The First Kiss

                                              

                                   Kiss Me Till I Melt

Sisi was just like one of those princess from my Russian Story book where Ivan jumps high with his magic horse, reaches the window of the tall castle and plants a kiss on Princess Irina’s lips.

The colorful pictures of all the lovely princesses in their pink dresses took me on a wild flight to a fantasy world of syrupy romances. I was in love with those little princesses, especially the ones with black hair. The golden heads reminded me of my old Granny with her thick and completely white lock of hair.

But black or golden hair, they all looked very beautiful with the funny round patches of reds on their cheeks. They were just like Sisi's!

We had a very large lawn by the side of our house. It was always covered with the softest grass, and shaded with rows of Lychee trees all around it. This was meeting ground for us kids and we played kabbadi whenever Pinchu couldn't borrow the worn out football from his brother.

Sisi was always in the opposite team, though not by her choice.  It was my design that we two were always on different sides. Whenever she would play her turn, I would grab and pin her down just as she would be near the crossing line. She desperately tried to get herself free but soon would run out of breath.  Her cheeks would turn red and she will give up. Walking out of the kabbadi court she will look at me questioningly with eyes about to break into tears . The 'Why do you do that to me' look often though disturbed me, but the pleasure of seeing those red round patches on her cheeks was always greater.
She was my Irina, my Myra, and my Nastasya.

Sisi was staying with us for some days as her parents were away on a month long deputation. Having Sisi around in the house was like getting a gift from heaven. Well it was not exactly a gift from heaven but one from her father. It was a large box of chocolates and taffies in various shapes wrapped in shiny colored foils, which she shared with me. She would let me have as many of them as I wanted but for those round chocolates with shiny stars on the wrappers.

Those were her favorite and she would not let anyone have more than just one piece ever.

Sisi kept this box in the fridge.

I am not sure if in those days we really needed a refrigerator, but we had one. We were instructed not to drink cold water directly from  the fridge, I often did so. It was not because I was adapted to cold water but the fridge in the house then was a novelty. And of course it had the box of chocolates inside which made me reach the fridge in close frequencies. With every drink of water, one of Sisi’s favorite chocolate would surreptitiously make its way to my mouth.

Sisi and I were very close  friends and we felt very tenderly toward one another.

Today, more than forty years later, sitting down to write about her I wonder what was between us.

I never understood why I felt that way for her.

What was in her soft moist palm that made my mind go dreamy every time she touched me? 

What was in the strange softness of her body that I never wanted loosen my grip around her and go free in those kabbadi games? 

Why the smell of her silky straight hair brushing against my face made it so difficult for me to breathe and yet I wanted to smell her so much? 

But that was not our age to be troubled with these questions. It was a time to just grow up caring for nothing else! Maybe that is why I so sadistically enjoyed seeing a puzzled look on Sisi’s face as she stood by the fridge, counting and wondering how and where her chocolates were disappearing.

Finally she decided to hide the box in her room.

It was a warm afternoon next day when I sneaked into Sisi’s room. She was  on the bed sleeping with a half opened  book hanging from her hand. The chocolate box was peeping out from the back of the books on her table. Slowly I opened the box. The chocolates were loose and sticky with the afternoon heat.
Putting one in my mouth I looked at Sisi.

Her hair spreading over the pillow looked like a sheet of soft chiffon simmering like stars against a dark sky. Sisi's face was in a translucent pinkish glow with a ray of sunlight through the window falling on her cheek. 

I had never seen her so beautiful before.

Kneeling down by the bed side I gently touched her. Sisi opened opened her eyes, smiled and asked me

"What are you looking at"?

"At a princess from my story books". I replied.

Sisi stopped smiling and froze for a moment. Suddenly putting her arm around my head she pulled my face towards her and put her lips on mine. An electric sensation ran all over my body. I too pulled and pressed her against me putting my hand around her. Her lips went all over mine, licking, nibbling and gently biting with frantic hunger. My breathing became heavier and everything around us dissolved into an infinite nothingness. The silence of the room broke into a symphony of the sweetest score I had never heard before. Notes of the unknown music kept rising to a crescendo.

Then suddenly, without any warning the clash of cymbals shattered everything.

“You idiot, you had been eating my chocolates"!

I stood up.

"Thief"!

Sisi shouted  throwing the book at me.

Trying to dodge I sneered and said-

“Next time I will eat onions and garlics before you kiss me again"!

Sisi was going all red with her face. Maybe she was again looking just like Irina and Myra from my book. But I had no time to look. Sisi was picking up the wooden flower vase this time.

I had to run!