Rainbow. Paunch. Handbag.

[must include these 3 words]

To me, rainbows are life’s simpler pleasures. Something that you catch a glimpse of once in a blue moon. What makes a rainbow what it is? Is it the seven colours that perfectly blend that makes it so pleasing on the eye? Or are rainbows special because it is such a rarity to see such a multihued and crescent shaped wonder? When was the last time you saw a rainbow?

I remember the last time I saw a rainbow. I remember it very vividly.

14th April 2006. It was a full moon. We were strolling by the beach, with our hands tightly intertwined, in the wee hours of the morning. The cool, moist sand underneath our feet. Neither of us said a word. There was no reason to. We just wanted to be in the other’s company. We both knew that this was the last night we’ll spend together.

As we walked, slowly and aimlessly, the scent of her perfume evoked memories. Like how we used to skip our morning classes to catch some movies. We liked how empty the theatre was in the morning. It seemed as if we had the whole theatre to ourselves. I remembered how we laughed at the ice cream man. He had a paunch and his face was always a bright shade of red as he plied his trade under the hot sun, sweating profusely. I also thought about our conversations during long train rides. Our conversations were always sprinkled with playful teasing and sweet nothings. I constantly teased her about her purple handbag. “Looks like they finally got rid of Barney The Dinosaur,” I used to say. Then she would hit me playfully with her Barney handbag. This would eventually lead to us wrestling and hugging each other, and I loved every one of those moments.

We never talked about her moving away, even though we both knew the day will eventually come. This was our way of trying to run away from the truth. The trouble with running away is, the truth will inevitably catch up with you sooner or later.

Soon, morning will come. The sun will rise and we will reluctantly bid our final goodbyes. But not yet. Not yet. Suddenly, it started to drizzle. I took her hand and we ran towards the nearest shelter. We ran slowly, laughing. I had no clue what we were laughing about, but we didn’t care. That night, time just seemed to fly by. Hours felt like minutes, and minutes felt like seconds. I wanted that night to last forever.

As soon as we reached the shelter, it began to pour. Cold and wet, I reached over and hugged her. I felt the warmth of her body against mine. I knew she felt the warmth of my body on hers too. It felt so right. I held her closer, tighter. We embraced each other for a while, the rhythm of the falling raindrops accompanying the silence. Slowly, we pulled away and faced each other. I looked her in the eye. It was wet, with tears almost bursting out. I smiled. We promised that none of us will cry when the time comes for us to part. We promised to savour all the time we had left and have no regrets. A second later, she broke that promise. I couldn’t blame her. I gave her a light kiss on her lips, and then I lay her head on my shoulders. Before I knew it, tears were flowing down my cheeks. I couldn’t help it. So much for being macho.

With each in the other’s arms, we cried ourselves to sleep.
Waking up, I spotted the sun rising in the horizon. I gently woke her up. She sat up, swept her fringe away with her fingers, and we watched the sunrise together. It was beautiful. Then, she pointed skywards. It was a rainbow, in all its splendor. It made everything so much more special. Right there and then, I knew that I would never love another as much as I loved her for as long as I lived.

AWW...SO SWEET!!