Under The Mango Trees

Chapter Twenty Three : In Between The Milky Waves

I was shaking my black tank top inside which Lila had sneakily put sand to torture me and I could feel the grains sliding down my back, leaving some of its tenacious companions behind. "Apologize now or I won't talk to you!"

"I'm not sorry!" shouted Lila back, looking for crabs in the receding waves and I pretended to sulk. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! Look, I found one!" She came jogging towards me in her damp navy-blue swimsuit, her hair clumped together and sand dotting her golden skin. But she halted midway, staring at her fisted hand and I saw a conspicuous chill run down her body. She let go of that crab in an instant, her fingers twitching and her feet jumping."It came out . . . Wooh!"

"Why did you even catch it if you're scared? Oh, right, sorry, don't answer. You're Lila."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She smiled knowingly, sitting down on the sand next to me.

"The girl who isn't afraid of doing anything- or nothing," I jested and she shoved me, resting her head on my shoulder as soon as I had recovered. "The girl who breathes life and lets out laughter and joy. The prettiest girl. The girl who is so flattered right now that she's starry-eyed."

"Go on. These compliments are way better than the ones I get on Instagram."

"Global warming hot---" My last word was a murmur as she placed her sandy index finger against my lips and my eyes anxiously swept over the entire beach. "Don't kiss me right now- here. What if someone sees us?" But there was nobody on the endless beach, the pleasant emptiness made me feel like we were the only ones left in this world. As if we had breathed the entire life out of this earth and carried it within our hearts. Two girls who would be lonely with others around, than alone together in this world. For the first time in my life, emptiness was comforting.

Lila started cleverly, "The girl who is afraid of doing things to me---"

In a moment of my over-brimming love, I stole away the words from her mouth, rendering her speechless and breathless. "I'm not afraid. I'm realistic."

"But you kissed me. You're a romantic!" She flushed in rapture and from the corner of my eye, I caught her little hands fisting some sand. Before she could put it inside my top again, I freely dashed towards the sea, feeling the wildness of my youth fluttering against the wind like the wings of a butterfly. I heard her offended shouts behind me which made me wade faster through the shallow waters and dive forward into the depths of the sea, feeling the emptiness embosom and pacify my wildly beating youth.

I felt my face being pulled out of the quiet waters by two sandy hands and her wet lips sought mine with the urgent fervour of budding love. The water was gently breaking out into ripples around our stomachs, lulling the burning passion in us till we lay our heads on each other's shoulders in a dreamy haze. With the droplets of salty water slipping down the bridge of my nose, I felt like a blossomed, dewy flower, awakened by the sunshine with its soft, bright head of my shoulder.

"Look, Tulsi, loooooook," Lila urged and I didn't bother obeying her, not wanting to lose the comfort of the crook of her neck. It was a mistake not following her wishes because the next thing I knew, she mercilessly pushed me into the water. "I just saw the prettiest bird! You can sleep anywhere, can't you?"

I struggled to bring my head out of the water, coughing, gasping and trying to recuperate from the suddenness of Lila. "I wasn't sleeping! You wait!" And I grasped her ankle, about to pull her down with me, but she immediately took the support of my shoulders. I could feel her legs weak and quivering with giggles under the water. I tugged at her leg again and she giggled harder, to the extent that she had to hold my neck tightly to keep herself from falling.

"I'm sorry, I-I won't push you ever! Please, I promise!" Her squeals challenged mother nature and she sent a teasing, giant wave that shoved us both underwater, filling our noses and mouth fast with seawater. After that, we swam backwards to the shore in caution, splashing and spitting the water, not wanting to turn our backs on the tumultuous sea. Like the milky waves, Lila was incessantly bursting into fresh, effervescent laughter, everything seemed to amuse her today. And I felt my cheeks hurting from beaming at her, how could I not, when she looked that pretty?

With our fingers and toes shrinking like raisins, we watched the sun slithering down the horizon. The fleecy clouds and the sky turned a vivid pink as if blushing after having made love with the sun. I loved it when the sky exploded into orgasmic colours since that was when all of us looked up in awe and appreciated difference. That was when we realized how dull life would be without difference.

I heard the click of Lila's phone camera. "Gosh, you're more beautiful than the sky!"

"Are you going to upload me on your Instagram?"

"Of course! I'm so cold on the outside, but here---" She rubbed her non-existent belly. "---you make me feel so warm. No temporary sunset can match that."

"No 'global-warming hot' can match your cheesiness."

"But you're smiling. You love my compliments!"

"I love you, Lila." I leaned forward to kiss her, but instead, was stupidly blinded by the flash of her camera for another picture.

* * *

I was as cool as an ice-cube when I stepped out on the balcony, a breeze kissing my skin ever so slightly that goosebumps formed on my skin. There was nobody on the dark beach. I stopped rubbing my wet hair vigorously with the white towel, throwing it over the balustrade. Where was Lila? She had told me that she would wait for me in the room till I finished showering. She couldn't still be at the beach!

I was telling myself how she was safe and couldn't have drowned or anything like I once imagined Anthony to have, that she was probably chatting with Ramu and his wife or admiring some insect in the backyard. What I didn't anticipate was seeing her hug Raul behind the row of stairs. I instinctively halted in the corridor, watching Raul's arms tighten around her navy-blue swimsuit while his one hand disappeared in her jungle of frizzy hair. Hurt crawled on my back, slowly and teasingly, the sadistic creature wanted me to be doused in pain. Yet, I couldn't tear my teary eyes away from the two of them.

When a fat tear fell from my squeezed eyes like a lemon drop, I noticed something that struck me as odd- misplaced. Those same tears were falling like lemon-drops from Raul's eyes. I could hear the light, oblivious whispers of Lila and the moment they awkwardly separated, Raul smiled at her despite those lemon-drop tears that had vanished. And I heard him say, "It'll still be fun being with you, Lila."

She broke up with him. I should have been overwhelmed with joy, but I couldn't shake away the uneasiness as I quietly retreated to my room. He did love her. In his own foolish way. And she had broken his heart. In her own foolish way. I still didn't have the heart to let her know about her foolishness when she cheerfully marched towards me, announced what she had done without realizing what she had actually done and shook away my discomfort with those feathery kisses.

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