25 year old Sky looked up and gazed at the grey heavens from her window,absent mindedly her fingers traced the shapes of each cloud passing by, it no more ached to play this game she had taught Brishti 10 years ago.
It was an unusual day, a surprise shower spell at dawn brought respite from the unbearable heat the city was experiencing since the past couple of months. Waking up to a beautiful drizzle and a soft breeze,sky knew she wanted this day to herself, without further delay she called up her office to take leave,cancelled every task planned for the day and asked the maid not to show up.
Just as she was waking up Bilal with a morning hug the doorbell rang,while walking towards the living room sky playfully informed him of her plan for the day at a stretch, that firstly,she won't cook a single meal today, he would have to buy lunch from his office canteen, no household chores would be done, no dusting, no laundry, dinner would be ordered,and lastly, it was mandatory that he buy her flowers this evening for no reason. It was the newspaper at the door, shutting the front door,she quickly scanned the front page like everyday only with an unusual squeal "Omg Bila! Look what sachin's done to his hair, ha ha! You need that haircut soon." Bilal ,still half asleep,yawned and stretched on the mattress wondering why his wife was being so ridiculously free-spirited this morning. Lazily as he stepped out of bed and stepped towards the bedroom window he saw the weather. Ah! It was raining ,he felt a packet of happiness,imagining the blissful cool air he'll breath with his car windows down on his way to office today.
He called out for his cup of tea, sky sharply responded "self service!!" from the living room as her voice cascaded into a full throated Asha Bhosle classic. "What is wrong with you funny woman!!?" he teasingly asked her while going to the kitchen to get his morning caffeine dose. Standing in front of the boiling kettle a smirking Bilal recalled how much Sky,his best friend and companion since the age of 4,had loved monsoon as a child,how the three of them would run around in the rain and roll around in puddles of mud in the society park for hours,they would try to scare the croaking frogs away to nowhere and grin like little devils for no reason. Happy times in rainy days.
A moment later his heart skipped a beat as he suddenly realized what was so strange about the morning,how could he have overlooked? Sky who for the past 3 years shut every window of the house whenever the clouds approached was in love with the weather today. Sky finally was welcoming rain.Does this mean she was clearing finally, he felt a surge of emotions riding up his spine as he watched how much she had healed, he wanted to ask if he was right but decided against it, was this day the epiphany they were all waiting for? Maybe today it would no more ache if he mentioned Brishti again.
After Bilal had left for office,the entire house and time to herself ,sky was the limit for sky. But unlike other times, today she preferred to sit quietly in the balcony adjacent to the living room with a steaming cup of coffee,staring at the natural creek that was visible clearly from their apartment on the 14th floor. A lovely wind was blowing through her air, giving her goosebumps.Thankfully,the direction of the wind was friendly to her, it was blowing the drizzle away from the balcony so she could remain their calmly as long as she wanted without worrying about getting wet.It was as if nature was making sure she sits and watches with comfort. The softness of the daylight soothed her as she sipped hot coffee and marveled at the beautiful view.
They had shifted in this apartment about 2 years back, but by then she had lost the key to her love for nature, for beauty, for small things, for many things.She never sat in this balcony in these 2 years, never appreciated the view. Bilal never insisted, he understood. Every day while leaving for her office,she would ritually give the house a quick glance standing in the middle of the living room but never for more than 2 minutes.She was always busy, she made sure she was.
In their college days,confessing his love for her, Bilal had promised to buy a special home once they were married,they had laughed and laughed about his innocent promise,those days Sky had been living a dream. Their mother had jokingly revealed to her much later that fearing rejection,to play safe, Bilal had even consulted 14 year old Brishti to know how Sky felt about him. Brishti had been quite the counsellor to the young man hopelessly in love with her sister. After all as next door neighbours, Bila along with Sky had grown up playing with Brishti since she was a baby. She was special to him too.
Once everything worked out how excited she had been about their love, Her joy had known no bounds, jumping around Brishti had exclaimed "Di, Do you have any idea how lucky you are?! how many get to end up in love with their first best friend? that too adorable Bila. I,your one and only sister, approve of him.I'm sure uncle and aunty would grab the first opportunity to have you as their daughter- in- law, you do know you are beautiful, don't you?.. I still have a lot of scope of course, but my God! I still can't believe you are in love! In a few years you're going to see a beautiful Brishti just in time for your marriage, I'll flirt with the handsome boys!! and if Bila does keep his promise of that special home for you, I get a room for myself where I can sleep for years if I wish and you promise to cook for me all the food in the world I wish to eat once I wake up, Do we have deal then?...oh and......" the girl had not stopped speaking that day.
