Unalome

Part 1

Unalome: It is a symbol for the journey to enlightenment. It kind of represents that the path isn't always straight, perfect or even the right direction. Our paths are often filled with missteps, lessons to learn and suffering before we get to our destination.

A beautiful soul on Twitter had posted this with a picture and I found it very apt for this story. Hence the name.

Now let's get into the story.

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"Sorry sir avangala kaapatha mudiala.", the nurse informed Surya who was too numb and wrecked by that point to even react to that shattering statement.

People always said that life was unfair but how unfair is something that no one ever talked about.

In a matter of few hours, his beautiful, happy and perfect life had crumbled into a meaningless black hole.

How do people ever accept reality when it was as brutal as it was to him at this very moment? How was he supposed to live after the girl who meant everything to him was dead?

It had always been their life, their dreams, their happiness, their sadness, their success and their failures. There was not anything in his life that did not include her. Not until this day.

So, why wasn't it their death and just hers?

What did he do to deserve this pain that would suffocate him just enough for him to keep fighting for his breath?

"Avangala vandhu paarunga sir...", the nurse tried to bring his lost soul back but there wasn't anything left in him to live this pain.

*Flashback in Italics*

It was love at first sight. He was in tenth grade when she had joined his school as an eighth grader.

"8 C Class ku epdi na ponum", the new girl asked, and he was happy to walk with her to the classroom she had mentioned.

"Anna nu lam koopdadha. I am Surya.", he introduced himself.

"Priya", she extended her hands which he was happy to take in his and that was their first touch.

A random meet had become the start of their forever. She was his serendipity and he was hers.

After 10 years of being in love, they got hitched an year ago in an intimate family ceremony and their first anniversary was just a day away.

He was at an important client meeting when she had called and immediately after he had called her back.

"Priya ma... Car la pogum bodhu call edukaadha nu evlo dhadava solradhu?" , he was deeply disturbed just like every other time she took calls when she was driving.

"Oru nimisham pesardhula enna aaga pogudhu?", she argued.

"Please ma...", and before he finished the thought he heard a loud sound and the call dropped.

*Flashback ends*

And now she was no more.

Maybe if he hadn't called her back, would she be alive?  Was he the reason she was dead?

He couldn't stop his spiralling thoughts from taking over his sanity. Replaying that split second decision a million times over, he was drowning in his own guilt.

"Enna en di Ipdi vitutu poita... nee illama na irundhu  inga enna panradhu?", he grieved and lamented to himself with no one to comfort or console.