Your Dreams Are Mine Now (18 page)

In the initial moments, the mere realization that it was all for real was hard to believe. Yes, it was for real and he wasn’t drunk!

And so it was for Rupali. She wasn’t dreaming again. Behind her calm and composed face there were hopes, there were fears and there were happy butterflies! It was a whole new world of experience for her. A moment she had never lived before. A moment she had never imagined would unfold this way.

‘Can my dreams become a part of your dreams?’ she politely asked, trying to catch Arjun’s attention.

He wanted to say a hundred things, yet he struggled to say a single word. He searched for the right words that could describe what he was feeling at that very instant. When he found none, he simply nodded, grinning from ear to ear. His eyes could not hold back the immense happiness and had turned wet. He swallowed the lump in the back of his throat and when he felt he could talk he said, ‘Your dreams are mine now!’

The two hearts erupted in joy. There was happiness in the air. A brand new chapter of Arjun and Rupali’s life had just begun with Arjun’s acceptance.

The gradually descending sun in the faraway horizon made way for darkness. Rupali and Arjun barely had an idea of when exactly the sunlight dimmed and their vision became obscured. The otherwise dull-looking airstrip now glittered with blue, green, red and white lights that marked its boundaries. The airstrip had turned into a dance floor with colourful disco lights. The view looked picturesque as if when night falls the entire area gets an artistic makeover. As if the whole place was a nocturnal ecosystem that comes to life only when darkness falls. The well-lit buildings on the far left marked the airport hub that was not fully visible, yet one could easily make them out because of the light they were radiating. The only concrete structure clearly visible was the glass-bound air-traffic control room on a tower, the shape of which was like a giant high-rise water tank.

Behind them, the line of hotels on the Delhi–Gurgaon national highway, sparkled with their flashing billboards and running lights. Some of them changed colours at various intervals. The streetlights on the highway were turned on and so were the high-beam headlights on the racing vehicles.

Between these two spaces, amid the lighted darkness, was a new pair of lovebirds that continued to perch themselves on the motorbike and to savour the beauty of the moment. There was no one around them. They had the much-needed privacy. Arjun had moved his hand over Rupali’s wrist and slid it down, making space for it in her palm. The touch was sensuous. It had triggered an adrenaline rush within Rupali. Yet she didn’t pull her hand back. No one said anything. Rupali didn’t even look at Arjun and let him do whatever was on his mind. She had partly surrendered herself. It wasn’t just the touch of Arjun whom she had known for the past few months, it was also the touch of a man with whom she wanted to live the rest of her life.

Her heartbeat quickened. Arjun’s forefinger made random circles inside her palm. It tickled her. He opened her fingers and then his fingers moved in between their gaps and held her hand tightly. It was a divine union. Arjun then raised their hands, still in each other’s grip, close to his face. They were looking into each other’s eyes—Arjun staring into hers. Rupali’s heart sank when she could feel Arjun’s breath falling on the back of her hand.

An aircraft flew over their heads, making a deafening noise. The wheels came down right above their heads; something that Rupali had waited to see for so long. But when it happened this time, Rupali was lost in living that moment when she felt Arjun’s lips on the back of her hand and then of her fingers.

Rupali rested her head on Arjun’s shoulder. The two of them watched a few more planes land. The array of open window shades, the well-lit interiors of the plane, along with the flashing wing and tail lights had made the airplane all the more spectacular. It was very exciting for them to see it land on a runway that was illuminated with stunning lights. At times, just before the plane made contact with the ground, the exhaust of heated air from the rear of the plane created a mirage-like effect, making the airstrip lights float, though only momentarily.

Hand in hand, Arjun and Rupali kept watching the spectacular view for a long time. They knew that this time would never come back. There is never a next time for the first proposal of anyone’s life!

