Rain !

Darkness. Spread all over was a blanket of darkness as I drove my jeep home. Tired, my eyes followed two weary beams of light on a country road, with a dense cover of trees on either side. I was kept awake only by the rumble of the 200 hp workhorse under the hood. Then, a distinct sound made its way into my ears. The roar of the vehicle made it difficult to ascertain the source, but a few drops on the windshield drove the message straight home. Rain !

In the next couple of moments, it was pouring heavily. Visibility dropped, to less than 10 feet ahead. The focus was my only hope. (She had bought a focus lamp and mounted it on the bull bar of the jeep, as a gift for me. Though I was hopping mad over the $ 200 bill, all she had to say was, ‘If you can see clearly, you can think clearly.’ Any other argument was followed by ‘Over eight years, I have loved only one person and I intend to continue the same practice.’ Fight over)

Good old girl. Now, in a night darker than the Devil’s heart, her concern was put to good use. As I continued the bumpy ride to the farm, my thoughts drifted towards my homely wife who was waiting for me to evaluate her newly acquired culinary skills. I could almost see her pretty face glowing with pride, at the feast she set up. ‘Twas a six course meal fit for a king. And me? The lowly, wretched mortal that I am, was running late. All thanks to the stupid weatherman.

The rain was pelting, the clouds were angry. So was I. They had no business scaring the wits out of my sweet girl. As I was cursing the Weather Gods, the next instant, a forked bolt of lightning leapt out of the darkness, pierced the gloomy sky and achieved its intended target. An electric pole. Sparks followed as the pole paid its respects to mother Earth. Now that, meant a power failure at our farm. And that, meant trouble. I was well aware that she was scared of lightning and the blackout compounded the situation. That was it. The final straw.

I took a shortcut, and zipped through a service road which led to the farm. Tyres skidded on gravel, as I drove desperately to get home at the earliest. As I approached the farm, I could make out a silhouette by the pole. As I drew closer, I saw an unmistakably familiar female form, thoroughly drenched in the downpour.

Gosh!! It was her. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief.  I subdued the jeep, jumped out and started yelling, ‘What, on earth, possessed you to do this? For what god-forsaken reason are you standing outside, in the rain?

A meek reply followed, ‘I was worried. For you.’