Pervade and Faint

Chapter 6

Amend of weather
I had spent the next week examining the mentalities of various calibers. Caliber was also a tremendous matter of concern in Pakistan. And Sophia was right. Their mentalities reflect the areas of their utmost interest, whether positive or negative. Everyone is a king on their own. The king of the town is probably a slave at home. Everyone has their own laws to follow and the laws that are meant to be followed are the ones most commonly broken.

It made it easier for me to discriminate between the features of both countries, since I had a profound touch of the west. I realized that the lack or abundance of humanity and ethics isn't much concerned with affluence or poverty, but the quality of mindset.

Beyond the human matters, the seasons were also moving according to their law. After a few showers, the weather got a bit chilly. It was just for a few more rains, which had been anticipated, for all of our winter essentials would be out.

There were only a few days left for college and then we would be off for approximately 10 days. Winter vacation. A winter vacation is a brief summer in winter.
Winter, along with itself, brought its consequences. Dad caught the flu. He would never take a single day off if it wasn't for mom and her sympathetic insists. She forced him to isolate himself, claiming that it was the safest method of protection and recuperation.

At the verge of vacation
When it was the last day of college, I asked dad if I could take his car for the day since he wasn't going to work. Without a fifty question investigation, he gave me the keys and off I headed after I received them. The car was smoother than I thought it would be. The brake fluid literally could have been felt, flowing under the brakes. Since I was fractionally taller than dad, I had to recline the seat. But reclining the seat provided not much comfort because the ride wasn't to last for a long time.
When I reached college, I noticed that the parking lot was pretty much empty. My car in the parking lot was as if a single apple in the basket. Only one-fourth of our class was present. Sophia came. Her counterfeit friend, although, had been absent. I decided to sit with her.

Everyone was talking about what they were going to do in the winter vacation. When the first bell rang, a layer of silence enshrouded the class. But it didn't last for long because not a single teacher entered the classroom. Resultantly, the conversations resurrected. The powerful effect of surroundings compelled me to chat as well. I scooted a bit closer towards Sophia. There was still a reasonable amount of distance between us. Her scent, despite the distance, suffused everywhere. She smelled like the flowers of the jacaranda, under which she sat. I looked over at her and she smiled, abruptly lowering her gaze. Such smiles and glances took place for a few more periods, untainted and enduringly invigorating.

When the bell rang, I picked up my bag. The zip was still closed, untouched. I didn't even open it once. It was only partially my fault. Not a single teacher entered the classroom, considering it futile because not much of the class had been present. I checked my phone to see if anyone had called. No one had called. When I looked up, nearly half (half of which was present) of the class out of sight. I wondered how they managed to escape so hastily. It usually took me more than five minutes just to pack my bag after the jubilant ring of the jubilant bell. Looking at my right, I realized that Sophia had also vanished. And now, the class really started to feel empty. I quickly ran outside to find her. My heart pounded heavily in my chest as I searched for her. Fortunately, she was standing under a tree with a few other girls, waiting for her bus, or van, to arrive. She was standing at a marginal distance from the other girls, avoiding peer influence. I quickly ran towards her. She didn't see me running towards her."Sophia", I panted, trying to catch my breath. All eyes shifted towards us."Sophia...Come with me. I brought...My dad's car. Come", I offered, panting, disregarding the population which stood nearby.
"Um _ no, it's okay", she stuttered and hesitatingly looked at the girls standing in front of her. For some reason, they gave her the look of disgust. One of the girls quickly smiled when she saw me, changing the expressions of her face in the millionth of a blink. I stood there for a while. Sophia stepped away from the girl standing beside her, increasing the distance between them. Sophia looked at me and nodded. Understanding her signal, I came closer to her. The girl standing beside her(the one who was smiling at me)rolled her eyes and flicked her face, reflecting anger and attitude.(In feminism language, its known as jealousy)
"You're not supposed to talk like that in public", she whispered. "Oh, I'm sorry", I whispered, bringing my face a bit closer to hers. She smiled, as a matter of fact, even giggled, but imperceptibly. She looked at the girls once again. We were still their center of attraction.
"Come with me", I whispered, a bit louder than a whisper. "But...what if my dad figures out?" she said and rubbed her hands nervously. I really wanted her to come with me.
"Sophia I promise you ...that he won't figure it out", I confirmed, looked at her desperately and walked towards the car. After about a second, I looked back, and a genial smile played on my face. She was tracing my footsteps.
There was a chilly breeze, which was much more than just feeble. I had a dark green bomber jacket for insulation, but it lacked the capabilities of significant insulation. I opened the door for her and she sat in the passenger's seat. When I started the car she asked me if I even knew how to drive. I just laughed, extremely amped to see her in a bit of a cheerful mood.
"Didn't your dad leave for work?" she asked, fixing her seatbelt.
"No, he's sick", I answered.
"Oh! What happened to him?" she asked. There was mere affection in her voice, which provided a direct supply authenticity to her words.
"Nothing, just a slight fever", I said. She went silent or a while, simply staring out of the window. I already got pretty used the streets and some of the shops. There were plenty of shops worth stopping at in the town. Even a few decent restaurants were okay to stop by. I had been noticing for quite long.
"Wait, where are we going?" panicked Sophia as I took a sharp left instead of right turn. Our town, which was private, was segregated from all the hustle and bustle. Serenity was abundant. There were just a few shops in the town. And they were highly secured. The main shops, parks, restaurants, cafes, however, were out of the town. All packed in a fifty mile radius or so.
"I should be home right now. My dad...wait...where are we even going?" she asked, addled.
"Somewhere" I replied, mysteriously.
"If my dad...Amir please try to understand", she pleaded, frightened. That's when remembered something my grandfather always used to say.
'Understood nothing else when understood love'
"Tell me", she pleaded.
" The deal was to not let your father figure out. Not to go straight home. Trust me, nothing will happen", I assured. Her expressions changed fractionally. And my emotions changed with the change of her emotions, as if they had a direct connection.

