Madness and Magic...❤️

42

The next morning felt like the still moments between an ongoing storm. Still. Too still. Like the calm that waits before breaking all over again.

The doorbell rang. Shehnaaz woke up first, tied her hair in a loose bun, slipped on the denim which she was wearing last night and went to open the door.

Sidharth stayed in bed, silently.He was used to waking up to silence before she came into his life. The kind of silence that didn't bother him. Silence which was more like a routine. Order.
But it was also empty. Emotionless.

Earlier his life had a rhythm:wake up, work, eat, interact and sleep.Then she entered his life ,she was loud, stubborn, complicated, all heart and nothing had been the same since.With her, every emotion felt heightened. From desire to disappointment, from happiness to helplessness. Everything was louder, more forceful, messier but it also made his life worthwhile.Only she had that absolute power to make him feel all these and without her, he was just a machine and he knew it. And he also knew that everything came with a price.And he was willing to pay it just to be with her but at the same time he didn't know for how long he could keep paying without breaking.

He was slowly losing patience and he was aware that he couldn't force her to do anything,she might shut down completely if he tried to force her into talking. She wasn't someone who can be pushed ,She would slip right through the fingers if someone tried.And on top of everything he was hopelessly in love with her. That made it worse.

It was Saturday. They had to visit the chawl. Then head to Mumbai. He finally got up, showered, and changed into a shirt and trousers. When he stepped out, she was at the stove with the cook, giving some instructions. Her face looked calm. Too calm. Like it was just for the show.

After the cook left, he found her slipping quietly into the washroom when he was on a call.

She came out in a soft bathrobe after 15 minutes.He was trying to choose a watch when she entered the room.

"Good morning," he said, faintly.

"Good morning," she replied with a forced smile which was too bright to be real.

He stood near the dresser, his watch was in hand when she looked at her, he was unsure whether to say something again or just let her be. She was too quiet lately. Like she was there... but not there.

She picked up the dryer and began to run it through her damp hair. She looked stunning like she always did. But that wasn't what got to him.It was how only she got to him.

He at times wished he was like other men. He wondered if life would have been easier if he could just be casually attracted to people. Move on when things got messy. But he wasn't built that way,till the time he hadn't met her, he had made peace with being demi-sexual, he rarely felt things but with her it felt like he was standing in the eye of a storm.There had been an unexplainable pull from the very beginning and it scared him that losing her wouldn't be like losing his own self.

He looked at her again,her robe was loosely tied around her waist,she looked beautiful and he felt like talking to her.

"Baby... this shirt is fine,ya change karun?" he asked, just to break the silence.She glanced back at him.

"It is looking fine because you are wearing it." she said with a smile that looked more practiced than real.

"Thank you....What are you wearing?"He smiled back anyways.

"I thought of a saree, but I think it's better to wear a suit. We have to travel also" she replied while trying to dry her hair while sitting in front of the dresser but somehow it was getting a little inconvenient for her,he noticed it.She was about to head to the bathroom with her hairdryer when he stopped her.