Sun Kissed Summer Sojourn

Tracey stared pensively out of the window of her room, overlooking the Bay of Bengal.

“Why??? Why was this happening?! Why NOW?!”

True, Aaron wasn’t anything less than “THE” guy- school prefect, cricket-team captain, witty, humorous  and a complete sweetheart; but, in addition to that.. He was also her Best Friend and she didn’t want to risk losing a beautiful friendship, which was 8 years long. For her, the “falling-for-your-best-friend” aspect of love was juvenile and highly queer! She couldn’t believe that she… Tracey O’Donnell was falling head over heels in love with Aaron Smith!

To others, especially to her Mills & Boons-fanatic girlfriends, it would have been THE PERFECT situation to fall in love – especially when you’re on holiday with the guy at the Andamans! However, for Tracey, this holiday was not the most appropriate time for love. It was a short respite from the tedious preparation for her Board Examinations, which were to begin soon. Love was the LAST thing she needed to cope with at the moment!

“Hey sleeping-beauty! Wake up!” Aaron’s husky voice intervened Tracey’s saccharine thoughts.

“Oh! I’m sorry! Was just thinking about something…” she trailed off.

Aaron guffawed – “YOU and thinking?! Now, that’s a good one!” he smiled with a twinkle gleaming in his eyes. Tracey scowled with pretentious annoyance, but her heart quivered with excitement, despite herself!

“Anyway, we were just going to settle down for a game of ‘bluff’.” He indicated to the others- Rob, Syrah and Alex. “Care to join in?”

“Ummm... I don’t feel quite well at the moment. So, I think I’ll pass” she grimaced.

“Oh! Are you ok?!” Aaron tenderly put an arm around her shoulder and enquired. Tracey’s heartbeat accelerated, as she felt a pleasantly-electrifying current pass through her!

“Yeah! Just feeling a little sea-sick” she lied convincingly. ”Ill get back with you guys in about 10 minutes time; Need to search for something!” She said and made her way towards her bags to search for her diary-cum-day planner.

“Okie dokie!” said Aaron and made his way towards the door.

<CRASH> The porcelain vase toppled from above the TV stand and fell to the tiled-floor.

“Oh crap! I’d better get this mess cleared before mummy comes along and has a fit of anger! I might take a little bit longer than I thought I would! You guys carry on without me… I’ll join in the next game!” she hurriedly said as she was picking up broken pieces of china-ware. Aaron grinned and was about to leave the room when he heard an ear-splitting yell of pain!

“Aooooooowww!!!”  Tracey shrieked as she was clutching her bleeding wrist. “Porcelain is SO NOT beautiful when it is broken!” she joked despite the pale-ness in her face.

Aaron’s eyes widened in horror and he was rooted to the spot for a brief-second. He strode, swiftly, to where Tracey was standing, took out his hand-kerchief and tore it into two halves. He tied one-half on her wrist, tightly, cutting the blood-flow temporarily. Tracey watched silently… enduring all the pain.

“Butter-fingers!” scolded Aaron, and the both of them burst into gales of laughter.

He looked at her quizzingly yet lovingly – reflection of his chocolate-brown eyes against her, coal-black ones. The effect kindled an un-identified emotion in Tracey’s heart and she felt herself go week in the knees. Brown eyes had always been her weak-point and greatest turn-on!

Sigh! If only he knew the effect he had on her; thought Tracey.

But alas, that captivating moment came to an abrupt halt!

“Oie! What’s taking so long?!” demanded Rob and Syrah in unison, as they stomped into the room.

Aaron sprang to his feet and quickly started tiding up the place, arranging things and putting things back to places where they belonged!

“Nothing man! Just trying to help Ms. Butter fingers here!” he said, as he continued to tidy things up.

Rob’s eyes flickered from Tracey’s semi-bandaged wrist to the mess Aaron was clearing up.

“Oh my god! You broke something again?!” Syrah exclaimed, shaking her head in bewilderment!

At that moment, Alex, who was munching on a packet of potato chips while surveying the whole scene suggested –

“Why don’t we settle down HERE for bluff? that way we can keep an eye out for more such antics of self-destruction too!” he joked.

Everyone burst into echoing laughter, while Tracey sarcastically smiled and scowled!

With that they settled down for bluff. Aaron and Tracey didn’t ever discuss about their “moment”… ever again!

 

The days of that summer vacation whizzed by so quickly then on! The times spent swimming, lazing on the beaches, having rubber-band fights, sharing memories and secrets, all flew by so rapidly! I now wish that, at that time, I could just stop time!” penned Tracey in her diary, on their flight back to Chennai.

“Even though my wound healed quite quickly, my memory of that “moment” that Aaron and I spent engrossed in each others eyes, though accidentally, is still fresh!”

“I cant forget it, despite how hard I try! It’s ironic that I now believe in the fact that, “Yes! You can fall head over heels, crazily in love with your best friend!” she concluded abruptly, as she watched Aaron snoring away in deep-sleep, in the seat beside her.

I’m quite sure that by now almost everyone would agree with Tracey. Why not?! Especially when that carefully preserved half-of-a-hand-kerchief stays as a souvenir of that memorable sun-kissed, summer sojourn at the Andaman’s!