Chapter 3 - Longing

Kiran smiled at the new classmate who just joined the first day of the school in the new session what just began that day. The Monsoon rains of Kerala had started at its full fervent, and the streets began to fill with the rain water. The splattering of rain drops on the tin sheet of the school roof produced a music to someone who was eager to listen to it. The surrounding petrichor after those first rains brings back joy to all the living beings around the place at that time. 

The new entrant, smiled back nervously, and sat on the bench near by, allocated  to her, with her two braids of hair swinging on her back like a swing tied to a tree going back and forth. The first session was taken by the class teacher, and the new entrant was introduced to the whole class as Jasmine, whose father was a Business man working in the Pharmaceuticals Industry, her mother being a house wife. Besides the parents, she had a grandmother and a puppy in her house, and they belonged to an influential family of the neighborhood.

After the class, Kiran came to her and introduced herself. And Jasmine reciprocated positively as well. From then on, they were seen together everywhere - they came to school together, sit together, in class assignments where a group was to be formed, at Intervals during lunches and after school while going home. Kiran's family was also a well to do family, with all the care and love of being an only child being given. They study together, roam around the city together, and the families didn't had any issues with their kids going around together on all the places they could go. 

Time started running, and within a few years both of them reached their School Leaving class. They both just turned 17 and were nervous about the public exams that's going to be conducted in about 5 months or so. They both started their preparation of the exam together and Kiran would mostly visit Jasmine's home for the group study. 

On such a rainy day of October in Kerala, when there were thunderstorms and wind playing havoc on the already wet lands, Kiran and Jasmine were trying to understand the mechanics of Electromagnetism of their Physics syllabus. Jasmine sat nearby Kiran, and they were trying to solve some problems in those pages in Physics, when the thunder strike and Jasmine with a jolt grabbed Kiran. Jasmine embraced Kiran tightly, and Kiran hold her back. For the first time in her life, Jasmine was feeling something, which she had never felt before; She could see that same feeling in Kiran's eyes too and they couldn't shed away the feeling. Kiran ran fingers on the beautiful face of Jasmine starting from her temple to her chin, and with each stop of the running fingers, Jasmine hugged Kiran more tightly. With the eyes closed, Kiran kissed on Jasmine's lips and she without hesitatingly kissed Kiran back. The rain was pouring outside, and it was more thunderous by now. 

By the time rain stopped, it was very dark. Father came to get Kiran from Jasmine's home and when Kiran was saying good byes, Jasmine kissed Kiran on the cheeks without being noticed by anyone. At that point, they realized they both were in love with each other, and from that time, whenever they get time from school and studies, they spend their 'together' time, alone in the large farm houses spread across Jasmine's house. 

They both passed their school leaving examination, and with that they started developing fear of what would happen to their relationship. Somewhere in the corner of their hearts, they had the intuition that their families, and the society they live in, won't agree to their relationship. Many a times they thought of eloping from their homes to somewhere, but Kiran, the braver of the two, stopped them from running away of their fears. They decided to tell their parents about their relationship, when the suitable time comes.

On one such together time, Jasmine asked Kiran - "Are we normal?. Why are we attracted towards each other, when the girls of our age hooks towards boys? Will our families agree?". To this, Kiran just slid her fingers on Jasmine's loving face, looking into her deep eyes.

(C) Vipin.