A story

There was a boy I knew who was walking on grass towards a nearby hill. He had worn proper shoes so he could walk easily; there came a stream and so he mustered all the courage to jump across. When he turned around he saw that it was an approximately 10 foot wide river with a bridge across it. He shrugged it off and entered a cave. Now, let me just say that this boy was quite timid. He always worried about the future but on this particular day he seemed rather keen on emptying his desires. He carried a torch along because he knew that it was to be a long day and quite unknown. He could feel the mud crawling up his shoes and what would have normally seemed as disgusting, now seemed exhilarating. He turned around to see a dim light. Ahead was all dark. But his torch was pretty radiant and he could manage the turns and the uneven path. This was not a lone cave I must say. This was a tried path. To his right, now, he saw bones. Bare bones with spiders feasting on them. He saw a pond up ahead. Black as the surrounding and calm like the outside.

With all his clothes on he entered right in and sat at the other end with a girl. She looked quite ordinary but she said that she resided there alone. She was in fact really happy that the boy had come along. She finally had some company you see. The boy realised that in over 25 years of his existence he always craved for the physical and the erotic and right then, he realised that all he ever wanted was a beautiful mind. They kissed each other and held each others hands as they spoke of their past lives. The rollercoaster rides and the support systems. How their beliefs had changed over the years and who they were right then. They wished to be like that forever. Not in the context of romance but with respect to individuality. They had their distinct ideologies that gave them a confidence to shun the world and still be a part of it. The blasphemous society that ridiculed the extraordinary, that worshiped the superficiality and the craved for the unreachable. All that would one day wash away.

They saw in the pond a reflection of what had been and the enormity of all that lay ahead. Music, food, intelligentia, sloth, the arts and the pursuit of the naked. This is what was common. They could feel each other sighing and weeping. The thing they realised was that, alone - it just seemed futile and dreary. For all that showered might in them, they had but a single flaw. They were human.
The boy spoke now, "Let me take you with me; I know you want to stay here and you have lost all hope of what lies ahead. But let me be selfish and tell you that all I need right now is you. I wonder if I should call it love. . . But clearly, it does not matter you know. All that I know is that I am comfortable with you." She smiled and they dived into the pond. Out they came - wet, partially dressed, disillusioned and smiling. They sat at the edge of the cave. They looked at the outside and the light where the rest of civilization resided and they looked at the inside where all was pure and dark. They laughed quite heartily and held each other. She rested on his shoulder and he smelled her wet skin. Droplets of water fell on the girl's forehead and she laughed some more.

The guy justified himself. He said, " It is not the romantic and utopia, it is just that I can feel the blood flowing through me again. I am not trying to sound poetic sweety, just that I have not been able to feel my life for a long time now." The sun was setting and they decided to sleep there. Alone and cold with only each other for company. But you know how it is right? Two people get bored after a while whereas a person alone will never get bored of himself. This was so unusual - thing is they did not speak much. They slept soon and woke up with the rays of the sun.

They went back to society that day and met the next day. They climbed a hill, to build a cottage. Well furnished with basic facilities. Something to keep one cool and something to keep one warm. A stock of food. A large bed. A patch of grass. No television, no computer, no telephone, no mobile charger.

They decided that every weekend they would try to get out and come to this place on the hill that hopefully no other soul discover. Some weekends will be outings with dear friends and most weekends will be random things that need not have consequence.
The girl wanted to build a schooling system, a university, a hospital chain and restaurants. The boy wanted to create a company where the mighty survived and the intelligent thrived. The reason they finally pursued their dreams seems fairly obvious. They had finally found a support system.

One night the girl called up her partner, "Listen, I will be late tonight - so please don't stay up." The guy said, "Sure, just let me know if you need me to pick you up." And that was the end of the conversation.
The girl came home later, tired - to find a full plate of food on the table and her partner on the sofa watching a movie. It was 2 at night. They laughed and ate together.

Some years later, they went walking through the grass to the same cave. Something had changed. It seemed darker now. May be they had grown accustomed to the light. They entered the cave, removed their clothes, held hands and walked across to the pond. They swam across and sat on the ledge again. Legs dangling and smiles wide. They looked at the dark water and rested on the cold rock. They slept.

The boy turned old, a balding head and wrinkling eyes. The girl is old too, not as slender as she used to be and has trouble hearing. They go to the cottage more often now. They still talk with interest. The guy is a millionaire who spent much of his money traveling and donated a chunk of it to his partner. The girl is known through the lands for what she has done. She is happy with what she has managed to create.

They spoke of the day when the guy rescued the girl and the girl rescued the guy. They laughed. They decided to get married when they spoke about this. Not many people knew about the event. It was held at the cottage.

Some years thence, they were sitting on the swing at the garden and the guy took his last breath. The girl wept, and arranged for a celebration after the funeral for all the years that the guy had celebrated. It was a beautiful idea. The girl killed herself the next day because there was nothing life to hold on to.

The cottage still remains.
The pond still holds their faces.
The ledge is marked territory.
Nobody enters the cave now.
For people still remember the relationship of a boy and a girl.