She stared at the void, pitch black sky.

And he stared at her, his eyes locked on her face, which seemed to glow in the dark.

"You are beautiful Maya" he wanted to say but he didn't want to break the soothing silence.

It stretched endlessly above them, a dark starless sky. The light poles around them were the only source of any visibility.

They sat on a bench by the water fountain, alone in the entire place. They had selected the bench perfectly such that the light from the light poles came to them but without disturbing the engulfing view of the boundless dark sky.

Well, she was looking at it, because his eyes couldn't leave her enchanting face.

She was trying to keep herself focused on the sky, but her heart couldn't stop pounding. She tried pretending his eyes on her didn't have an effect, but couldn't. Her cheeks turned red and a blushy shy smile that she had tried to force back spread across her face and she flung her face down, her chin touching her chest, and hid it with both her hands, saying with a low voice, "D... Don't look at me like that... id-idiot!"

She was too shy around him, the silence and them being alone added to it, and she tried to keep her mind on the sky to give her heart some breath and stay normal, but her heart couldn't handle his gaze.

"I can't stop" said the boy, his eyes locked on her, mesmerised,

"She squealed and curled in, blushing and kicking the air.

His heart melted, and he moved closer to her and kept us hands on her back.

"Idiot! Idiot! Karam idiot!" she punched his thighs softly and then hugged hum suddenly, startling him for a moment, and hid her face in his chest, pulling on his collar.

He smiled and kept his arms around her, hugging back, and kissed her head and she squealed in blush, pulling harder on his collar.

"You idiot!" she murmured, her voice muffled as her head was hid in his chest, and hugged tighter.

He sighed, feeling butterflies in his heart, a bright smile under eyes full of emotions, love.

*

The sky was unusually dark that night again, thanks to the clouds that covered it like a blanket, the moon and stars behind them. It had been like that for few days then, the morning were dark with the sun faintly visible, and the nights were pitch black. The clouds didn't rain or growl, no lightning, they didn't even move, just stayed above them, covering the sky.

This unusual event was happening many parts of the whole world, in different cities and countries, and so was it in their city, Hansa, Maharashtra. Geologists around the world said it was strange and unnatural for a cloud, with such compact size and high density, to hover over once city without moving with the wind, stay static like that, and that they were looking into it. But they assured the citizens not to be too worried about it as it didn't seem to contain anything harmful but water and atmospheric gasses.

It was an interesting sighting for many people; they sat out in front of their houses, on terrace, in gardens and balconies, with tea and snacks, looking up at the darkness. It was viral on internet, #strangebarsilclouds, videos, discussions and theories, some scientific, some religious while some bizarre, spread around, making it a popular topic of discussion. Tourists and vloggers from out of the city visited to look at the strange clouds.

And among them some people, the pessimist types, feared it was something ominous, something dangerous.

But all those were just words; no one really knew what they were.

Karam and Maya had decided to spend the evening in the park, under the clouds. It stayed closed at that time of the evening but Karam knew the guard personally, so he got himself a special permission to get in, just the two of them in the wide empty park.

It was their first actual date afterall.

*

He hugged her back tight, caressing the back of her head, and kept his own head on hers. He felt her kiss his chest and rub it softly, both their hearts beating fast.

He gave out a huge sigh, overwhelmed by this moment, and said, "Maya..." with a voice filled to the throat with love. He felt her tug tightly on his shirt, feeling her breaths on his chest.

He took a deep breath and said, "Maya... my mind is completely blank right now. I thought all night what I will say, tried preparing myself, but now, like this, I can't find words. Everything that comes to mind, everything I think of saying, nothing seems enough to tell you what I am feeling right now, what you mean to me, I just want to stay like this, forever".

"So I will just say what comes to my heart" he said, and let go of the hug. She pulled her head out of his chest, her wide eyes glittering, and a tear on the edge, as if she was looking at her world. And his eyes, serene and tearful, like they were looking at the most precious gem in the world. They were lost in each other, and he cupped her cheeks with both his palms and, eyes locked, hearts beating, said,

"Maya, you are my everything—my happiness, my hope, my spirit, my..." he said, wiping a tear off his eyes, "...my life. I can't describe what you mean to me- You feel like a dream."

He gave a chuckle. "Even now, I feel like I will wake up at any moment, and there will be nothing. I will be on my bed, in my room—empty and lifeless. This moment, you with me, it's... I..." - He took a deep breath - "I want to feel this all my life."

The distant light from the pole danced in her watery eyes, wide without a blink. Tears rolled down her rosy cheeks, red from blushing. Her nose was pink, and her lips quivered.

He looked at her, and the world disappeared around him, their hearts racing. There was a tint of red on his nose and cheeks, on which tears rolled down.

He slid his hands and gripped her shoulders, and said "Because I... I love you, Maya."

She gasped, her hands on her mouth. Her eyes grew even wider, glittering like sunlight on rippling water.

And he was panting—both of them, red as roses, blushing. His lips tightened. Their eyes locked onto each other. And then, his chest aching with loud heartbeats, face flustered, lips quivering, he gulped and stuttered out,

"C-Can I kiss you?"

Her hands dropped from her mouth. Before he started to say anything else, she grabbed his collar, pulled him close, and leaned in with a push and kissed him.

Their lips met.

It was long. Intense.

He was startled at first but soon melted into the taste of her lips on his. They didn't know how long they kissed. They just did.

By the time they pulled away, both were panting, sweating—even though the air was cold—and their lips were red.

They looked at each other. And then, realization struck.

Both quickly hid their faces, looking away. Breathing heavily, faces red and fuming.

"I... I'm sorry," Maya murmured.

"It's fine. I.." - gulp - "I wanted tha-uh-that," he said.

They looked in opposite directions, and Karam shifted closer. Their bodies touched, and she jerked up.

"I think we should head home," he said, "Or if you wanna..."

"Did you like it?" she interrupted.

He looked at her. She was curled up, her knees pulled close, her palms covering her face.

"D-Did you like my kiss?" she murmured.

His gaze softened. His blushy hesitation melted into a warm smile. He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her toward him. She was still hiding her ears, her eyes low, her face burning like a fever.

He gently held her chin, tilting her face upward. Their eyes met—his filled with love, hers hypnotized. Her hands slowly loose from her ears. She couldn't look away.

He leaned in.

And kissed her.

It was long. Slow. Meaningful.

When he finally let go, he gazed into her eyes and said "I loved it as much as you did, sweetheart."

She stared at him, flustered, breathless. Then, as her face turned visibly red, she let out a high-pitched squeal, curling in her face and hands and headbutted into his chest.

She shook her head furiously, rubbing her face against his shirt, her legs kicking in the air. She softly hit his chest with her fists, saying out in a squealy voice, "Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" 

He chuckled a little and wrapped his arms around her. Slowly, she calmed down, melting into his embrace. Her legs stopped swinging as she pressed herself against him.

He hugged her tightly. "I love you."

She murmured back, "I... I love you too... very much."

He could feel her trembling in his arms, her heartbeat loud and fast.

"Oh, my baby..." He held her even tighter. "I got you."

That was when they felt the ground shake beneath them.