TRANSCENDING LOVE

Bob first saw Nicole in Gold Coast, Queensland. She was there shooting for the new Foster’s beer commercial. It was her first time in Australia and she was lost in its vastness and splendor. Sea World is a fun place to be even if you are working. Big Bob was quite famous at the waterfront there and he earned his living by entertaining passers-by with his antics, fun tricks and occasionally his songs. Songs were not really his forte and neither he nor his fans understood what he sang but they loved him nevertheless.

But for the first time, his song not only made no sense, it was out of rhythm too. It was because his heart was beating in frantic resonance at every glimpse of Nicole who just wasn’t taking her eyes off of the evening sun that seemed to be busy in a round table conference at horizon with the sky and the ocean. Bob sulked at the sudden appearance of an adversary and ended his performance abruptly much to the chagrin of his devout audience. Some understanding folks wished him luck while others cracked a silly joke at this odd love story that was unfolding.

She was a star who would soon be seen on television all over the world. He was just an amateur artist who probably wouldn’t even make it to the local newspaper. But all that didn’t matter one little bit. To Bob, it was love at first sight. For the next 10 days, he watched her with pining eyes and with every passing day fell more and more in love with her. His performances grew more erratic and less frequent. Even his most ardent visitors were getting frustrated and he would appease them once in a while with an inspired but rapid fire  performance. He then went back to watching her.

She noticed him too. She watched him charm his audience. She watched him watch her. Somewhere in between, even though just for a split second, their eyes did meet. But then day 11 came and it was time for Nicole to leave! Her cruise was ready but she wasn’t. Bob had grown so used to her eyes that he decided that he would follow her to any corner of the world, not to win her heart, not to propose his love for her, not to live happily ever after with her, but to just keep looking at those mesmerizing eyes forever. And God granted his wish: literally!

Life provides many excruciating moments but there cannot be a moment more death-like than to helplessly watch your love die in front of your eyes.  Nicole’s agony was more painful than Bob’s death. That was the moment when their eyes met again! But this time forever! It was the memory Bob died with and Nicole had to live for!

On one mid-summer morning, Tursiops Truncatus also known as Bottlenose dolphin and fondly known as Bottlenose Bob fell in love with Pygoscelis Adeliae also known as brush-tailed penguin and never after known as Nicole, in a glistening water front in Australia in the presence of the sun, sea and sky. And 24 days later and 4357 miles away, in a deserted coast of Antarctica, Bob’s love for Nicole was immortalized as Bob transcended into a new world. Bob swam ferociously all the way to Antarctica following the expedition cruise that took Nicole back home. The journey didn’t kill him but the cold did! And death fulfilled his last wish. He died looking into those mesmerizing eyes of Nicole!  

                                                                                                                     - A SHORT STORY BY RAJ