Sharing Life

11. Walking through darkness

He sat on the sofa, still in the thoughts of Vedika and Shashi. Indulging in her made him happier and sadder at the same time.

In his void life she was the Mirage which he would chase, not to have her but just to have something to hold on to.

He had nothing to do. Emptiness is dreadful. He decided to see the old pictures again because that's how he'd pass tough times — reminiscing about the little happy time he spent. And with all these thoughts cluttered in his mind and sorrow in his heart, he got up and walked to the drawer.

He took a step or two when he stumbled on the table. He lost his balance and was about to fall when someone held him. He looked up to see who it was and he was surprised to find Priya there. She had held both of his hands. He was trying to get hold of himself. He clutched her hands tightly in an attempt to stand steadily. She too did not loosen the grip.

In fact she held him firmly. Even after he stood properly she offered to walk him towards his bed.

Her hands were curled around his. They were not very soft, somewhat rough. Particularly the right one. He couldn't help but notice her nails. Her nails were plain, unpainted. Unlike the perfectly painted nails of Vedika. Her nail art matched the Maroon saree she wore with some transparent glitter on it that made them shine. But Priya's nails were different. Flawlessly cut and filed. Not that her nails looked poor or anything but it reminded him of his sports teacher who punished students for having long nails, especially girls for painting them. This made him giggled silently. She was not even wearing any accessory, like ring or bangles or even bracelet like Brinda, except for a decent watch with a brown colored belt worn on her left hand.

And without him realizing, the painful thoughts he had earlier vanished.

Her hands were simple. The grip was tight. It had an assurance of not letting him fall. The tight hold saying 'I have got you'.

She helped him to sit. Suddenly, he could feel his heart racing. But before he could understand anything, she snapped her fingers, "Mr Kapoor!!"

"Haan..." he stuttered and reached for water hurriedly. In haste, he couldn't pour the water into the glass. She offered to do it for him.

"Are you alright?", she asked giving the glass of water to him.

He gulped the water and then took a deep breath. He pushed all the thoughts in his mind aside.

"You? Here?"

"How is your health?"

"Tum mujhse milne aayi ho?" he asked.

"Well, everyone is busy bursting crackers and—"

"And it has adverse effects on the environment. It's cruel etc etc," he completed her lines.

Priya rolled her eyes.

"Accha hui ki tum koi mantri nahi ho, varna har cheez ko ban kar deti," he chuckled.

She got angry. She got up and said, "Take care Mr. Kapoor!" She walked away when he stopped her, "Priya, wait! Majak kar raha tha main."

"I'm serious," she said.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Please, wait!" he requested and she couldn't go.

She sat back on the stool, still frown on her face. To cheer her up he said, "Chalo, main tumhe ek joke sunata hoon. Actually joke nahi, ek sawal hain."

The moment she heard this, the frown was gone already. Though she did not show the excitement on her face, she knew that he would crack some lame joke which would still make her smile.