everytime it rains i feel elated
and whenever i look at the sky, i am fascinated
not because of the beauty,
but because of the petrichor, the calm thudding,
the light piercing glare of the sun, the surprising brightness of clouds,
i remember how the rain would melt the bare fields,
the red from the soil bleeding out
and into our bodies when we laughingly fell into the puddle of water,
eyes closed in laughter and the air filled with loud nursery rhymes.
we created a spectacle and everyone snickered when we passed by,
the girl in unicorn-pyjamas and long black hair tied neatly into a plait,
the rest of us clad in sports wear we had thrown on hurriedly,
excited by the thunder's sudden invitation.
no one knows as well as we do
how troublesome it can be to wear flip-flops in the rain
for their flip-flopping movements
did heavily dirty the hems of our long colorful kurtis,
monsoon and four months would pass by
before we sat on the rocks looking up at the sky
and i imagined the hill we were on as a beast
who was locked away from the rest of the campus,
these rocks black blemishes on his back
as he paid his respects to the sun
or the sky
or perhaps, the river flowing across from us.
when we reached the end of our days together,
i whispered to one of them,
'at least we'll have the same sky,
so that when i miss you i can look up
and be comforted by the fact that you're under that same stars.'
but she incredulously asked, 'are you sure it's the same sky everywhere?'
i do long for those days
but instead of finding myself transported in time
i am in a pool of clear water, or
running through a hidden path
without pausing too look at the moss that has become so green
flushing with the happy memories and the angry ones,
i leap over it instead because experience reminds me that
under the green, there's but sewage water threatening
to sink my feet
so i keep running, looking for the end,
the cold of my hands and nose thawing
as i tilt my head to find a small ball of blue
hovering strangely in the air above
but i realize that it's just the moon tricking my eyes
smiling despite how sun rays clash against it,
and before i know it my eyes are closed
enclosed in a case of warmth
though the tears that spring up are stark cold against my eyelids,
because i can feel the strings that connected us
ever so slightly loosen, and the usual waves of protests have died out,
and i can but sigh as one odd tear falls away.
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