𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲

𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗋𝗍𝗒-𝖿𝗂𝗏𝖾

The days had now turned gloomy, pouring with nonstop rain, crying for losing an amazing soul. The world was all cold and frozen. The people in it were mourning for the loss of an amazing person.

The loss of Vanraj had taken a huge toll on everyone. A week had passed and the funeral had also been done. They all were still grieving over their loss, not ready to move on in life.

For Vikrant and Sunita, they both had seemed to quiet down. They both did what was needed for them to survive but they had lost all the liveliness in them. They were still struggling to continue on with their life and move on from the loss.

Armaan on the other hand, the death of Vanraj had taken the biggest u-turn for him. Not a u-turn but a stop. His life was stuck. He wasn't grieving or anything. Instead, the little bits of communication he had with everyone before was now also lost. He decided to cage himself in a tiny box and become that quiet but angry Armaan.

Armaan hadn't showed this to anyone but everyone could see it. His parents, who he had cut out of his life before, tried to talk to him but only got his angry responses back. Rishab and Sameer, they were also still in the grieving stage, but they made sure to help their friend. They'd try to talk to him or eat lunch with him but he'd just make up an excuse to have them leave him alone.

And his wife. Nandini, she was still traumatized by the incident as Vanraj was like a mentor in her life and had given her even more love then she had ever gotten from any of her grandparents. But Nandini tried her best to keep up her strength and tried to bring everyone back to their own lives, even if she was still mourning over the death. She had even tried to take Armaan out of his bubble but when he had yelled at her to leave him alone, she hadn't tried again, knowing Armaan still needed some time.

This was a very rough stage in all of their lives. It had completely changed them, but Nandini, she was ready to help this family, which was now her's, come out of their grief and return to their normal selves. Vanraj will never be forgotten and will always stay close to their hearts, but Nandini had to bring them out of this stage to continue with life.

• • • • •

Nandini jumped from her spot as the thunder roared loudly. She was already stressed about Armaan and on top of that, it was raining outside severely with thunderstorms. It was past two in the middle of the night and Armaan still hadn't arrived. It was also raining very badly to even drive, which scared Nandini even more. All she could do was pray for the worst to not happen.

Nandini tried calling Armaan's number again but only received a voicemail from the robotic lady. She had also called Rishab and Sameer but they had said they hadn't seen him since this afternoon. Nandini was turning anxious and anxious by the passing seconds and was on the verge to go inform Vikrant and Sunita.

Seeing the clock tick past three, Nandini got up, determined to tell them. Just as she got up, the door open and walked in a very disheveled Armaan. His hair was all messed up, the top two buttons of his shirt were opened, and he looked no wear close to a tired looking Armaan. He was someone else. With each step he took, he stumbled further and further. Nandini knew something was up and once he almost tripped she was sure.

Nandini got up and as Armaan was about to tip over, Nandini immediately held his arms. "Armaan." Nandini looked up at him and met with his bloodshot eyes. His hair was falling on his forehead, with the amount of times he had ran his hand through it.

"Armaan where wer-" Nandini's voice died down in her throat when Armaan tightly pulled Nandini into his embrace. He dug his head into the crook of Nandini's neck while his arms wrapped around her tiny frame. Nandini stood frozen like a stature, with goosebumps all over her body after feeling Armaan's breathing on her neck.