
“Cup of coffee, I said,” he replies.
“Now, why would YOU say that? Going by our history, we clearly don’t like each other, do we?” She crosses her arms around her chest and leans on the door, standing there with her head tilted to the left.
He gets up, crosses the distance between them and stands in front of her. Not too close because he knows she does not like anyone towering over her. There is simple rule with her (he’s learnt that gradually): No dominating her.
She raises her eyebrows for an answer.
“Well, if you are talking about school…”
“I very well am,” she cuts him abruptly.
“Okay. So, let’s put it this way. Teasing you was the only way to attract your attention,” he shrugs his shoulder as he gives his explanation. He notices her narrow her eyes and knows she’s clearly not charmed. “I did what those stupid B grade romantic books asked me to.”
“You read romantic books for that?”She asks, amused.
“Yup,” He replies, clearly embarrassed for letting his secret out himself to the girl he loves.
Always loved…
“And did that suggest you to blow paper balls at her or lock her in boy’s washroom?” She shouts raising her hands in disbelief. “This is what I get for romanticizing love and dreaming about romance?”
What a girl, he thinks, here I am professing my love to her, agreeing to the fact that what I did was stupid. Really stupid, in fact but all she cares about is her tortured past? Doesn’t she understand how naïve I was at all this?
“Okay, let me start again,” He pauses, heaves a sigh and continues; “I’ve always loved you and am really sorry for all that I did in the past. You are my drug.”
Twilight, she thinks, plus too cheesy. Can’ this guy ever say what’s there in his mind and… heart.
She straightens up to leave.
“You are the brightest star in the universe and in my life,” he quickly comes up with something new when he sees her ready to leave.
She stops and turns around. “Too cheesy. I don’t like what I’m hearing,” she says, not at all impressed.
He takes a step towards her and unconsciously, she retreats.
Domination alert, her mind flashes to her.
“Now, you…u…” her voice fails her and her eyes search around.
He takes a step backward and she straightens up.
Now, I have her full attention, he thinks.
He looks straight into her eyes and she knows he’s not fooling around. His eyes reflect his truthfulness, his seriousness and his love.
“I used to come to school,” he says and then shifts his gaze to the ground, cringing at the thought of school, “even when I hated it.” She gives a small laugh and his thoughts return to her. He continues, “Just to see you smile. To see you laugh heartily. I don’t know, but something in me felt so alive. I would beam suddenly.”
She flutters her eyelashes as if to take in the information and his genuine innocence and confession.
“Your presence would make my day. You were the source of my happiness. You were my life,” he says and then that crease returns to his forehead and he corrects himself, “You are. And I love you a lot.” He pours out the last from his heart.
Even I loved you since ages, she wants to tell him.
“Too cheesy, again?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Just perfect,” she says and smiles at him. He smiles, relieved and finally satisfied with himself.
“So, coffee?” he tries again, partially sure whether she’ll reply in affirmative.
“No,” she replies and walks away with a smile. But she knows, she’ll be seeing him tomorrow over a cup of coffee.  

Wishful Wednesdays feature #1

I lay on the velvety heap of grass with my arms spread out wide as if embracing the vast blue sky above me. I soak in the warmth of the Sun which comforts me on this February morning.

I vividly remember lying on snow and making snow angels as a kid.

Except for this time, I am a grown up and am here because this mischievous elf has asked me to accompany her. She’d pleaded, fluttering her eyelids as those beads played while she talked.

I turn to my right and there she is… lying next to me at an arm’s stretch and smiling at the bright blue sky.

She always wears that smile on her face but no one, except for her, knows the reason behind it. She has a different perspective on life. She does things that one wouldn’t dare think of because it looks stupid to others. Like…Like this…lying in the middle of the ground…like kids while others give us a look and pass by.

I turn back to the sky and a smile glows on my face. I know why she’d asked me to accompany her. I am missing the fun in life. I do not mean hanging out with my friends or the joy derived from materialistic gains. I mean the joy that one gets from those small things.

Like, lying here with my elf. I’ve tried to lock her in my arms many a times but she’d simply slip away. And therefore, I’ve stopped trying. I’ve learnt that it’s better to let her free…wild and happy.

“I can scare you,” I hear her say and turn to look at her. She has that smile on her face – mysterious, mischievous yet content. I see her eyes dance again. Maybe it is the Sun or maybe…it’s just her.

