Together Forever

Chapter 53: In Shadows of Sunlight

Her mother almost swam in the ocean of tears she had shed and sometimes climbed ashore quite a while to look at her wretched son laid in supports of medical machines. Her father beared the weights of sorrows in feet to keep his stand firm in daylight and puts stay in nights as grief and misery came in waves to conquer him.

Last morning, Swara woke up in a jolt of another nightmare with heaved breathes and shaken figure, with sparks of ache that ran through her veins in her head as soon she had woken with wide, alert eyes. A part of white walls shone in gold from the window and other space, untouched by the sun remained in shadows of cold- It was already morning.

Her eyes travelled through the IV drip and back to the window with traces of recollected fragments of last night rushed through her. Shafali entered to embrace her and with caution broke the news of Aditya had aroused after a long sleep. But the latter information broke Swara into pieces-  Aditya suffered with a temperory loss of vocals.

Somehow she couldn't comprehend herself to even glance at her brother suffer in such terrible circumstances. Swara pulled off the drip in haste and rushed away outside the corridors, dropped to the floor sobbing into her palms. And that's when she decided to go back to school, somewhere away from all the pain and the chaos.

Swara swallowed forcefully at those happenings as she sat on her knees, absent-mindedly stroked the little Mia's hair who stood confused blinking her big doe eyes, "What happened Shona?" She wondered aloud. Swara's hazels stung by tears as she stared the tender face who eventually wrapped her arms around.

She spoke none, blinked away all the moisture and gently parted the hug, "Don't go anywhere after class. I'll come to pick you up." Swara commanded, dropping a soft kiss on her Mia's hair and tickled her. Mia giggled loud as ever that broke the silence that lingered through the corridors.

The laughters were all Swara could comprehend herself to break slashes on her numb mind. Mia stumbled by all the giggles and Swara held protectively against her until her breath fell normal. Out of all the miserable ocean the entire household drowned with, Mia was that small vessel who made them breathe a little.

"Shona! You will eat your lunch. Take care of you and drink water." Mia instructed , trying to intimate like her strict math teacher when she used to instruct- a hand on her hip and another pointed to her sister. Rather, a chuckle slipped away Swara's lips of how adorable Mia looked.

"Okay madam." She agreed nevertheless, "Now tell me who asked you to tell all these to me" Swara taped Mia's nose with a finger by taking the little pointed finger of hers in hers to pull her close. Swara could tell, the words were asked to be delivered to her either by Shafali, Reema maasi or mother.

"Your papa." No wonder she hardly saw a glimpse of him in the morning talking with Mia and left before she came back after getting ready. Swara hummed in response at that recollection of the memory from the morning. But sure, it left her back in surprise.

"Okay I'm going. Bye!" Mia waved her hands to Swara and run through the empty corridors to reach her classroom. While Swara watched her little one fade through the corridors, taking away the smiles she blessed along with her and left her all cold.

Swara straightened herself, her fingers reached to push those classic black rimmed reading spectacles to the position. The spectacles was hardly an attempt to shield her tired hazels and profound circles being in vision of others. But somewhere her mind kept reminding a teasing voice of "Chasmish."

Nevertheless, she paved her ways towards the library as decided. Maybe, atleast books would help her to forget the worldly matters and let her drown into fictional universe in relief. Once she had reached near to the threshold, Swara paused to take a sigh before heading into the library with a smile of no gleam.