Pervade and Faint

Chapter 37

The following morning, a chilly breeze managed to enter my room, despite the perfectly sealed window. The indigo curtains billowed in the breeze. The time was certainly of dusk, but the dark black clouds formed a blockade to the sun, due to which it was partially giving light. From my window, I saw Sophia's tree. It was shunting from east to west in the barbaric wind.

Before I went down for breakfast, I visited dad's room. Dad was reading an old book. Just the cover of it
looked like it belonged to a soldier from World War 1.

"Feeling better?" I asked and he looked up. His glasses were at the very tip of his nose, in quiet a perilous position. Dad was imposing a reminiscence of grandfather, and merely the thought of that settled a pang of disappointment in me, because I had to encounter the fact that dad was getting old.
"Better, yes. How about you?" he asked, closing his book.
"I'm fine", I answered and he patted the bed, offering me a seat.
"You should really take the day off", I said as I sat on the bed.
"I'm feeling much better", he said, defensively and smiled.
"It's up to you", I said, which quieted the conversation.
"Do you need the car today?" he asked. I started feeling guilty all of a sudden.
"Well, yes", I answered and looked at him.
"I mean, if you need it, then it's okay", I said.
"No no, take it", he offered, openly, as if it was no big deal.

After our short conversation, we went downstairs and had breakfast. Our breakfast had already been placed on the kitchens counter, which meant that auntie Shama had already left. Probably in a hurry, I considered.

Dad grabbed an umbrella before leaving because the rain showed not a single trace of ceasing. Instead of enervating, it picked a phenomenal pace. Dad told me to pick him up at seven. He was willing to take a full day.
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The rain fell faster after I dropped dad. The clouds segregated, releasing rapid showers. To some extent, the constant sound of the viper satisfied me. Like the previous day, I went to Google maps, added the address of Latif Bagri's house and took off.
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As the car moved deeper towards the east, the raindrops also grew in size. The wind, which was blowing in strong gushes, pushed the car forward. The trees at the side of the road were being pulled in the direction of the wind. I was also headed towards the same direction. It seemed as if I was being called. As if nature was taking me itself. The heavy raindrops pummeled the windshield and made a constant sound. A thick splashing was to be heard after every few seconds. The vipers worked their guts out, but all in vain. When I carefully listened to the beautiful rhythm of the raindrops against the windshield, I observed something peculiar. Each and every drop was saying something. I thought that I heard every drop singing Sophia's name. But I knew that it was just my imagination. Or it was just me listening to my heart, because it was only her name, which was being repeated in my heart. My each and every heartbeat repeated her name. There wasn't a single time my heart pumped, without saying her name. My love for Sophia, along with the intensity of the rain, increased.

The streets were pretty much deserted. Albeit, there were a few cars in sight, but most of them were tracing each other's tracks on the first lane. And then there was me, who was driving on the third lane (there were only three) of the highway. It was slightly risky to drive in the third lane, for the weather was terribly perilous. Staring at the empty lane, I hit the accelerator and charged the car with a bolt of electricity. An oddly gratifying feeling tickled my stomach as the car picked a tremendous wave of pace. I didn't fear the weather at all, because fear is a factor that prohibits people from doing things. And nothing in the world could have stopped me from moving ahead and bringing Sophia.