“Seriously? I ask mocking her because I want to hear more from her.

Suddenly challenged, she knows her way out. She rolls next to my side and goes “Boo”. As her warm breath falls on my face, I close my eyes, engulfed by her fragrance and nearness. I want to lie down here…with my elf…and capture her again.

But suddenly, the spell is broken as I hear her throaty laughter from a distance. On opening my eyes I see her standing a few steps away.

“I had no idea that I could scare you that easily,” she mocks and slips away turning back once to give that smile again.

“My elf,” is all I manage to speak.

Love Inc

Love is something…if I say more than that then I am definitely trying to define love which is of course not possible. The moment you try to define it, you are trying to bind its limitless realm. 

When I gaze into her eyes, she will just lower gaze, but not before that sincerity is viewed by me. Like the beads of pearl falling down on the floor, my heart will pause momentarily after every beat. To love, to be loved is a feeling which can’t be expressed just like that prima divine up somewhere. But then again, don’t fail to express the love in whatever capacity you can. That smile of a random person becoming the solace of your life, isn’t that love? That innocent collision of hands of two stranger hands before their fingers entwine…tell me what it is if not love. But yet again it is this and much more. Seek more, seek love…

#forPersephone

Destination Unknown

Logically I should have screamed or panicked the moment I woke up but my stomach was more paranoid it seemed. It’s not everyday that one drowns after all. (Almost, he would say) But I was taken aback by my surroundings so much that I had decided to delay my escape. Or let’s just say, I couldn’t even move my ass let alone save myself. As I sat up on the bed, I felt the pain in my stomach. My head was spinning too, like I had jumped out of mary-go-round while my eyes had started to grasp the room’s decor. I had a faint memory of being carried down here from the deck after he… Hades..pulled me up from the river. But it was not until I concentrated that I could see what I had gotten myself into. Getting friendly with him seemed like a big mistake!

The room didn’t have much furniture; a single bed which was occupied by me, a round table at a distance from the bed and a bean bag chair right across the bed, in the middle of the room; with couple of magazines next to it and a coffee mug like someone was in here earlier. It was the only odd furniture in that elegantly furnished room. But when I turned to the right I saw a huge display wall. It was a display wall made out of wood. It seemed curious to me that all the wood used in the room was quite… Refined. It seemed mahogany to me but well, I was too dizzy to bother myself with the nature of the wood. I got up off the bed slowly and started to move towards the display wall to take a closer look and… “Uh-oh”

My eyes rolled all over the display because what exactly was on display was beyond my comprehension. Anything that I might have imagined about that man comes no where near what I saw that day. Weapons! The objects at display in that lavish wooden wall were.. Weapons! That’s when I felt doomed. There was no escape. But you have to acknowledge that my curiosity gets the beat of me. The entire wood work was marked by  symbols and pictorials which made gut turn with excitement. What else can one expect from and archaeologist who is a trouble attracting magnet! As I was busy observing the markings on the wood, I was also trying to avoid looking at the magnificence of the weapons at display. There were more knives than guns. Very intricately designed ones too. This man had a fascination for knives more than any other weapons it seemed.

Suddenly I heard some voices from the deck and moved closer to the stairs to listen. “Charon, how far are we from the shore?”, asked Hades. I recognized his voice this time. The other person replied in a low and slow manner, “Its far enough for no soul to know, Master”. I don’t know why but that word – master – made me shrug off my shoulders. I heard footsteps coming downstairs and rushed to the bed and pretended to be asleep. If only I knew who I was trying to fool, I would have thought better.  It’s not that I couldn’t have fooled him (I am a good actor for the record) but I was not in a condition to do so. (Thanks to him)

I heard someone sat on the beanie and some munching noises. My heart beat was fast enough to match the flow of the river outside and I was losing control over my breathing. “How long do you plan to keep the pretence? I know you’re awake”, said Hades in a much jovial voice than I had ever heard so far from him.

I slowly opened my eyes, one after the other as if there was a monster in the room and; he was right up close to my face by now. “God dammit! You gotta stop doing that!” I sat up in alarm with my hand placed on his chest pushing him to a distance. He held the wrist of my arm, locking the hand on his chest and chuckled, “Ah, I got to stop doing what? I haven’t even started yet”.

