Iridescence in the Skies
I remember the first time our eyes met. The air was numbingly cold and almost unbearable. There had just been a sullen storm before I had reached the place. The birds were silent and nowhere to be seen. The trees in the valleys sway in the light wind as if grateful for their lives that had been spared. Some of the others lay uprooted by their side. The eerie sound of silence was so loud and majestic that nothing dared to move in its presence. It felt like the end of all time as if the world had sung its swan song and dissolved into the absurdity of the unknown that governed its existence.
Right then, I caught a glimpse of him. As if he had been created for the sole purpose of defying all the limits of natural beauty, he stood there, majestic and grand in his appearance. He was spread across my whole view, draped in marvellous colours my eyes had ever beheld. The air was starting to get warm, and the birds were beginning to sing. I would have sung too if I could because what stood before me was the most magnificent sight that graced everything he touched, the crown jewel of creation — a Rainbow. The world gathered to witness his glory and to take a look at him. He made the birds sing and frolic around in the air. The trees danced to the sound of the birds. It was like he cast a spell on everything and, for a moment, make them all dance and celebrate their existence.
How could he do that? When I looked at him, I felt like the world around me was melting into gleaming rays of early morning sunshine that grazed my face after the gross darkness of night. I had been in a constant state of motion all my life, and never for once did I want to stay where I was until now. Now all I thought of was to look in his eyes and remain in that perfect moment for all of eternity. I was afraid to let go of his sight and move on in my journey. I just wanted to look at him forever and watch the whole world around us celebrate our union. I believed that I had fulfilled my true purpose in life by meeting him. He was the silver lining that I had waited for all along. I wanted to meet his eyes at once and open my heart out. My eyes glided their way up to his perfectly coloured strips. At that very instant, the sunlight above me got brighter. For a moment, I stood there, blinded. I was just ecstatic that I would get to see him in his full glory. And then the light wore off. He was nowhere to be seen.
The cheerful noises around me were still in the air, much like the warmth he left behind. The world went about on its journey, and so did everything in it. How did I ever think anything different of me? After all, I was just a cloud, with no natural shape or size, with no natural home or purpose, just roaming the world in vain. The only thing that I had ever stopped to look at had just disappeared, leaving no traces; like he was embarrassed, he had shown himself to me. And why wouldn’t he be? He was the pinnacle of beauty, and the world rejoiced at his presence while I was just another cloud in a vast sky that no one could even recognize. I could no longer take it. I had seen it all and lived through it all, even despite the humans treacherously violating me over and over. I was granted hope from this dreadful monotony that I was born into, only for it to be snatched away from me like a joke. I was pushed to my limits. The burden that I was carrying was too much for me to bear.
I looked up to the sky and closed my eyes. I couldn’t move anymore. The world around me felt colder. Everything fell silent all of a sudden. In a sudden jolt, I broke down. I broke down into the vast number of drops that had been holding me up all this while. The world around me was fading. The noise I made was deafening and my downpour loud. I watched the world around me as I was fading away. It was scared of me. The trees were hanging on to dear life, and the animals were crying in fear. They watched as the aftermath of my breakdown took apart their homes in some vengeance. It had turned into a devastating nightmare. For all the colours that had disappeared from my sight, I had stolen enough from their lives.
As the last bit of my existence fell around me, I saw sunshine beaming through the top. It went out and lit the whole valley that I had just wrecked. From the corner of my fading vision, I caught a sight. As the last drops holding me together dripped down from my broken inside, I saw him again. From between the mountains, he arose, proudly presenting himself to the world around him. The light that he gave off painted everything around, in all the colours he was adorned with. As my eyes started seeing black, my eyes slowly made my way to his face. He was already looking at me.
I remember the first time our eyes met. It was also the last time.
Ashish Babu
IEEE-PCS Chapter, VIT Vellore
