After a short nap in his room post the habitual night errand to the neighbouring balcony, Kai woke up all grumpy. Well, to say exactly, he had always been a grumpy person in the morning, but today, he particularly believed there was a very peculiar reason for his ruined mood. This got ascertained the first thing in the morning when he sat up to see diurnal light coming out of the always desolately dark rooms of the adjacent house. He threw off the blankets aside all at once, fuming with some sort of unnecessary irritation and got off the bed to stride towards the kitchen.
As he stood sipping water, supporting himself sloppily against the kitchen slab, he recalled what happened a few hours ago and a feeling of exasperation crept over him. The balcony and the view it presented, which had never once failed to exhilarate him even after years and years of visit, which had been solely and entirely his for all these years was now so unfairly distant to him. He had never been someone to associate feelings with places as such, but that balcony had always held a space of nostalgia in his heart, the kind of nostalgia that he relived by unforced repeated visits. The house, that was abandoned for itself all this time was now all lively and wholesome and thus had claimed it's only visitor during it's lonely years, a mere stranger. Only if that had been his house, but then, the fact that the balcony was not his was what made visiting it sneakily at night seem so exciting, and then his balcony, well all he could ever see through his balcony was the bleak sight of some crappy plain buildings. The narrow yet far-reaching estate devoid of any building, that lay so grandly incongruous before the adjoining house, belonged to some non resident, who despite being offered humongous sums several times was reluctant to sell his ancestral property. So there it lay, untouched and unfazed, all these years as his sole visual possession, that is, until yesterday. There came a sudden splashing sound, Kai just turned his head towards the window, the window of the downside kitchen of the neighbouring house was open, all he could see from above was someone washing hands in the basin. The designed copper chain wrapped around the wrist in multiple layers was making elegant chiming sounds. 'Is this that girl?' Kai wondered, the hands were long and pretty. Ah and then there was this, what happened in the morning had left a bitter impression in both their minds about eachother, he thought, and what's more, in the rush of the moment he forgot to dispose the cigarette outside, a family rule they all promised to abide to and walked inside the house with it to get a fresh little chiding from his mother in the very morning itself.
He looked at the clock, hah, he has a lecture at 10, what is he doing up so early, he could've spent little more time on the nap, it was all these new comers' fault, for spoiling his mood so early in the morning, he looked at the house, clicked his tongue in annoyance then felt embarrassed for doing so and a slight chuckle escaped his lips. "Kai, I'm off to college, I'm leaving early today, need to help another professor check the arriving paper patterns, you'll manage the breakfast yourself right" his mother rushed in with her bag and files and pulled her scarf off the chair handle. He took another sip of water "Ya, what about Noel ?" " He's not back yet, must be sleeping in with his band mates, just cook for yourself ok, bye sweetie" she rushed in and planted a peck on his cheek. " Have a great day Ma" he smiled as he watched her leave the kitchen. 'Hah, that's right I've college today, mmm.. maybe I should sleep in a bit' he looked down, there was no one near the basin, he shrugged then washed his glass and left the kitchen for his room where he tucked himself in the blanket to get the sleep he thought he missed.
to be continued...
story by ananya.