Honoured Love
- Writers Pouch
- Dec 24, 2022
- 9 min read
Updated: Nov 27
Disclaimer: For ages above 18 only.
Champa sat on the green knoll watching the light fall on the other side of the dam. The light, and the dust that carried in the rays, had all the colours she could name, little frickles of red here, a bit of blue and a lot of yellow-orange beams at both ends.
When she was young, and the dam was just a design in some engineer’s office, the same rays would have illuminated the dry patches of the mountain, and when they were seen from the other side, it looked like a rangoli. Champa could only recall her father’s words because she had never been to the dam or the other side of the mountain when she was young. Her father said there would be snakes and tigers. Her mother said boys from the Mandal would come there after dark, and from her words, she was sure they were up to no good. These old musings and sitting here unfazed were her favourite pastimes. Although she forgets the old mental images, the comfort this place offered was worth all the half-hour climb she had to do.
She’s been to this place a couple of times before meeting Dharani. There were no tigers or snakes. There were boys, but most minded their own business, and she was okay with the occasional flirting. She looked up, and the clouds were thick and dense, coloured in grey. “It will rain today,” she murmured to herself. Strangely, the wind wasn’t that indicative. But it seemed to be catching up for the night. The cool breeze whizzed past her, and she wished she had one of those thick jackets Dharani had. She stood up and looked down at the water. It lay awfully still and smooth. Only a few more minutes and all of that stillness would be gone, disturbed and forgotten. Forgotten, at least till the storm had subsided.
She almost lost her ground and slipped a bit to the left when she heard a voice.
“Champa? I have been searching for you for hours?”
“I thought I needed some rest.”
“And you choose this? What is here to look at? A river between mountains and a dam? What is so good here to take all the trouble to get here? Now, look at me, please.” he pulled her hands towards him.
