colours...

He followed her without protesting.. into the swarming crowd… matching pace with her… smiling back as she turned to look at him again and again.. as if to check if he was still with her… she loved the feeling of knowing that he was just a couple of steps behind her… as the crowd eased, he came closer and she felt his hand rest on her shoulder… she loved this street… it was full of colour… the fruit and vegetable vendors merged with the garment and bangle sellers… and diwali time added a whole new spin to the madness… the lights, colours and smell of sweets mixed with the acrid smell of crackers and smoked filtered through her… giving her a high… they bought their diyas and their lantern… picked up flowers to adorn the front door… fruits for the pooja and she held his arm, happy to see him so happy… there was a carelessness about them that she felt and loved… just as she thought they were ready to leave, he turned to her…’no rangoli’… and she looked surprised that he looked so disappointed…’I can try if you help me.’… and before she knew it, he’d told the bhaiya to pack every colour… ‘every colour?? Are you sure??’ and he smiled with glee and in that second she felt she could reach out and hug him tight… and the mother with her daughter next to them, turned to her ‘I’ve never seen a man so excited about colours before…’
he’s a man that she’d taken too long to see in all his colours…