Amor Fati - Our Love, Our Fates [COMPLETE]

Part 24 - SeaShells

Part 24

Early Next Morning, Ullal

Nikhil rolled off his bed and hit the hardwood floor, the shrill ringing of his mobile waking him up. His forehead hit the corner of the bedstead and he winced. Rubbing the spot, he pulled himself up, reaching for his phone.

"You dumb moron" he growled into the phone.

"What a welcome, Bava!" Roshan grinned. "No good morning, nothing. Straight to a point where a moron addresses another moron as a moron"

He guffawed, irritating Nikhil

"Please don't tell me you all are really coming over here. I could do with some privacy"

Poorvi's voice floated in

"Privacy? Why? is Rohini with you?"

Nikhil grunted "Why should she be with me? She is in her own room"

Poorvi's voice was now smug over the phone

"Expect us in an hour max ... can't wait to meet you guys. And please cut the privacy crap. We are not interested in your private life ... or whatever is left of it"

Before he could respond, Poorvi disconnected the call.

"Crap ..." Nikhil muttered as he walked over to the balcony, hitting the foot of the wooden coffee table on his way. He could see Rohini out there standing there all alone, by the sea. Her white dress fluttering in the morning breeze, all peaceful, all calm.

Nikhil squinted his eyes as he observed her; all elements of residual sleep forgone ... forever.

She stood there, a vision in white, lost in her own thoughts, in her own world.

And I need to belong, Nikhil thought as he rested his arms on the wooden railing.

His mind flashed back to the previous night on the beach, once Rohini had opened up to him.

*Flashback*

Rohini moved away from him a few minutes later, the spell now broken. Nikhil already missed the warmth of her breath on his shoulder. He wanted to reach out to her once again, but in the light of the events, decided it prudent to give her space, and not smother her with the feelings of helplessness.

They sat there in the semi darkness, looking out at the sea, thinking. The pale light from the lamp posts at a distance tried in vain to light up the surroundings, but failed.

After a while, Rohini turned towards Nikhil, her voice small

"It hasn't been easy. But I am so blessed that I could escape the situation. There are so many  out there who have no recourse but to continue ..."

Nikhil nodded

"I am so sorry Rohini. I wish we, men were more sensitive, more civilised ..."

"Don't be" Rohini smiled. "I have known so many great guys that it's mind boggling to go and bracket them all as one type. Maybe yes, at some level. But I refuse to club all of them as akin to Vineet. He disgusts me, but that doesn't mean that I think of all men as same ..."

She whispered

"What would I have done without Dad? Mom? My parents?"

Rohini stared at Nikhil wistfully

"Maybe Nikhil, you should also let go off your vitriolic feelings towards women in general. All women are not bad. And maybe, just maybe, one day you will find that special someone who is destined to be your fate"

She looked up at the star studded sky

"Your fate. My fate ... Amor Fati"

Sensing Nikhil's quietness, she apologised

"I was just blabbering ... as a friend, to a friend"

She got up and started walking towards the spot where they had dumped their sandals. Nikhil continued sitting for a wee bit longer as he stared after her. Finally he got up and brushed the sand off his jeans. Rohini was waiting for him

He looked up once and then back at her, as he whispered to himself

"My constellation of stars in the vast universal completeness ... Amor Fati"

...

Rohini walked back to the house to find Nikhil by the wicker gate. They smiled at each other as Rohini held open her palm to him. There were an assortment of small sea shells in her hand.

"The sea has so much to offer. For you" she smiled.

Nikhil received them gratefully, feeling the brittleness of the sand particles, as they rubbed against his palm.

"I will get them cleaned ... Come on. Let's have tea. Roshan and family would be arriving any moment now"

Rohini was grateful at how normal Nikhil was being.Or was trying to be. She hardly opened up to anybody, knowing that the darkness of her past would push people away.

Something warm stirred inside her, taking root and then shooting through her entire being, as she looked upto him. The calm in his eyes and the gentle smile on his face, unsettled her.

She wondered if he realised that she had not locked the door to her room last night. Lest the nightmare revisited.

Nikhil held her by the elbow and guided her back to the kitchen. She was quiet. He smiled. 

He surely knew that that door was unlocked last night. Lest the  nightmare revisited. 

...

Sometime Later, In the Bungalow

"Look at them" Poorvi nudged Roshan who looked up from his phone. "Something has changed ..."

Roshan wiped his glasses and looked at Nikhil and Rohini once again. Their son, Atharva was now swinging in Nikhil's arms, by the kitchen counter, while Rohini was trying to feed the baby some soft cooked vegetables. They could not hear what the duo were talking about, but Atharva was definitely gurgling.

And every time Rohini offered him some food, the baby would grab some and smear it on Nikhil's face.

Poorvi continued

"Do you see it? Do you think ... they did it?"

"What rubbish! Did it???" Roshan nearly shouted. "I am not going to discuss about their personal lives. Poorvi ... you have lost it"

Roshan walked out to the garden. A slight smile played on his lips. Things were definitely getting interesting.

He inhaled the sea breeze as he stretched.

And then he prayed. He knew about Nikhil alright, and sometime before he had realised that there were some inconsistencies in Rohini's life.

He also knew how great they were as individuals. And how great they could be together.

He hoped and prayed, as he walked towards the beach, that these two would find a way to each other. To love, peace and friendship.

To their Fates.

End of Part 24