Throwing the dice ~
She told Him, "No. I don't want this over-possessiveness and over-protectiveness. I haven't done anything to warrant that I can't take care of myself."
He replied, "I'm sorry. Take me back. I won't do it again. But please stay. Stay with me. Stay."
The desperate sound of His voice jolted her, scared her, "I will come back to you. You need to trust me to come back to you. Else there isn't going to be anymore of this. I won't be caged" by love. The last two words were unspoken.
"I trust you. I trust you. But not him. Please not with him."
"I can take care of myself."
"You can't say that! How will you be sure?!"
"No more of this. I'm leaving. Bye."
"Wait - "
She hung up and cut His call. Now the moment she had been dreading yet wanting - the moment to leave. Anamika came to terms with herself.
She left ~~~
"Are you cold?!", he asked her over the wind rushing past their ears. She left ample space between them on the bike's seat such that they did not touch. "No!", she called out. He suddenly sped up making her momentarily lurch forward. But she clung fiercely to the back of the bike and did not bump against him.
Was this right? Going with a man she had just met some weeks back on a midnight journey alone? Not to mention on his bike on a rainy winter night. If he decided to hurt her, she would be helpless against his well-built, athletic frame. She was the responsible one. Anyone else in her situation, she herself would have called a fool. She would have made sarcastic remarks on how naïve girls these days could be. But she wasn't a girl anymore. She had crossed the transition and she wasn't much behind in years to this man in front of her. Maybe 2 or maximum 3. She was a woman and she would handle herself with dignity and poise. If she had put herself in this situation, she would see that she saw herself safely out... No matter how dangerous they claimed him to be.
The bike slowed down and stopped ~~~
The confidence. That's what struck. The confidence that he can and that he will. Anamika didn't spend much time to ponder why. She wanted a break from this. A break from all this confusion, the heartache... The loneliness. The loneliness which seared the soul and made her wander in the cold nights looking for respite. In a lonely park, in the rain, he came. And cliché it might be, but if it hadn't happened somewhere at some point of time then why did every romance novel have such a scene? This was real. This was new. This was a risk. This was breaking all the rules. Anamika finally let it go.
She told Him, "No. I don't want this over-possessiveness and over-protectiveness. I haven't done anything to warrant that I can't take care of myself."
He replied, "I'm sorry. Take me back. I won't do it again. But please stay. Stay with me. Stay."
The desperate sound of His voice jolted her, scared her, "I will come back to you. You need to trust me to come back to you. Else there isn't going to be anymore of this. I won't be caged" by love. The last two words were unspoken.
"I trust you. I trust you. But not him. Please not with him."
"I can take care of myself."
"You can't say that! How will you be sure?!"
"No more of this. I'm leaving. Bye."
"Wait - "
She hung up and cut His call. Now the moment she had been dreading yet wanting - the moment to leave. Anamika came to terms with herself.
She left ~~~
"Are you cold?!", he asked her over the wind rushing past their ears. She left ample space between them on the bike's seat such that they did not touch. "No!", she called out. He suddenly sped up making her momentarily lurch forward. But she clung fiercely to the back of the bike and did not bump against him.
The rain slowly soaked in. Through her heavy hooded pullover, through her t-shirt, through her thick jeans. The puddles on the road soaked her bare feet clad only in a pair of slippers and the wind swept her hood off her head. The rain beat down relentlessly yet with a heaviness that made time seem slower as they went faster. Over the flyover, away from human communication. The drops felt cold on her bare face. Anamika had a million thoughts rushing through her head.
Was this right? Going with a man she had just met some weeks back on a midnight journey alone? Not to mention on his bike on a rainy winter night. If he decided to hurt her, she would be helpless against his well-built, athletic frame. She was the responsible one. Anyone else in her situation, she herself would have called a fool. She would have made sarcastic remarks on how naïve girls these days could be. But she wasn't a girl anymore. She had crossed the transition and she wasn't much behind in years to this man in front of her. Maybe 2 or maximum 3. She was a woman and she would handle herself with dignity and poise. If she had put herself in this situation, she would see that she saw herself safely out... No matter how dangerous they claimed him to be.
The bike slowed down and stopped ~~~
-continued-
