But I Shall Tell

Chapter 9 - Hallucination.

2005

The summer breeze swept past him, ruffling the little garden that was on the end of the third floor. It carried his hair up and down his forehead. The playground looked smaller from this height, which was just beside the school. Boys team was the football one, they covered most of the ground, while the girls were in small groups, some played volleyball, while the others fell and ran in a three-legged race.

The boy exchanged a look with the girl who stood near him. She wasn't there when he walked for the first time, which meant she was a late arrival.

"What are you thinking, Maan?" the girl said, her tie was missing and her top two buttons were opened.

"The childhood went too fast. I was thinking when will it be the next time when we all come along like this again. I mean not that I was too friendly, but that doesn't exclude my feelings for the moment." Maan said. He looked down towards the ground with his hands in his pocket. A question rounded his face.

"I can't give you that answer." Priyanka said. The breeze made her ribbons look like butterflies, trying hard to fly but for some reason not able to take a proper flight. "But, we could do something memorable, something special that would tie us to this school. Every generation that would come after us will know our stories."

"I cannot invent a time machine, if you are suggesting." Maan make a small laugh.

"I wouldn't bother you with that, even with that time machine you would still be alone." Priyanka said.

Still be alone. Did it hurt to be alone?

"That's childish, queen." Maan said. Someone had fallen on the ground for the third time, a girl. The three-legged game was so much fun to watch. A game where you had to match toe to toe with your partner if you wanted to win. When you fell down, the other person pulled you right up and you did the same for the other.

She looked at him. "You never have called me that." Priyanka said.

"After Divya's kiss, I'm thinking of doing everything that I ever wanted." Maan said.

"Did you like it?" A jealousy in her look, but her voice seemed perfectly calm.

""

"I have been out on dates, and not a single boy said no. But it was the other way around for you, you never said yes to any girl, you broke way too many hearts if I'm being honest." Priyanka said, and leaned on a wall on her back.

"I never broke your heart," Maan said. The P.E. teacher was showing a hand, he was instructing them to play the football better.

"Thanks to your reputation, I never asked you out." Priyanka said. She untied her ribbons and let her hair free. The sweat on her neck and collar bone was now covered with her hair. She put her hand up and tied her hair in an pony tail. A strand of hair was still left out in the front, which she tugged beside her one ear.

"If I told you yes this time?" Maan said. He looked at her, at her eyes, at her lips, at her throat and neck and at the collar bones. He then looked up back to her eyes. "Would you like to go out with me, Priyanka Desai?"

"Aren't you supposed to be on your knees for the queen?" She laughed. "Yes, I would be happy to." Priyanka said. She moved away from the wall and stood beside him. She held his hand in a slow grip and turned him towards her.

Pushing his hair with her fingers like a comb, she was on her toes. She pulled him by his head and planted a soft kiss on his lips.

"You are officially mine now, Mr. Patel." She let go of him and moved towards the class. "Any message for the class?" Priyanka said. Her face told all the story, she was happy.

"Mr. Gandhi," Maan said, "he likes lilies." And he saw her pony tail disappear through the door.

Should she even be out of her ribbons? To be honest the ponytail kind of looked nice on her.

Just a hallucination?

Can a kiss unlock the hidden desires of life?... A kiss for a thought, what would that be like? Awesome?

"Got to hold your horses, Maan" came a voice from a corner of his brain. This clearly meant he was thinking way too much in a very short duration of time. Nothing special had happened, or was it that special to turn his world up side down? Divya Laghari, the girl with a golden nose ring who cornered him and kissed him. Why did she do it? Does this mean one can take anything with force and make it look like the other person's need?

Acceptance? - Denial? - Bargaining? The thought was chasing him.

"Don't you agree, Maan?" Asked another voice in his head.

"Agree to what?" Maan asked to the voice. A talk between an imaginary voice and a real person was taking place.

"That you are changed, changed by the forced action of a girl. Look at the ground." Said the voice.

Maan turned around. But what was he looking for, what did the voice in his head wanted him to see? "I'm." Maan said.

"Look at the girl who is fallen on the ground. She is too tired to go any further, in fact she is not even supposed to be in the game, the game is being forced onto her." The voice said.

"It's a game and she is supposed to fall You are thinking out of your head." Maan said.

"Am I?" The voice said.

"Yes, you definitely are. You should take a rest and let me do my job." Maan said.

"And what is your job, Maan?" said the voice.

"Do I need to share it with you?" Maan said.

"Not at all, I know what you think of. I know it all." said the voice.

"Good." Maan said.

"One last thing," the voice said. "Can you give me a name, Maan?"

"Don't you have one?"

"I do." said the voice.