Just In Case

When you predicted a rainy day, at the peak of noon,
I argued, an animated discussion over the weather,
Absolute craziness, I retorted to your words.
Heated, I blew up. Enraged of your cold shoulder,
I made a face. And as I walked away-
It rained.

I stopped, and felt cheated.
My thoughts at loggerheads,
Whether to walk on, or turn back.
Drenched in the rains,
I turned back-
But gone you were.

And I walked in the rain,
Longing for your hands to hold on to.

The other time, when we bickered over dinner,
Your calm voice did nothing but irritate.
Who cares if the man at next table spoke French,
It seems so trivial today, doesn't it?
But then, we'd mooted. I'd left the dinner, irked-
And as I passed by the table near-
I did hear French.

Feeling your contemptuous laughter
Burn my back, I walked out.
I waited for the cab; all the while
Hoping you'd come and lift me off my feet-
Saying its just fine.
But you never came out.

Waiting, in the eerie silence of the night-
I yearned for the safety of your arms.

Today, as I watch you walk away, for the first time,
Your words echo in me-
The way you'd followed me home, in the lashing rains,
The time you'd hailed the cab for me, in the dead of night,
The times, when you'd always been there, hidden from my view
(Just in case, I needed you.)
And I'd never known.

I know I need to grab this moment,
And run to you-
But, I don't.
Thoughts maimed, I just stay put
Feeling the loss lynch at me,
Hurting with every passing second.

Through the moist fog, I feel a presence-
And I find you, hiding behind the Bougainvillea stretch.
(Just in case, ain't it Dear?)