The Exchange

Terror

As he felt the sun shining on his face the next morning and began to open his eyes, his arms immediately began searching for Akshu. She had been sleeping on his chest the entire night and he had laid awake for as long as he could, not wanting to let her go from his sight, not wanting to risk the possibility of her disappearing, of her leaving him yet again...but the past few days had taken a toll on him and he had dozed off without even realizing it, only to instantly regret it when he realized she was no longer there. 

"AKSHU!" he yelled, instantly sitting up, sweat dripping from his forehead. He jumped off of the bed to see if she was in the bathroom, but he found it completely empty. He ran out of his room, screaming her name, tears beginning to fall from his eyes, terror filling his heart, his mind, his entire being. 

"Akshu, Akshu tum kaha ho..." He screamed rushing down the stairs as fast as he could. 

"Abhi...kya hua? Tum theek toh ho?" she asked running towards him from the kitchen, afraid that something had happened to him in her absence...afraid that he had been hurt once again due to her...

Seeing her face, his heart rate began to calm down. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into his chest, taking in the scent of her hair, squeezing her against himself as tightly as he could. He began to sob, his breaths getting muddled...he tried his best to remain calm, but the relief hit him like a storm. 

"Abhi...Abhi kya hua?? Abhi please breathe...Abhi...saans lo..." she said, feeling her own breaths escaping her, but knowing she had to be strong for him. Manjari and Harsh had come into the living room, asking Abhi what had happened, scared as to what was going on with their son. 

"Akshu...Akshu..." he said in between his gasps. "Mujhe lagha tum phir se chali gayi...ki tumhe phir se kuch hogaya..." 

Hearing these words, Akshu felt the group crumble beneath her. Tears started to fall from her own eyes...she had hurt him so badly, so deeply that even a second away from her scared him...even a second away from her broke him. She gently pulled back from his embrace and took his face into her palms, wiping away his tears, forcing a smile to her face. 

She pulled him to the sofa and asked him to sit, bringing him a glass of water, feeding it to him with all of the tenderness in the entire world. "Abhi, mein kahin nahi gayi hoon...mein yaha pe hoon..siraf aur siraf tumhare pas...and I promise Abhi ki mein tumhara saath kabhi nahi chodo gi...Abhi mein zinda hoon toh siraf tumhare liye...tumari Akshu yahi hai Abhi...I'm so sorry...I'm so so sorry Abhi...", she said softly, pulling him into her chest, stroking his hair, her heart breaking with every tear of his that dripped into her lap. 

Manjari went into the kitchen and brought out the dal bati that Akshu had woken up early to make...wanting to feed Abhi with her own hands, wanting to surprise him after an entire year. 

She kneeled down beside Abhi and showed him the plate, saying, "Abhi yeh dekh beta...teri Akshu tere liye yeh bana rahi thi...woh kahin nahi gayi thi...woh tere pas hi hai..." 

With that, he slowly lifted his head, wiping away the rest of his tears. He stared at Akshu with all of the wonder in his eyes, struck by her love, struck by her adoration for him yet again. She took the plate from Manjari's hands and shook her head, telling him that he did not have to say anything. And without saying a single word herself, she started to feed him, wiping his lips with her dupatta after every bite. He smiled at her through his tears, his heart at peace, his heart at home...