The rain steadily fell down from the darkened night sky on top of the city.The streets were covered in a sea of umbrellas, people streaming down the sidewalks in a rush to hurry back to dry and warm homes.Businesses were closing for the night, the only lights remaining coming from streetlights, bars & cafes.On one street, cars honked as the pedestrians flowed across the street, rushing to get to the other side, splashing puddles as they moved across the intersection.Amidst the dull colors of the night, a bright red umbrella just lay on the road,twirling in the wind,raindrops splattering from its canvass.It just shone on the road,like it was meant to be there,all by itself and the thronging crowd just passes it by.
He is walking at a brisk pace,wiping off rain beads off his forehead and adjusting his spectacles from time to time..The muffler he is wearing is completely wet and it's only the jacket that is shielding him from the spiteful wetness and the biting cold that it brings."Damn this unseasonal rain"-He mutters under his breath,clenches his jaw tight again and continues walking in the direction of a little-known, hole-in-the-wall cafe simply known as “Eternal”.It had been around for many decades, simply blending into the ever-evolving structures as the city expanded further into the skies.After a long and hard day at work,he used to go there every single day.It relaxed him.They played his favourite John Lennon and Pink Floyd songs and he just sat there,head thrown back against the couch,soaking everything in.In these moments of solitude,as is natural,his mind used to wander into the past.In his college days,he was a poet and so thinking long and hard and quietly came to him like a duck in water.He never really spoke much,just a flick of the hands to signal the waiter and two words "The Usual".His Caramel Coffee,warm and frothy would be presented and he would be relieved at the lack of social interaction henceforth.
One of the few remaining buildings of the past, it stood as a symbol of what once was a time of simplicity and enjoyment in the city.He took a deep breathe, inhaling the scents as they wrapped around him, drawing him into the building.The lights were dim, the mood was mellow, and the air was filled with warmth,quite different from the cold and frantic wet weather outside.
He had noticed the umbrella on the road and it had struck a chord in his heart somewhere.He felt like the umbrella itself,people oblivious of his existence.It wasn't as if he was unwanted,but there was this constant pinch inside him,that he is invisible.Just like the umbrella.However,that wasn't the reason he was lost tonight.
The song that played in the background also added to the thoughts and memories that played in his head.It happens,doesn't it.Sometimes each and every word,each and every thing around you,begins to make sense.Infact,sometimes it made a little too much sense.
"In all honesty,
I wanna love like that.
With someone to lay my head on when it feels
like the weight of the world
rests all on my shoulders,
To vent to when the stress gets
to be too much, only to collapse
in her arms when all is said & done"
The song breaks and he is suddenly broken out of his trance.It's almost as if somebody shook him up and blew life into him again.In an awkward jiffy,he woke up,signalled to the waiter that he had paid his check and walked out.15 seconds.That's all it took for him to vanish.
He rushes home,now wet from head to toe,the drops dripping from his brow on the carpet and on the floor..His muddy shoes are cast aside and he switches the lights of his one room apartment.It is all familiar now.He begins to calm down.He can no longer be the careless brat he once was,even if he tried to,and so he changes into dry clothes,wipes his head with his mickey mouse towel that people in the apartment across gape and guffaw at,when he shaves in the balcony.He remembers his promises of taking care of himself,and only then,he goes back to his thoughts...The Diary..Yes,he flutters across its pages,which are now yellow and pale..
The Date is of 6 years ago,18th August,2006.
"I remember the day I met you. It was raining; raining hard. It was sometime in April. I don't remember the day, but I remember how I felt; how I felt when I first saw you. You were standing at the corner of Mr Mehta's drugstore; with a red umbrella, sandals, black garbage bag. And you were smiling all to yourself. There wasn't anyone else around. It wasn't like I've never seen a beautiful girl before. Heck. It was just that I've never seen anyone so beautiful to make me feel like crying and laughing and dancing all at once. I didn't know exactly how, but my body drifted to your side. I got pulled into your orbit and I couldn't resist even if I wanted to. You must have thought I was crazy; me in front of you, drenched to my core; Standing there staring; not knowing what to say; but just staring at you under your gorgeous red umbrella. Long open hair,fluttering in the wind,copper coloured eyes, the dimple on your cheeks and chin as you just continued smiling. But you smile at me and I come back to earth. "Hi". You say "Hi". And then it's like I know you. Like I've always known you. The bag is tinging, clanging, rustling against your leg. You give me a little peak at all the aluminum cans you collected. There must have been at least forty, maybe 50. Then I ask you why you need all the cans for. "My masterpiece" you tell me. You say you're an artist. I ask you what kind. "The kind who makes art". Your laughter makes my chest ache. Not in a bad way; just because I want you so badly. I wanted you to know me, to go places with me; I wanted to stay at that corner with you. You tell me it was nice talking to me and you gotta get going. I'm sinking as you turn away from me. Sinking into myself; hopelessly immersed in you. Please don't go.My voice is lost, but found in time to say "Wait!" I call to you. You turn again towards me. I introduce myself; tell you my name; and I hated myself for stuttering. I tell you that I needed to see you again. Needed to. You tell me your name is Aarohi. From that moment I knew no name would ever sound so pretty to me as yours does. I knew I loved the girl with the Red umbrella.
Signing off
Krish"
