sweetest birthday gift….

It was a rainy morning. Not stormy but rainy enough to make children feel bunking school and play football in grass. Aadesh was getting ready and was looking at his mobile every other minute. “Mom must not be in doubt at any cost”, he kept reminding himself. Once he was out of home, no one will ask what he was doing so long  before returning home. It has been his strategy for nearly two months now and neither mom nor dad has doubted his frequent visits to college campus even it was holiday period.

“Come on!! Ring!!”, Aadi who was desperately staring at his mobile, blurted out aloud.
“You called me, beta ?”, mom came in the room, “and are you going somewhere?”.
“Ohh, I was about to tell you mom, Rohan just called me and asked to come to his room. He has some new CD’s….”, Aadesh was hoping he wasn’t looking too much convincing. Mom cut him and said,” Its your birthday, come home early!’ and she left for kitchen.

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In 10 minutes, he was parking his bike at “Backside Parking” of his college. His heartbeats quickened as he looked at that spot. The spot where he first ate from her tiffin and how by mistake touched her hand and she blushed! Sweet! He smiled. Walking briskly towards the back-gate, Aadesh breathed in the familiar air full of sweet smell coming from white flowers whose name he never learned.
The ground was wearing a carpet of flowers. He walked over them swiftly and picked up a freshly fallen flower. He looked closely at it. “Small but sweet”, he thought, “I wonder if it hurts when I throw them at her….”. His mind again started circling around the memories of last few months. She never stopped smiling and giggling when he showered her with these flowers. She just loved the smell of them. She loved them because He picked them up. She loved everything of him.

He approached the corridor where they sat studying for hours on weekends and evenings. He remembered himself making excuses to come to college on holidays like inventing friends whose parents invited for tea, important Xerox of some article and many more fake ones…. Everything was meant for meeting each other and nothing mattered anymore. The place reminded him how they held each others hands first time when they met in rain one evening, how she leaned her head on his shoulder for first time when he tickled his hand through her hair, how she used to pick up tiny specks fallen on his eyelids with her tongue between teeth, how innocently she used to stare at him listening to his tells, how she had cried when someone used bad words for him, how they always met college principal being alone at back-parking and he never understood why principal gave them a smile while continuing his walk……

Aadesh jumped as the mobile rang suddenly. Leaning over railing of gallery he heard, ” I will be there in few more minutes Aadi, please wait for me”. Rain decided to resume his pace at same time Aadi sighed and thought of going towards canteen. Now he turned towards library instead and found it locked due to holidays.

A cool breeze ruffled his hair. He rested his elbows on the railing and put his chin in hands. He looking intently at hill far far away, at base of which his home was situated. Slowly, two small hands closed his eyes and someone said in his ear in a whisper, “Happy Birthday my love”.
With a rush of joy in heart he turned around and found her trying to regain her balance. She grabbed his hand slightly and made him walk with her, “How come you didn’t notice me coming this time, Aadi?”. Looking directly in her eyes, Aadi replied, “May be I wasn’t supposed to notice!”. She smiled and her eyes sparkled. Aadi’s heart missed a beat.

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She stopped on stairs near library with a corridor behind them which was very dark and damp. He felt her hand trembling a little and turned to look at her.
She was standing two stairs up than him and that brought their heads at same level.
“What?”, he felt himself shivering on finding her so close.
“Happy Birthday my dear Aadi”, she repeated in a voice barely a whisper this time and Aadi found her closed eyes very near to his. He felt like closing his own eyes and he did so.
Both of them tightened the grip on each others hands as they came closer and closer and closer.
In an instant their trembling lips met.
Her body shivered from head to foot and so did Aadi.
For a moment both of them pulled back to breathe and again kissed. This time it was a firm. Aadi put his hand on her back and pulled her little close. She wrapped her tiny hands around his neck
First kiss in life has its own effects.
And Aadi was having his sweetest birthday gift ever.

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