“Sometimes Home is a Person”
Maya,Rishi, and the tissue ring
Maya and Rishi had been seeing each other for over six months. On Thursday evening, after a terrible day at work, Maya was showing her ID at the barcode scanner to exit the office when Rishi called her. She managed to juggle all her belongings and took his call.
“Hey, how is it going? How was your day?” Rishi asked.
“Terribleeee… day….. I just wanna quit everything and go somewhere,” Maya whined.
“Don’t book any cabs. I am actually nearby your office. I will come and get you,” Rishi said.
“No, not today. I am not interested in going out anywhere. I just wanna go home,” Maya replied.
“Trust me, wait. I am coming. Stay there,” Rishi rushed and hung up.
“Hey, wait, Rishi,” Maya said before the call ended.
With a great sigh, she ran her fingers through her hair and looked up. After ten minutes, a blue car pulled up and honked. She looked up from scrolling through Instagram and walked towards the car. Rishi opened the door from his driving seat, and she got in. They left while a 90s song was playing in the car. Rishi sang along to it and insisted that Maya join in, but she was still upset about her workday and declined.
“Tell me at least where we’re heading,” Maya asked Rishi.
“Trust me, you’ll love it,” Rishi replied.
As they crossed the busy city road, they reached the beach road, and Maya said, “Oh, this is what it is. Ah! You know me now”. She loved beaches and the ocean always healed her. She was an ocean person, and just the cool breeze and the sound of the waves were all that she needed to feel better.
As they drove along the road, Rishi opened the windows, and Maya leaned on the window, watching the waves and listening to them as if she understood what they were saying.
Suddenly, the car stopped, and Rishi got down from the car and came to the other side, opening Maya’s door. He gave her his hand and asked her to get down. She asked with a surprised face, “What now?”
“Yeah, come with me,” Rishi replied, and Maya got down. “Let’s walk from here,” he said.
Maya was surprised as she looked at her. It was an empty road with warm streetlights at night, and on one side was the sea, with waves crashing onto the shore. It felt like a dream to her because this was something she had said to her best friend a long time ago when it was a bad day, and to find peace, she wanted to walk alone on an empty road near the sea at night.
She looked back at Rishi and asked, “How?? How do you know?”
“Look, forget that. You can just walk from here. Ignore that I am here as of now. Other than me, there is no one here on this road. So just head on a walk. I will follow you without disturbing you because I know you’re scared of dogs. So, I’ll walk from a distance from you. You have your moment. Just head on,” he said.
Maya smiled with tears of joy in her eyes and no words to speak back. Rishi tapped her cheek and pushed her back to go for the walk.
As Maya walked on the road, it was just her, Rishi, the waves, and the lights. The cool breeze twirled around them to make sure that it was also there at that moment.
Maya stopped and look back in a cute way. Rishi was walking with his hands in his pocket, gazing out at the sea. Sensing her presence, he turned around and asked, “What?”
Maya walked back to him and took his hand, leaning her head on his shoulder. “Enough now. Let’s walk together,” she said.
Rishi smiled, and they began to walk hand in hand. The waves continued to crash against the shore, and the night breeze enveloped them, serving as a constant reminder that they were not alone.
Breaking the night’s silence, Maya asked, “You know, I told you that my past love shattered me into pieces and caused me a deep wound, and I’ve been scared to love anyone since,” she said. Rishi listened intently and nodded.
“Why didn’t you ask me about it?” Maya asked, searching for an answer.
Rishi smirked and replied, “Because I don’t want to dig up that wound. I want to do everything in my power to heal it and be with you. And I know that when you’re ready, you’ll tell me everything.”
Maya smiled. She took his hand and led him to the beach, where they sat down and continued to talk. As the night melted away, they spoke as if time didn’t exist, sharing sweet nothings and baring their souls to each other.
After Maya finished telling her story, tears streamed down her face as she cried, wiping them away with a tissue from her handbag. Rishi gently tapped her shoulder and said, “We’ve both been through so much, haven’t we? But we never gave up on love. If only I had known that woman like you existed, I wouldn’t have gone through that horrible relationship in my past. You too wouldn’t have. Despite all the heartbreaks, I am truly grateful that our paths have crossed, and having you in my life now is a blessing. Don’t worry, everything will be okay. We’ll heal together. Let our love heal everything so that the past wounds never even leave a mark.”
Rishi gently took the tissue from her hand and made a cute ring out of it, asking for her hand. “I know you believe in Severus Snape’s ‘Always’ more than a usual forever. So will you allow me to be your ALWAYS?” he asked.
Maya smiled and gave him her hand, and he slipped the ring on her finger.
“Also, I’m sorry about insisting that we come here tonight, I know you just want to go home but I knew it would make you feel better,” Rishi said apologetically.
Maya hugged him tightly, resting her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her. She looked deep into his eyes and said, “I am home already.” Rishi smiled, and the morning sun rose from the far-off ocean, painting the sky with beautiful hues of orange and pink, smiling down on them.
Until next time, Hwa-i-ting! („• ᴗ •„)੭
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