by Iram Dana
In the fight that commenced, the girls were turning out to be clear winners, taking full advantage of the fact that the boys were holding back out of respect for their feminity.
This was war. Who said anything about wanting to play fair?
Rainbow had Heart straddled firmly beneath her while Earth and Destiny plastered him with muck.
Rain and Angel stood in the sidelines, helplessly watching their comrade get mauled.
“Rain!” sputtered Heart, “you started this! Now do something to stop it.”
“All right, you girls,” said Rain, trying to make his voice sound stern, “that’s enough.”
“You’re next!” Earth informed him gaily.
“Look, if you girls don’t go, we’ll start taking a shower right here.” threatened Rain.
“Yeah, we’ll be taking our clothes off right here, too.” added Angel, foreseeing the danger to his person in the near future and trying to prevent it. The girls ignored them.
“I’m serious.” warned Rain.
Earth stuck her tongue out at him and then resumed pummeling Heart with mud-balls.
“Fine, have it your way, then.” said Rain, reaching for his jeans and unbuttoning them.
He was about to pull down his zipper when the girls shrieked and released Heart. They made a quick exit from the scene, laughing all the way.
Heart staggered to his feet. “Thank-you for saving me again, brother Rain.”
Rain shrugged and grinned.
“Now make it stop raining so we can all get back to normal life.” said Heart.
“I can’t. It’s not me.” said Rain.
“It’s not you?! All this time, I thought …”
“I know. You guys thought it was me. Well, it isn’t.”
“Let’s go back to camp.” suggested Angel.
“No. you two go ahead. When I said I intended to give myself a shower, I wasn’t kidding.” said Rain, removing a bar of soap from his belt.
“Where did you get that from?” asked Heart.
“From Mt. Chimpu, where else?” said Angel, scrutinizing the bar of soap.
“See you later, guys.” said Rain, shooing the two of them off.
“Later, brother.” said Heart, following Angel out of the woods.
*****
Earth couldn’t stop smiling. She had really enjoyed their little mud-fight. In any relationship, it was extremely important to have fun – and Rain was so much fun! He was witty, easy to get along with, and thankfully, had a sense of humor.
But for any relationship to really work, you needed more than that- you needed to have chemistry.
Did the two of them have good chemistry? This, she wasn’t sure of yet. Sure, there were some magic moments but those had been sudden and spontaneous. She spotted Angel and Heart walking into the clearing.
“Where’s Rain?” she inquired, searching behind them.
“He’s still in the forest. Says he wants to take a shower.” said Angel.
Earth frowned.
Was this some plan that the boys had hatched to get back at them? Why would Rain be in the forest taking a shower when he should be here, stopping the continuous downpour instead?
Earth decided to go find out.
*****
Earth was hidden among the trees. Rain had his back to her and he was rubbing soap suds off his body. Was he really taking a shower, then? Well, at least he hadn’t taken his pants off, thought Earth with relief. She continued to watch him from her secret vantage point. Guilty pleasure.
And then the thought struck her – now was the perfect opportunity to test if the two of them really had any chemistry.
Earth crept up to him as silently as she could from behind. It wasn’t difficult. The pouring rain muffled all sounds of her approach. When she was at touching distance from him, she reached out from behind and splayed both her hands over his flat stomach.
The instant she touched him, a jolt passed through Rain’s body and he froze where he was.
He knew who this was. He knew what she was doing. He only didn’t know why.
Earth slowly took her hands up his body, feeling the muscles in his stomach tauten as her hands traveled upwards. The way he was reacting was right. Very right.
But the way she was reacting, wasn’t.
Her heart was racing and her skin was burning. Her hands were stuck to his chest, where under her palms she could feel his muscles leap at her touch.
She had somehow been expecting to have more control over herself. But she had miscalculated. She had absolutely no control whatsoever on her hands as of now. She tried to pull away but instead, her hands pulled her forward until their bodies touched and Earth rested her head gently on Rain’s broad back. She could smell the floral scent of the soap on his skin and it only compounded the way she was already feeling. She had to stop. Now. Before she did something that they would both regret.
She had to stop … for his sake. Some vestiges of sense finally broke through the haze in her brain and Earth slackened her hold on his chest.
Rain felt Earth loosen her grip, sensed she was about to let go, and caught both of her hands with his to prevent her from leaving. He heard her gasp behind his back and turned his body around to face her. Her eyes were alive, her cheeks were flushed, and her face was glowing like the moon.
To him, she had never looked more beautiful.
Rain jerked her forward – into his arms and into a crushing embrace. He buried his face into her neck with a sigh.
“Never… ever… do that again.” he breathed in her ear.
And then, abruptly, he let her go and walked away with long strides, never once looking back.
Earth let her knees buckle under her and sank down on all fours. Yes, she conceded, chemistry definitely existed between them.
