CHAPTER 26
ABIR'S POV
Life is beautiful, when we enjoy ourselves to our fullest without holding ourselves back.
Spending time with Mishtipie, I am seeing the beauty in all the small things in life- the chirping of the birds, the jumping of the kids, the taste of cotton candy and the cute little yawns of Mishtipie.
Never have I ever eaten cotton candy in my life. But here I am, eating one along with Mishtipie.
The things that she makes me do.
After seeing a stall nearby, she not only demanded that I buy one for her, but also buy one for myself. Because apparently if I don't, she wouldn't talk to me.
That is the worst punishment for me.
Mishtipie is in front of me, devouring her cotton candy, with her full attention. Between her bites, she grins at me with her pink-coloured mouth, due to the candy floss.
Sometimes, she still behaves like the cute kid that she used to be. Her two pig tails that she used to wear, her favourite white coloured frock and butterfly hair clips. Even though she doesn't wear any of these now, she has not changed one bit. It amuses me, really.
Once I finished mine, I waited for her to finish hers. She ate very slowly, devouring the taste of every bite.
"Mishtipie, faster", I whined.
She very conveniently ignored me. And if possible, she started eating slower.
To irritate me even more, she moaned while taking her bites, which caused my stomach to lurch.
Seriously, what is she doing to me?
I huffed and took out my phone to click pictures of her. I've always loved photography and I wanted it to be my profession. During my teenage, I used to take my camera along with me everywhere, just so that I could click pictures. And Mishtipie has been my favourite and only model. In fact, a picture of just her eyes is my phone's screen saver.
I focused on her face and clicked a few pictures. Her long and straight brownish black hair fell across her shoulders. A few shorter strands covered her face, falling onto her eyes. She was looking directly in front of her with a very soft smile on her face, as she ate the candy floss. The sunlight illuminated her face, making her look dreamy.
I immediately started editing the picture. This could possibly be my next phone screen saver. I felt very content looking at the picture. For me, just clicking pictures is very satisfying. It gives me a sense of pride and peace. Each photo has a lot of things to say. It gives you a lot of lovely memories, beautiful thoughts and ideas or even conveys messages.
To me, a picture means much more than just a girl sitting and eating cotton candy. It tells me that it is okay to be like a kid sometimes. That it is okay to do what you want to do, not what others expect of you. That it is okay to live your life the way you want to.
My thoughts were interrupted by Mishti, "You love it, don't you?"
I looked up to see her intent eyes on me. She seemed to have finished her stick.
I frowned, "What?"
She pointed towards my phone, "Photography. You love it don't you?"
I chose to remain silent. I will never lie to her, nor do I want to accept the truth.
She smiled and moved closer towards me. She had a warm smile on her face as she spoke, "Abbi, life is very short. Live it the way you want to. Do what you want to do and fight for what you love. Never give up on what you love, Abbi. Never."
After a few seconds of silence, I took hold of her hand and interlaced our fingers together. We sat there on the bench silently for I don't know how long. But it felt nice.
After some time, we went to a few stalls and had fun. When it was around 5 in the evening, we were super tired and yet, Mishti felt it was the perfect time to go on the huge Ferris wheel.
I don't understand where she gets her energy from.
After waiting for another half on hour in the queue, we got into our compartment and locked it properly. She sat in front of me.
As the Ferris wheel started to go upwards, I decided to tease her, "Mishtipie, what will you do if it stops working and we get stuck here?"
She glared at me, "Shut up."
I shrugged, "Just asking."
She rolled her eyes and looked at her surroundings and I did the same. The higher we went, the more beautiful the city looked. With the setting sun causing reddish orange hues in the bright evening sky, the place looked mesmerizing. I could her Mishti let out a gasp as well.
As we reached the highest point in the Ferris wheel, all the lights surrounding the stall want off suddenly with a loud sound and the engine of the wheel stopped abruptly. We could hear people screaming and shouting from other compartments as well. Both of us looked alarmed at the sudden happenings around us.
