Thikaana

Hundred and Sixteen

"Babyyyy. Kahan haiii? I'm backkkk" Sidharth shouted as he unlocked the main door and walked through the house.

The house was extremely silent and so he had to call her out. It was a Saturday evening today and he was gone out for some errands and had stopped by at the supermarket for some grocery.

He returned back after a few hours and so he was desperately wanting to see her.

He walked through the hall and as soon as he looked up in the kitchen, his eyes slightly widened on their own and a small sigh left his lips. There she was.

At least she had changed places. She was lying on the sofa when he left and was now standing in the kitchen. She was doing something there. Not acknowledging his presence at all as he waked through the hall. She wasn't even looking up at him.

He looked at her as he walked towards the kitchen with big bags in both his hands. His Sana. She seemed so different, so...unlike his Sana.

Her entire demeanor. Her body language. It was so frail, so dull, her shoulders dropped down, her face pale and gloomy, nothing like his sparkling beautiful baby. It pierced his heart. Everything about her was so somber.

He went and plopped down the big grocery bags a little loudly on the shelves next to her, hoping to get her attention but to no avail. She was so unfazed. She didn't even look up.

"Babyyy" he tried sounding happy as he called her again.

She very slowly and slightly lifted her eyes up to look at him and then in the next second, looked down again.

He walked up to her, grabbed her shoulders with both his hands and very softly kissed her cheek.

"Kya kar raha hai?" he asked as softly as he could, his hot breath falling and tingling her skin.

She was mashing potatoes.
She didn't look up, smile, or show any excitement at all.
His smile faltered slightly but he was adamant to not give up so easily.

"Cutlets bana rahi hai?" he asked softly, leaning his face close to hers and looking down at the bowl of potatoes.

She nodded wordlessly.

He looked at her face. Her face was actually pale and so small. So dull. His jaws clenched slightly and he almost wanted to give her a good scolding but stopped.

Sana then abruptly turned around and went away from there, grabbing the sauce pan and pouring some water in it. His gaze followed her as she moved around and he almost smiled as she kept the sauce pan on the stove. She was making tea for him.

"I've brought everything that you asked me to. Saara grocery ka saamaan. Aur apne pyaare se bache ka saaman bhi. Brought all the junk that you love" he said sweetly as he stood there leaned against the counter with his arms crossed against his chest.

She was quietly adding tea to the boiling water as he talked to her.

When she still didn't say anything, he kept staring at her quietly for a few seconds and then sighed.

He uncrossed his arms and dropped them down, looking away from her.

"I'll go change" he said in a quiet voice as he finally walked out of the kitchen.

Sana still didn't look up at him or give any reaction at all. She kept standing there like a lifeless robot while boiling the tea.

Sidharth was so frustrated as he walked inside their room. his jaws were constantly clenching and unclenching. He felt so helpless. He had no idea for how long was this going to go on.