FADED PETALS (On Hold)

7.

5th January 2016.
Delhi, India.

Sidharth's Flat

"Why did you talk to her, it's wrong?"

"I don't know. It hurts being so distant. I couldn't take it", Sidharth speaks ruffling his hair as his one foot silently taps the floor beneath.

"But you were the one who pushed her away", Adith states in a matter of fact tone, his behaviour was taking a toll on him.

"She is the one, stop blaming me every time", Sidharth stands up from the chair.

They were in his flat, and Sidharth was waiting for his tea to boil.

"It would be better if you realise your mistake and stay away from her, she has already been broken once. We don't test already splintered people", Adith also stands up, his head rummaging for any possibility of them coming across each other again.

"And what about me? Am I living the life of my dreams? Is this what I wanted, to be led here?", sid dashes out of the room, his hand involuntary slamming the door on his way.

He moves to his balcony to see the scathed tree sprawled in the park outside. It got struck by lightning last week, alarming the whole area. The tree had been old, more than ten years and Siddarth has been around it for a long time, just gazing at it from a distance. But that day when the wind was ransacking the land and the lightning was shooting its way, he felt sad. What if life would somehow end for him in a similar way it ended for the tree? Would there be men dressed at his funeral, would they care? Maybe Adith. But above all he realised that if he would die, he won't miss anyone except for the regrets that are hurling his back. He moved towards his cellphone feeling disgusted with himself only to find it jammed of network.

Flashback

"Why weren't you picking up the damn call, Agastya?",her voice bespoke irritation and he chuckled not knowing how to calm her.

"It's ramadan time, you shouldn't curse jhilmil."

"Ohk, I am sorry. But I have been waiting for so long."

"I went to visit mom."

There was silence on the other side for a second before she replied, "What did she say?"

"She said that I am growing into a good person, and that dad talks to her about me, how I am striving hard....", his voice fades away.

Jhilmil quietens, they both knew it was a lie.

"Did you tell her how much you love her?"

"Yes, I did", His voice has this finality which made jhimil smile. "And that's what matters. Showing people you love and care", he added.

"I love you too", jhilmil spoke after a long breath.

****

Sidharth sighed looking at the sky.

Six long years and he's still haunted by those days, every night when the stars come out or every morning when the moon goes in he wonders what if things would have been different? What if he was not born like this and what if he didn't meet jhilmil like that.

He gazed at the sky which looked partly purple and partly orange today. Strange days but coherently the most beautiful ones. That day was also the same, the sky bright though there were clouds and the wind still though there were kites.

Flashback

"Uncle, pass me that cadbury. The big one and that small candy too", a young girl of about 13 stood there, counting the bunch of coins she held in her palms.

"Hey you dropped this" Sidharth comes behind her, showing the coin which had slipped her hands. She takes the coin, thanking him. Her hair was scattered all over her face and it was long, the kind you see in shampoo advertisements. Luscious, running all the way to her waist.

"You new here? I have never seen you around", Sidharth spoke while noticing the peach shade dress she was wearing, which ended just above her ankles. He was in his school uniform and the shop where they stood was also infront of his school, Dorothy Boys school. It was in a lone area, a bit away from the main market and seeing someone not from school here happened once in a while.

"Yes, I am. Who are you? Do you live here?", she had never bumped across a stranger like this and today when it happened without any warning, her anxiety kicked in.

"I have heard your voice somewhere. Have we met before?", Sidharth spoke adjusting his hair.

"No, thank you. How much do I have to pay?" She moved a further inside the shop.

"80 rupees beta", the shopkeeper a broad toothed man smiled at her.

"It's 80 you can count.", she kept a pile of coins infront of him, one rupee, two rupee all were mixed together creating a look alike of a mountain. The shopkeeper who was shining his teeth at her purses his lips.

"I won't take so many coins. Who will count it?", he speaks bitterly and sidharth moves forward knowing how harsh he can become when someone gives him coins. He had this huge obsession with notes that didn't allow him to even accept a single ruppee change from the customer. And this was a huge sum to irk him.

"Bhaiya I have notes, give all the change to me. I will use it in my school canteen.", Sidharth spoke searching for the notes in his bag.

"You go to this school?", she turns around to face him properly.

"I guess my uniform says so", Sidharth hands in his notes, hurling all the coins in his pockets.

"How did you carry them? They are so heavy", he laughs looking at his pockets which look overweighed.

She keeps all her chocolates in her sling bag, thanking him again.

"Do you go to the girls school on the next lane?", Sidharth asks wondering whether they would cross paths again. She was pretty and he wanted to date someone, especially when all the boys in his group were seeing someone. He felt outcasted.

"No", she looks down at her feet. "I should get going."

"Don't I deserve to know the name of the person whom I helped?", Sidharth looks at her retreating figure. He wanted to talk to her more.

She looked at him, thinking for a while before her lips moved to create a two syllable word. "Jhilmil"

"Jhimil", he said astounded as she rushed to the car parked a few steps away.
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Sidharth turned around feeling a rough palm on his shoulders, slightly squeezing it.

"Bhai, I am sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you that way", Adith flashed his favourite tea infront of Sidharth before pulling him in a for a tight hug.

काश कभी तुम समझोगी
कि क्यूँ हम क़रीब नहीं
काश कभी तुम जानोगी
कि अब तक है तेरी कमी
~Kahaani (when chai met toast)

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

19/05/2021

Tada!
So here comes a brand new chapter.
It had been so long and it felt so good to continue this story again. It was supposed to come earlier but I was binge reading a book and I was so captivated that I forgot to publish my own.😑

Hope you guys like it.
Stay safe.
Stay healthy.

Tc.
Ahsmir 🌸