It is New Year’s Eve. The girls from the hostel have had their way and managed to stay out till late in the night. A combination of emotional drama and gifts has worked to bribe the hostel gatekeepers. Outside, in the city, they are now celebrating New Year’s Eve together.

But Rupali isn’t with them. Far away from the hustle and bustle of the cheering city gearing up to welcome the New Year, she is taking a leisurely walk with Arjun behind the college block. This is an isolated street, one that leads to the trees that mark the dead end of the campus in the northern direction. Yet it’s safe. During the semesters many boys and a few girls from their hostels come here to booze and fag. Being here has always meant being in the lap of nature. Only college students have had access to this zone. The beauty of this place is that it is never crowded, but then, at any time of the day, one can see a few faces relaxing in their own way.

But this evening is different. The semester break is on and there is no one here at this time of the night. The place is dead silent. As they walk, Arjun and Rupali get their much-needed privacy. To add to it is the layer of fog in the air that has dimmed the effect of the white streetlights glowing overhead. Visibility is limited to a few metres. It’s like a white night. The sound of insects far away in the woods makes the place a bit spooky. Rupali moves as close to Arjun as possible to feel safer.

It’s been a little more than twenty-four hours since she confessed her love to Arjun. After spending a very special night talking on
the phone and then spending a whole day together, this is the first moment of privacy bestowed to them by Mother Nature. They know that it’s quite late for them to be here. But they find each other’s company so addictive that they want to delay their goodbyes for as long as possible. They are not going to get such moments in isolation again. The vacations have come to an end. The college will reopen in a day’s time and, from the following night, the hostel will be crammed again with students.

Arjun has got something for her. He slides his hand into his pocket. Rupali anxiously waits for him to pull his hand out.

It’s a pendant. A heart-shaped one.

Rupali’s eyes glitter looking at it. ‘For me?’ she asks smiling. Arjun nods.

‘It’s lovely,’ she says while running her fingers over it after which she turns her back towards Arjun and lifts her hair from over the collar of her jacket.

Arjun accepts her invitation to clasp the pendant around her neck. When it’s done, Rupali turns back towards him and looks at her pendant.

‘This really looks nice! Thank you!’ she says without looking at him. His eyes are glued to her new accessory.

Some time pass and they chose to take a walk.

So much has changed in our lives in this semester break,’ Arjun says.

Rupali wonders how the days that she had thought would be the most difficult to pass, turned out to be the best time of her life on campus so far.

‘I am glad I didn’t go home for the vacations,’ Rupali admitted.

They keep walking. It’s colder towards the trees. The chill in the air makes Arjun long for Rupali’s warmth. He wants to touch
her; hold her in his arms. But he also wants to make sure that he doesn’t end up scaring her. For a moment he debates with himself. He knows it is the perfect moment, one that may not come again soon. He doesn’t want to waste it.

‘It is fine, we are in love,’ he assures himself and then cautiously makes his move. They have reached the end of the road and ahead of them are the wild bushes. They are about to turn back.

Rupali also wishes to get intimate. She rubs her hands and hints that she is feeling cold.

Two anxious hearts are getting ready to discover the next stage of their newly accepted relationship. Their excitement soon gives way to burning passion.

Right at that moment Rupali feels Arjun’s hand over hers, trying to hold her. Right at that moment she stops. His touch is different tonight. She can feel it. It’s the touch of a man who is craving to express his love in a manner that goes beyond words.

In that cold insulated night, she too wants to experience it. Without looking at him, she spreads apart her fingers, making way for his fingers to intertwine with hers. It’s a sign for Arjun. All is okay. He begins to rub the back of her hand with his thumb.

His touch has accelerated her heartbeat. Instead of transforming warmth to her body, Arjun’s physical touch has made her shiver. But then she doesn’t want to leave his hand. She enjoys that moment. She wants to live that sensation of trembling in his arms.

