Simple pleasures

She climbs out of bed. Its 7 in the morning. She looks at her husband sleeping peacefully. She tells herself that they should reduce their irritable outbursts at each other, especially after last night's surprise. She finishes her ablutions and is heading downstairs when she stops. She sees his room door closed. She hesitates and then walks upto the door. She opens it carefully to avoid waking him up. She seems him lying there, almost cherubic in appearance and she chuckles to herself wondering what a contrast it is to his normal rebel like disposition. She pulls the chair, sits down and swings her legs on the bed. He is back on a surprise visit just for her birthday. She looks at him and tries to understand the machinations that made him tick. She stares at him and feels fuller and more complete than she had felt in years, just seeing her son lie there. She gets up, ruffles his hair and steps out, with a faint smile.

He wakes up. Its such a great feeling to be back home. He missed his room and opens the bay window looking out from his room. He looks at his books and feels a sudden affinity towards them. He goes down and walks upto the steps leading to the garden. He steps on the top marble step and a faint breeze brushes past him. The sun blazes down on the garden. The heat is increasing with a steady regularity but he does not feel it. He gets up quite pleased with himself and goes into the kitchen. The tea is steaming and the first set of cookies are brought out. He looks at her. She looks like she can do with some rest. The dark circles under her eyes seem to belie the twinkle in them. He sits up on the granite platform and looks at her. She stands there with her back towards him and he slowly creeps up on her and blows lightly on her neck and she freaks out.

She and He...

She lies there silent. He can hear the heavy breathing of her heart through her deep sighs. He tries to imagine her face in the dark and can see the faint outline of her black hair which is about shoulder length. He leans forward and kisses her again. She seems surprised but manages to kiss back with a strange ferocity. She is surprised by this sudden bolt of energy that causes her to respond with such intensity. She pulls herself back. He looks at her and smiles inwardly.There is a sense of confusion within her. Its almost as if she has stepped out of her body and is observing herself in a completely new light. She is not sure if she likes what she is seeing but for some reason the wrong does not feel so wrong. What was happening to her. She consoles herself by saying that its probably a result of a deep-rooted desire that has suddenly attained fulfillment and yet there still seems to be a strange sense of loss within her- like she has just lost a part of her that seems to have mutated into something she never knew.

He looks back at his first year of moving to this country. The money has run out in three weeks time. He looks at the account slip and wonders that he has just started university, has a sizable bank loan back home and is in a country where he knows no one. It does not help that his race and colour causes more hurdles than anything else, everywhere he goes. His first job involves unloading 40 kg beef slices. For a vegetarian whose religion venerates the cow, he is covered with meat chunks and traces of blood all over. He trudges back home despondent and with an almost punctured soul. He goes back the next day and the day after that. In no time, its six months at the job. He is ready to move on and finds a job as a pizza guy. Then one job to another over a period of two years and here he is today. He looks back and remembers the times he was abused, discriminated against and yet none of these made him feel as bad as he felt when so often he was almost considered invisible. It was like people around him failed to acknowledge his existence. Almost as if he was never there.