God was clicking the photos of his children from the universe as if he wanted us to welcome the monsoon with a smile.
I was sitting on a rocking chair in my balcony, looking at the sky, and hoping he was capturing my beautiful smile.
With my beautiful smile, I was also waiting for my beautiful world to let me open the door. After I closed my eyes, it let me open the door.
Every time I opened the door, I found myself sitting at the same place on a bench in front of a deep blue sea with the same beautiful person calling my name.
“Arun, why are you here again?”
It’s still the same question, and my answer also remained the same: “I missed you”.
“You always give the same answer."
“And you always asked the same question,” I replied, put my head on his shoulder, and closed my eyes.
“Now tell me why you are here.”
“Didn’t I tell you I missed you?”
He pulled my head up, cupped my chin, and looked into my eyes. I tried to close my eyes. But he blows into my eyes and makes me open my eyes. He always said my eyes couldn’t lie, and opening my eyes meant I was afraid of the truth.
Staring into each other’s eyes. Tears started flowing from his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said, covering his eyes and face with his hand.
He kept apologizing, and I grew increasingly frustrated. I couldn't even express that he didn't need to feel sorry because it seemed like I wanted him to suffer guilt and remorse. He looked up at me, and I smiled. He smiled at me despite the tears in his eyes that he rubbed away.
“Is the world still the same?”
I locked my hands together, stretched my legs, looked up into the vast blue sky, and replied “Yes”.
“Arun, don’t you feel angry at me?” He looked down at the sand.
“Why should I?”
“Not only the world and our parents, but even I was not fair to us.”
I looked at him. His brown eyes were looking at the sea. “Your eyes are beautiful,” I said with a smile.
“You said that at our first meeting.”
“And I am saying the same at our last meeting as Arun and Anish,” I said and smiled at him.
“You are not coming back here?”
“Yes, but I will meet you soon up there,” I said and pointed my finger at the beautiful sky.
“I am glad.” He said it and gave a bright smile. “I will meet you up there.”
I have seen him smile before, but this was the most beautiful smile of our time. I smiled back and rested my head on his shoulder.
While looking at the beautiful sky, he gave me his last promise: “Arun, I am sorry that I got afraid of the world, and let you face the cruel world alone. I promise that if we meet again, I will give you this beautiful world that you have given me.”
After listening to his promise, I held his hand and locked it with our fingers. “I just hope that our real world will be as beautiful as this world. Anish”
I take my last breath with his name and rested my eyes on his shoulder.
After hearing his name from me for the last time, even the gods started crying. It was the first beautiful rain but the last beautiful rain for me.
