Broken (Wattys2016)

CHAPTER 1

He stepped into his house and felt a strange yet familiar silence engulf him. The only sounds he used to hear now were of the clock ticking, the creaking noise when he walked on the old wooden floor and that of water leaking from the tap in the kitchen. It had almost been a year and a half since he was welcomed home by a cheerful voice and a comforting hug from work. He walked through the hall and peeped in to look inside the kitchen. His wife was standing there and was making dinner for the two of them. She had no idea that he had returned home, like always; at least from the last one and a half year.

He went to their room and kept his laptop bag on the chair. He looked at the big framed photograph that was hanging on the cream wall in front of him. It was a photograph of his with his wife from their wedding photo shoot. They were lost in each other's eyes and everyone who saw the picture instantly fell in love with it. But seeing that picture right now triggered no feelings in his now stone alike heart. He stripped off his clothes and stepped into the shower letting the hot water relax his tense muscles. He was glad that at least his wife never forgot to turn on the geyser before he returned home from work. He was glad that at least she remembered something. The hot water didn't really relax his tense muscles though; it seemed that now that was the way they were - always tensed. It had been more than a year ever since he had had a normal conversation with his wife, it just seemed that they were together just for the sake of the legal papers they had signed two and a half years ago. Everything seemed so blur now. He didn't even remember the last time he had touched her, it seemed like ages to him. Suddenly he felt guilty as he stood there, a weird guilty feeling, something that no one knew about. He thought about all that had happened a year and a half ago and cursed his wife for being irresponsible. He knew that she was feisty, but he believed that she was mature enough to control her emotions. He washed himself as he continued to curse fate, his wife, life, himself and everything. Everything seemed so dark now, he felt like he was in a dark room with a ray of light; but that ray of light in the dark opaque room wasn't his wife.

He turned off the shower and walked out drying himself up and changing into his pyjamas and a tee. He walked back to the living room and made himself comfortable on the olive colored couch. His wife walked up to him with two plates in her hands and sat on the sofa; maintaining quite some distance. She handed him one plate and then stuffed her mouth with some aglio olio pasta. He looked down at his plate and smiled, pasta was something he loved, especially aglio olio and no matter what, he knew his wife was the best cook and he'd never deny that. They had their pasta sitting in complete silence. All they could hear was the clocking ticking and them chewing.

"TV?" He asked and she nodded her head. She leaned towards the right side and grabbed the remote to pass it to him.

He turned on the television and browsed the channels. He suddenly stopped browsing when he heard an old yet familiar song, Can't Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley. A small smile crept on his wife's face.

"This is the song you sang when you proposed to me. This is our song." She more of whispered but he heard her all well.

He looked at her; she was smiling as if she was traveling back in time. He returned her a small gentle smile not wanting to look rude but deep down when she said that, the guilt had returned. He sat there munching and feeling guilty about everything. He cursed himself for even asking her to be his girlfriend years ago, all of this seemed like a big mistake now. Asking her to marry him was worse. He could have waited and not rushed with the wedding. Even his parents had asked him a number of times to wait and not to rush with the wedding but he turned them all a deaf ear. When he finished eating, she took his plate with hers and washed them while he blankly stared at the television allowing the guilt to eat him up slowly and all at once.

It was after ten minutes they went back to their room and lay down at the extreme ends of the king sized bed with their backs towards each other. There was so much space between them that two people could easily sleep there. From the past one and a half year, she had not slept properly. She was so used to sleeping in the spooning position with him that now she couldn't sleep in any other way. She turned around to see him busy texting someone on his phone. She shifted on the bed and rested her head on his back while wrapping an arm around his waist. He stiffened under her touch and didn't move an inch. She expected him to at least hold her hand or turn around but he continued messaging on his phone. Her eyes started to well up when he didn't react at all and when she realised that her tears were about to spill and wet his tee, she removed her arm from his waist and turned around.

She cursed herself for everything. She knew it was because of her that today they were going through this, that they were so close yet so far from each other. Had she been a little careful then they would have been a happy family today. She cursed herself to sleep that night; like every other night from past year and a half.

He turned his head to look at her and she had her back towards him. He could hear soft sobs and he knew that she was cursing herself for everything that happened a year and a half year ago. Somewhere he thought the same; it was her fault that they were like this today. It was because of her that they lost love. He wanted to console her but now he had lost hope, he had consoled a number of times in the past but she had always turned him a deaf ear and thinking about that, the feeling of consoling her went flying out of the window.

Slowly, time did its trick and sleep pulled its blanket over them.

What had happened a year and a half ago that they lost the love they had for each other? Was it all her fault or was he at fault as well? What made the fierce and adventurous Aaliya Fernandes Vinayak become quiet and reserved and what made the happy go lucky, hopeless romantic Aarav Vinayak become an emotionless workaholic?

The thing that makes a family broke theirs and now it was all over and they were broken...