Kaun Mera..
On a beautiful deserted beach, a litter of stray pups were playing with each other. At a distance, the mother sat, tired; keeping an eye on the children. The sky was turning into layers of pink, orange and yellow; and as the sun began to down the salty breeze rushed onto me, unravelling bits of sand and tunes from my mind.
The pups yelped and gnarled, barked and jumped. Toppling over each other, they exuberated a kind of mindless fun I had not experienced since a while. And I cannot describe the 'while', I do not have the track of time anymore. The quiet beach, rowdy wind and the setting sun set up an ambience which made me smile. It would have been wistful, if not for the puppies. They made it pleasant.
I cleared my throat and began my humming. The dogs may not be very enthusiastic listeners, but if 'two's a company, three's a crowd' is true, then I had a huge audience of canine listeners. I always had a song that would be my default hum - my recent idea of mindless fun - which would block out noise from my squabbling brain. Yet today, a different song made it's way onto my lips.
She paused; there he was, standing alone at the exit, probably waiting for her. Or probably he just happened to be there. She'd like to think he's there for her, that way she'd have a parting memory worth milking until eventual heartbreak... or euphoria. Things had been mixed between them, sometimes she felt he was on her side sometimes he couldn't be farther away. Yet there were moments of closeness that he seemed to have only with her, and she would like to have more of them with him.
He turned and did one of the few things she felt he did only around her. He smiled, ear to ear, with happiness reaching his eyes. And yet he did not make a move to come towards her, leaving her with curious anxiety that she hated. As she was about to smile and walk out beside him, frustrated, he started walking towards her.
For the next five minutes, she didn't know what he said, but she repeatedly dreamt about it later. For the next five minutes, she had everything she wanted; her euphoria, her heartbreak, and her lasting parting memory. She wanted him to remember this moment too, so she hurriedly removed a pen and paper from her bag and wrote her thoughts down, and pressed the note onto his hand as he hugged her goodbye.
छोड़ कर ना तु कहीं भी दूर अब जाना तुझको कसम है साथ रहना जो भी है तु झूठ या सच है, या भरम है अपना बनाने का जतन कर ही चुके अब तो बैय्याँ पकड़ कर आज चल मैं दूं बता सबको TRANSLATION: Now don't leave me and go anywhere You have to promise me this Be with me whoever you are Whether you're real or fake, or an imagination Now as you've made a move to make me yours Hold my hand and walk, I'll show it to everyone
His closed eyes felt heavy, has often it felt when he'd sing from the heart. He opened them to see the sky dark, the breeze mild and the mother dog at his side, calm and quiet. He reached out a hand to pet her, and she allowed scratches on her heard. He asked her if she liked his humming, and she seemed to smile and laid her head onto the rapidly cooling sand.
The pups now approached her and began to suckle. I got up on my elbow, gave her a few scratches again, and realised I owed a reply to someone. I got up, started walking out, turned back and smiled, ear to ear, with happiness reaching my eyes.
She received a text, and as she lazily checked it, her heart skipped a beat. She opened the message, and it was nothing but a music link. She clicked on it, and her lasting memory had finally ended in...
ढूंढ ही लोगे मुझे तुम हर जगह अब तो मुझको खबर है हो गया हूँ तेरा जब से मैं हवा में हूँ तेरा असर है तेरे पास हूँ एहसास में, मैं याद में तेरी तेरा ठिकाना बन गया अब सांस में मेरी
TRANSLATION: Now you'll be able to find me everywhere I know that 'm in the air since I've become yours It's your effect I'm there with you in your feelings, in your memories Now your home is in my breath
euphoria.