Her cigarette finds its way out of the golden box. She looks at the box for a while, the horrid picture of a man with something that looked like cancer, makes her light one with ever more ferocity.
Her tattered orange kolhapuris have walked a little more than they should have today. The wanderer left from nowhere to nowhere. She loved this. She got lost until she could feel the rush of being found. The happiness she felt was unmatched when each time someone was worried and came looking for her. She loved the almost teary eyes seconds before they let a sigh and called her name.
She was waiting for him this time. Doing the things he hated, doing whatever she could to get him looking for her.
She inhaled the smoke deeper than she usually would have, just to feel the smoke go down her wind pipe until her eyes closed on their own. Her throat felt dry and tongue,bitter. Just like his words. Time and again. It was difficult for anyone to accept that it was his genes that had shaped her. Nothing about them was alike. Physically or otherwise.
His hair was turning grey and his heart colder. The one which couldn't love her mother. The one that couldn't love her. Or maybe had loved too much. She didn't remember him smiling or talking too much to anyone. With those strong eyes and sharper tongue he could intimidate possibly everyone. That's the reason why people hated him so much. She was nothing like him and that's the reason why people loved her. She was the most vulnerable girl they'd ever laid eyes on. Men especially loved helping this damsel get out of her distress. Obviously she'd return their favours by feeding their egos with sugar coated lies.
Today she wanted him to come for her and nobody else. She painted a picture of his face when he'd see her. Almost lifeless and barely emoting anything. It sent a chill down her spine and gave her goosebumps. Oh this can be cured she said to herself and gulped down the leftover rum from her purple flask.
She looked up at the sky and watched the blue beauty with the madly placed spots. There's nobody for you and I'm not going to take care of you, that's what she said to him last, in her mind this morning. Then she left, left the table,her house,her lane,her city to come here. Where they were once happy. Her eyes welled up as she remembered her mother whispering into her tiny ear that if she told daddy that he's the best dad, she'd get an icecream. Obviously she did what her mother asked of her and then he picked her up,smiled wide and hugged her tightly. Maybe his only hug which she remembered. She looked around and there was no trace of him as yet. She knew he'd come, even out of anger he would.
And then he did. She heard his car and froze out of fear and happiness. She didn't know that turning her head around would make her see this. His eyes traced with worry and teary as he called her name.
She smiled, dusted the sand off her clothes and walked back to him.
Maybe to his love and maybe to an unexpected hug.
