Symphony of Broken Ties - Abhirohi

Chapter 3

As the day's burdens settled on Abhimanyu's shoulders, he returned home with a weariness that seemed to permeate his very soul. Without pausing, he made his way to his room, seeking solace in the quiet sanctuary. The weight of the day pressed down on him as he lay on his bed, eyes closed, attempting to find reprieve in the darkness behind his eyelids.

His respite was interrupted by the insistent ring of his phone, and the name "Akshara" flickered on the screen like a distant reminder. A sudden realization gripped him—today, amidst the chaos, he hadn't spared a thought for her. Abhimanyu hesitated before answering, the name itself stirring an unexpected storm within him.

Ak: Kya hua Abhi? Were you busy?

Ab: Just tired. Long day.

The word "tired" triggered unexpected flashes of Arohi, navigating through the hospital corridors with a visible weariness. He attempted to shake off the intrusive images, but they lingered, casting a shadow over the conversation.

On the otherside receiving a silence Akshara will felt bit odd.

Ak: You sound exhausted. Have some rest, okay? You deserve it.

Ab:  Hmmmm. I'll talk to you later. Bye.

As the call ended, the room seemed to exhale a sigh of unresolved tension.

Closing his eyes, Abhimanyu attempted to seal away the fragments of the day that haunted him. Yet, in the sanctuary of his mind, the scenes unfolded.. The way he caught her from falling, the involuntary closeness that stirred an unfamiliar emotion within him.

As his eyes shut out the world, they opened to the images he wished to forget. His mind, relentless in its pursuit, zoomed in on the details he hadn't consciously registered before. Arohi looked tired, a weariness that transcended the physical. He pondered over the subtle changes—a weight loss, eyes burdened with dark circles that resisted the camouflage of makeup. Why was he fixated on her, he wondered.

Shaking his head, as if to physically dispel the intrusive musings, Abhimanyu resolved to break free from this unintended preoccupation. The answer, he decided, lay in the soothing embrace of a cold shower—a temporary reprieve from the relentless echoes of the day.

Under the cascade of cold water, he sought refuge, hoping to wash away not just the physical exhaustion but also the unsettling thoughts that clung to him like a stubborn residue. Each drop that fell seemed to carry with it the weight of the day, a futile attempt to cleanse both body and mind.

Yet, as the water cascaded down, it was not the day that receded but the lines between reality and memory that blurred. Arohi's face persisted, an unwelcome guest in the solitude, leaving Abhimanyu grappling with a disconcerting realization—he couldn't dismiss her from his thoughts as easily as he desired.

In the quiet aftermath, a gnawing truth surfaced—a truth Abhimanyu hesitated to acknowledge. The disappearance of Arohi from his life for a whole week had affected him more than he cared to admit. Somewhere deep down, he knew he had wronged her in the tangled threads of their broken engagement. But his mind wrestled the other way.

He took a long breath and came out of  shower and lay down on bed to take a nap.
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As the evening unfolded, Arohi's battle with exhaustion reached a breaking point. With her meals disrupted over the past few days, she made her way to the hospital canteen, hoping for a revitalizing meal. However, her attempt to eat proved futile as her appetite remained elusive.

Struggling to force down a few bites, Arohi's body revolted, forcing her to rush to the washroom and vomited.  The world around her blurred as a wave of nausea and weariness swept over her and she lost consciousness, collapsing onto the chilly restroom floor.

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I wanted to give a pov on Abhi's thought process. Hope you all enjoyed it.