*****
The rain didn’t stop for a long time. And Rain didn’t return for even longer. By evening, when he still hadn’t made an appearance, Earth began to get worried. Had she gone too far? She knew what she had done was terribly foolish and she now she regretted every second of it. After all, she was the one who repeatedly asked him to keep his distance from her. And now, she had gone and freely toyed with the strings of his self control. Was he mad at her? He would be justified if he was but all the same, Earth hoped he wasn’t.
Evening turned to night with no sign of Rain and everyone began to speculate that maybe Rain had left for another of his Quest’s. Earth heard their reasoning’s. Wanted to believe them, even, but she knew in her heart that wasn’t the reason why Rain was absent all day.
She didn’t, of course, tell anybody what had taken place in the forest today after the mud fight. She was killing herself with guilt already. She didn’t need others to help her along the way.
Time dragged on like needles on her skin, until it was time to turn in for the night. Earth spread out her sleeping bag and after a moment’s hesitation, spread Rain’s out next to her own.
As she lay down and closed her eyes, more worries began to haunt her. What if he never came back at all? Please, please don’t let that be so, wished Earth desperately.
Earth lay with her eyes closed, listening to any and every sound around her carefully. Subodh’s snores were the first to start. Then Destiny began tossing around.
Destiny was a restless sleeper, who fell asleep with some difficulty. Several minutes later, Angel began to hum softly. Earth waited for the slap from Rainbow that she knew was about to come.
It did.
Angel stopped humming. A short while later, both Angel and Rainbow began to hum together in their sleep. Earth sat up in her sleeping bag and let out a heavy sigh. She looked at the empty sleeping bag next to her’s and stroked a finger down its length.
A soft, rustling noise disturbed her reverie and Earth squinted into the darkness. Someone was coming towards the clearing … Rain!
Earth’s heart gave a stutter, stopped, and then restarted at full throttle. She quickly slid into bed and turned
her back to the approaching sounds. If he didn’t want to sleep next to her, it would be far less awkward if she wasn’t sitting there, staring at him while he pulled his sleeping bag away.
She heard him walk straight to where she lay and then pause. She heard him remove a shoe, fling it aside, then remove the other shoe and do the same to it. Was he going to stay, then?
She felt the air rush around him when he sat down on the sleeping bag. Then, he slid into it.
Earth unclenched her jaw and let her body relax, taking in a relieved breath, almost smiling to herself in the darkness.
To Earth, this would have been more than enough but to her pleasant surprise, sometime later his hand quietly snuck over to her and he twined his fingers around hers.
If someone had told her just an hour earlier that she would sleep in peace, she would not have believed it but now, Earth found herself drifting off to sleep with a smile upon her face.
*****
CHAPTER 31
The morning air was chilly as usual, but she was warm and cozy. Earth didn’t know why, but it sure was conducive to her sleep. Earth stretched and sat up. The eyes were going to take several minutes to open, so she sat there waiting and listening to the voices around her, ticking off their names mentally. Angel … Rainbow … Heart … Rain …. Rain!
Earth pried her lids open. Was he still here? He was. And he was smiling at her.
Earth smiled back tentatively. He was looking at her expectantly now. Earth looked around herself. Was she missing something? Yes. She was covered in a quilt. She knew now why she was feeling so snug and cozy today.
Earth lifted the quilt and looked at Rain questioningly.
You made this?
Rain nodded and then tilted his head.
Like it?
Earth lifted it to her face and rubbed it softly on her cheek.
I love it!
*****
All of the next week Rain was mostly away from the camp, making periodic appearances to have meals and then wander off once more. Evenings were usually spent in front of the camp fire, with Angel and Rainbow huddled in one corner cooing into one another’s ears, and Heart and Destiny doing the same in another.
Earth spent his time playing chess with Subodh. The few times that Rain played, he would just sit there and stare at her, occasionally moving a piece on the board for formality’s sake. Today, again, he was doing just that while they played.
When he made yet another cursory move during his turn, Earth sighed and gave up. This wasn’t playing, it was annoying. She walked into the forest saying she needed a quiet walk alone.
Sometime later, she looked up and realized that she was in a very unfamiliar and fairly sinister-looking part of the forest. Worry furrowed her brow. She should not have gone walking all alone so late in the night, unarmed and undefended. Besides, she had the eerie feeling that she was being watched.
She was about to turn back when she heard the sharp sound of a branch snap, followed by a soft curse. Earth let out a shaky breath.
“Rain…?”
There was a loud sigh and then; “Drat that stupid branch!”
At the sound of his voice, her pulse began racing. Obviously, Earth told herself, it must be relief.
“You’ve been following me all this while?” said Earth.
Rain walked out of the shadows with a sheepish grin and his hands jammed into his pockets.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m glad that you followed me.”
And she was. She was hugely relieved to know that she wasn’t alone. With him here, she no longer felt threatened but in fact, felt safe.
