In The Dark

Surge

They had barely crossed the road and she was already feeling uncomfortable, she wanted to extricate her hand from his, as if it is not ‘So proper’. He always worried too much! A few of nights earlier he had broken in to cold sweat and woken up, and searched for her pulse only to reassure himself that she was alright and did not have a raging fever, like the horrible dream he had had. She wiggled out her hand, with a quick glance around. No one seemed to notice, the place was Pier 39, San Francisco, the year 2011. The Pier was teeming with tourists, all races, all ages, colors, nationalities and a plethora of languages and dialects invaded one’s senses. Public show of affection always seemed crude to her, it was a thing for the inner self, so much so that, it should be hidden from the recipient of the affection itself, it had been so all her life, even with her own children. To him she was an ethereal beauty, always so near yet so unreachable.
She was curious and happy to be there, she liked places with lot of happy people milling around as long as it was not too loud. The sky was blue, specked with cottony clouds, the sun bright, bay’s water clear, gently ruffled by the wind. Curios and trinket shops with their myriad fare always attracted her, though she seldom bought anything. She liked to see shelves after shelves full of clothing, artificial jewelry, mementos, brass goods, crockery, wall hangings, key rings, bottle openers, small paintings, fridge magnets, mugs and plates all highlighting and depicting sightseeing places and historic moments which tourists throng to buy as gifts for their friends back home.
He would stop for coffee soon, she thought, as she caught a strong waft of hot chocolate floating from somewhere ahead. He did, and though she barely nodded her head he got her the hot chocolate. She felt the warmth from the Styrofoam cup as she affectionately watched two lovely toddlers being wheeled by in a double pram.
She could see the Golden gate bridge to her left and the bay bridge to her right, with the blue bay in between being crisscrossed by sailing boats. Alcatraz the infamous historical prison barely merited her attention in this display of nature and peaceful pursuits of humans. She sighted the sea lions honking periodically and a childlike smile floated on her face for a mili second and vanished. The fact that sea lions had occupied parts of the pier after the earthquake of 1989 only reaffirmed her faith in supremacy of nature and its ways. He made her sit on a bench as he walked around, soaking in the environment of dreamers, wanderers, and fundamentally freedom seekers.
Later that night after a light dinner of milk and oats they settled in their bed for the night, he reading some fiction, and she just drifting in to sleep. She had a dream that he was no longer there, panic surged, and a low wail filled the room, a million goose bumps rose, choking her throat, he gulped his glass of water, rushed back and placed his hand over her fore head, she had been having these nightmares, she clenched his hand in hers and went back to sleep peacefully like a child. They had been married for over three decades and he knew that she sensed his thoughts and actions , and she knew that he did too….a bond as strong as any in nature , so what if it was subconscious? And in the dark......?