Parting.

He was saying something seriously. She couldn't understand anything.

‘What?! Are you...?’, pulling at a lone strand of hair that hit her face. In the wind she was having a hard time keeping her from covering her face, as they sat on the beach. “Yes, I have to go. But I will come back", he said looking at her. She looked at him and asked, ‘But...’ but stopped midway.

‘Mole...’, he said, looking at her followed it with a long pause. Neither could he complete it. He kept on staring at her instead. She couldn’t hold his gaze for long. She looked away. And after a while he looked away too.

For a very long time they sat silent, listening to wind, watching the waves.

‘Come, let’s go the other side’, he broke the silence. They got up and walked along the shore. The waves touched their feet.

‘Mole, look... a crab...’ He bent down and picked it up and put it on her palm. As the little creature crawled on her she felt ticklish. She smiled. ‘Don’t look at me like that’, she said, smiling a little more.