Broken Relations

Our home

1 January 2024
Bhosale institute of Excellence, 00.30 am
Author's pov.
Everyone was still gathered on the same place, talking and laughing with each other. Isha felt her phone buzzing in her hand. She looked at it and frowned as she saw an unknown number calling her.

She decided to still pick it up, as it was possible that Harinee was calling her from the hotel. "Shantanu! Shantanu..," Isha yelled to get his attention. It was too loud out here, everyone was screaming and shouting in happiness.

"Haan?!"

"Suno! Main yeh call uthane jaa rahi hoon okay?"

Shantanu nodded at Isha. She went away a little further from the crowded place. As she reached to the frontside of the college, where no one was to be seen around, she picked up the call.

"Hello?"

Isha heard nothing. She frowned. "Hello?" She tried one more time. When she heard nothing, she removed the phone from beside her ear and checked if she had really picked up the phone.

"Phone toh uthaaya hain maine,koii kuch bol kyun nahi raha hain?..hello?"

After trying out various time, she decided to let it be. She was about to leave when she saw something fire flying in her direction.

The object fell down and before Isha could realize that it was a firework and she needs to move away from it, it blasted, resulting in the Isha getting badly injured in her left foot. It wasn't much, but her foot was hurting badly. A hurt Isha fell down on the ground holding her bleeding foot.

"Ahh...kaun hain?! Dekhta nahi hain kya? Aise firework ko phek kar kaise...ahh...Bappa...," Isha shouted in pain. She heard some ruffling of footsteps. She looked up and she saw his face  clearly in the dim light of the party lights. Her breathing hitched and through her teary eyes she could see him vividly, smiling evilly at her. "At...Atharva," was everything she could brought out. As he stepped forward, a knife in his hand, her heart beat with fear. She tried to move or to get up, but the pain in her foot was too much.

"J..jao j..jaha se T..um," she stuttered, she tried to pick up  a little stone from the ground and threw it in all her strength to his direction. It hit him in the head, resulting in him stopping in his tracks and holding his head.

It wasn't a dream, it was real. No no, this...,

"Isha!... Isha!" Shantanu's concern shouts distracted her and she looked backwards still holding her foot. She herself didnt notice that she was shivering slightly from seeing Atharva here. As she looked forward again, the empty front side of the college shocked her. She gulped when she realized that he had gone away.

Obviously, because Atharva was nothing else than a coward, hearing Shantanu's voice, he must have gone, to not get caught.

"J..jahaa," Isha said weakly, her voice coming out in a crying tone. Shantanu saw Isha sitting on the ground in the dark, her back facing him. He ran towards her and kneeled down. "Kya hua hain? Tum jaha aise kyun baithi ho...tumhe...khoon!" Shantanu shouted in terror.

He saw Isha shivering, looking scared forward, breathing heavily. "Isha, ek minute, yeh sab hua Kaise?" He putted his handkerchief on the bleeding part of her foot. In the meanwhile he noticed the blasted firework.

"Isha, yeh firework k..ke wajhe se?" Shantanu asked. Isha looked down and slightly nodded. There were a thousands questions in Isha's mind, but he knew this wasn't the right time.

"Isha...chalo," he held her by her hand and he wrapped his other arm tightly around his shoulder.

"K..kaha le kar jaa rahe ho..ss..aah."