Living In Oblivion

06

Avanti woke up early in the morning. For a while, she had been feeling the urge to use the restroom, but she hesitated to leave the warmth of the bedsheet wrapped around her body. She remembered how she had felt cold during the night, but there were no spare blankets in the room. She found it awkward to wake Divit up in the middle of the night and ask for blankets. Instead, she had put on a hoodie she had in her backpack and used the cotton bedsheet from the mattress to cover herself.

After using the washroom, Avanti returned to bed and unplugged her phone from the charger. She checked the time and realized it was quite early. With a sigh, she lay back on the comfortable bed, feeling excited and eager for the day to begin. She was looking forward to the challenges this city and job had to offer. She was determined to work hard and make it all worth it, considering what her mother had suffered, what her sister had compromised, and what she had always wished for.

After about fifteen minutes, Avanti got up and walked out, her eyes searching for Divit. His door was closed, indicating he was still asleep. Avanti entered the kitchen to drink some water and make herself a morning tea. She recalled seeing some milk packets in the fridge while cooking dinner the previous night. She took a packet, poured the milk into a container, and placed a pan on the stove, adding the required water. As she searched for the remaining ingredients, she prepared herself a cup of tea.

Despite trying to ignore the pile of dirty dishes in the wash basin, Avanti couldn't help but notice it. She quickly finished her tea, tied her hair in a loose bun, and put on a pair of washing gloves. She emptied the sink, placing the utensils on the countertop, and began washing them. It took her half an hour to clean them all. When she finished, she removed the gloves and admired her hard work, grinning for a few seconds.

The thought of putting away the utensils in the cabinets crossed her mind briefly, but she shrugged it off, thinking that Divit should do some work on his own too. Glancing at Divit's room, she frowned when she saw he was still sleeping. "This guy is a late sleeper," she concluded, and returned to her room to make her bed and tidy up.

Stepping out onto the balcony, she stood there, enjoying the cold breeze that caressed her face and played with the strands of hair falling over her eyes. The birds sang their melodies, and parrots perched on railings, wires, and branches, their red beaks vibrant against the whiteness of the morning.

Avanti noticed that the wind had started to turn colder, and the sun remained hidden behind the clouds instead of shining brightly. It was a fine winter day, and she loved winters. She preferred the shivering coldness of the weather over sweating under the scorching heat of the blazing sun.

Checking the time on her phone again, she went back inside her room and changed into a plain black pair of jeans and a simple T-shirt. She wore a jacket over it and wrapped a stole around her neck. Tying her hair into a high ponytail, she grabbed her phone and clutch, and exited the room.

Once again, her eyes stopped at Divit's closed door, and she visibly frowned. However, she shrugged it off and left, locking the flat from the outside.

Meanwhile, Divit woke up late and emerged in the afternoon, searching for any signs of Avanti but finding none Her room was closed and he assumed she was inside. He prepared himself a cup of coffee and walked to the main door to fetch himself a newspaper. He tried to open the door but much to his surprise it was locked. He frowned and tried opening it again.

"What the fuck ?" He mumbled and rotated the knob with more pressure.

"Avanti" He called.

"Avanti" He called again and then few more times but no reply came.

He thought to give her a call and ask about her whereabouts but remembered he didn't have her number.

"So she went out locking me inside my own flat. What the actual fuck?" He mumbled to himself irritated and walked back into the hall.