I parked my car in front of a cafe and told Sophia to wait for just minute. Quickly, I came back with two cups of vanilla coffee. Despite the Styrofoam cups, my hands were burning.
"What's this?" asked Sophia as I handed her the cups.

"A spark in the ice", I replied, smiling at her. She was looking no less than extremely gorgeous.

"And what does that mean?" she asked and smiled back. It was that smile which made my day.

"Whatever you think is what it means", I said and started the car.

I drove about half a mile further. I was glad that Sophia wasn't worrying much about going back home.

We finally reached a park, which was just at the verge of a large canal, partially artificial. The water came from glaciers, which were far away, but the canal was self made, in the era of The Mughal's. The thirty seven mile canal had been refurbished by the British in 1861.However, it was still pristine.
I saw it a few times beforehand and I decided to visit it sometime. "Come on", I said and opened the door. Her shoulders touched her ears when she came out of the car. She had shrugged. A really strong wind was blowing, due to which the clouds were moving rapidly. She grasped the cup firmly in both hands and looked at me.
We sat at a bench which was at a distance not quite far from the canal. The weather of the park was comparatively chillier. Perhaps due to nearness of the canal, I considered.

"It's cold", Sophia said.
I nodded and took a sip of my coffee. Sophia also took a sip. I wanted to offer my jacket to her, but the poor thing would make her even colder. We sat there for a while and drank our coffee. "And beautiful", she added. Sophia's shoulders contracted due to the breeze. Her nose also changed colors. Like a cherry on a vanilla cake.
"I think it's getting late", I said and stood up. The cold breeze slapped my face, compelling me to flinch. Sophia put her hand on my forearm and stopped me.

"Wait...just...stay", she said. My heart stopped at her words. The profound effect of her words mesmerized me and I looked at her. There was really something strange in her today. I felt it. "Stay", she reiterated. Her hand was still on my forearm. Despite the multiple layers of insulation, her hand felt warm against my arm. Gradually, she moved her hand from my arm to my wrist. Every part of my body, which had been touched by her were the best parts of my body. When her fingers reached my knuckles, my hand went loose, relaxed. She laced her fingers in my hands. Albeit, it was cold, but I guess neither one of us felt it. We were having our summer.

And we were getting late. But Sophia wanted to relish the moment. And when a woman wants a moment, the whole world has to obey.
The park was completely empty. Only the sound of the crunchy leaves rustling in the wind. I could have sat there for the rest of my life and end up with the axiomatic and undeniable conclusion that life is too short for love.

We had to leave, reluctantly.

The rest of the ride was pretty quiet. We exchanged glances before she disembarked. It felt as if everything of mine was gone as soon as she left the car. She took away everything with her, leaving only memories to savor. I watched her enter her house. Her dad had not arrived. So I knew that Sophia would take a sigh of relief when she would go inside. Knowing that she would take a sigh of relief, I, myself, took a sigh of relief and stepped out of the car.

When I reached home, everyone was asleep. The soporific effects of the house created an atmosphere of equivalence. As if by dynamic equilibrium, I also felt sleepy. I ensconced myself in bed, beautiful moments playing in my head. It was a tremendous relief that college was off. But I didn't quite know how I would spend my winter vacation. The initial stage of the vacation, however, had been beautiful. Drawing my hand closer to my lips, I fell deep. Not just in love, but also in the most comfortable sleep