An Estranged Wife

Chapter 12- Impossible as Possible

With shaking steps, freezing hands and sweaty forehead, Pari entered the Dehradun Police Station at the midnight. The smell of crimes mounted on the place or it was the smell of the impending justice, she couldn't make a difference because according to her it was both the scene of crime as well as justice, but she didn't know what kind of justice she was hoping for herself where it felt as if everything was happening on its own.

But she missed the fact that she initiated the fight.

"Are you okay?" Her father's voice brought her out of her daze, and she looked around the station hoping to find him sitting in any corner, but she couldn't spot him.

Moving inside to the desk of the senior inspector, she greeted him, and he presented her the documents of her case for her final signature.

"Sir, before signing, can I see my........,"

She swallowed back the word husband, and instead, said, "Sameer."

"Sure. Follow me. He insisted to be put in a prison so even though the complaint wasn't official that time, we had to oblige seeing his state." The inspector said and stood up from his seat moving ahead to the corridor which led to the cells.

Giving her father an assuring look, she followed the tall man with hesitant steps; she didn't dare to look at the prisoners who came in her view as she crossed the cells, but her eyes glued to the front where she could make out he laid on the small bench covering his face with his hands.

Once in front of the cell, the inspector gave her a look that said to make it fast, and nodding at her, he left.

She looked at the black bars behind which he was captured for the days to follow.

"Sameer....," she called lowly and startled, Sameer sat up straight. It took him a while to understand the happenings, and seeing her sorrowful orbs, realization dawned him. He passed her a smile and came forward.

"I ...,"

"I thought you went for an interview." She started not knowing how else to talk to him when he looked older than before. In just few hours, his face has gone pale, and devoid of that richness which once used to be the permanent factor of him.

She held the metallic rods of the prison, and he held her hands over it, giving her a smile.

"You won."

"I'm where I needed to be. Trapped for days." There was no regret in his voice, instead he seemed brave to her now. Something which she didn't spot in him initially.

A tear spilt from the corner of her eye, in no time his eyes leaked the same anguish which he had made her feel for days.

"Why suddenly all this? Why?" She asked in a hollow voice.

"Because.......,"

"Because I've started to value you."

"I've started to respect you.......and......,

"And what?"

"Feel for you things which I never though I'd do. Your hurt has managed to make its permanent place in my heart. Your need to see me punished has made me realize that you were never my toy, you were my better half who should have been respected but she wasn't. Your potential to still be kind enough to me to let me in your house has made me realize that you were right. I had choices to either be a human or a monster, but I chose to cause my own destruction. I failed to see that by hating, by being bitter one can never achieve self-satisfaction, you only achieve self-loathing which is what I'm feeling for myself while there's a part of me that's happy that you came in my life to open my eyes or else until I've been alive I would have ended up only ruining people." He finished, and his lips curved into a small smile seeing her smile amidst her tears.