Angel & Al

the shopping bag.

  "It's not a he. She. She's Beauty.", you say snatch Beauty too from me.

  "She'll stay with you too?", I said smiling hugely.

  "Yes.", you say snuggling them both closer.

  "And me?", I asked opening my arms to invite you for a hug.

  You drop both Flake and Beauty to embrace me. "You are my teddy bear." You said and I started making faces.

  "What are you doing teddy bear?", you ask confused.

  "I am teasing Flake and Beauty.", I said and you burst out laughing.

  You Made Me Shy

  “And bury me deep inside, your heart.”, he said and pointed his finger at me and I hide my face behind my hands.

  It’s unbelievable the transformation in Al when I am around. He morphs from this shy, quiet and mischievous guy to a piece of Potassium kept outside of the brown bottle. Over active.

  When I tell someone who knew Al before me about his this side, they don’t believe me at all.

  “All I ever want-ae-ee-aad was you, my love.”, he closed his eyes and sang higher notes. Which were not at all melodic. Walking around the shopping complex, he saw the podium which gave prizes and he was the first to participate. And I would give him this much credit, he pulled in a crowd!

  Even scarier for me. Confessing his love through an H.I.M. song in between public. He’s making me blush.

  “He is so in love with you.”, said an elderly woman standing beside me and patted my back, flushing me a deep red.

  “Angel! See I got fans! How did you like it, kiddo?”, he asked as he was crowd surfing his way to me.

  “You made me shy.”, I said and hid in his arms.

  My silly Al.

  Breakfast?

  I took you up in a piggyback and slowly took you to the dining room. The plates and cutlery were pre-arranged, not that I will use them, though and mom was coming soon.

  I took you past the room and knocked on the door of mom's room.

  "Breakfast is ready mom, come outside. Let's eat. Angel is hungry.", I said and took you back to the room and sat you on the table.

  And then came mom from her room. "At least sit on the chair Angel.", she says.

  "Mom please don't scold her. I sat her there. Can I please sit here there? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease? I will take care of your daughter I promise. Please?", I say not hearing anything against my will.

  "Okay okay. Why are you so stubborn?", she says and smiles.

  I took a bite-sized morsel and fed it to you. Still half in sleep you rubbed your eye as you ate.

  "You're looking beautiful Angel.", I say and you pass me a shy smile and mom again looks at me and smiles.

  "So what's for brea...... Again?", mom asked and looked at me.

  "Yes. My Angel asked for them this morning in breakfast.", I said as I fed you another morsel. Almost too sleepy to react to anything, you preferred to stay mum on the topic.

  "But we had this for dinner! And for lunch. And if I remember also for breakfast yesterday!", mom says as she serves herself a serving of the breakfast I made.

  "She loves them. And that's all I know.", I say and look into your eyes as my fingers get caught between your teeth as you bite me intentionally to tell me that you're awake.

  For a while, it seems that time has stopped. Your eyes are all that I see for a long time. "Good morning Angel.", I say as lightly as possible and you wish me morning as well.

  We both look at mom the same time and find her smiling.

  "Don't pamper her this much.", mom says. "I know her since she was born."

  "I will. I will I will I will. I wiiiiiiiiiiiillllll.", I say and you laugh as mom's Okay okay! Stubborn! faded in the background.

  Smile

  "You look so beautiful when you are sleeping Angel. Just the smile is missing. Hey, Angel! Smile. I want to see how beautiful you look with the smile and sleep.", I say but no physical reaction.

  "I know that you are awake.", I said and you still continued to breathe evenly. The expressions weren't changed either and there was no visible change at all.

  "How do you do this? Even though you are getting the stimulus to grin like the Cheshire cat, you are not even changing your expression. How?!?", I say and your face still faced me blankly. No visible change whatsoever.

  "I am not going to accept that you are sleeping. You are awake and I know it. You're waiting for me to prove it that you are awake.", I said. I am not Sherlock Holms but my "readings" are pretty accurate. They always make you smile. Or at least shock you as to how I knew it but no. Still no change in the expression. Still the monotonous look. Still not the smile.

  "I will start telling you jokes. What did 0 say to 8? Nice belt.", I said.

  And still no smile. I know that you are awake. You are not sleeping so early and I know that.

  "You have to smile.", I say and yet no response.

  "I will make you smile, Angel.", I said and with my thumb right cheek and my forefinger at the left of cheek, I pull your lips into a smile. "There's the smile. Soooooooooo beautiful."

