The Waves Whisper ✓

24 | a dream

19
𓂃𓊝𓂃

The rays of the morning sun filtered through the window. The warmth of the sunlight against my eyelids woke me up from sleep. Apoorva was next to me with his eyes fixed on mine. We were nestled on the soft mattress, entwined in each other's arms. He smiled gently while his fingers caressed my hair.

"Now I get to see you every day beside me." His eyes, prettier than the sun, sink into mine.

"You said that you'd fight for me." I said.

His mouth twitched into a smile, making his smile more visible. "Yes, do you think I won't?"

"No. But is that why you got into a fight with that Jagdish?" My question caught him off-guard. A mixture of confusion and surprise spread across his face.

"How... How do you know that?" He asked in disbelief.

"So, it's true?"

"Yes." He said after a pause. "He snitched on us. He saw us together during Dussehra and went straight to my stepmother. She asked me not to see you anymore, or else she'd have informed my father about you. Like I said before, I was scared. I was scared that I'd get you..." He stopped breathing for a second. "...killed."

He is a child again, his eyes flickering in fear and his lips trembling in the uncertainty of what lies ahead in the future.

"Are you worried about it now?" I asked, stroking his hair.

"Like I said, I'd fight for you." He snaked his arms around my waist, pulling me toward him. "And if the waves come crashing down, we'll let it wash over us." His lips twitched into a melancholic smile.

"Yeah, got it." I chuckled. He hugged me even tighter and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. My body transformed into a wax candle, melting down under the heat of fire. His lips slowly made their way to my neck while his delicate fingers traced patterns on my waist. "Now, go and take a shower before the sun's above our heads." I said and pushed him away.

"Urghh... Why do you have to be a killjoy?" He whined like a little child.

"What if you make this a habit?" I got up from the bed and dragged him to the bathroom.

"Hey, could you get me the towel?" I heard him ask as I was making the bed.

"There's one in the bathroom." I replied back.

"No. The one I bought when we went out yesterday. It's on the shelf."

"Why do you need so many towels for?" I rolled my eyes as I opened the shelf.

"One's for hair. One's for the body. That's what beauty-conscious people do. You wouldn't get it." He mocked me.

"Don't make me come in there."

"Oh, I'd really love you to be here right now."

"Are you ever going to grow out of your 16-year-old persona?"

"Never."

I found the towel under a few shirts. As I took it out, I noticed a piece of white paper pushed into the corner of the shelf. I moved the pile of clothes a bit. I was not just a piece of paper; it was an envelope. A letter. I was about to take it when he called. "Did you find it?"

"Yes." I said and closed the shelf. I came back to the shelf after I gave him the towel. I stood there gazing at the envelope for a few seconds, contemplating whether to take it out or not. It was not my place to read a letter that was not mine. But it was rather odd to see a letter hidden under a pile of clothes. I took it out. I was not going to read what was inside. I just wanted to know where it was from. But as soon as I saw the envelope, I felt waves washing away the sand under my feet and making me sink deeper. I was being lied to. I couldn't help but open the already-opened envelope.

Why would he lie to me?

The puzzle pieces are jumbled again.

I heard the bathroom door open. I quickly closed the shelf and hid the letter behind me. Apoorva came out and changed into a white kurta and trousers. "Haven't you seen me naked before? Are you going to stare at me like that for the rest of the day?" He smirked as he adjusted the buttons of his kurta.

"Is that making you uncomfortable, Sub-lieutenant Rathore?"

He froze. He stopped breathing. His hands, adjusting the buttons, turned to stone. He was a statue made of flesh and bones. He gulped down the lump in his throat.

"I-" He tried to speak up from his dry throat.

"Indian Navy? You joined the Navy." I didn't know why I was getting angry. But I couldn't help it.

"You read the appointment letter?" He finally broke his silence. It made me more mad.

"You're not answering my question."

"Give it to me." He said and approached me to snatch the letter away from me.

"What are you doing?" I said as I stepped back.

"It's nothing, okay? Just leave it to me." He said trying to get ahold of the envelope.

"Are you out of your mind?"

"I'm not going. I'm not going anywhere."

I stopped moving. "Are you listening to yourself?"

He looked me in the eyes. He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I hid this from you. Now, please, give me the letter."

"No."

"Roopali." He sounded exhausted. "Just forget about this."

"Why? Why did you join if you didn't want to go?"

"I joined before I came to Delhi. Before I met you again, before I came here with you,"

"So you're choosing not to go... because of me?"

He was silent. "I don't want to leave you again." He said in one breath.

At that moment, he turned into someone I didn't recognize.

"Have you gone crazy? This is your dream." I yelled. I thought it would pour some sense into his brain.

He walked toward me and held my hands. "Right now, you're my dream."

I wanted him to shut up. I didn't want me to be an obstacle to his dreams. I shouldn't be the sun that he has to be orbiting.

"I need you to come back to your senses. How would you feel if I give up writing for you?"

"Terrible. I would not allow you do that."

"Exactly. That's how I am feeling now."

"But-"

"It's not like you are leaving me forever. You're going to serve the country. But you can still be with me."

"That's the problem. Our marriage is not legal. So, I can't take you with me to Cochin. And also, I'll be in a vessel all the time. You wouldn't be able to see me."

"I'll be fine here. Everyone in this neighborhood is good. I'll be safe here. You shouldn't have to be worried about it."

"But still... you'll be all alone here. You'll be lonely."

"I'm used to it. But you'll be sending me letter while you're in the ship, right?"

"Yeah. Of course I will. I'll write to you every day."

"That's a bit too much." I laughed.

He took a deep sigh. "I will be back in a few months. We'll get that divorce from Vikram. And by that time, I'll arrange a stay for you in Cochin. We can move into the Navy quarters once you get the divorce."

"So you'll be going?" I asked hopefully.

"Uh, yes."

I embraced him tightly. "I love you."

A week and two days later Apoorva left. His eyes were swollen from crying. He asked me not to go to the railway station with him. He said it would make him stay. I was happy that he was following his dreams. But I would be lying if I say I wasn't sad. He was the only one I had. But somehow I knew I should not be relying on a person for support all the time and he shouldn't be sacrificing his dreams just for me. We were individual people with different hopes and dreams even though we were one.