Ah, Women!

He looked at her. The sun's rays reflected off the water onto her face. She seemed to be at peace besides the lake. Her feet played with the waves. Her anklet glistened. "You look beautiful", he said. She just smiled. He wondered what she was thinking. As is normally the case, he had absolutely no clue. 'Ah, Women!' he thought.


He selected a pebble. A well rounded flat pebble. And then, with a swift motion of his hand, he threw it at the water. It didn't directly go in. It skirted off the water's edge. Tried to land again. But his initial force made it skirt again. Wherever it touched the water, small rings formed. After about five such failed landings, the water finally engulfed it. "Wow!", she exclaimed. "How did you do that?" He seemed surprised. "You haven't seen this before?" She shook her head. "We used to play this game whenever we came here as children." She decided to try her hand. She picked up a random pebble and let it go. Plop. It sunk at first impact. "No wonder you are good at this. You have been playing since childhood!" she complained. He gave a hearty laugh. A man will find the weirdest things cute in a woman.

"No re! See, here's how you do it. You need to select a pebble that's as flat as possible..." He went on to explain the supposed 'techniques' of pebble-throwing. She listened to him, noticing how focused he looked while explaining something as trivial as this. She liked that about him. She thought back to the time when she had first seen him. His intensity while explaining something to a class full of students was what had caught her eye. "Okay. Here's one that would work. Try it!" He brought her out of her reverie. She took the pebble and threw it at an awkward angle. Plop. Down it went again.

"Arre baba! Throw it as horizontally as possible!" He chirped in. She tried again. Same result. This was getting a little lame, he thought. After a lovely drive, he had planned on sitting besides her by the lake and atleast try to have a supposedly romantic time. Instead, here he was, teaching her how to throw meaningless stones in the water! He cursed his luck. I should have listened to Aakash and taken her to a movie instead! This idea of a 'romantic' natural outing was a no-brainer from the start, he thought. "Did you see that? It made three circles!" She almost shrieked as she finally succeeded. "This is so much fun!" And she gave him a little peck on the cheeks. Like a fledgling knight on a three legged horse who had suddenly turned the battle on it's head, his chest swelled up.

They took turns throwing pebbles at the water, he the expert more than willing to guide, she the eager student. As they sat their watching the small ripples form, he couldn't help but wonder at the joy she found, the joy they had found in such a small thing. "Do you think we go through life like this pebble?" He asked her. "Just skimming the surface. Just having a passing taste of what life holds for us? At every instance when a defining moment passes us by, are we too busy doing the things to be done instead of enjoying that moment? And then, by the time we realise it, it's too late. We have lost our momentum. Our drive. And the water then just engulfs us." She looked at him. He smiled. She put her head on his shoulder. In a soft voice, she spoke. "Well, I know I am enjoying this moment. And not letting it just pass by. Thanks a lot for bringing me here instead of taking me to some silly movie!" Up yours, Aakash!

He looked at her. He could smell her hair. There was an inexplicably pleasant smell to them. His heart was beating at a slightly faster rate. And yet, a feeling of contentment had come over him. He felt responsible for her. Suddenly, he felt both tender and strong at the same time. How do women do these things? As they sat in an almost picturesque pose in front of the setting sun, he thought again, this time in a more relaxed and happy way, "Ah, Women!"