Not Her

38. Best-friends ...

"They are beautiful," Khusi commented, taking a seat beside Abhay on the bed, her fingers clasped around the picture frame.

Taking a deep breath, Abhay stirred his head, his eyes halting on the picture. "Yes, they were," he sniffed, clearing his throat.

"Who were they?"

"That was my mother and this one was my mom." Khusi's neck snapped towards Abhay, making Abahy chortle wryly.

"Didn't I say once, my family is complicated."

Khusi's lips parted but she couldn't say anything. She wanted to ask about them but didn't want to be too pushy too. Reminiscing Kaushik and Palak had been heart breaking for Abhay. She didn't want to push him too much.

But Abhay was done concealing things from Khusi. He wanted the burden of his family's past off his shoulders.

"I had a pretty normal childhood while growing up, till the age of 5. My parents were the happiest couple, at least in front of me. My father always made sure to reserve some time for me, even though he used to be a Lieutenant Colonel at that time. His duties for his nation kept him away most of the time. My mom, Kiran Mathur, was the most loveliest woman I have known. Everything was going well until that day."

Abhay took a deep breath, as if preparing himself for an upcoming battle. Khusi clasped his hand and intertwined their fingers, kissing his knuckles softly.

"I am here, take your time. There's no rush."

Khusi words felt like a soothing touch to his aching heart.

"One evening, I was in my room, where I heard my father yelling. I had never seen shouting at anyone ever so I was curious. Decided to step out of my room and go to theirs to investigate it. When I peeked inside, mom was on her knees, begging papa for something. I didn't know what it was, the only word I remember was 'a baby'. And Dad's only words were, 'I can't lose you too.' After that day, their relationship changed. Dad started staying away from the home more often, as if he wanted to avoid mom on purpose. Mom would spend most of her days either with me or outside, in the lawn. I was oblivious to the reason behind the sudden change in their behavior, until one day I saw Mom hugging her bodyguard, Arun chacha."

Khusi's eyes widened slightly, but she neutralized her expressions quickly, not seeming to appear judgemental. Maybe they were good friends.

Abhay continued, "For a boy of my age, a hug wasn't much of a deal. I thought they were friends because Arun chacha was Mom's shadow, no matter where she was. I saw Mom becoming happier again in his presence. She would smile more often and would spend more time with me, and I was more than happy about it. I even thanked Arun chacha for bringing back my old Mom. But the scenario wasn't that simple. He was supposedly Dad's bodyguard, and his primary duty was to protect him. And that's how he died, protecting him."

Every piece of information was slowly getting overwhelming for Khusi. Abhay had seen so many of his dear ones die since such a tender age, she wondered how did he hold himself that strong.

"But his last words haunted my father till the day he was alive," Abhay murmured, pushing himself by his feet. Sauntering towards a dresser, he opened a drawer and took out a picture frame, and handed it over to Khusi.

"That's my parents and that's Arun chacha, behind them."

Khusi's eyes wandered over the buffy physique of Arun Chetri, standing tall behind the couple in khaki uniform, his eyes shielded from the lense by a pair of black shades. But something else caught her immediate attention. Her stomach hollowed as her gaze ran down a birthmark on his forehead, a shapeless brown patch, starting from Arun's hairline till his ears.