Anuj watched as the woman of his dreams made her way through the sidewalk, occasionally fixing the pleats and pallu of her saree giving him glimpses of her waist as she tugged at it and attempted to fix it against the whipping wind around her. The sky was darkening as she finally walked past his car and he itched to get out and pull her into the warm haven of his car where he could protect her from every storm that came into her life. But alas, all he could do was watch unblinkingly as she rushed to find an auto for her journey back home. A journey back to her cage. She was freed from that place but the bondages stood strong in the weight of her responsibilities towards that place. For who in their right mind would let such a woman go? He, for one still hadn't been able to forget her despite only knowing her for less than a year and that too from a distance. All these years, the glimpses of her life sustained him through all the dark phases of his life. She had been the silver lining on those dark cloudy days, much like today. Her small joys had kept him afloat when she joined her first job or opened her first dance academy. Her small wins had given him more joy than even the biggest business deals of his career. He'd obsess over her picture in the newspaper when she won an award for best home cook and he'd framed it and placed it in his personal study.
Anujs' brooding eyes warmed as he witnessed his Anupamaa stoop down suddenly and pick up a mangy little mutt that was figuring out how to cross the road to find shelter before the raindrops picked up pace. The glimpse of that sweet young girl in pink flashed through his mind. Still the same tenderness and empathy towards her furry little friends. Her gold rings flashed as she tenderly rubbed the mutts ears and her delicate fingers lifted her saree pleats gently so that her saree wouldn't get muddy in the little puddles that had already started forming as the rain picked up pace. She blinked furiously as her wide eyes looked left and right to cross the road and drop the dog under a tree where the rest of its family resided. Cars were splashing by and she was finding it difficult to cross without dropping her saree pleats or putting the dog down, lest it run into traffic.
Something tugged at Anuj and he felt himself moving and opening the car door. His distaste for the rain forgotten as he wandered towards her, as if there was a magnetic pull that was drawing him towards her. Like that first day he saw her, where he was just inclined to follow her into the classroom, to observe her. The same intense feeling of attraction, curiosity and protection flushed through him as he walked briskly over to where she was standing. Without a word to her he stood on the side of oncoming traffic and raise his large palm out, effectively stopping traffic as he shielded her from the world as he helped her cross the road. She had gazed at him in surprise but followed his steed as they crossed together. On the other side he finally turned towards her only to find her already gleefully smiling at witnessing the reunion of the dog with its family. She had made herself comfortable with the dogs as they clambered around her and she whipped out some biscuits from her small bag. She looked up at him suddenly when one of the dogs wandered over to him and the businessman Anuj Kapadia melted at the warmth in her eyes and he automatically pet the curious pup in front of him, forgetting his averseness to all things ratty and dingy.
~
She'd done it again. She'd shown him a different perspective to life. He found himself cherishing this moment above all others as he stood in the pouring rain, mud around his expensive shoes as a questionably mangy pup licked his hands but all he could do was smile. Smile for the first time in weeks it felt. The corners of his soul lifted as he heard her giggle when she was pushed down by an overcurious pup and he gasped out a chuckle as she burst into laughter seeing her state. For the first time Anuj Kapadia laughed out loud in full abandonment.
The rain poured around them but neither of them gave an inkling of their surroundings. The shelter of trees provided a safe haven for them, the smell of the sweet damp earth wafted through the air around them and Anuj wondered in amazement at the last time he had been this close to the rain sodden earth. As he watched Anupama put a hand down on the earth he felt an urge to do the same, to feel the earth and his hands brushed through the dirt, curiously feeling the wildflowers growing there and everything felt right at that moment. All the stresses of the corporate world shifted away, the miseries of a world consumed by the pursuit of material pleasures - all grounded by this one woman. His woman. Soon.
~