An involuntary smile had cropped up on her face as Sky looked back to that conversation now, she had never imagined that this day would come..that with time it would no more ache to sit in the rain thinking about her..She had cried for long, she had to let go.. or may be patiently keep moving on.
"Atleast,Bila kept his promise" she cheerfully said to herself swirling the last bit of coffee in the mug, realizing the drink had lost its heat,she gulped down the last mouthful giving the distant creek a long stare.
After spending the entire afternoon in the balcony, Sky took a deep peaceful nap in her bedroom in the evening. Her mobile phone silently buzzed but she couldn't care less. Afresh by the time the streetlights lit up, she lit a couple of aroma candles one buys enthusiastically during a shopping spree only to store them up for endless time, Diwali after Diwali.Sky had done nothing all day, for a workaholic like her, the day itself had done a lot to Sky. Bilal came home with a bunch of lilies just the way she liked, no fancy wraps, no ribbons, just the flowers as if he had handpicked them from a garden. Her eyes sparkled at his sight, he was glad. After freshening up, he smoked his evening cigarette leaning against balcony railing, he checked if the drizzle had ceased yet, it hadn't. It was surely an unusual day.
He called out to sky to tell her how his day went,one of the many husband wife rituals.while he finished his smoke she joined him and waited patiently next to him. Finally putting out the butt in the ashtray Bilal started,"I went to see Ma today during lunchtime, Your Ma was also there, they were having lunch together I figured. It was so comforting to sit with them and talk. After a long time, I saw a remarkable positivity in the air. Ma kept asking me to try bringing you along"
"I will go Bila,I will,now I can"
"Really? will you? Baba too really wishes you visit home"
"Hmmmm, I will, nothing's impossible to deal with I guess, so, are they all well?" Sky asked ,
"yes, everyone is just fine" ,
"ha! can't be everyone!" ,
"Everyone sky! in both houses, everyone. By the way how did you spend your day?",
"I did nothing, just like I had wished. I noticed the creek, It's so beautiful. I just watched....Bila, it's time, I am ready."
Bilal at first couldn't figure out what exactly she was talking about, but eventually he did.Wrapping his arms around her he lovingly asked, " You really want us to have a baby?",
she looked in his eyes with confusion, "don't you?" to which Bilal laughed and replied , "I even have a name for our kid, I have been ready since the day I married you wifey!". They smiled and he kissed her.
3 years ago,when Brishti wouldn't open her eyes in the morning, it was beyond belief what had happened to her,doctors couldn't tell how she could have slipped into coma without any major illness,she had merely gone to bed the night before..No one could explain,no treatment had helped. It was a rare condition medical language informed. Young Brishti just slept as her hysterical family looked on. It had become unbearable a sight to watch a lifeless body day in day out.Sky had refused to go back home even once since the day she got married. After they shifted home,Bilal payed regular visits to the parents and was her only source of news about the conditions at home,only to push her into an impossible emptiness everytime he updated her.
Today,after 2 years of gathering courage, past the fear, she was ready now to meet her unconscious little sister again. She was past the horror they were thrown into for no reason,past the pain of sitting and watching on as her little doll wouldn't choose to die, she would no more ask for explanations from the internet, from god, from anyone who was alive and listening. she would no more try to shake her back to life with tremors of pain running down her entire being. She would no more endlessly stay up nights hoping for the slightest movement.She would no more cry and beg Brishti to open her eyes just once to see her Di as a bride. Time had pushed everyone to accept what they saw.Sky was strong now, taking her day off to watch the weather was to assure herself that she would no more cringe with pain as monsoon reminded her of a name she so fondly gave her baby sister.
It was time to let her sister sleep for as long as she wished and If she ever wakes up,Sky would cook for her just like she had promised. Sky had learnt to be truly happy again.
The clouds roared as Bilal held Sky with all his passion, a name ringing in their hearts like never before,
It poured all night long as they made love, they felt they would give birth to a daughter,their key to a new life and it would no longer ache to name her Brishti.
