THE RAIN IN THE HILLS

The hills have always been magical and in the year 2007 it was even more charismatic for me. There came a day in that year when I was going to meet someone really special. I was destined to meet the girl of my dreams that evening and it looked very much like rain.

The mist had gathered around the hills and the distant rumbling of clouds steered countless emotions in my heart. It was the first time we were to walk with the sound of our footsteps alone. I stepped out into the road, looked up into the sky and noticed the fading red. The little birds flew by swiftly in groups. It seemed as though they raced me to my destination. The tall trees like weeds in a smooth ocean swayed slowly, to and fro. Even the little flowers by the road side danced to the rhythm of my heart. Little children ran with colourful kites along the winding roads by the hill side. The butterflies seemed to be more in my stomach than in the gardens.

I walked the twisted road till I reached the first few shops of Kurseong town. By now the wind had become even colder. I kept my hands in my jacket pockets and moved on slowly. A hundred doubts suddenly clouded my mind just as the clouds gathered in the evening sky. Just then a vehicle honked behind me. Startled, I turned around. It was the school vehicle and then she stepped out. A sight I could never forget. It was as though everything was in slow motion. The wind, the birds, the flowers, the music and my heart, all moved in a perfect synchronization. The result was a very intense gaze. She emerged from the van, looked at me, smiled and then her eyes fell to a blink, her fingers tucked those golden brown locks behind her ears. “Snap out”, my mind kept telling me. I soon realized that people around me were staring at me now because my mouth had been hanging open for quite some time.

I was still lost in the moment when she came up to me. Her brown salwar looked just perfect that evening, her perfume felt like nothing before, the wooden cross that hung from her bracelet seemed like the best thing she could wear that day. For the very first time in my life I was bedazzled. We had only walked a few steps when it began to rain. A hard drizzle soon turned into a heavy downpour. By the time I could think of something, we were already getting drenched. It didn’t seem the right thing at that time but I am glad I did it. I caught her hand and we ran. We ran into a nearby hotel that was partly crowded. Holding her hand in that rain sent jolts of impulses into every cell of my body. It was a whole new level now. I felt like someone set me on fire yet I was not burning, like I ran a high fever yet I was not sick. We managed to occupy a small table by a cosy corner and were offered two cups of hot tea. I must say, the hotness of that tea was nothing compared to what I felt minutes ago.

We sat for a while, couldn’t find much to speak about, just stared at each other for brief moments and then looked in other directions. The rain set waves not only in the hills that evening but in our hearts as well. A while later the school van had arrived and she had to go. It felt as if all of it had happened too soon. I didn’t want her to go but the rain was getting more intense and so with expectant eyes I saw her off. I cleared the man back at the table and walked into the shimmering street. It was cold and I was getting soaking wet. But there was warmth in my heart that day and it kept me going. Everything seemed gloomy on my way back, even the trees bent in sadness. Back in my room as I lay on my creaky bed there was only one thing on my mind, “did she feel the rain too”.