Labels and names.

"It's getting dark. I should probably leave."

"No, don't. Stay."

"I need to get home."

"We can order pizza."

"I have to leave."

"With your favourite toppings."

"Please, you need to understand."

"I won't stop you from eating it with ketchup."

"It's over."

"What's over?"

"Us."

"What us?"

"You know what I mean, whatever's between us."

"What do you mean?"

"We cannot do this any longer."

"I don't get it."

"Of course you do! You're just feigning ignorance."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah."

"One pizza won't hurt."

"You know we won't stop with the pizza. We'll hurt each other. That's what we do. That's what we always do. Eating a pizza or doing anything for that matter never remain as a simple task of doing."

"Then?"

"What then?"

"I want to know where you're going with this."

"I'm telling you we'll hurt each other. That's what we do."

"Nonono...that's what you do. That's what you always do. You always have this vapid urge to run from everything you feel strongly about. It's what you do. You drop things cold, mid-way and never look back."

"I'm just not looking for someone I can emotionally invest in."

"But do you ever?"

"It doesn't matter.

"It does. At least to me."

"I don't know why we have to run in circles about everything we do. Do you derive some kind of fun from this?"

"I just want to know."

"Know what?"

"What we were."

"Some kind of an unfinished business."

"Is that it?"

"Yeah, not everything needs labels and names, you know?"

Tune for the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzQ9VrnNQLQ

The Last Ride!

Picture by Kamal Kiran!

     “Can I ask you something?
      Anything.

     Why is it every time we say goodnight, it feels like goodbye?” 

     ― Lang Leav

The night was darker than usual, the lights at a distant were brighter than ever. Standing there, stealing sly glances at each other, they waited to fill their silence with words.

Amidst all the rush, the occasional breeze and the slight drizzle stirred their thoughts. 

It was hard to say how long they waited for the cab. But the relief on their faces was obvious as they spotted it approaching them.

As they got into it, she waited for him to break the silence. And he did, with an awkward smile that refused to reach his eyes.

She took the cue, and let him entwine their fingers, and rested her head ever so lightly on his shoulder. Occupational hazards, he whined.

Regular bouts of fights, contradictions, and misunderstandings took a toll on their relationship. They did not let it affect their relationship though. He understood her retorts as she understood his silence.

She let it go but during their playful banter, she said, “You'd miss me when I am gone.”

Being a firm believer of ‘forever’, he asked her to refrain from all the absurd talk. Every conversation about staying apart was conveniently put aside. They were meant to be, he claimed. 

Too delusional, and absorbed in each other, they failed to realize the most beautiful thing they shared would end that night.

He went home with his white shirt stained with her lipstick stains, and she with his aroma draped around her, not knowing it was their last ride together.

*****

Picture Courtesy: Kamal Kiran

You can head over to his Facebook fanpage, and shower some love: Kamal Kiran Photography