A night with Vee Part-I

That evening I left a note for Vee and walked towards the town square. The least crowded road took me towards the riverbanks. I had visited this place once before with Max. Today, even though I was alone I was equally content. 

The last time when I came here I had just fallen for him. His smile, his sparkling eyes, his shy touches, everything had worked as the drug that pumped my adrenalin. This time, we confessed. Like first love, confessions also have their fair share of intoxication. For instance, right now I felt invincible. I knew what I wanted and whom I wanted.

As of now, I wanted to talk to Vee. 

It never occurred to me that the world outside this house had a life of its own. Like the river banks, for instance. During daytime, the river is a popular tourist spot. There were crowds looking for the perfect spots to snap their photographs, children looking for games and snacks, locales looking for profitable business.

After the sun sets, the river turns into a kaleidoscope of colours, smell, and feelings. It becomes a mysterious entity, almost like that woman everybody had crush on but they were just too scared to talk to. The river tells stories, but keep the veil of mystery over the eyes of the readers. She shows the lights and colours, but the next wave comes along to break the illumination and create a completely new image. 

Vee's late arrival gave me sufficient time to roam about aimlessly, then find a sweet spot to sit, and watch people. I admired the small town and its life, the beautiful river; I also admired some people who obviously recognised me but pretended otherwise. A young girl smiled at me sweetly and waved. I felt strangely nice returning the smile. 

Vee arrived almost an hour later. By that time, i had accomplished a couple of different snacks, two coffees, some small talk with two European tourists, and stretching. He came with, as usual, a flirty smile. I admired him, even though I was irritated to my core. Which civilised person leaves you waiting for an hour?

That did not stop me from observing his tall, lithe body and broad shoulders, his bright smile and his bright brown eyes and his charm that attracted men and women, regardless of their ages. I could not refrain myself from observing how his pale, flawless skin shined under the orangish yellow streetlights. Would it be cheating if I keep staring at him like this? Is it considered cheating if a person admires the beauty and charm of a person, who is not their lover? 

"I'm sexy and I know it," he commented with a wink.  

I returned a small smile and concentrated to the river. The mild, wet smell mixed with the fragrance of unknown flowers pulled me in. I wanted to touch the liquid darkness. 

"Are we here for sight seeing?" he asked sarcastically. 

I smiled again. I had something else in my mind, but now I had changed my plan. Since I arrived, I had a lot many talks with a lot many people. It was exhausting to receive all the words, unfiltered and uncontrolled, in my mind and head. All the unadulterated emotions had hit me with different force. Love, hatred, awe, lust, insecurity, fear– at a point it was indistinguishable, which emotion belonged to whom.

Thus, right now, I wanted to forget everything and keep my head as blank as possible. For once, I wanted to be myself. 

"If you want to swim, I know a place where you can do it without being disturbed or interrupted."

Vee's offer made me look at him. He was staring at me blankly, there were no emotions on his face. I couldn't remember when I had seen him so stoic before. 

"How do you know I was thinking about swimming?" 

Vee chuckled, however his expressions remained similarly stoic. "I go for swimming at times during the night. It's cathartic. Your face tells, you're feeling like the same." 

Standing up, I started brushing off the dust from my trousers. Without glancing at Vee, I told him, "Let's go and see the place." 

He took me by the river bank towards an almost deserted pathway. "This used to be a private property, but the owners died. The property is now abandoned. Weird, isn't it? You do so much to have that pride in your self and your life, and then one small incident changes everything for you. From somebody you just become nobody." 

I just let a sigh out and walked beside him. Under the very little light available here, I watched his face, sad, broken, like an abandoned piece of art. 

"Are you done with staring?" he asked suddenly, leading me to stumble. 

"Sorry," I mumbled and continued walking. His hand that was extended to hold me was shot back to its own place as though his kin irritated by my touch. Even though it hurt, I decided to ignore it. 

"It's fine. This is not the first time I've sensed you staring at me. If it had been daytime, and around others, I would have taken this opportunity to flirt with you." 

"And you wouldn't flirt with me now?" I stopped on my trail to look around. Was there somebody behind us?

"No, something tells me that I don't have to put on my charade infront of you anymore. There, that way," he said pointing out a small alley to his left. 

"Sounds good." 

We walked silently towards the splashing sound of water, a beautiful wet smell that was coming from the river, but this time something was different from before. This smell, or rather this feeling I was having inside me was more– wild, shall I say? Or just mark it as strange feeling? 

The alley ended to a vast, open land that ended in the river. It was completely deserted. I made a guess that no tourist ever came here, judging by the cleanliness and purity of the place. The sand sone like silver under the moonlight, the water splashed on the bank like a silent poem being whispered to the listeners. 

"This is one of Maxime's favourite places. It was where he was found by the master's family."