"Abbi, what's happening?", she seemed very shocked.
"I don't know. Some technical glitch I guess.", I shrugged as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
As if on cue, we could hear a voice on the speakers, "Hello dear riders of the Ferris Wheel. We are terribly sorry to inform you that we have a technical glitch and the wheel stopped working. We are working on it and it will be done in another few minutes. Sorry for the inconvenience caused"
We looked at each other with wide eyes. Mishtipie immediately stood up and started yelling, "Hey you controller! What do you mean glitch, huh? Bring me down. Now! I will rip your throat off if you don't. I said now. Don't you hear me?
I started laughing at her to which she glared at me.
She started yelling again, "Hey controller! Listen to me- aghhh", while jumping and yelling, she slipped and tumbled towards the ridges of the compartment. It felt as if all life had been sucked out of me.
"MISHTI!", I immediately shot towards her, encircling my arms around her waist. I held her in place and steadied her.
"Are you okay?"
"Are you alright?"
Both of us asked at the same time.
I let out a frustrated sigh, "Mishti, what will happen to me? You were the one who was about to fall. Tell me. Are you alright?"
She nodded and looked down and wrapped her arms around my waist. I held onto her as if my life depended on it.
"What if something happened to you? What if you fell? What will I do, huh? Please Mishtipie, don't be reckless like this."
I patted her back slowly in an attempt to comfort her and calm myself down. I don't want to think about what would have happened otherwise.
I already lost my father. I can't afford to lose her.
After I don't know how long, I pulled back slightly just to see her flushed face. She seemed pale as she looked at me expectantly with her beautiful doe eyes. I pushed away the strands of hair that blocked her face.
"Don't scare me like this again, please", I whispered.
Her vision roamed around my face before landing on my lips. In response, my eyes automatically found her plump rosy ones. I looked back at her face to see her inching towards me. I looked at her eyes questioningly, as if asking her for permission. I was filled with anticipation as I waited for her response. She blinked reassuringly, as if giving me permission.
My heart raced so fast, that I immediately knew that it was the fastest it has ever been. My whole body tingled with excitement and nervousness as I inched towards her. I have been fantasizing about kissing her for some time now. But now that it is about to happen, I can't believe it.
After a few very slow and tantalizing seconds, our lips met.
And it was fireworks.
The moment our lips touched, electricity coursed through every single cell of my body. A whole zoo erupted in my stomach, as our lips moved in perfect synchronization. My whole body felt charged and gave me a feeling as if I was flying in the air. My brain went fuzzy and I couldn't get enough of her. It was so much better than what I had dreamt of. Her lips tasted like strawberry, with a little something added to it. It is now my favourite taste.
I kissed her softly and passionately, as if trying to express my feelings for her with the kiss. As I pulled her closer to me by her waist, she entangled her hands in my hair. What surprised me was the passion and vigour with which she kissed me back. It definitely depicted her feelings for me. The thought gave me goosebumps and a warm feeling spread through me, as I thought about the possibility of 'us', making me kiss her even more passionately.
It felt like our very own fairytale- kissing on the top of the Ferris Wheel with the bright setting sun.
After a few long minutes which felt like mere seconds, Mishtipie pulled back gasping for air.
After a few seconds, I inched towards her again to capture her lips in mine. It felt like an immediate addiction.
The compartment jerked suddenly and the engine of the Ferris Wheel roared to life. There were cheers coming from the other compartments, as the Ferris Wheel started working again. I looked back at her brown eyes and the moment our eyes met, we grinned at each other and started laughing.
This is what I loved the most. Our comfort level.
I looked at her beautiful blushing face. Her face was fully red and she had the widest grin I have ever seen on her face. I am pretty sure I must be having a stupid grin on my face as well.
But I don't care anymore, because Kuhu was 100% right last night.
I too deserve to be happy.
And if Mishtipie makes me happy, I will be with her.
***
Hey guys! This is Chapter 26!
Hope you guys liked their much-awaited kiss!
Thank you! <3