COMPLETING EACH OTHER

CHAPTER 16

ADHWETA SINGH'S POV:

"How have you managed to stay alive up till now? And that too after living alone all by yourself. You're like one of those people whose reason of death could be that they held their breath for too long while trying to test their lungs."

"Look at you fantasising about my death. How chivalrous of you!" Placing my hand on my heart I looked at him with fake enthusiasm and then morphed my face into a scowl.

"Don't mention about it. Just tell me whether anyone from your family lives here in New York or did you scare away everyone with your madness? If you have any of your relatives living here then, I can drop you at their place."

Fate loves to play with you when you're least in the mood to play. No matter how old you grow, every time you get hurt or a problem starts knocking your door down the only group of people you want around yourself is your family.Only if I were so lucky At this moment when every part of my body seems to be throbbing with pain, the only thing I crave for is for someone to hold me and tell me that I am safe, that I'll always be. I need someone to pat my head, to rub my back, to put my head on someone's lap but all these privileges are too luxurious for me to have as it is something which only a family can provide. Not because I don't have a family but because I have one.

Do you know that the biggest pain about having a family which doesn't care about you, is that in them you may find someone to call your own but you yourself won't belong to any of them. In a race, you may run with your entire strength, stamina and dedication but what if I tell you that there will be no finish line, no end point, no break points. Slowly your speed will start reducing, you'll start getting tired and you will get used to the fact that so many people are getting ahead of you. Similar is the case of trying to please others, to mould yourselves according to their expectations. In the starting everything will be bearable but as the demands of time and people start growing, every fake smile, laughter, cries and all those hollow words and promises they start to weave a world of loneliness and ineffable pain around you. All these pretences start to strip your soul off layer by layer, leaving you with only two options. One to stay, to continue and wither away or to run towards the smallest source of light with grappling hands and unsteady feet, fighting for a chance to finally breathe.

"I am not a stray puppy for whom you need to find a shelter home. You are free to leave. I am capable enough to take care of myself. I have already been doing it for so long."

Turning around I limped back towards the elevator as the pain and anger of being prodded at my sorest spot blinded me and before he could comprehend anything I shut the door and pressed the button for the third floor.

Pressing my back against the elevator I wrapped my arms around my shivering body. I was not shivering because of the weather or due to the physical exhaustion but because of the coldness and the bitterness of my memories.

Flashback:

Rubbing my hands against my chest I tried to soothe myself as another bout of cough racked my body. My body felt so hot to touch but at the same time I was feeling so cold that it made me want to wrap myself in a blanket.

But despite the pain and discomfort, a small smile was etched on my face because of the colourful card in my hand. The random splashes of vivid colours along with the barely legible words 'Happy Father's Day' looked very appealing to an eight- year-old me. I felt so tired after staying up all night for making this card but the occasion seemed to be worth it. Giggling a little I pushed myself off my bed and started walking towards the dinning room as fast as my little body could take me.

"Papa will be so happy! He will give me a hug and lots of kisses just like he does with bhaiya after seeing this card."

Taking two steps at a time I jumped on the landing below the last staircase with great enthusiasm and ran to the man sitting on the right side of the head chair of the dinning table.