Written by Nandini Sethi
Breathing in deeply to smell the distant, distinctive smell of paint,
I follow the uncertain path that will take me there.
I run my nimble fingers through my newly washed voluminous hair,
Feeling them glide against the curls.
A soulful riff coming from somewhere, a faraway restaurant,
Changes to a loud, filmy song, a sudden eruption of applause and karaoke lighting up the empty street.
Just the walk down the road, hand in hand with my love,
Feels worth more than the overpriced dinner we just splurged on.
Sitting coddled in thick blankets,
The sense of touch keeps us warm,
Cozier than the giant boots that spell dollar bills,
And softer than the thousand fluffy hotel bed pillows on which we lay.
When I show you my fancy, designer watch the next day,
You stroke my palm and entwine our fingers,
Claiming that the brand could never be more
Than the time we spent hand in hand.
Over al dente pasta and expensive wine,
We sat facing each other,
Gazing lifelessly at our limited-edition ties and exquisite broches,
Feeling a little choked by the excessiveness.
Our eyes met, wandering over to the other side of the road,
Where over undercooked noodles and cheap beer,
We could talk above a whisper and laugh to our heart’s content,
And we did just that.
So that when at night when we even ditched our beds,
And lay comfortably on the floor,
We could recount all the places we wanted to forget, and all the places we wanted to see,
Only to remind each other that the best things in life come free.