“You are?” said Rain, smiling. “In that case, can I show you something?”
“Sure. What is it?”
“Come with me.” said Rain, taking her by the hand. “I’ve been working on this for some time now with the help of my Geeya…” he explained, as they walked along.
Earth wasn’t really listening. The second he had taken her hand in his, her thoughts had scattered. Surely, this was just some remnant of her earlier sense of relief. Earth concentrated on putting one foot ahead of the other so she wouldn’t stumble and fall on him, because that would only prolong this weird sense of relief, she was sure.
Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the mouth of a small cave.
“We have to go in.” said Rain.
Earth stood there, hesitating.
“Relax. It’s safe.” said Rain, demonstrating by going in first.
Earth followed after him.
Inside, the cave was like a large, open-topped dome with a small pool of water in its centre. Surrounding the walls were large purple flowers with white strips running through them. From above, the moonlight shone down directly over the pool, getting reflected on its surface and brightening the area around them. It was all truly a sight to behold.
“Is that the Marsipaeus flower?” whispered Earth.
She didn’t know why she was whispering. Probably because the place somehow had a sacred feel to it.
“Yes. They bloom whenever it rains.” said Rain. “Are you ready?”
Earth nodded and Rain concentrated.
It began to rain inside the cave, over the pool of water and the flowers. Everywhere except on the two of them. All around them, the Marsipaeus flowers started to pop open and bloom, letting out a heavenly fragrance as they did so.
Earth took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
“Rain … this is out of the world!” she breathed in awe.
“There’s more where that came from.” said Rain with a grin.
“There’s more?”
Rain pulled out a small round object from his pocket and placed it on Earth’s palm. The ball was colored blue, white and brown. Earth turned it around in her hand.
“Planet Earth?” she said, looking up.
“Yeah. I made it myself … for you.”
“It’s … really well crafted. The likeness is great.”
“Wait until you see what happens when rain falls on it.”
“Am I going to have to get drenched to see that?”
Rain imagined Earth standing before him soaking wet, and with her clothes clinging to her body.
“Er … no.”
He snatched the globe from her hand and walked forwards.
“What is the matter with you? Why are you walking so strangely?” said Earth, frowning.
“Look!” said Rain, making it rain over his hand in a bid to distract her.
The minute the drops of rain touched the mini-planet, it transformed into a small heart and began to beat and glow steadily.
“That is amazing!” exclaimed Earth, “How in the world did you manage to do that?”
“Never mind the how.” said Rain, walking back to her and handing her the globe. “What matters is the why.”
“So it turns into a tiny beating heart each time rains, huh? Neat.” said Earth, admiring the little ball of magic.
“It will do the same thing every time I think of you, too.” said Rain softly.
Earth looked up at him. He was staring at her lips.
“Will the surprises never stop?” she said in a whispery voice, feeling breathless all of a sudden.
“They will now, because that’s all I have to show for today.” said Rain, never taking his eyes off her lips.
“In that case, I think it’s time to head back.” said Earth and turned and walked out of the cave.
Once outside, she found that she could breathe normally again. Rain walked out of the cave right after her.
“So, what did you think?” he asked.
“I thought it was all very nice. Very different. Very you.” grinned Earth, walking a few steps ahead of him quickly.
“Earth, wait.”
Earth stopped, but didn’t turn around.
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you …”
She waited silently for him to go on.
“Earth … that’s
the day you’ll finally say … what?”
Earth gasped and spun around. Those were the lines of the song she had sung that day during the mock party. So he had been paying attention that day!
Earth looked down shyly and felt herself blush. Rain bent his head to peer at her face.
“Well?”
“Look!” said Earth, pointing to the side.
Rain turned his head and Earth leaned in and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. Then she turned and scampered off in the direction of the camp. Rain was standing there, one hand cradling his cheek, duly stunned.
A slow smile began to spread across his face. It wasn’t the answer he had sought, but it would do. Oh, yes, it would surely do.
*****
Subodh had long since started to snore. Angel and Rainbow were humming.
Heart’s chest was rising and falling evenly. Even Destiny had stopped tossing around. But no hand had come to clasp hers yet. Had he somehow fallen asleep, wondered Earth?
She always slept facing away from Rain because if she slept facing him, then a good part of the night would be spent just admiring his sleeping features. But now, curiosity had gotten the better of her. She simply had to turn around and see if he was awake.
He was. And he was lying there, looking at her. They stared at each other in silence for a while, neither saying a word.
“Can I hold you?” Rain whispered finally.
Earth gave him her hand.
He took it, wrapped it around her waist and then pulled her entire body towards him. He fell asleep that way, with his arm around her, holding her close. Earth, however, didn’t.
She was vitally aware of the arm around her waist and the warm body stretched out behind her back for more than half the night, falling asleep only close to dawn. This would take some getting used to.
*****