Unalome

Part 2

Life has a strange way of pulling strings that surpassed human intellect.

What should she call this? Fate? Destiny? Curse? Or just an accident like everyone else was. 

Strangers. That's what she was to him. A stranger that wrecked his perfect life.

Nila was steeped in guilt that was gradually suffocating her. She was experiencing an excruciatingly painful death by making her aware of every possible happiness she had snatched away, albeit by no fault of hers. 

Every breath she inhaled, reminded her of the beautiful woman who was dead. The heaviness in her heart was so unbearable that she wanted to drown into the blackness and never come back. It was slowly filling her with emptiness and void.

As if three weeks of suffering from this numbing pain wasn't torment enough, his evocative bloodshot eyes questioned her very existence, haunting every last bit of her soul she had left.

"Naanum sethutena nu paaka vandhiya?", his barked that instantly made her tremble in fear.

"Sir.. Please..", she whimpered unable to make words.

"Idhu en Priya vaazhnda veedu. Inga un moochu kaathu kooda pada koodadu. Engalku edachu seiyanum nu nenacha... idhuku mela enna paaka try pannadha.", he fumed and slammed the door on her face without waiting for a response.

The door was about to shut when she stopped it.

"En uyira kaapathnadhu... unga Priya senja kadasi vishyam. Maybe she did not intend to. Aana adhu dan reality.", she trembled reliving those exact moments before everything changed.

"Indha vaazhkaiya naa enakaga vaazhardha vida... avangalkaaga dan vaazhanum nu aasa padren.", she confessed making him speechless.

She sniffed back her tears that were welled up, waiting to roll down at any instant.

"Ungala en paaka vanden nu neenga yosiklam. Naane solidren. Unga kanla irukra andha kovamum veruppum enaku nalla theriyudhu. Adhuku pinnadi irukra izhappum vedanayum enaku puriyudhu. Sari thappu nu solra edathla na illa. Aana ungalku idhu nalladhu illa. Priya ippo illa dan... aana ipdi neenga kashta padradha avanga enikume virumba maatanga. Please unga vaazhkaya neenga ...", she implored and tried to reason until he let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Ungalku onu theriyuma? No one truly dies until the last person who has memories with them dies. Until no one remembers they ever existed. En priya naa uyiroda irukra varaikum... en masula vaazhndutu irupa. Ava inga dan iruka... Indha veetla avalum naanum vaazhnda vaazhaiyoda ninaivugal iruku. Enakulla ava iruka.", he assured with his eyes filled with love for the love of his life.

"Neenga sonna veruppu kovam ellame iruku. Aana unga mela illa. En mela. Na avaluku apo phone panama irundurnda... ava ippo inga irundhurpa. Saagavum mudiyaama... vaazhavum mudiyaama... naragam.", he agonized.

"And every time I see you... I relive that day and end up killing my wife all over again. It's not about you. It's about me. I try to blame you and shut you off because I cannot face you. The guilt is killing me", he divulged the real reason for his sadistic behavior and a lone tear rolled down his cheeks.

"Why did he want to give her a reason?", his mind screamed at him and he had no answers. 

Those elegiac eyes of hers were making him nervous and he could not see her suffering in front of his eyes. He felt an overwhelming need to make her feel better and he did. 

Nila stood frozen, trying to process the sudden revelation.

If she felt so guilty for unintentionally being a part of that accident, she could only imagine the kind of pain and heartache he was going through.