Kartik was in his house, not Naira's, but his. Kartik had come here after dropping Kairav off at school. Now he would go to Naira's house in the evening, after Kairav comes back from the school. He was here to change so that he could go to the hospital and then to his office. This robotic routine had been going on for the past four days, ever since he had gotten discharge from the hospital.
Kartik entered his supposed room. He looked around, everything was exactly the same, the way it was before he started living in the other house. And why would it change ? It was a room, not his despicable life which always kept changing.
The room felt haunted, dead to Kartik. Completely devoid of any happiness, any hope, any positive emotion. Kartik was not surprised. This was the same feeling he used to get whenever he used to enter his own room in the Goenka villa. There was a reason why Kartik hadn't slept in his personal room in the past five years.
Kartik shook his head to clear it. No, no, he couldn't think of all that now. He had very little time. Lisa was going to come in some time to take him to the doctor, and after that he had to go to office.
Kartik came near the cupboard and as soon as he opened it, something fell out. Kartik looked down at it and froze. That single object was enough to invoke so many memories, so many emotions in his mind that he almost forgot to breathe. It was something extremely special to his heart. The object that he had held on to for the last five years.
Naira's wedding lehenga.
Kartik kept looking at it. His heart felt heavy, his mind felt dizzy, his vision started blurring as tears started forming in his eyes. Kartik kneeled down and slowly his hand reached forward to pick it up.
As soon as he touched it, kartik completely fell on the floor. Tears started falling down as he brought the lehnga and clutched it to his chest.
Kartik broke down. He started bawling. So many days of anguish, pain, suffering which he was holding inside finally came out. The lehnga brought back so many memories that his heart couldn't take it anymore. Tears burned his face.
For the first time since meeting Kairav, Kartik wanted to die. He wanted his life to be over. He wished that he should have died in the past five years. He couldn't take it anymore. He wanted to rest now, to lie in peace. A part of him was very happy to be with his son, but a part of him also couldn't forget the sufferings of the past five years.
The overwhelming urge which he always had to kill himself for being responsible for the death of Naira and his unborn child. The life which he had lived, completely devoid of any happiness, of any hope. The efforts which he had done to atone himself. He had given up everything which made him, himself. But in the end, everything turned out to be a joke, a lie.
Kartik cursed himself, he cursed his fate, he cursed his life. Why did it take so much pleasure in torturing him, in mocking him, in hurting him. Kartik felt like his whole life was in pieces, in shambles. If this was life, he didn't want it.
Kartik lay on the ground as tears kept coming out. Memories kept passing in his mind. Of happy times, of that cursed day, of the five years. His body felt numb, hollow from inside. He was a broken man and-
Suddenly his phone rang, stopping his chain of thoughts. He slowly reached into his pants pocket, pulled it out and looked at it. His vision was blurry due to his tears. He slowly sat up and wiped his eyes before looking at his phone again. It was Lisa. He picked it up.
Lisa :- Hello kartik.
Kartik :- yeah, hello.
Lisa :- hey, listen. Tum ready ho gaye ?
