Storytelling
It was our heroine’s turn to tell the story. She didn’t know which one to tell. She was lost in the labyrinth of her own choices. But she knew she wanted to make the listeners think and chose the latest one. She took a shot down her throat. Taking a sip of her beer, she stood up to take the main seat but instead ended up pirouetting. One shot had had her well. Luckily, she landed on the right chair.
She placed her pint on the table beside. Holding the mic in her hand, she coughed to check it while the audience waited anticipatedly. Especially, her only friend around. He cheered and the crowd followed.
“Please bear with me if this sucks. I’m warning you, it has an oxymoronic (pun intended) ending.” The crowd giggled. She opened her phone to find the story and began reading:
Time Flies
Behind her smile lied a mysterious worry, a worry even Floyd couldn’t solve. She stood on the terrace, staring at the life of an unknown city, feeling as if it had become her very own. Stuck between the smoke and breeze, wondering, if she was dragging the smoke, or herself.
Suddenly, his fingers tickled her by the waist, followed by a surprising hush of “Boo!”. After surviving the mini heart attack, she blurted an under-the-breath “Hi”, and was soon embraced by his addictive warmth. In his arms, her worry vanished. Days passed by, it came back to life. “Ignorance is bliss.”, she thought to herself and continued to ignore.
That one starry night, they stared the sky together. She got her peace from the stars, while for him, they fed his curiosity. It was romantic in its own way. The ecstasy, unexplainable.
Post midnight, below the open sky, they rehearsed their dance moves.
“Stop being the alpha female.”, he claimed when she tried to lead the dance. They laughed hard at themselves. It made them look naïve, but they didn’t care. They were having fun. And, in the moment, nothing else mattered.They once went street food hogging. His buddy, eager to smoke, asked them away. He went along. She refused the offer, stayed back with his other peers. She was laughing at one of his friend’s gimmick. When she took a glance at him, she caught his stare following her from a distance. She wasn’t sure what had lead to that stare. But, it had not failed to catch her attention, astonish her, and want him as close as she could. She wished she could stop time. A lot of things would have happened right there.
Not much later, reality seeped in. Her worry now replaced with certainty, the cruel certainty of separation.
One of those nights, intoxication had them well. Their vulnerability was pouring out. His lack of human touch and her missing of a great mind. Her ability to take risks and his lack thereof.
Their last night was different. His sleep was as peaceful as it could get, while she was the (un)lucky owl. That wicked night, she didn’t sleep. Post her smoking session, this time alone, she stared at him, his peacefulness, envying it. She kissed him, pecks then some deep ones, hoping to shake his peace and invite him to her world of mysterious misery but all in vain. She ran her fingers all through, making sure her desire, of knowing him, was met well. He reciprocated by hugging her, in his sleep. His “superpower” to do so was amusing, she stared and laughed. “Polar Bear”, she sighed. “I’ll miss you.”, she whispered.
The next morning was a struggle, separation was closer to their door. “I’ll miss you.”, she admitted. “Me too.”, he replied with a prolonged peck on her forehead. They sat there, locked in a hug, one of the most tight ones, kissing hard, cursing time.
But indeed, it was time, to say those three magical words. “See you soon.”, she said, knowing it wasn’t going to happen soon. She hugged him tight, pecked and left.
Something she wasn’t aware of, neither was he, probably. Their roads were going to cross again, only to depart for a time unknown but surely longer.
This time, their actions were speaking louder than their unspoken words. They stared into each other’s eyes, like lovers of their time. They held hands, choked each other in the embrace, resenting to let go. They ran their hands over each other, kissed eyes, locked lips, played thumb fights.
It was time though, to depart again. As usual, the last night had her well. He saw it coming this time. His reciprocation was still amusing to her. She did her usual and kept buzzing around him all night. More like an irritating bee this time.
The alarm rang at 5. She knew they only had a couple hours. She rolled over to kiss him. He hugged her into a cuddle and tried to sleep again. But, she took charge and woke him up in her own sweet way.
They lay there, panting, staring at each other. The nearing of separation was starting to irk a lot more than they thought. “I’ll miss you.”, he confessed, with a tone and a caring hug that startled her. In their concinnity, he was a classic while she struck as romantic. She blurted,“I’ll miss you too.” but failed to get her message through. She was too busy processing his words. He looked at her with questionable eyes,“Huh?”. “I’ll miss you too.”, she replied, this time with a clearer voice and hugged him tight. Her mind was racing. Those three words had just made her leave harder.
He stared at her while she dressed up. His timely soft and tight hugs, running his hands over her face and body were making her hate the flying time. Somewhere in the back of her head, she was happy. But she knew she couldn’t give away to that happiness. After all, she was mentally and emotionally incapable of leading it anywhere. And she knew, their affection would subside with time.
They kept kissing, hugging and staring at each other but finally it was time. They stepped out of the room and giggled at the passing by shivering friend, wondering if that eased their pain. It didn’t. They hugged again, for that possibly one last time. She left a long, deep kiss on his lips. That’s all she could afford to leave this time.
With sleepy eyes, she ran down those stairs, taking two at a time, ignoring the heavy bag, and loaded with a heavier mind. “Shit shit shit!”, she gasped. She couldn’t remember the last time a goodbye hurt her that bad. But she dropped those feelings right there, entered the cab, and left it all behind.
“The end.”, she said and shoved the phone in her pocket. The crowd clapped. Two girls came by and hugged. Our heroine was smiling from ear to ear. Her friend too choked her in a hug shrieking how amazing the story was.
She wanted to celebrate her successful storytelling debut. A few more beers were ordered and she requested the DJ to play “Comfortably Numb” because she finally was comfortably numb.
A little drunk now, her gyaan giving session had begun. “It’s amusing how time flies, isn’t it? Leaving behind only dusty reminiscents of the past — bloody memories. Some when reiterated, provide a tinge of pain, masked by sheer joy. May be, memories were always meant to be oxymoronic in nature.”, she ended.
Her friend laughed. “Yes, indeed.” He continued, “So what brings you to the Abode of Clouds, that too on a solo trip?”
“Ah, I’m just rehearsing to live alone. This being my first step. Also, Steven Wilson, dude!”, she answered.
“You can never live alone. You have these stories and memories to haunt you.”, he argued.
“Argh! I hate to agree but valid point well made. Bloody lawyer you.”, she agreed.
“But hey, I want to hear more of those. Let’s come by again tomorrow?”, he asked.
Our heroine blushed and agreed. May be, tomorrow she could tell a story with a happy ending.
