A rainy day... (part 3)

It was the most awaited time of the year. Time for our annual college fest ‘Beats’. A three day event with competitions, music, dance and of course lots and lots of fun. The last two days were most special with Shaan, Indian Ocean and Euphoria coming in to charge up the fest. The cultural committee had been working really hard for the past few days for this special event. Nick, being a member of this committee had been keeping really busy. But still he took out all the possible time to be with me, and when he could not…he always had his sweet special one liners that were enough to cheer me up. Today was the third and final day of the fest. And all of us final year students had made it a point not to miss out even a single day, it being our last fest at college. The last day had a huge gathering, both from our college and from the other South and North Campus colleges.

Ashu was participating in the ‘Mr. and Miss Beats’ contest, and Priya and I were having a tough time preparing him for that. Right from choosing his clothes to deciding the steps for the dance he was planning to do for the talent round…he was driving us mad. It was the final day and just four hours before the event that he realised that the previous song was not good enough, and he needed to look out for another! “Shut upppp!!” Priya and I said almost together. That was enough for him and he got up to rehearse to the previous decided song.
“What should I wear yaar??” I asked Priya for the Nth time! “Nooo not again!! Both of you will make me mad…one can’t decide on the song and the other on her dress! Pleasee…” Priya yelled. “Hmm…I think I should either wear that pink one or the black one-piece…what say?” I still asked. Priya knew I would continue to pester her, so she gave in as usual. “Well…I think the black one is good. You’ll look hot! I am sure Nick will go mad!! Haha…” She laughed. “Damn…he is too busy…I wonder if I’ll get to spend even five minutes with him…” I thought.

It had been five months now since we first met on that rainy day. I still thanked god for that rain. Life with Nick had been just amazing…I felt so blessed to have him in my life. I cherished every single moment spent with him. He made me feel so special and loved that I often felt being the luckiest person on planet!
Many a times I dreamt of our future…our marriage, our sweet little home near the sea, our beautiful life together, playing together with our kids, watching them grow up, cooking breakfast together on a lazy sunday morning, reading novels together, of our families, walking together in rain…of a life so full of love! But somehow I never shared that with Nick. I don’t know what really stopped me. I always felt he lived for the moment, never thought about the future. I remembered talking once of life after college, and he told me to enjoy and cherish what we have today and to be happy in our present. I didn’t like that, but as always…he had something wonderful to say which made me forget everything.

Events in the evening had been a lot of fun, the best part being cheering Ashu for the competition. Though he didn’t win the contest but we could see he had won many hearts around! We found him surrounded by many hot girls from the neighbouring colleges. We left him there to enjoy his moments of glory and went back to the hostel to get ready for the much awaited Rock Night. It was 9.30 in the night when we reached the college again. Priya and I could not stop complimenting each other! She was looking just amazing in her pink outfit, like a cute little doll. Ashu was the first to compliment both of us. “Ohhh wow…Priya!! You are looking gorgeous yaar, and hey..today I’ll have to call you Barbie!! Hehe….hope the original Barbie won’t mind! And Barbie, what happened to you today? Black! Hmm…but you are looking just amazing. I am dying to hear what Nick has to say!” He laughed. “Thank you Ashuuuu” Both Priya and I said together. It was actually a day of compliments! Many people whom I didn’t even remember last talking to, came up to say how nice we were looking. I was flattered! But the one compliment that meant the most to me kept eluding me. Nick met me twice but only for 2-3 minutes. He was running here and there making last minute arrangements. Though he did tell Priya how nice she was looking, I got no comments! Priya and Ashu started teasing me on that.
“I won’t even talk to him. Huh!” I said. We could now hear the loud music at some distance. Euphoria had arrived. People were rushing to the main ground. Ashu and Priya were also too eager to move. It was raining slightly. But today even rain could not make me smile. I was in no mood for anything. I just wanted to be with Nick and he had no time for me. Priya and Ashu cheered me up and we started moving towards the ground when I saw Nick coming there. Both my friends moved towards the floor, leaving us alone.

“So sorry sweetheart!! Was just too busy. But now no more work, only both of us.”, he said. I didn’t say anything. We could hear the music getting louder. People were dancing madly in the rain. The weather was just amazing. Nick was looking at me. “Say something dear…I know you can’t stay angry with me for long. Sweetie….hmm…I know why you are so sad....I was…” he was explaining when I cut him in between. “You were what! Priya was looking wonderful na!! But you had no words for me! Huh! Huh!” I shot back. He was laughing. “Oh..you are my small baby…really…a sweet little child who gets so angry for small small things!!” He smiled. “I don’t know why but yes small small things matter the most to me.” I said. “I know that dear….and I love you for that. Please don’t look so withered my sweetheart.” He said.
He then came closer, held my hands, and said something sooo sweet…something that I won’t forget ever in life. He said, “If you had been a flower, I would have said Blossom….but you are my lover, and so I say Awesome...”
“Ohhh Nickkk!! I loveee you sooo much!!” I said. I could not find any more words. I was so touched, so overwhelmed with joy. I never realised when he took me into his arms and hugged me tightly. I could feel his warmth. I had always thought love resided only in the hearts, and in the two connected souls, and that physical closeness was simply immaterial. I had seen many couples hugging each other and had always wondered why!! I always felt love was above all this. But this one brief moment of intimacy made me realise how much more I loved Nick…much much more than I had ever thought of before. I could feel even more close and connected to him. And I realised the strong need to spend my whole life in his arms.
“I love you Neha. You are my life. You mean everything to me. Can I ask something……Can I…Can I just spend my life with you…??” He said it all. I looked towards him. I could see my entire life in his eyes which were filled with love for me. I could see all my dreams shaping up his eyes. I just could not reply for a few seconds. But they seemed like ages…I felt as if the time was slowing down…just to make this special moment last even longer. I felt my eyes getting moist and my heart beating even faster. “Yes!!” I said finally, still hugging him. I didn’t say a word more. I just wanted to feel…feel every moment of this closeness. I closed my eyes. Ohhh…how much I wished this moment could last forever…

The End.
[Thank you Zaheer for the very special words.. :) ]

By Priyanka