Tears from a wounded sky...

Jagged bolts of lightning criss-crossed the sky like two Jedi warriors battling it out with their light-sabres. Dark, menacing crowds gathered together and rumbled threateningly. Suddenly, without warning, the rain came. It was as if the heavens were trying to wash the earth clean of mankind's sins.

People ran helter-skelter, trying to shield themselves, trying to seek shelter underneath the nearest canopy they could find. He watched from his window, his lips curling in an amused smile, as he enjoyed their misery. He watched, as he always did, when She alighted from her 6.00 pm bus, and walked home.

Today, he had to look out just a little bit longer, because the normally crazy Bangalore traffic does get crazier when it rains. Anyway, the bus arrived at 6.15 pm. She took a little longer than usual to get down, because it was pouring like there was no tomorrow.

She wasn't carrying an umbrella, and he smiled at her futile gesture of trying to protect herself against the sheets of rain by holding her hand above her head. It was like using a straw to protect oneself against the wind.

He moved away from the window, and decided to brew some hot tea, so that she could relax after coming in. By the time she walked home, the tea would be ready. She'd greet him with her customary smile, and he'd smile back at her. He decided to change quickly, before she came in. Since she had the other key, she would obviously be able to let herself in.

By the time he changed and got back, he found the teacup still there, filled to the brim, with the tea grown cold. He frowned. Where was she? Oh, she must've gone to the nearby bakery, to get his favourite muffins. He smiled and shook his head - she was so thoughtful!

But after 15 minutes, there was still no sign of her. He was starting to get worried now. Maybe, she was sheltering at the bus stop itself, trying to protect herself from the torrential downpour. He couldn't see her there. A couple of frantic calls to her mobile phone elicited no response. He went back to the window to see if he could spot her.

There seemed to be some kind of hold-up there, quite a traffic jam. There were vehicles honking, some people gesticulating wildly, and speaking in angry tones. Someone seemed to be grabbing the collar of the driver of a truck that was parked lopsidedly across the street. He silently cursed Indian traffic and drivers who lost patience at the slightest of incidents.

But, this didn't seem like a normal traffic jam that is all too reminiscient of our cities. There seemed to be someone lying on the ground. His heart skipped a beat as he realised that it was a female form. He pushed some unpleasant thoughts out of his mind, and continued to peer out into the darkness. If only, he wasn't bound to his wheelchair!!

Could it be her? NO! His mind shouted. She had no business to be there, nearly an hour after she was supposed to be home.

He sank against the curtain, as he caught a glimpse of a battered body, and a wrist that wore the silver bangle that he had got her last week, for her birthday.

No one saw the chocolate muffin roll into a gutter and flow away with the rain water.

The rain continued to fall, like tears from a wounded sky, even as the wind wailed like a soul in distress.