The Wait

The message was clear. I was where I had to be, when I had to be. I even had it with me in my arms that I had to have, that would serve our purpose that evening. I wasn't alone but there was no sign of them. I waited.

It began to drizzle. With each passing minute, the sky grew darker, depicting a limitless canvas with brutal strokes of grey. I hoped the drizzle would stop. But it was a Fool's Hope. I knew better. The Indian monsoon doesn't take gladly to such requests - it merely drowns everything out. And then it happened.

It began pouring. The rains lashed out against the already wet earth. The wind made it impossible to keep the head up, scores of raindrops hurting the face like tiny, blunt arrows. I had to find shelter. I did, underneath a small shed. I looked around to see few unfamiliar and dead faces. No hint of emotion. The Indian monsoon drowns everything out.

Still no sign of them. I waited. Did they change their mind? Did they send another message that I missed? It can't be. They never cancel at the last minute. I was there, on time. 'The trouble with being punctual is that there is no one to appreciate it', I thought. What do I do now? It had been a while and they hadn't showed up. Do I go home? There's only so much a man could take. The cold wind made the wait unbearable. But I had to wait, after all there were only six days to go. I had to free my arms to wipe away the water off of my face. I kept it down at my feet. And then I waited. The rain made an incessant sound on the shed. I tried to make out a rhythm out of it, just to divert my mind from the time I had spent waiting. I couldn't. It didn't make any sense. Nor did the wait. But I waited.

I was in a trance, staring at a stone a few feet away, wondering about the things I'd have done had I stayed home. I noticed the rain made a different sound on the shed now. The sound was dying out. I looked up and saw it was a drizzle again. I picked it up and moved out of the shed with the rest of the unfamiliar people. 'Six days left and they fail to show up', I cursed. The wait was futile. I was annoyed. 'Tomorrow', I thought and I decided to go home. And then it happened.

They came, wearing rain jackets. "Where the hell have you been?", I growled. "Waiting for the rain to stop!", said one of them. 'Stupid twats!', I thought. The wait was worth it. I wasn't annoyed now. The Indian monsoon drowns everything out. I let go of the football I was holding and volleyed it into the sky in their direction. "Six days left for our first game lads! Let's play!", I said.