I glanced at the weaponry on the display to my right before looking at him in utter horror.

#Persephone

#Greek #mythology #mystery #romance

Spicy Saturday – Guest Feature #3

So you really want to know what happened next?
Yes, of course!

The one whose beauty
And the one whose charm,
The one whose eyes
And the one whose powerful arm
Had might enough to do
Much harm…

Does that remind you of someone? Asked yours truly!
Oh, it is high time you break the suspense!
Is it? Alright, listen then…

Power is a strange addiction!
When it is not in your possession, you seek it and when it is, you are not satiated… There is always that hunger for more of it.
And when the question is about the degree of that power, its manifestation becomes unavoidable!

As the fiesta was at its helm, there broke an argument between Apollo and Surya Dev (the Sun God) as to who was mightier among their respective kings.
Sparks flew about; quite literally!

The fiesta was ready to turn into a field for the demonstration of that power. Had it not been for the interference of the other gods, this verbal spat was ready to turn into a bloody one pretty soon. And this being their supposed expression of loyalty to their respective kings…

Hah…! Imagine drops of ichor falling on the ground and colouring it…

Their respective kings…!
But where were these two kings when this verbal battle on their behalf was being fought?
The search began for the two kings… everyone awaited their coming since it was agreed upon that, in all fairness, the mightier amongst them would be decided only in their presence.

Oh…there they were… outside the venue engaged in an altogether different mode of assessment of their prowess! Going on here was the race to finish those never ending jugs filled of Som-Ras…

No wonder, someone aptly remarked, “men will be men…”

With each having reached the fag end of their sober self, it was decided that this wasn’t the right test for them! They should now enter the venue and enjoy the party with the rest of the Gods and Goddesses…

Oh…! So all their hard work, alias enjoyment, was to ultimately yield no result?

No no… That shouldn’t be!

All that apart, Maaya; But how could they enter without…

#Rooh…

Spicy Saturday – Guest feature #2

Ohh Hi Maaya, so you have kept the deal and come back…

How is it that someone could miss witnessing such a confluence…
Do go on and tell me who is it who was missing and what went on further…

Alright…

So, the party had begun on a high note with the denizens of the two mountains meeting and greeting each other with happy faces and smiles (or so they made it seem)…

Human beings seldom defy the laws of nature…

How is it possible for two beings to not be jealous of each other? And here, there was no dearth of women each of whose beauty could well be a competition to the rest and men each of whose charm was the envy of all others…

However, not arrived yet were
the one whose beauty
and the one whose charm,
the one whose eyes
and the one whose powerful arm
had might enough to do
much harm…

Harm? But what was the need to harm anyone at such a gala night? Naah…

Awaited though they were, to harm anyone here was out of question…

But they.. Who were they? And where were they still?

Come now, break the suspense, said Maaya…

Will you come back next week? asked yours truly… Of course you will.. Don’t you want to know who it is? Ohh yes, you sure will…

#Rooh

Abrupt Sojourn

Life is a spiral…like a really long spiral, albeit with an abrupt ending. You never know and you will never know (unless you are among three ladies of fate). I was thinking of this very spiral when I looked at her reflection in the flowing Nile. Longing for someone is never an option when you know that the fickle flicker of life can be exhausted at any instant. 

In all honesty, I never know what I will do next. In that moment which transpired post that gaze, I wasn’t expecting that chain of actions to transpire. Ruffling my hair at the back of my scalp I took a decision. There was decisiveness in that indecisive moment. It is a funny thing to make explanations and act later…and I choose to act goddamn every moment. But not without opium in my apparatus. I took out my knife as I bundled down the ashes of that distant memory and amalgamated it with the stream of Nile as I sat there rubbing my hands ferociously as she gazed at me with a raised eyebrow. I am glad that it was just a raised eyebrow as I kept gazing at her. “Would you try some of it?” She crossed her hands as if to ward off evil and we both laughed simultaneously…something which we in due time will call as our spooky moments.

