Chaotic Hearts | ✓

02 | familiar

02 | familiar

IT WAS SEVEN hours later when Anika woke up again with a terrible headache to give her company in the empty room. This time, however, Anika was calm. She could see the sunlight dancing over the edge of her bed and she looked out of the window to see the sun rising. She rubbed her temple and groaned when her body ached from trying to move just an inch.

She was sore all over. Every part of her body ached. Her eyes raked over the bandages that she was wrapped in. Something about them made her want to rip it open and look at the wounds. She wanted to see the damage they had done to her.  

Suddenly, the door opened and Anika was ready to scream her lungs out if it was the man and blond woman from before. But instead, the man who had inky hair walked in with a smile upon his face. His amber eyes looked at her with a soft look.

Anika shouldn’t have felt so relaxed to see him but she couldn’t stop her shoulder from sagging in relief. She didn’t understand what it was about this man but he felt like somebody she knew. He felt like her own. To add to this, he looked like a harmless person so Anika wasn’t worried about him hurting her. In fact, she thought this man couldn’t even hurt a fly let alone hurt her.

“Morning!” He greeted, standing at the foot of the bed with a small smile on his face. “Everything’s gonna be alright, darling. Don’t you worry, okay? You are fine. And that’s all we need, ya know?!” Anika was engrossed in observing him that she didn’t notice the blond haired woman walk in. But her eyes fell over the woman as soon as she began approaching her. “She won’t hurt you, darling. She will give you a medicine that will heal all these wounds, alright? Let her do her work.”

“Where am I?” She questioned quietly, a slight tremor in her voice.

“You are in the hospital, of course, darling.” The man stared at her with so much warmth in his amber eyes that Anika could feel butterflies in her stomach. She wasn’t used to seeing someone look at her so lovingly. It had been a while since anybody even talked to her properly let alone look at her with so much affection.

True to the man’s words, the woman was ready with a few pills in her hand and a glass of water in other. She smiled warmly at Anika who took the glass water cautiously as the woman offered it to her. She downed the pills; she could feel the eyes of the man on her, watching her movements carefully. It made her a little uncomfortable but she couldn’t bring herself to tell him that.

“Who–” Anika was about to question the man who he was and why he was taking care of her when he pressed his fingers to her lips.

“Shh, we have plenty of time to talk but right you need rest.” He patted her head softly and brushed out the hair out of her eyes. “Have a good sleep.” After one last glance in her direction, he left with the woman in tow.

Anika looked around and saw her reflection in one of the glasses. She looked deathly pale, all the color drained out of her. Her once sleek long hair had been cut short messily till her shoulders. There was a scar that ran from her the corner of her bottom lip to her neck. Involuntarily, her fingers touched it and traced it with disgust. The rest of her hands were covered in same way. They were grotesque and ugly. Anika couldn’t bring herself to look any more so she turned her head away with tears filling her eyes.

She tried not to think of those scars again. So she thought of the things that made her happy. The first person that crossed her mind was her dad. The thought of him made her smile wistfully. Anika missed him so badly. She wanted nothing more than to have him wrap his arms around her. It would be nice to stay in her dad’s arms for a while. It would be peaceful.

And there was Karan and Naina. Gods, they must be worried sick about her. She had been missing from such a long time. How long had it been that they both had seen her last? Had it been just a couple months or much more longer than that?

Thinking too much made her head throb again. She massaged her forehead and let out a long breath.

To be honest, Anika had no idea if things would ever go back to the way they used to be. She prayed to all her stars that her life would continue on like it used to be.

Tear drops slid down her cheeks and for the first time in days, Anika didn’t bother to wipe them away or even try to stop the tears. She let them flow down her cheeks, her heart twisting painfully at the thought of her family.

But it would be nice if life could be how it used to be.

Before Anika could drown in self-pity, the door opened so suddenly, it gave her a fright. She pressed a hand down on her heart and tried to calm her erratic heart beat which had raced suddenly. Anika looked up to see who had open the door with such force.

In walked a man with jet black hair–which were extremely dishevelled–with the buttons of his shirt popped open, his tie half loose. His shirt was half tucked in and half out. He looked broken. He had bags under his greenish blue eyes. Anika didn’t know why but he was familiar. She knew that she had seen him earlier but had no idea where. It was an elusive memory that whenever Anika tried to grasp it, it managed to slip away.

“Anika, jaan, I have been worried sick–”

Anika cut the man short. She hadn’t asked the man with amber eyes who he was but she was determined to ask him.

“Who are you?”