First Times

It was the first time she had pushed aside the feeling of may-be-it-is wrong. It was the first time, she was afraid that he would hear her heart screaming. The first time when lying was tough. The first time, she felt love.

She dressed so carefully hoping he would notice and rehearsed her coy smile a million times in front of the mirror. It was the only time; she chose jasmine over roses, and yellow over pink. She did her eyes, and then her hair and carefully pulled out a strand from the side. It dangled and danced as she glanced sideways at the mirror checking all along to see if the pallu was in place.



She had favorites that changed every two minutes. He was probably the only exception.

I sat at a distance watching both of them. Of course, I was the one who had listened to her stories until then. But this time we walked a path of silence. Only she kept interrupting with giggles and hurried steps that upset the rhythm our anklets maintained.

Actually, I knew both of them equally well. Both, who had told me everything but this. Love, I thought to myself.

They spoke through the night. But the night remained young. He held her hand and clutched it tight. Her head locked position on his shoulder. And I sat plucking my lower lip waiting for them to say goodbye.

He did and we left. That was the last train out of the village.

Her first time without him.

8 comments:

kjdsbckjwbck 9:48 PM  

Excellent Expression :)...Quick question :)...Is it her exp. or yours ?! ;);)....Just kidding Nivedhitha :)

Arun Sethuraman 10:44 PM  

write on, tiger![:)]

N 11:45 PM  

@ Sathia: Ty! :) Characters are mine. The exp, theirs. ;)

@ Arun: Ty! :) :) JRA has time! JRA has time! :D

Improper Bostonian 7:02 AM  

you are very prolific...where do u get these pics from? apologies, if u took them...

N 8:30 AM  

@ IB : Ty :) I "flickr" a lot. You'll find the link on my page. Thats where most of the pics are from. Some, are my own. :)

Improper Bostonian 10:46 AM  

very nice pics...amazing you have so much time to think about poetry and likes, given that you are so prolific, and now photography to go with it, apart from managing your job and life...keep it up...:-)

Moonshine 1:52 PM  

haha...moments like these come in all our lives! when the 'duo' get oblivious of the surroundings....and the people around!
effective writing is about letting readers conjure images from the verses written...and i must say some of the lines here do that very well!

one such line here....
'hurried steps that upset the rhythm our anklets maintained'

good :)

N 1:58 PM  

@ IB: Thanks a lot for your wishes. :) I will, as much as i can.

@ Murali: :) Ty!

"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence" - Ansel Adams

In this space you will find images and words. It is upto you to weave 'em together and see what I see.