HOME 2: Coming back HOME

The yellow caravan, at the very centre of the vehicles waiting at the signal, was blasting music at five in the morning. The lorry drivers waiting with it can see the little lady in the driver seat, bobbing her head complete with dark circles, to music that was highly unsuitable for this hour. But Farah's driven over two days for work, and the bags under her eyes need to be unpacked. No matter where she had been all week, no matter where she's headed to after the weekend, her pit stop remained the same. She drove through the familiar gate to the apartment complex, where the watchman who had learnt to expect her begrudgingly let her through. 

Farah drove right past the guest parking and parked at the spot reserved for flat number 222. The purple vespa that claimed the large spot usually (yet unusually), was neatly parked to the side. She trudged up the familiar staircase, rucksack slipping off her shoulders, to the open door on the second floor. She walked in and gave in, the hands that now held her by the waist would do the rest. 

Farah woke up to the sun streaming in through the living room balcony. She shifted on the murphy bed she found herself on most occasions here, and rolled over to find breakfast set up on the side table. Before she could reach over to grab the coffee, a voice interrupted her. 

"Go brush your teeth. I'm sure you've probably put it off for a week, knowing how you are when you work."

Farah stood up and stole a kiss before bounding off to the bathroom. 

"There's a week of not having brushed in that kiss," she teased, mouth full of Colgate foam.

Kaia groaned, picking up the clothes Farah's thrown off in her sleep. 

She had the TV on and had settled into the bed herself when Farah came out of the bathroom and plopped herself on her lap. Kaia fidgeted as Farah leant against her in nothing but her underwear. The clothes she had picked up off the floor were at an arm's length but Kaia knew Farah's not picking those up. 

Balancing the plate on her knees and barely managing to keep the Sambar from dripping onto the sheets, Farah's eyes were set on the screen and Kaia's on her's. 

Having downed the meal and rinsing her mouth with water she was drinking, Farah finally said, "I'm not that tired, you don't have to keep twitching under me."

Kaia's hands reached over to her jaw and waist, pulling her in, eclipsing the other's lips with her own. Farah absently grabbed the remote, and turned the TV off, dissolving into the sheets and the one holding her. 

Steam rose from the pan as Kaia deftly tossed stuff in the pan, she didn't have to and what she was cooking was spilling over the sides and making a mess. But Farah was watching awe struck, like she always did, so she kept the performance up. Those pouty lips would stay a little open in wonder and she could reach over to kiss them.

Farah sat on the kitchen counter, tracing the route they're taking to the hidden stream near the Balusherry. It was Kaia's turn to pick a location for their bi-weekly retreat and she wanted to go somewhere calm and camp out in the caravan. 

"Aaah?," said Kaia, offering her a grilled prawn.

Farah kissed the tips of her fingers having taken it, only for the other to kiss it herself. Touche.

They sank down on the kitchen floor, on a little nest of blankets to eat lunch. They had a week's worth to spill, the cell phone reception having been down for most of Farah's travels. 

"You sure you don't want to stay in?" Kaia asked the travel correspondent who lay on her lap.

"You're driving and I already stayed in for a while, it's all good," she muttered, kissing the sliver of skin that showed from underneath Kaia's tank top. 

Kaia's phone rang from the countertop as she fed Farah another fried delicacy, you could technically fry almost anything and she did. She stretched her hands to the top of the counter and groped around for the phone, as Farah stole more kisses where her tank top lifted. 

Playfully pushing the other away Kaia saw that her mom was calling. She picked up and said hello, before standing up and moving towards the window. Farah picked at a bowl of fried brinjals as Kaia murmured into the phone. 

"I've already told you, no!" Kaia ended, cutting the phone. She turned around, leaning her back against the sill and throwing her head back out the window. The sun warmed her cheeks, it was half past two.

She slipped back in and looked at Farah, who was staring up at her from the floor.

Kaia walked back up to Farah, who climbed onto her knees and held her by the waist. 

Holding Kaia around her hips and pressing her head against the other's stomach, she asked, "Did she bring in a new marriage proposal again?"

Kaia nodded, locking eyes with Farah who now kissed her on the stomach again, slowly this time. Farah sank into her, till she was seated on the other's lap, holding her face.

They were on the other end of the signal Farah was that morning, this time with her in the passenger seat. Kaia drummed her fingers on the steering, her right elbow resting on the open car window. Farah's unconventional playlist trailed on as they headed towards the hills. 

Farah stood up and moved to the back of the campervan, to where her kitchen and bed jiggled, all while Kaia anxiously glanced back at her. She hunted for the tiffins they had tucked in and came back with one. She had managed to seat herself before they went over a hump but some of the lettuce from the caesar salad didn't fare as well. She waved it off to Kaia, she'd clean it up once they stopped. Fara offered her a heaped forkfull in compromise. 

They stopped at around seven in the night, at a tea stall on the way. They each had a Sulaimani and a chilli fritter huddled together, before continuing on. They were just about to reach, so Farah took on driving duties. She'd have better luck manoeuvring the Campervan over rocky terrain than Kaia. 

They stopped a little away from a stream, from where you could still hear it. Kaia lay on the bed, she only ever drove this far on their fortnightly trips, she missed her little purple Vespa. She watched Farah at the little kitchen counter, back against her, tossing veggies in the pan. 

They got out the bed breakfast table they had ordered online the last time they were out and tucked in, Gilmore Girls playing on her phone, propped up against the window sill. 

They had woken up tangled in the sheets and each other's arms, a few hours to noon. Before they conjured up brunch, they trooped over to the stream they had heard gurgling all night. 

Farah ran and leapt into the sparkling pool, sending spray every other way. Kaia followed, throwing her head back, to keep from being drowned in the showers the other kept splashing up. 

Kaia got out first, bringing out the coffee she had kept to boil before they came away. Elbows out on the surrounding terrain and feet slipping off the pebbles at the bottom, they clinked their mugs together in a silent 'Cheers'.