The ice broke above the clouds...
9. Obviously...
Raghav fastened his seat belt. He had been assisted through the airport and to the plane by a volunteer on the student support services group on his campus. The volunteer was also a friend of Raghav’s and was sad to see him go. They said their goodbyes, and Raghav promised him that this was only for a little while, and of course they would be in touch.
So there he was fastened in his seat, on a long plane journey back home, to go meet Maliha and figure out why he had been feeling so lost off late. Why he was hating his impairment and why he was angry. He felt denied, he felt cheated and he felt that it was time he faced his issues and embraced his life the way Mali promised she would help him with. He had that sculpture in his bag...he could feel its form and he pictured how it might look in his mind. The announcements on the plane came and the plane moved slowly towards the runway…preparing for take-off. Raghav had been a little nervous about flying the first time, it was a long duration, and he had to sit and do nothing. He could listen to music, while the others watched the in-flight entertainment, and he had been a little afraid of the turbulence and the closed feeling of the cabin. He got over that, quickly. He had had a great week and his mind had been temporarily lifted out of the depression that was creeping in.
Now he sat as the plane took off, at a window seat, leaning his head back and counting to 500. This was how long he thought the plane took to take off and reach cruising altitudes. His counting was interrupted...’’Hello...”
Her voice was husky and she sounded Indian. He could hear the sound of her bangles clang together as she fidgeted with the arm rest. He had not paid any attention to who was sitting next to him until just now. “Hi…” he said. “ I’m a nervous flyer too, I could see your lips moving as the plane was taking off… saying a little prayer, huh?” she smiled. “Uh, well no… I was counting. It helps me focus on that and not be nervous about the take off!... you should try it..” he smiled too. “I’m Raghav…and you?”
“Mira…I’m Mira” she repeated herself. They both talked a little more mostly about what they each did. Mira was a science student, doing her masters in Bio Engineering. They went to the same university, but their paths had not crossed till now, obviously because they studied two very different things. She looked at Raghav’s eyebrow piercing, and laughed…laughed not because he looked silly, but because he was probably one of the few people she knew who looked good with it, but did not know it!
“So…Raghav… why are you headed home? A holiday or something more?”.. Mira asked. Raghav thought for a minute, he was not about to tell her everything…but he did like having someone his own age to talk to. Especially someone who sounded as interesting as she did…“I’m going home because I decided I need a little break from my course right now, plus I want to do some research and thought where better to start than a place like India, a place where psychology is meaningless to most people”… he giggled a bit.
They spoke about obvious things after that, their life at the university, and about the sort of things they each missed about being at home. It was pleasant, and simple and effortless and Mira found herself enjoying his company. She did have this tiny aching question at the back of her mind, but everything she had been taught about some questions crossing the line told her not to give in to that part of her brain. Plus it was not a big deal to her.
Raghav felt he had to try to take the words out of her mouth. He said...”So you are probably wondering... A blind guy studying psychology? A little bit like “preaching to the choir” huh... I probably have enough of my own issues to “see” or deal with anyone else’s?” he said … drawing the words out slowly, so that he did not sound too cynical or accusing. Mira stared…”Well yes, the thought crossed my mind, but I did not really want an answer. I don’t judge you because you are blind so don’t assume that’s the only thing I want to know about you Raghav! I won’t lie, I did think about it, but not because I want some sort of justification from you, I just figured you look a little lost, so you need help finding yourself or something!”
There was a moment of awkwardness… Mira was smiling, Raghav could not tell. He said…”Okay I’m sorry, I should not have been so defensive, I guess we’ve officially broken the ice!”… Mira laughed!
“ So what else do you do with yourself Raghav… apart from jumping off planes and camping in the rain!!”
“ Mira… I’ve spoken a lot, how about you tell me a little more about yourself… I’m a great listener” he winked!
“Okay so let me tell you things you probably would not be able to guess about me! … so I play in an alternative jazz band at the university. I learnt to play the flute as a kid, and picked up the saxophone too, so joining the blues band was an obvious move. Except our band is a slightly odd one if I say so myself. We all shaved our heads…yes… and before each performance we each paint ourselves in glow in the dark paint and play alternative jazz in the dark!! By alternative I mean it’s up tempo and mellow all at the same time and the lead singers sing in Hindustani classical and English! We call ourselves the ‘Neo Neelas’… it’s our dedication to our collective Indian roots... ‘New Blues’. We’ve played at least 20 gigs this year, so it’s been great. So yeah imagine a bald girl in her twenties, with a lizard tattoo on the back of her neck, who studies in the Science department and wears a lab coat and goggles five times a week and spends long hours in a lab, but can play a mean sax”… she laughed…” I also work a few hours at the photo centre everyday”
“wow… how…how…obvious rebellious of you!! Do you think maybe you are trying too hard??!” he laughed…clearing making a joke at her expense…she threw a few peanuts at him, the flight attendant had been nice enough to give them a dozen packets of the stuff…”I’m not trying to be anything I’m not.. I’ll have you know, and what talk is this coming from a guy who did every ‘adventurous’ thing he knows in one week… think you’ve really live huh?” she retorted…Nobody made jokes about Raghav... but she did, and he felt great about it!! He tried to imagine what she looked like…somehow he did not jump to any conclusions despite her self-description.
The rest of the journey was spent in talking more about what they each liked, did not like, did or did not do… and time flew as quickly as the plane did to their home country. Soon enough the flight was getting ready to descend and they were getting ready to disembark once the plane landed. Mira and Raghav, got off the plane together. They stepped out into the cool, morning air of the Indian city they both called home and the cool air stuck to their faces as they walked down the stairs to board the airplane shuttle…
After the regular airport related activities they were at the exit, ready to be received by their ‘people’ on the other side. They had enjoyed talking to one another, and this was definitely a friendship in the making, they would meet again soon and Mira would be in Raghav’s life as though she had always been in it… Raghav heard the familiar voice of his childhood from not long ago..”Raghav.. Here! It’s me! Here dummy…” she shouted happily and playfully… Mali was beaming…
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