Arjun reaches out for her other hand. Rupali surrenders herself. They are now facing each other. But she is too shy to look up at him. She is well aware of what’s in his mind. Arjun loosens the grip of his hands and holds her face instead. He looks into her eyes. At that moment Rupali experiences an adrenaline rush. She can’t face him and closes her eyes.

In the blurry depth of that cold white night, under the last streetlight on the abandoned stretch of the road that leads to the woods, he tries to look at Rupali’s face—in the greatest possible detail. As if he is trying to remember the shape of her fine eyebrows and the slope of her eyelashes. As if he is trying to save a picture of her in his mind. From her chiselled nose his gaze slides down to her lips. He can make out the fragrance.

He tucks a few strands of her hair behind her right ear and prepares to say something. He is still holding her face between the palms of his hands.

‘Rupali . . .’ he says. His voice is husky.

She hears her name passionately called out by Arjun. But Rupali is in no position to respond. With her eyes still closed, she can make out Arjun’s proximity to her. His breath on her face.

She sighs in that moment of bliss. Her lips part a bit.

Arjun is still staring at her face. ‘. . . Rupali . . . I love you. I so do.’

It’s such bliss to listen to these words. She put her arms around him. His proximity has made her numb. The New Year is moments away. She is moments away from experiencing the first ever kiss of her life.

Gosh! This is happening. She knows she isn’t dreaming. It is all for real. She is present in that moment. And she is prepared for it.

He bends down to kiss her. Arjun closes his eyes and their lips meet. There is an explosion of senses as Arjun goes deeper and sucks on her lower lip as if trying to extract all his share of love from her. He pulls her closer to himself. She tightens her arms around him and kisses him back with equal passion. They are now kissing each other hungrily as if they have waited for this all their lives. The cold, the darkness, the world around them ceases to matter. All they feel is each other—the wetness between their lips.

Their breathing gets heavier. Their kisses get deeper. And their sighs get louder. It’s a divine moment for them.

They don’t know how much time has passed. Suddenly, there is the noise of crackers around them. Up above the sheet of fog, the sky of Delhi is full of fireworks.

The magic of the moment is temporarily broken. They move apart a bit but still have their arms around each other.

‘Happy new year!’ Arjun says to a smiling Rupali, and goes back to kissing her.

Nineteen

After the vacations, life at DU began with a bang. Auto-rickshaws kept up the buzz by bustling in and out of the hostel campus—similar to how the scene had been more than two weeks ago. While a few students had returned to the campus on the night of 1 January, a majority of them had chosen to come back the next morning. A few, for whom attending classes on the first day after a vacation was the last thing on their mind, took the liberty of arriving only late in the afternoon.

Greetings and hugs were exchanged all day around the campus. Amidst a mass hostel room-dusting exercise, loud noises and screams intermittently erupted from various floors of the hostel blocks. When it came to backslapping and joking around, the girls’ hostel was no different from the boys’.

Boxes of homemade sweets and other eatables were passed from room to room, from one hand to another, before they emptied up and made their way to the trash cans.

But the best of the stuff was always locked in trunks to be savoured later and only with best friends after locking the door—that was the unsaid rule.

Late in the evening, after the classes of the first day of the second semester got over, Rupali realized that everything had gone back to what it had been like before the vacation. From the day when the hostel had looked abandoned, with only a few girls left behind, to today, the difference was stark.

Every window on every floor of her hostel was lit once again. Sounds of music erupted in various rooms and floated in the corridors. The hostel mess was full again. No one who had gone on vacation had missed the hostel food. But once in the mess, they began to miss their home-cooked food.

However, the best part of the day for Rupali was when Saloni knocked at her door. The moment Rupali opened the door they celebrated their reunion with screams and hugs. It was Saloni who screamed louder. She continued to hold her roommate tightly, the two of them rocking in each other’s arms like a swinging pendulum.

When they both came to rest, Saloni slightly pushed her best friend back to look at her.
‘Kaisi hai tu, meri jaan?’
(How have you been, my darling?)