The Fleeting Conflict

‘Why is it troubling you so much,’ asked Akash, the ash on the cigarette was about to fall off, but he continued watching it through the thick lens of his new glasses, the fingers smelled of smoke, as he dropped it off, and nonchalantly burned the third one in a row while waiting for Aditi to speak.

The thick curly hairs on the head, made his face look even smaller, while the long shapely nose accentuated the sharpness of his face, the squinting eyes sat behind thick spectacles, and the facial features pointed to his obvious resemblance to people from the hills, allowing everyone to immediately guess where he was from.

Aditi cupped her face, the thin long dusky fingers shone in the bright sunlight as she remained seated at the place, she had been sitting for more than 20 minutes now, not even moving once. The bean bag, her favourite, radiated warmth when Akash finally threw away the half-burned stick to stretch his hands to immediately hold while pulling her towards him.

This sudden action of Akas surprised Aditi, as her body leaped up clumsily before throwing herself at him who quickly used both her hands to balance Aditi but ended up hugging her, feeling the warmth of her breath and the fragrance of her shampooed hair as they embraced each other.

The long flowing hair glided in the air while the gloom on her face turned into a momentary surprise as she travelled in the air for a fleeting second before landing up closer to the man who was still unsure of what he should say now.

The large kohled eyes closed themselves as she held Akash tightly; the slim hands wrapped around his neck as she tried immersing herself in the moment and forgetting about what has been troubling her for so long, even if for a few seconds.

“Trust me,” he whispered in the ears as she nodded her head slowly, hitting it against his shoulders and neck and pressing her lips against his body as she did so.

“How much time do I have,” asked Akash, his eyes now staring at cigarettes again, as his question prompted an unconscious wave of uncertainty right up from his gut to the head.

Aditi, however, remained quiet, her lips reluctant to move, remained zipped, while the crease on her face slowly eased out, as she felt secure and comfortable in the warmth of Akash’s embrace.

His hands caressed her head now as he waited for her to reply. The soft fondling assuaged her hurt further as she adjusted herself to hold him even more tightly.

Realizing what Aditi might be feeling, Akash’s eyes, till now staring at the cigarettes closed themselves as he also immersed himself in the moment; the two hearts now throbbed in a slow synchronous rhythm, the bodies swayed graciously and unconsciously, calming the otherwise agitated mind of Aditi, while also preventing Akash from thinking about another round of smoke.

The burning Sun gradually transformed into a gentle evening as the flickering sunlight reflected from the tinted glass of the large windows, the image of the two lovers swaying in the windowpane as they lost track of time; their minds and body engrossed in each other, suddenly turned oblivious to the world around them.

“I love you,” said Aditi softly, as Akash, tenderly stroked her cheeks with his nose, prompting a quick smile on her face.

“We will make it for sure,” he whispered back in her ears, as the two continued swinging unconsciously, aware the decision has been made.