Lehangooga and I : The Story

If I would ever get stranded on some desolate island in the remotest corner of the world with only one companion offered, then it would most certainly be her. For I would be complete with her, even without my Raymond's suit. If one could, with craftsman like precision, cut out everything from my life except her and do the same to her too, neither of us would miss a thing, for we formed a system, a closed system. The jargon in which we spoke, our gestures, our system of nomenclature, and our humor, all made people wonder if we inadvertently crash-landed onto this planet from deep space. Some others wondered if we were furtively connected with mysterious invisible cables. While in a group, I would suddenly make a statement completely out of context, which would be more like a radio signal I was flashing in the air, and she would be the only one who would receive the modulated signal at my frequency. She would then reciprocate with a gesture or statement of recognition and that reaffirmed our stand. So, the fact of the matter being that I loved her company and she loved mine, I contemplated on why it was so. The result of that contemplation is this document.
If I ever felt like a magician, a black magician to be precise, it was when she was around. Often times I was able to carve out future like a meticulous sculptor, the way I wanted it. Wanting her company, I would camp at a convenient location, not for long though, it would be a transient wait. For, she would come. Just ten meters straight now and then a turn to the left. Another ten meters straight and I am waiting for you. These would be my telepathic instructions, and she would come. She would walk at a brisk pace, which would slowly become a leisure stroll as she approached me. Simultaneously, a smile would start to germinate on her face, a smile, which would culminate in my presence. Was she shy or was it a shade of guilt? Probably it was a last minute beautification. She would stand bravely in front of me, her hands over her hips and her head slightly tilted to the right and she would then ask if we could go for coffee. I always wondered whose line it was. I thoroughly enjoyed walking with her to the cafe. She would walk pushing along her bicycle and I walked freely. Sometimes, I pushed her bicycle for her. We were the world.
If, for some unknown reason, my sense of smell were to be removed forever and if I had one last opportunity to smell, then it would surely be her. The sense of smell is supposed to be closely connected to the memory part of brain, which is why familiar smells so often remind us of memories of places or things or incidents. She smelled like happiness. She smelled like perfect satisfaction. When with her, I made it a point to stay close to her and smell her often, for those were the elysian moments. It was not the perfume, it was her. She smelled divine. I also, for another unknown reason, made it a point that I never told her how good she smelled. Perhaps it wasn't a very good thing to say to a girl that she "smelled" great. What complemented the smell was, without doubt, the voice. It wasn't a perfect voice at all. The beauty of her voice came encrypted in that imperfection. It was there to notice, if you cared enough. And surely enough, I did care. The voice used to reverberate inside my head for hours together after a meet and I could not think or do anything during that interval of time. Yet, it wasn't an inconvenience, it was a pleasure. There was a subtle stress in the way she uttered every word. A tinge of worry accompanied it and it created loads of sympathy and shades of liking deep in the heart. She was magical. She was mysterious.
If I were ever allowed to freeze time forever, I would freeze that moment in the library when I held her hand in mine. She was comfortable with me. She trusted me. She would allow me to touch her. I remember how, at the library, she gave me her hand for examination. And I held it in both my hands, for it was a precious thing to hold. It was intimate. It was warm. We were close to each other, physically and mentally. And I examined her hand closely. People tend to have curvy semi-circle like white markings at the start of their nails. She didn't have them. Also, the skin below her nails was pale. Very pale. I told her that it was unusually pale and I took her hand even closer. And she watched me closely, with her chin resting on her hand and her hand resting on the table, while I held her other hand, right next to her, close to my face. I placed her hand above my right hand and with my left hand, I continued my examination. I went finger by finger, pressing each finger at the joints and then pressing them near the nails. Her fingers were soft. They were like wheat dough or fresh bread. For every press, I felt strangely ecstatic waves pass all over my body. That was when I regretted the fact that humans had only five fingers. All this while, I had the pleasures of the smell adding to it. If this would last for a hundred million years, and hundred million more, I would still not be tired of it. Yet, it was I who gave her back her hand and ended it. Probably she felt all those sensations too. Probably she wanted more too. Yet, I cherish them today because they ended soon and hence form a golden memory. Probably she cherishes those memories too.
If I were to describe her on a small piece of paper, the text on that paper would be something similar to the text that follows. In the glow of the dark while the gentle night breeze carries her lingering perfumes to me, and drenches me in her aura, and while she looks into my eyes with an innocent smile, I take her into my arms with a warm hug and make her sense the comfort of staying with me. I show her orion and Taurus and those deep sky objects. As she gently falls asleep in my arms, I caress her gentle soft cheeks, which are absolutely smooth, like the sand dunes of a hot desert. I am greatly satisfied when she is in my presence. The sheer flow of emotions as I look at her face has shaken me for eternity. I remember those magical moments when I inserted a strange sense of wonder telling her tales of the outer worlds and the remote sense of fear in her face instantly turning into a golden sense of comfort as she held my arms and put her face into me. It is miraculous how close we got to each other. The gentle laughter she produces and the sound it produces is rather like the flow of a river stream amongst those grey rocks. And her smiles are carried to me by those gentle winds. As the full moon glows, so does her face and perhaps I could keep looking into her the whole night without the very concept of sleep. She is perfect. She is pure. The sweet scent which I can smell when I am close to her face tends to make me insane with ecstasy. I would like to do that a million times and still want to do that. Truly spectacular it was as we spent magical hours by the seaside without speaking a word. Mere presence gave us the joy of life. Oh! How I thank God for having given me his best gift.
If you asked me about the most confusing day of my life, i would tell you about that day. She had her bicycle and i was walking. She started riding it ans asked me to sit at the back. Now how would you handle the situation of being asked to sit at the back of a girl's bicycle on a hot sunny afternoon in a certain south Indian city? You can, for once, handle the situation by accepting the invitation. Yes, that is what i did too, though after a long session of my hesitation and her persuation. And so when i rebooted my consciousness that fine afternoon, i found myself hanging on to one end of a girls' bicycle with this girl in the driver's seat. She was , for some unknown reason , particualrly fresh and happy that day. It was sort of uncomfortable, i must admit. I did mention it to her that it sounded like female exploitation on my part. She was somehow keen on having me at the back of her bicycle. And then started the events. She saw that i was not comfortable and asked me to hold the seat. Now, since she is already sitting on it, you know what happens next when i place my hands there! And exactly at that moment it started raining. Well, what do you know, she had an umbrella. She asked me to open it and hold it for her. When i held it, she complained that i did not cover and asked me to move closer and hold it over her shoulder. And i held it on her shoulders as it rained. We were again close, the moment was intimate. I wanted to speak out and tell it all to her. Then something happened to her and she lost control. She rid onto the mud nearby and lost control. To avoid the cycle falling on me and i falling over her, i got off. We both were speechless. We were close. I looked at her. She possessed me at that moment. I belonged to her and she belonged to me. This was my moment. Now i had to speak out. And then came Lehangooga. He took her hand, made her sit behind him in his bicycle and rode away to the horizon.
If there was one place i wished to go to, it was the horizon.