La lluvia no es justa (The rain is not fair - a short story)

It was a hot sunny afternoon. I remember how bad the weather was past few months and now suddenly it's warm and sunny like a happy jingle in a playlist full of sad songs. I waited at our usual place of meeting. The street next to hers, where we'd spend countless hours chatting and arguing. But it came to a halt after some time as life came in between and we had to grow up. She went to chase her dreams in another big city, while I chose to stay back. For two people who call themselves best friends, I missed her a lot. She felt the same way too, I think.

I checked my watch. She was expected here ten minutes ago but she has always been late. So it's a normal thing for me as I was the one who always waited. She forgot her keys, she forgot her lunch, she forgot her books, she woke up late. It was an endless list of possibilities for why she was late. I sighed, yeah I too miss her being late.

Fate was on my side because for the first time, my best friend was only ten minutes late. I grinned as I saw her. Driving her mother's scooty down the road. The long blue stole wrapped around her head flying behind her.

She came to a skidding stop before me and lowered the hem of the blue stole,

"Hey loser", her grin matched mine. I couldn't drive, an embarassing fact I rarely disclosed to anyone, but she knew. Obviously, she didn't leave any opportunity to tease me about it.

"Hi"

And so we went. I alternated between keeping my hands on my thighs and firmly gripping the back of the vehicle. After perhaps a good ten minutes, when we came to the empty roads, I resorted to gripping the back of the vehicle because she drove like she owned the street. Wild and carefree like a crazy bitch. Her long hair wipped from below the stole and her loose light pink top almost reached out. She talked but I couldn't hear her,

"What?"

"I asked are you afraid?"

"Afraid? Why would I be?" I mean she did drive as she was out for someone's blood but I wasn't afraid. I was in awe and honestly a little excited as I couldn't drive.

We stopped at the signal. She pressed hard on the brakes, making me lurch forward.

"You know if you want to kill me, poisoning my food is a better way", she let out a loud laugh, that was muffled by the stole. I wanted to pull it down. Another thing I miss. Her laugh.

"If I wanted to kill you I would have driven on your body when we met"

"Please. You can't live without me there to enlighten your day"

Her eyes met mine through the rearview mirror, the sun shone in her eyes

"True"

After a few more minutes of narrowly avoiding all the cars in our way, we reached the spot. The under construction road was empty, save a few teens here and there. She stopped the engine and I got down. With one swift movement, the stole was removed from her face and I saw, after so many months that perfect smile of hers. Crooked at the end, like she knew all my secrets.

"So, how's life been?" She asked as we started walking, side by side. Our shoulders barely brushing.

"Ah you know...just peachy"

"New friends?"

"Yeah I got a few...just as goofy and useless as me"

That laugh again. Thinking back, I don't remember what it was that we talked about. I just remember how I felt. Sunny afternoon, with her hand reaching upto my shoulder, slapping playfully at something I had said. It felt like a great time to be alive, to exist. All my life, I had thought about my future. All my time was spent in harnessing skills that could potentially help me get a good well settled life, being friends with top minds from other schools and colleges, trying to get ahead of everyone. It's not a bad thing, but it isn't good either.

That day I felt something. I felt that everyone deserves this, a life where you get to enjoy these small moments. Where someone else sees you, really reaches your soul, sees all your flaws and still chooses to be with you. A friend. Maybe someone more than a friend.

That walk is etched in my memory. I remember how it ended. With both of us wanting to stay a little more but we couldn't. I wanted to hold her hand, touch her, just something. To make her stay a little more. She wanted it to. Perhaps she was afraid. I was too. It all happened suddenly but as I think of it, our decisions were never sudden. We always wanted to but the opportunity was sudden.

As I had predicted, the weather changed and black clouds gathered up above. Few raindrops scattered towards the ground.

"Shit. Not again!", her voice cut through the quite road as she grabbed my arm and we sprinted towards the bike. She hopped on and I sat behind her.

The rain picked up speed, as we did. The world rushed by and cold wind slapped my face, leaving behind raindrops. I suggested we stop for a while. She parked beneath a tree at roadside. People didn't stop, the roads seemed lonely. We were alone again.

Our arms were touching, my wet sleeves against her bare skin. A shiver went through her, and it transferred to me. I kept my eyes on the road. The world became a little dark, rains pouring mercilessly on the road. Winds blew.

The girl beside me was quite. I wanted to know what she was thinking, but at the same time, speaking felt wrong. I couldn't get out any words. She pressed herself closer to my side. This time I shivered, for a completely different reason. Her skin was cool, even though it wasn't directly touching mine. I turned to look at her.

She pulled her hair out of her face, it was falling down her jaw, to her shoulder. It was a rare moment for me, to do something without thinking, without regretting. Her hair was soft and a little wet as I touched it. I pushed it away from the side of her face. If earlier I thought sun shone in her eyes, now the clouds were raging in her dark orbs. She kissed my cheeks. A soft second on me, she didn't move, kept her lips there, her perfume all around me. She was like a lioness, kissing her prey. And God did it by making me go crazy.

I couldn't hold back anymore. The moments were blurring and in those minutes, if it were minutes, could have been just seconds, I realised the need. The need of humans, the need of depending on one another. I realised how we were depending on each other, as I kissed her and she kissed me back. Tender and wild, altogether.

As completely ridiculous it sounds, I could have died right there and still been ecstatic. Attraction, lust, love, it all bloomed. The sun rays peeped through the dark and we broke apart. I blinked at her, shocked and excited. Then she grinned, in her way, and threw her arms around me. I hugged her back tight.

"You meet me again soon, bastard" her voice reached me.

I just hugged her more tight. Her breasts against my chest, her perfume driving me mad, and her nails on my back. Her shirt was wet, both because of the rain and my tears.

She kissed my face again. There was no other dream sweeter than this reality. Sadly but contentedly she shouted bye as she went home. But I like to imagine we stayed together there. Forever.