Beyond The Broken Chords

5. Hridaan

Hridaan's POV

I heard somewhere that if you confine yourself to something- such as happiness, love, kindness or loneliness, sadness and despair, you might start to find comfort in them. If a person tends to stay happy most of the time, an abrupt occurrence of unpleasantness might cause them distress. Similarly, if someone finds solace in loneliness and sorrow, they might resist company or find reasons to cling to that frame of mind.

It feels like I'm ensnared by the same mindset. I think I am beginning to find peace in the loneliness as if it is becoming an extension of me.

I sprawled on my bed; eyes fixed on the ceiling of my room; the clock had last shown a quarter past ten when I checked it. I wondered if Samar had returned from office or if everyone had fallen asleep whereas I remained sleep-deprived for 4 days in a row.

Even though my body and mind are tired, I find it hard to doze off. It's been like this for a year now, sometimes I don't even realise when I doze off, and then there are a series of days when I can't shut them even for a minute.

I had been prescribed medication by a psychiatrist for my insomniac situation for three months but nothing worked. Initially, they helped me sleep peacefully but later the medications started showing some side effects too. I was getting addicted to them hence, the doctor cautioned me to discontinue their use.

Night after night, sleep offered no escape; I would wake from nightmares only to be thrust into the throes of panic attacks. In the end, closing my eyes felt like a terrifying task.

I tossed and tossed in the bed; my body begged for some rest and yet I couldn't comply.

The faint knock on the door drew my attention, and I looked up to see my four-year-old niece, Samaira, standing by the doorframe, her tiny hands gripping a stuffed panda.

'Chachu, Samu no sleep,' (Uncle) With an adorable pout on her face she told me that she couldn't sleep.

A short smile crept on my face seeing her; I gestured her to sit beside me. She climbed onto my huge bed as if she was climbing a mountain. As she succeeded in the task and settled beside me, I asked her why she was still awake.

'Chachu, Samaria school nahi jayegi! Main apke pass sounga!' (Uncle, Samaira will not go to school! I will sleep with you!) She gets confused between the She & He parts in a sentence.

'Sounga nahi, soungi,' I corrected her. Samar and Prakriti got her enrolled in nursery last month, although she is a quick learner, there are a few things she still hasn't gotten used to.

She bites her tongue, 'Oopsie-daisy.' Giggling at her silliness.

Shaking my head, I let out a chuckle, 'It's okay.' I told her, 'Chachu will put you to bed tonight. Want to hear a story?' I asked as I made her lay down pulling up the duvet to cover her and her plushie.

She nodded with a huge grin, 'Yayyy, storyyyy!!! Wooowwww!!' She clapped happily.

'So, once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived in a forest with her parents-' I began, my voice tinged with mystery and curiosity, she listened to me closely.

Her interest was clear and hence, I knew she wasn't going to sleep any time soon.

End Of POV

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Prakriti's POV

After dinner with Mumma-Papa, I tucked Samaira to bed, I grabbed my phone to ring Samar. He kept working late, well past the usual hours, likely holed up in his office.