Edge of the World

It all started with the chats and messages the lesser tools the millenials use. I guess I needed to stick with the conventional side of my personality. I so adjust! He seemed like an  agreeable guy. But how much can you trust a guy behind a screen, and a guy after all! The chats continued. The wallpaper in my room was discoloring on its own. My pen and paper were also kind of tired and they asked for vacation. So, I had nothing to engage with. The daily stare-fights with my laptop in the lockdown had long exceeded the quota to keep me restrained. So what if they paid for my lifestyle!
  
We lived in the same town, not too big to be called a city. But it had fascinating topography. Amidst the plains which bore the harvest for the whole state lay the shallow mountains which rose out of nowhere. It felt formidable because of its expanse. They say in the ancient times the quarry was the source of lavish livelihood and that had cleaved the mountains in the thing of beauty it was today. Ironical, I guess! Sharp cuts here, turrets-like bulge there. And the most exquisite was the inadvertent narrow jutting, shaped like a bench in the open air, from the west end of the mountain towards the centre of the mound. I think the nature equally contributed to the chiseled architecture.

Anyways, I digressed. The chats were uninteresting, trite and hackneyed. But he seemed quite amused and confident with what he typed. I gave him the benefit, for the doubt had already crept in and was sounding hooters. Still, eh!
So, when the chats and messages made their famous segue into the "next phase" of meet-and-greet, I was deeply flummoxed. For it was nowhere near my notion of meet-cute. A girl can only dream about such things, reality is nothing like the movies of Dev Anand, Rajesh Khanna.

But the idea that the meet could in itself be a rebellion in the days of lockdown, a break from the mundane, I found myself peering at the faint silhouettes of freedom, serenity at distance. I knew I had to power through.

The meet was planned for the same day... It was cloudy, anytime the sky could break loose and I wished the stones could be our lightning rods. I took my bag rummaged through my kitchen drawer for whatever snacks I could find and stuffed them into. I had the privilege of car without chauffeur and I offered to pick him up. I think it was a nice gesture and I should be shown some gratitude, but whatever!

So, we reached the Kalapatthar or how the area was known as. The rock-cuts all across the canyon mound were not as stable as they seemed. And they were not necessarily carved for a trot. But the destination was worthwhile. He was little dreary all the way, so I kept checking in on him. I knew the destination would suck off all the weariness like a serpent bites off snake poison. Also he didn't resist. He was so at ease at last. Our masks were off. Hung around our necks like our necks needed protection. We sat along the rock formation. It had ample space for both of us. It felt good to share the place with someone. I could finally talk of how fluttery it would make me feel everytime I went there in the past.

Like before,I  lost track of time.  The clouds were making faces, jumping, even sauntering off at times, who wouldn't want to get lost!  By that time, he had moved in closely and adjusted his seat. Didn't even put in much effort to obscure it or maybe I read it quickly. The next moment his lips were clasped along mine. The thought that came to my mind was "okay, so corona is a thing of past and the consent didn't not require signing any kind of undertaking anymore". I took the new learnings to heart. Few seconds in, my body retreated. But I was excited. Finally I had the chance to do what I had wanted for a long time. I grabbed his hand, and we flew down. 

                  "So what's all the fuss about then, Inspector? I didn't do anything wrong", I could barely ask around anymore the adrenaline surge was finally wearing off. I could see him trembling few feet away. "It was only a twenty-feet drop, Goddd! And it was I who broke any part of their bodies. He doesn't even look hurt, physically", I advocated for myself lying on the stretcher inside the ambulance.
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Prompt 1: First person unreliable pov
Prompt 2: Past tense
Prompt 3: Following pic

Thanks to Cole Patrick on Unsplash


Comments

  1. “The wallpaper in my room was discoloring...” and “anytime the sky could break loose” were lovely images to picture.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The line "I gave him the benefit, for the doubt had already crept in" was my favorite.

    ReplyDelete

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