Little Girl's Wild Side

After 2 hours of driving, they reached Mahabalipuram Beach.

Gautham staggered from the back of the bike and he looked pale as if he might faint any moment. On the other hand, Sindhu had no expression on her face. After taking a few deep breathes, the darkness on her face evaded. Sindhu plastered a smile and turned to face Gautham and in an instant, her expression changed to concern and slowly to guilt.

Was she that rash while she was driving?? Sindhu thought to herself. You were, idiot! Her subconscious scolded her instantly.

Next second she rushed to Gautham's side and held his arms for support and hurriedly explained.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I mean in all the excitement of being behind wheels after soo long that I utterly forgot about you sitting behind me. Was it that bad??" Sindhu gave him her best puppy dog face filled with regret.

Gautham just glared at her and said gritting his teeth," I will be driving on our way back" in a hoarse voice. After taking a few deep breathes Gautham finally gained some color on his face. Then he faced Sindhu and started scolding, "Did you even realize you didn't bother to even wear a helmet?? That I still had it on my head. What would have happened if anything happened to you?? You were so lost in your own world while you were driving that you didn't even hear me shout. What the hell were you thinking??"

Gautham was pissed but more than that he was concerned for her safety the whole way. The way Sindhu was driving really scared Gautham. It was not just the fact that she was driving fast... it was the coldness in her expression. That lack of fear... or that touch of recklessness. If he was ever a good judge of expression- he would say Sindhu was daring the universe to take her. At first, he was surprised to see that expression on her face. Sindhu always had that face which was always soo full of smiles but while she was driving lost in thoughts, she was so cold that he almost could not recognize her. Then it dawns on him as to how little he knew of her.

Sindhu lost all her color. She hung her head down and bit down on her lips nervously. Seeing Gautham like this scared her... not because he is angry but because she was clueless about what she's supposed to answer to him. She has never really been able to answer these kinda questions. That's one of the main problems. She has never been able to articulate what goes on in her head.

Seeing Sindhu's looking at him like an aggrieved kid being scolded, Gautham's anger subsided. He took a deep breath. He extended his hands to her head and ruffled her hairs and said," it's okay. I'm okay. Come on let's go". He then took her hands in his and dragged them towards the beach.

Sindhu followed him without protest but you can tell she is still quite out of it!!

Half an hour passed, they still hadn't said a word to each other. But then it was not the awkward kinda silence. Sindhu was lost in her own head and Gautham just let her be. He just kept playing with her hand in his and listened to the sound of waves. By now Gautham already knew every nook and corner of her hand... she had a tiny mole on the base of her pointer fingers and a long scar on her palm.

Sindhu finally came out of her trance when she felt a slight tickling sensation on her palm. When she raised her head she found Gautham tracing her scar without even realizing it.

"Actually that happened on one of my biking adventures. I was beaten up pretty bad." Sindhu said pursing her lips, at last, breaking the silence.

Gautham listened but did not comment. But after a while he turned towards her and asked in a very serious tone, "Why do u like riding bikes so much???" His tone was soft but firm at the same time. But it was not demanding. Sindhu just stared into his eyes for a while and then after a while she turned her attention towards the waves. She did not answer right away. But after a while, she said in a strained voice, "It was the only way I could breathe. It started as a curiosity but turned to addiction maybe even an obsession. Driving like crazy was the only way I could stop myself from suffocating. But it got bad to point where I started being reckless. Not that I was careful in the start but it just got bad. So when I decided to shift here, I sold my bike there back in Bangalore. I thought I was okay. But apparently not seeing as I went crazy the minute I saw a bike" Sindhu chuckled without humor.

"Did it bother you that much, the way I drove??" Sindhu asked nervously after a while.

"That's because I always drive alone. Thinking of it, you are the first one I took out for a ride in a bike", Sindhu said and the glee on her voice was quite apparent.

Gautham couldn't hold back the grin that spread on his lips. That right there is the expression he knew. That right there was the girl he was familiar with. But today he got to see a layer of her which he did not know of before. That gave him the greed to wanting to see all her layers. But then he will wait… he will wait until she shows him all of her by herself.