Fitoor | ✓

07 | Saat

A/N-  Please go through some of these terms in case you do not understand Hindi :

I M P O R T A N T      T E R M S :

Bhai- (here) Big Brother 

Bhabhi - Elder Sister-in-law

Di- Elder Sister 

(feel free to ask anything you don't understand.) 

Much love, Aashix

07 | Saat

We know we are over everything that's happened to us when we can tell our story without crying. We know we are not over it when we can't even bring ourselves to talk about it; and we know we might never be over it if we don't find a way to save ourselves. Lekh could never bring himself to talk about it and Tara understood he didn't know how he could save himself.

When he left the table, Tara turned to Arti. She had started blabbering again but Tara put a halt to her train of words.

"Arti, what happened to Lekh?" She asked seriously, she wanted to know what it was that had destroyed him, what had made him into the man that he was today. What was it that broke him so much so that he had forgotten how to feel.

"Nothing, why?" Arti replied curiously.

Tara shook her head, "No, not that like. What happened to him, in the past?"

Arti stumbled, "Er..."

Tara looked at her expectantly.

"Bhabhi, it's not my place to say."

Tara could see the guilty expression on Arti's face. She didn't want to force out information so she left it at that, she understood that none of the siblings talked about whatever happened with anyone. They respected Lekh's privacy and Tara respected that, even appreciated their loyalty. She nodded and got back to her breakfast.

Her usual diet felt tasteless these days, she even tried eating sour things but that didn't fulfil her expectations either. The only food she wanted to eat these days was anything sweet. She added another spoon of sugar to her already sweetened tea and drank it as Arti spoke about some project she was working on in her college.

Arti was in her last year of college and was studying Biology. It wasn't her choice, her father had forced her to choose science stream. It was easier to find grooms for girls who were from the science stream. They were supposedly smart, but they couldn't be doctors or engineers because they couldn't afford the girls to be so smart that they outrun the boys. Luckily, Arti had adopted to the subject and didn't have many complains, that's not the case always though.

Tara was least interested in what her sister-in-law was saying. She was tired and her attention span had become horrible. Finally, deciding that she really needed some time alone, she took leave from Arti who complained about being left alone again.

"I am not leaving you alone! I am just tired and I need to rest." Tara said apologetically.

"Fine, fine." Arti said prudishly, "Take all the rest you want but gather your energy for tonight! Ramya Di is coming tonight and we need to fill her up on everything that's going on lately."

Tara laughed and started leaving.

"Oh my god!" Arti squealed and Tara turned back astonished.