She smudged the remaining mousse on his lips and he swore he had never seen anything more beautiful than her at that moment. That swat on the arm had been playful at most and he knew she would still be the happiest woman on Earth even if he did not gift her anything tonight. It just made him happier knowing what he'd got her.. he held her wrist gently and played with the bracelet she always wore, another gift from him.. his fingers flitting between the metal and her skin.. pulling it up and down her hand.. he was thinking of something to say but could not get the words..
She knew what was going on in his head.. he always did this when he was thinking hard.. about what to do, what to say.. she gently stroked his face with the back of her palm.. her other hand still in his grip.. he looked at her with those soulful eyes. Something in her wanted to cry and hug him and thank God and the universe for him, for them. It was such an emotional moment.. she'd never thought she would need a day to express her love for him.. it did not make any sense.. but she just wanted to dedicate this entire day to him.. to the expression of love.. she hugged him close and they held each other for a couple of minutes..
"I'm going to get your gift.. " he said hoarsely.. before he helped her stand up and made his way to the room. She called behind him and asked him to stay in the room and that she would come there after cleaning up the table. He stopped and walked towards her, wanting to help.. but she stopped him with a smile and asked him to go, saying she'd be with him in just a minute..
It was more than a minute...the kitchen was quite a mess but she did not want anything at the back of her mind when she rejoined Ashutosh in their room now. She cleaned it up good and smirked, thinking of how impatiently Ashutosh must be waiting for her to come back so he could give her the gift...drying her hands on the towel, she padded back to their room anxiously, nervously..
He was sitting on the bed with something clasped in his hand.. her heartbeat quickened.. she sat down besides him.. he was asleep. She was crestfallen. She did not have the heart to wake him up but that was all she wanted to do at that moment.. to wake him up .. to share the moment with him.. She let out a big sigh. What was she to do? Looking at his hands and then back at his face... the serene expression and that half smile...his chest heaving up and down.. oh he was exhausted.. she could tell.. gently.. she eased out her gift from his hands.. it was an envelope.. she was very curious..
She opened it and wondered what it could contain that Ashutosh 'could not buy' .. she swore her heart stopped for a moment when she opened the envelope to see her name written on the fold of a paper with a flourish that could only belong to him.. to her Ashutosh. She had only seen his handwriting on his meticulous study notes before.. and like every aspect of him, she loved that as well.. the neat lines, the flourish towards the end.. the uniformity.. the eccentric characters and letters in between.. the slight slant to the right when he wrote..
There were more than a handful of butterflies when she unfolded that piece of the paper and realised he'd written her a letter in his own handwriting. A part of her wanted to read it in one go and another part of her wanted to devour and enjoy every letter, every word slowly.. not wanting the letter to ever end.. even before the first word, she felt some tears prickle her eyes..
Animulus...
You must wonder what that means.. it means soul in Latin.. I tried to think of so many words to begin this letter with, my dearest.. but nothing quite encompassed what I felt for you more than this. My soul, that is exactly what you are.
A look at you and my heart tells me you've always been my soul.. that I have known you for a lifetime, and more. Every morning, I wake up and look at you with a wonder I did not know was capable of arresting me quite so much. I wonder at you, your love, your being and thank the stars that ordained you to my life, and made you my destiny. I have always been poor with words but I can just go on and on when it comes to you.
You are the only one I can ask to interpret the silliest of my dreams, the only one who I can truly show how broken and imperfect I am, how much I need you.. the only one I can be silly with, profound with..
Life before you was quite uneventful. Meeting you made me realise I could be so much happier, just with you by my side. Not that I was sad before I met you, but meeting you made me feel lonely.. because I knew you were my antidote.
You are beautiful.. every inch of you is. How you never think ill of anyone, how you can always find something to cheer about even in the darkest of situations, how you always laugh at my jokes, how your eyes sparkle when I take your name, how you have learnt to love Thai food just because I love it too, how you look at me when I'm not looking, how the beauty of your thoughts transcends into everything.. and most importantly into my life.
You've made me a better person just by existing. And I will always strive to be a better version of myself, everyday, so I can deserve you.. in this life and the next.
Thank you, my Animulus for blessing me eternally.
Tears were streaming down her face when she finished reading the letter and she was scared she'd blot the letter with them.. she could not help but hug a sleeping Ashutosh before her sobs racked through her body. He awoke with a shock.. Nidhi crying tonight was not a part of the plan and he wondered what happened.. not realising she must have read his letter..
Holding her close, he let her cry as he eased the letter out of her hand and placed it on the study table besides him.. pressing his cheek against her hair, he tightened his arms around her..
When she looked at him, her eyes were all red and puffy from the crying but he could tell how happy she was .. holding his face in her hands, she told him it was the first time in her life that she felt the other person in the relationship loved her more..
He was confused.. she hugged him and recalled how she had always felt more invested in the relationship than the other person.. and how he had made it different this time.. she started crying again..
He would not have it.. wordlessly, he wiped the tears off her face and placed a passionate kiss on her neck, gathering her in his arms..
Yes, if you want it to be so, I will love you more than you love me, for all my life.
That was it.. she cried and laughed at the same time.. before taking his lips in for an extended kiss. They made beautiful love that night.. and they never needed a Valentine's Day again.
THE END !!
Please do give it a read once and share your views !!
And a request to tell me frankly whether I should continue writing more of it or not !! 😳
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