There was a hurricane brewing inside her and yet she maintained a calm demeanour. She was gazing at Helios going down before I abruptly held her hand and asked her if she likes to travel. She nodded wildly as a reed boat shaped up in vicinity. Before she could register that archaic boat heading towards us, I threw her into the waters of Nile (she almost drowned) before I pulled her up on the boat. I expected a barrage of abuse heading my way but she was already intrigued by the boat…well it wasn’t exactly a boat, more of a state of art yacht which could function as a hovercraft as well (to be honest I still don’t understand its dynamics)

Before she could murmur any word while being drenched in water, we heard a solemnly voice “Welcome aboard spirits, dead or alive. I am your captain Charon for your sojourn to valley of Dead”…she remains unconscious while I write this post aboard the vessel.

#Hades

#romance #Greek #fantasy #mythology #abduction #river #Nile

Where the Nile is…

It was an evening one can not forget because the sunset was of happy colour. Crimson yellow with a clear sky to spread its soft rays upon – it was a spectacle! The Nile was flowing in front of me against the backdrop of this sunset and slight breeze blew up my dress flowing just like the river. I don’t do dresses usually but it was one of those evenings where I just couldn’t say no, because my “wing-man” Hermes had set up a date for me. But I decided to take some time off before I meet the guy so that I don’t drive him mad. So I was sitting at the banks of river Nile, crossed legs on the ground and enjoying my sunset before I realised that a man was sitting right beside me.

I turned around and was surprised (surprisingly I didn’t scream and I must say that I have a thing for screaming when I freak out) that I was so calmed down by the whole scene at the river bank that I looked at him very quietly. I just kept looking without realising that he was looking back at me. Till it hit me that I knew those eyes, he had already moved forward and was sitting on my right; his body brushing against mine. And then I was freaked out because he was the same guy who broke into my hotel room and then was at the market. But somehow I couldn’t move. He was smiling at me with a mystery in his eyes like he knew something I don’t. And then I didn’t want to move away anymore. I simply asked him, “What is it? Do you know me? Or do you want to know about me?”

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow before his lips curved up on the right side into half a smile, “You like stories, don’t you? Being an archaeologist is definitely about believing in stories weaved in the fabric of history. But let me tell you a mythical story”. My curiosity had started running wild by then so I closed in and asked him, “Is it about this place?” “Yes, you see Nile is history unto itself. This river has centuries in its folds and myths… Well they are myths only till you don’t believe in them”, he replied.

Then i saw his face clearly for the first time, I saw the contours. The skin was pale except the flush of colour in his cheeks. I couldn’t tell if it was blood or the sunset washing over his face. But I have to admit. It was an intriguingly handsome face. I felt ashamed at myself for a moment, you know. I raised another question, “So which myth you want to talk about?”
He looked at the flowing river and then took a breath gazing at the setting sun, “One of the pursuit of love to the point of death”.

I glanced a puzzled look towards him and was about to ask when he opened his lips in answer to my unasked question, “Isis and Osiris”. “Oh the legendary Isis and Osiris you mean? How Isis went searching after her husband’s dead body parts after he was treacherously murdered by his own brother Set. I know that myth.” I had stunned him by the time I finished because he had his eyes widened with much pleasure I guess. Because he broke into half a smile again before telling me that I am impressive in terms of my knowledge. “I didn’t quite expect you to be interested in mythology but well, you just made it easier for me. Or should I say you killed my chance with you.” He said with a sense of disappointment. “But that is not an impressive way to talk about legends, Miss.” He said glancing sideways. “Of course, my bad. So tell me what about them?” I apologized. “Doesn’t it bother you that someone can go looking for a person’s dead body parts? I mean why bother if that person is dead anyway? You can’t defeat death after all.” This time he seemed quizzical.

“I see you clearly missing the point. And I am not at all surprised. It is simple. Isis loved Osiris. Too hard for you to handle it seemed.” I threw a sarcastic glance at him.

A moment later his brows became knitted and he looked like he was in pain. Hesitatingly I asked him if there was something bothering him. He just looked at me and kept looking until I grew a little uneasy.

“What did you say your name is?” I asked. ” I didn’t say it yet”, he replied getting up off the floor. I got up quickly following him. “Yeah so what is you name?”

He turned around and stepped forward putting out his hand, “I am Hades”. I chuckled a bit, “Hades from the Underworld?” Looking down on his hand I gave mine into it. He grabbed my hand, pulling me closer and held me by my waist. Winking at me, he whispered close to my mouth “You shall see soon”.

And I knew something was coming.
#Persephone

#Greek #mythology #abduction #river #Nile #romance #fantasy