Iniquity: a tale of guilt and love || Completed

26. Gluing the pieces

~ A few moments of Laughter sometimes give you enough strength to tackle the storms of the night~

His fingers worked furiously on the laptop, as he replied all his pending work related emails, sitting on the couch in his room. Suman was out, at PCT and even though it had been a few days they returned back home, he was still not really comfortable around anyone else.

The click on the door made him look up, and there stood his beloved father and mother, together, after ten long years. How he had wished for them to come together these many years, and now that were standing in front of him, he didn't know what to say.

"Can we come in?", Ram's voice was not his usual authorative one, rather it was sounding weak. It alerted Shravan and he stood up, immediately.

"Papa? Are you fine?", He rushed to them, holding the door and a weak, apologising smile formed on Ram's lips. He nodded with guilty eyes and Shravan moved in to let them enter the room. For few minutes, there was silence, no one spoke anything.

" Shravan", Nirmala called out with a lump in her throat and Shravan looked down, trying hard to conceal the tears in his eyes.

" We are sorry beta", this time Ram took the lead, and both went on apologizing profusely over their deeds, the past, the games and the betrayals.

Shravan sat silent, not meeting their eyes, and when they stopped speaking once again, he looked up, and forced a smile on his face.

" It's okay", it took everything inside him to speak the two words but the twinkle in those two pair of orbs sitting opposite him gave him a sense of deep comfort, and belonging.

" Sharavan?", Nirmala could not help but gasp in surprise at his 'okay'.

Sharavan gulped before composing himself as he forced a smile, yet again.

" I know what you guys did was wrong, but somehow it was a reaction to your l-love for me. So, it's just o-okay", he spoke, fidgeting with his fingers and shaking a leg in anxiety. No one could understand what he went through in those few seconds to bring a smile of relief on his parents face.

Nirmala stood up and ruffled his hairs, the same way he loved to be pampered in his childhood. Shravan immediately closed his eyes to stop the tear drops from escaping out. She walked over to him and took him in his embrace, even though he kept sitting, but due to his gigantic height, his head rested over her chest and for those few seconds, Shravan felt surreal. It had been so long that he felt this peace, but when Ram came over and draped his hand over the duo, Shravan couldn't help but held his breath, to somehow stop breaking down then and there.

How long had he dreamt of this, as a child, to be held tenderly by his smiling parents, and today when his dream had come true, he no longer knew what to feel, because happiness didn't came to him alone anymore. It was always accompanied with sadness, guilt, cries and an array of negative emotions.

Suman returned home in the evening, and was completely surprised by the chirpiness of the house. She saw Ram sitting on the couch with his favorite black coffee and talking with Lalaji about some cricket match animatedly. She saw Nirmala and Kamini talking in the kitchen, and she didn't miss the happy glint in both Ram and Nirmala's eyes. She walked inside and found Pushkar standing at his room's door and a smile on his face as he watched others smiling. It had been so long that this house had been devoid of happiness and this sudden surge made Suman skeptical.

" What happened?", She quizzed Preeti who was beaming with joy.

"Shravan forgave them", she eyed at his parents and Suman could see how the smile was not leaving anyone's face.