Twisted Ties: Short Stories of Intertwined Lives

OS 1: Drowning in Time

Timeline:- This is set 6 years after Neil's death, with a few minor changes that you'll see.

Akshara Kaira Singhania aka Akshara Goenka-Birla

It's been 6 years, yet she was still drowning; drowning in a state of numbness. She lost everything, her husband, her children, and her brother whom she adored. One rash decision and everything was destroyed. The devastation it left behind was unamendable. The loss of her children and brother pushed her to the edge of breaking but something still pulled her back. The last time this happened was when her Sirat mom died but it was the promise she made that kept her from drowning. This time was only one thing, Abhi that was keeping her grounded. But most importantly how could she leave her Abhi? It doesn't matter if he blamed and divorced her. Because she understood that it was all grief and pain that he was going through because of her. If only she could turn back time but knows she can't. So, she keeps trying until that one day.

The day she saw the hatred in his eyes and those words came out of his mouth. Her worst nightmare became a reality. Her Abhi thinks that she is responsible for the incident that destroyed her life all those years ago. The moment he blamed her for all the death was when the last thread that was holding her drowning broke. She felt the walls closing, and so did the one thing that she could think of, she ran. She didn't stop until she was far away from everything that once she considered hers.

Here she was 6 years later in Boston where there wasn't a single person who truly knew her and she made sure that no one got close enough to do so. The last time she lost her home, there was still hope that someday she would be back there. The phone calls kept it alive but this time there was no hope. No, not even a tiny bit, that was something she made sure of. Akshara Goenka-Birla, the girl she once was no longer exists. She was AKS now, a lawyer working in one of the biggest law firms. Sometimes she wonders if she met people from her old life and if will they even recognize her. She is everything that her old self would not be proud of; cold, arrogant to a degree, emotionally stunned to the point of numbness, the thing that she cared to know is her work. She has many regrets but the thing that doesn't regret at all is leaving that place. There is a kind of peace that she has found in this silence and loneliness that she didn't think was possible.

But there is this tiny part of her, that she locked deep inside of her, that wonders if there was any possibility of her colliding with the people from her past, and if that happens what will she do? How would she explain herself? Do they even deserve any of it? After all, she may have given up all those years ago, but had she truly erased their existence from her mind, maybe her life. Then there is a part of her who couldn't help but wonder about her parents' reaction. Would they be angry or disappointed in her for cutting ties with Goenkas & taking her mother's maiden name? For giving up on the family that they tried so hard to hold together. Will they be happy seeing her become successful in her professional life yet fail miserably in her personal life? There were so many questions that ran in her head yet no answer. Frankly, she hoped that she never find those answers. 

Abhimanyu Birla

It's been 6 years yet he still was drowning; drowning in a sea of regrets and guilt and the only person who could save him is nowhere to be found. She left him, no he made her leave. They say spoken words are like an arrow from a bow, they cannot be recalled. He knows his anger is destructive but the grief of losing not just his brother but his children shocked him to the core. No, he wasn't just his brother but more like a son. He knew what happened wasn't Akshara's fault but how could he ignore it, what if she stayed back? What if he was there instead? Those questions were killing him. He needed her to go away before he ended up doing something that he would regret for the rest of his life. Yet he did exactly what he was trying to prevent.

He thought at that time that breaking their relationship and pushing her away was the only way. So, he tried as much as he could but she didn't listen. No matter how he and his family hurt her, she kept trying. Until that day when everything was destroyed. No, he destroyed everything with his own hands. Yes, he was a reason, yet it doesn't in any way justify what he did. He crossed that line & became someone he never thought he'd be. In that horrible moment, he became his father. At least the version of him that he despite his whole life. The worst part was that it didn't hit what he had done until it was too late. She went far away from him, he tried everything to find her and to apologize. By the time he did find her, she had started a new life away from all the chaos and toxicity. How could he disrupt that peace that she has found? So, after making sure she was safe, he left it at that.

Here he was 6 years later, living in a house filled with multiple people yet felt empty. There are voices of people yet you can feel the silence, the laughter is there but has not had much happiness, and everyone is trying to move forward but is stuck in the past regrets, and sorrow. The thing that is to keep the house, and people a little alive are the kids. They are the reason why he still lives there or he would have left a long time ago. He promises his brother that he will take care of his daughter, he already has broken so many promises, and he can't break this one as well. Or he won't be able to ever face his brother in the afterlife.

The End

Wrote this in January 2023, my first story in ages. Not thrilled with it, kept wanting to tweak it but ended up hating the changes. That's why it took forever to share. Let me know what you think! The next OS will be posted this weekend.