Before the Rain

He took a turn, the heavy bag slung on his shoulder swaggering as he walked swiftly. The sky was darkening and it might rain soon. He had an umbrella in his bag somewhere but he did not like getting wet in the rain. "Rain for the sake of photography is one thing, getting wet is another", he told himself with a grim tired smile on his face. In his mind, he was singing the lines of a song he had recently been obsessed with. His hand automatically gave a flick as his fingers danced subtly to the music in his head. "I may not know how to play the guitar or the drums but I sure can do whatever I feel like doing with my hands", he grinned to himself. He was in one of his "cheerful" moods when he didn't care about what others thought about him or considered his actions inept.

"Don't forget the bread!", his mind reminded him. He got into a bakery and got himself a loaf of bread. "Living alone is a pest sometimes",  he grumbled as he paid the cashier and said a small thank you. The cashier was too busy to care for his thanks.

As he stepped out of the bakery, he saw a girl outside the opposite shop. She was talking on the phone with someone. Her face was lit up in a cheerful smile and her black hair partially occluded her face. She was looking off into the distance while her hands toyed with the fruits that were kept in a basket outside the shop. She was wearing a white shirt and black trousers with casual slippers underneath. Probably just returned from work, changed her shoes and has come out to buy something, he thought. He was struck by her smile. Her fair face contrasted nicely with her hair and she was smiling that particular smile, which girls only show when they are talking to someone very close to them.

As he stood looking at her and her hands playing with the fruits, their master being unaware of their acts, she suddenly looked at him straight. Their eyes met for a brief time and then her smile faded away and the lines around her mouth, which a moment ago had been spread in a glorious smile, became firm. Her hands stopped their playing and she turned away from him in harsh anger. He was deeply embarrassed. He dashed away quickly to his place, his head hung low in shame and embarrassment.

That night as he stood by his window watching the rain pour down, he thought of her smile. He wanted to go to her and apologize. He wanted to go and tell her that she looked a lot like his sister...He longed for his sister. He longed for her friendship and her comforting presence. But she was far, far away from him buried under the earth with a looming tombstone over her grave. Unable to live at his home after her death, he had left the city, now living alone in a small room here.

He stood at the window, watching the rain splatter the earth below and stain the leaves. The bread loaf remained untouched on his table. He did not click any photographs that night...

~Parekh, Pravesh

June 05, 2012; 01:00 AM