RoShti Book Of One Shots

Estranged Yet Loved - The Conclusion

Ronobir let out a long sigh as he sat on one of the sofas and sipped a cup of hot tea. Mishti sat opposite to him on another sofa, a cup of hot coffee in her hand. Ronobir chuckled silently at her. She never let go of her love for coffee but who was he to blame. He was a tea maniac himself. He observed the silent woman. She looked considerately better than she looked before, having let gone of all the pain and frustration. Now that he thought back of all the circumstances she'd been through, he felt a sense of pride. He felt proud of how she chose her self-respect, herself and her sanity over anything else. If people called her "Selfish" so be it. It was necessary to be selfish in a world filled with selfish people. He knew she was done being so giving. He had seen the way she would do things to make her parents happy. Topping the batch, winning cultural events and other contests, she did everything she could to make her parents happy. They underplayed all her achievements. His parents on the other hand, he thought with a small smile. They celebrated every achievement of hers. It was nothing short of a small party. There was cake with "MISHTI" written in big letters. There were chocolates of her choice laid out on the table and gifts too. Sometimes he felt jealous and sometimes it made him feel so full of joy that her parents has accepted her whole-heartedly into their lives. It was also another case of jealousy that his pet Marley also seemed to love Mishti more than him.

"How are uncle and aunty, Rono ?"

Her voice broke him out of his thoughts and he took a deep breath.

"I'll be honest to you, Chashni. They were hurt.. Like really hurt that you did not show up at the office. It was as if the life had been taken off from them. Trust me, I was so mad at you for giving them the pain. They didn't deserve it. It didn't help that the house that we lived in had memories of you in every nook and corner. So I did the only thing that came to my mind. We shifted.. To Delhi.. But it wasn't the same.. The laughter that we had was missing. I worked hard to forget you. I tried to go out on dates with girls." He noticed her flinch at the mention of other girls but the expression was gone at the blink on an eye. "But it wasn't the same. I woud go on a date and in ten minutes, I would leave the place stating some important work. You kept running through my mind so I worked harder. I alteast had something to keep me busy but my parents didn't. So I enrolled them in some club activity so that they woul spend sometime with other people. It seemed to work or so they told but I see it in their eyes that the miss their Mishti a lot."

Mishti let out a sad smile at the last statement "I'm the worst thing that ever happened to you, Ronobir.. I'm the worst nightmare that ever happened to you, uncle and aunty. I wish I'd comitted suicide and died rather than live with this guilt of having hurt such nice people"

There was a sound of a cup breaking and Mishti looked up to see Ronobir towering over her, having thrown the cup down with anger blazing in his eyes.

"You shut up, Mishti Acharya !! Don't you even dare think something like that !!"

She didn't cry out like the last time. They were silent tears that flowed down her cheeks and made their way to her neck. She never contemplated on suicide. It was just that the pain she had caused to the only people who loved her was so overwhelming that she spoke those words. Ronobir cupped her cheeks tightly "Never ever say that.. Do you understand ?" Mishti nodded slightly. Ronobir raised his voice "Do. You. Understand !!" Mishti let out a meek yes. Ronobir let her go and stood up. None of them felt sleepy. The confrontation and the hot beverages took the sleep away from them. Mishti looked at Ronobir who was scrolling through his mobile phone. She sighed, trying her luck.

"Rono ?" she trailed off, getting a "Hmm" in response. 

"I don't know what tomorrow might bring and I don't know what life is going to give me. But I know this that today is what my luck has given me and I don't want to let it go. Can we please reminsce our days ?"