  And you stood up laughing and embracing me. "You can do anything Al.", you say and cross your arms tighter across my body.

  "How you manage to not smile Angel?", I ask and you just smile it away.

  "It's a secret.", you say and start giggling softly.

  Al!

  "Al, I told you to not stand dripping wet in the air conditioner.", you say as your fingers run through my hair.

  "Yes Angel.", came my muffled voice.

  "And what happened then?", you asked clearly parting my hair and removing then from my forehead.

  "Ai go sic.", I say. My nose running away from me and my head heavy, you tap my head slightly in a mock slap.

  "What you did?", you asked and stroked my forehead.

  "Go in ayr condishno.", I said. "A. A. Aa. Achoo!"

  You pick up the handkerchief from the bed side table and as if I was three, you asked me to blow my nose. "I hope you now know the lesson.", you say embracing me.

  "I do. Buu...", I said and you looked at me.

  "But what Al?", you ask.

  "Bu a to nee iceeceam.", I say as the nose was blocked.

  "You are crazy, Al."

  "Aa no. Sins childhood", I said and you laughed and hugged me.

  Even cold is fun near you.

  Traveler

  Snap!

  "Al not again!", you say as you look up at me. Tired and having an apron on you as you moved around the house with a feather duster, you were obviously shocked with the snapping of the camera.

  I love Polaroids. I don't have to wait for the photograph to be printed and I get only one copy of the photograph. Perfect!

  You come and sit with a plop beside me. You put your head on my shoulder and look at the polaroid. "Can I ask you something, Al?", you say and smuggle closer in an embrace.

  "Sure.", I say and rest my head on your head.

  "You never look at these photographs again. We never show these to anyone. And I am alwaaaaaaaaaaaaaays with you. Then why take secret photographs of me Al?", you say and lift yourself a tad bit up to look into my eyes.

  "Angel time is like a river. It flows and flows and never ceases. Time is the ocean which has a raging infinite wave and we are pulled in it. I am just capturing time and you as you move along the flow of time. We will see these once we are gray and wrinkled. Then we'll admire our whole life altogether and," snap! "Take a photograph then also!"

  "Al now why you took a photograph of me?", you asked faux angry.

  "You were looking at me with wonder.", I say and snuggle closer to you.

  Rainbow

  "Al.", you said.

  "Hmm.", I replied. All of a sudden at 2 in the night you woke me up and when I realized this I got a little freaked out. Okay, a lot freaked out.

  "What happened? Are you okay? Are you having a stomach ache? I knew I shouldn't have given you that cabbage. I had doubt on it."

  "Al. Al. I am fine. Nothing has happened to me. It's ju
st a silly wish.", you say and look into my eyes.

  "Sure angel. Ask me for anything.", I said and was a bit worried.

  "I want to see a rainbow.", you said and hugged me. "I want to see one now. I want to see a rainbow, Al."

  I looked at you and you looked at me. I looked at the window and you looked at the window too. I looked at the clock and you looked at the clock too. I looked at you and you looked at me.

  "This will be superb fun.", I said and you looked a bit perplexed. "Take the torch out of the drawer and I will be right back."

  By the time you got the torch out, I had the sprayer in my hand.

  "Aim the torch at the wall, Angel. And you will see a rainbow."

  As you aimed the beam at the wall, I sprayed a fine mist of water in its path producing a rainbow.

  "Presto! Voila!", I say and you hug me from behind while continuing to see the rainbow.

  "I love you my genie.", you say as your eyes fix themselves on the rainbow.

  "I love you too my Angel."

  Who says miracles can't happen?

  Hush!

  "Hush hush!", I whispered into your ear and tried to stop my giggling too as I tried to stop yours too.

  It was like crossing a wild, raging river. We on one side and the new world the other bank and in between a river with screaming waters. The door to mom's room was open and we had to reach to the other side.

  "What now Al?", you asked with your eyes laughing. Sometimes your silence is more expressive.

  "We; jump.", I said and you almost broke into a laughter.

  "Hush!", I silence you again. "Let me show you how to do that and then you follow."

  I kissed your forehead and looked into your eyes. I leaped across the door, a blur of black, and landed on my toes with agility. Once on the other side, I raise my fists in the air as if I won an Olympic for the long jump.

  You almost started laughing again but I hushed you with my finger on my lip but a gigantic