Unedited
It had not been easy pulling myself together after reading the letter my father left behind but looking around the room I saw my mother still lying unconscious on the terrazzo flooring of store room. Standing up I wiped away my tears from my now red swollen eyes. Still clutching the letter in my hand I made my way toward the kitchen to get water for waking up mother.
Carrying a tumbler of water I made my way to store room and sprinkled few drops on my benumbed mothers face. Slowly and slowly she gained consciousness. In those moments various thoughts bounced in my head. How to comfort my mother. How are we going to survive without the support of my father. When she was fully awake she looked at me. Her face contracted into an expression of pain. Her eyes filled with tears that told a tale of her deepest and darkest fears, now realised. Sobbing she rushed out the store room and into her room and shut the door with a bang, locking it.
I came to the conclusion that she needed time and space to come in terms with our plight. How I wished I could take away all her tears, her sorrows but we can only be able what we gave. Since it was my father who was the cause of her distraught condition, it was only him who could make it better. I went and sat on the sofa in the drawing room.
Sitting on the sofa I looked upon the falls. Various picture frame that decorated the walls told a story of a family who had love and togetherness in abundance. I could no longer associate the smiling face in them with the ones of my mother and mine. I mourned for the look of happiness in the eyes of each member of our family.
I don't remember for how long I sat there staring at the wall, but the dusk had fallen when I felt a presence beside me. Manjari was gazing at me quizzically, seeming to be waiting for me to explain my forlorn mood. I lifted the cursed piece of paper on which my father decided our fate and handed over to her.
As she read, her eyes filled with tears and before I could anticipate her actions I was engulfed in a tight hug. For the first time in the whole wretched day, I felt weird sense of calmness settle over me. It spread like a warm liquid flowing to every cell of my body. I found a weightlessness that I had been reaching for in the deepest recesses of my soul.
"I am so sorry, Swayam." She sobbed into the crook of my neck her tears leaving a wet mark on my shirt. I leaned back and clutching her face I looked into her eyes.
" This too shall pass" I said wiping her tears.
"This too shall pass" she repeated.
This had been her mantra that she repeated to herself whenever she was faced with distressing situations, and now it seemed it was my mantra too. I sat there looking into her eyes, "Will you promise to never leave me. That you would be there for me." I asked, desperation seeping into the words.
Suddenly, she pressed herself to me, her arms going round my shoulder and her face buried against my neck. " I am here for you." She murmured.
It never occurred to me that when she replied it had been in the present tense that she never spoke about us in future tense. Not a single time. Looking back now it all made sense, she always evaded all talks about future, be it with me or anyone else. You ask her what she wanted to do in future she would change the subject or distract me as she so evidently did that day.
It was not a common occurrence for Manjari to hug me like that but that day she hugged me we were so close that the nearness was like aphrodisiac to my mind, drugging me sweetly with her unique scent of berries and it was no perfume. Having her soft and supple finger running through my hair, massaging my scalp, calmed me down effectively diverting me from the promise I seeked.
However the fact that she helped me through the tough time of handling my fathers betrayal cannot be disputed. She provided me with the strength and will power to face the aftermath that my father left behind in his wake.
And it was because of this fact that I will go and meet her. Because I owed it to her.
It was beyond time that I got some answers. It was beyond time I let go and moved on.
I hope you have the answers ready,Manjari, and they better be good.
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Manjari's and Swayam's meet coming up next. Will Swayam get his answers ? Will he finally move on? OR will he get caught in the webs tighter?
Wait and find out.
Do comment and vote.
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Starry Nights
General FictionSwayam's heart has been scarred. Badly. His days are spent moving forward and nights remembering about the past. But what will happen when his past is no longer contained to nights but also consumes his every waking moment when SHE comes back. Wil...
