The human mind is amazing in the way it can switch contexts. While lying there on the balcony watching the rain fall from the night sky Luke’s mind had no recollection of anything else that was going on in his life apart from the moment that he was in. Apart from the feeling of bliss while the cold humid air touched his skin, his mind felt nothing. It was dark, but somehow there was enough light for his darkness-adjusted eyes to decern the beautiful facade that the night rain was painting in front of him on the canvas of green nature.
Victoria, lying on his side was looking outside with glassy eyes lost in thoughts. They were both lying on a rug on the balcony of their Airbnb which was a house in the middle of a large coffee estate with very tall trees and lots of vegetation around it. It was almost the middle of the night but neither of them showed any hint of sleep. The rain was now coming to a stop leaving behind that post-rain coldness in the air. The smell of wet vegetation filled the air and along with the sound of the cicadas, it felt like they were somewhere very far away from the real world.
“Would you like to take a walk”, whispered Luke into Victoria’s ears. A set of mischievous beautiful eyes responded with a smile. Quickly they sat up, went inside the room, found their jackets and mobile phones, and were ready to embark upon the night adventure within no time. The balcony which was on the first floor, was on the side attached to a steel staircase that spiraled down to the lawn below. Carefully descending the stairs trying to avoid slipping on the wet metal, Victoria and Luke came down to the lawn and walked to the gate of the boundary around the property.
Outside the gate was a narrow mud lane which was part of a labyrinth of mud roads that crisscrossed through acres of multiple coffee estates in Coorg. These coffee estates did not only house a multitude of coffee plants but also a very large number of tall trees which served as a support for vines of pepper and some other spices. There was no light apart from the million stars in the sky, which was now very clear. The moon was also out and the path was illuminated with white moonlight.
Walking through the mud roads trying to avoid the puddles filled with rain water, Luke and Victoria found themselves lost in the maze of trees. Alit with the magnificence of the night sky the trees seemed to be alive with a desire to tell stories of all they had seen. They whispered these stories into the winds which the two souls heard as the sound of the breeze.
They kept walking with a destination in mind. After passing a large valley with pastures and a path that was overshadowed by a canopy of trees, they reached the end of the mud road. In front of them was a path which was full of green grass, droplets of rainwater on them glittering in the light. As they walked through the grass lane the lane got narrower and more densely overgrowth. At the end of the which, they came to a clearing.
The clearing was the bank of a tributary of the river Cauvery. The river flowed very slowly and it looked like glass reflecting all the light of the night. There was no one there. Just them, the greenery, and the sound of the cicadas. It was surreal. Luke put his arm around Victoria and she rested her head on his side. They stood there watching the river.
When Victoria opened her eyes in the morning she found herself on the rug with Luke snoring softly on her side, his arm around her.
feeling Canvas 