To Take Away Your Pain ✓

1. Can you not help him with it?

“Tu agar udaas hoga
Toh udaas hungi main bhi
Nazar aau ya na aau
Tere paas hoongi main bhi”
-Mere Saaya Saath Hoga

(If you ever feel sad
Then sad, I will be too
Whether I'm visible or not
I will be by your side)
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Her POV

“Didn’t I just tell you to-o S-shut-t up?” I imitated our oldie boss’s raspy voice as I pressed one of my nostrils close with my thumb.

We all laughed as my mobile ringed. “Excuse me.” I excused myself and moved away from my colleagues and their loud chit-chat.

“Hohoho. What do you need, My child?” I mimicked Santa Claus’s voice. I could imagine Clara giving me a flat, bored look. Sometimes I wonder why I love imitating voices so much. I thought my hunger would be satisfied after I become an Impressionist but no, even after I do that the whole day, I still love mimicry.

“D, its important”, she stated. Her tone made my jolly mood fly out of the window.

I cleared my throat. “What is it?”, I asked concerned.

“I kinda need your help, D”, she sounded guilty. It was my turn to wear a flat look. Another prank? That’s what was important. I shook my head, with a smile adorning my face as my fingers were ready to hang up on her.

“Before you hang up, it’s not a prank. I… actually… AH! Okay, you know what, just come downstairs and I’ll be there in 10.” She hung up! Now, that surely made me worry. She never hangs up on me. I do. Always. Unless…

Oh, well, let me just go downstairs and see for myself, what the problem is.

“Guys, I’m leaving. Something came up”

They all gave me nods, ‘okays’ and I just left. We had already been done for the day. Our boss had already left too, but we just wanted to talk for some time, since tomorrow is a Sunday anyway.

I rushed down the stairs. Even though Clara had told me it would take her ten minutes to reach, I couldn’t wait to know what was wrong. I sat on the empty bench in front of my office building and impatiently tapped my fingers on the bench and my feet to the ground, as my eyes roamed the exit of parking lot, looking for my familiar best friend.

I was trying to keep myself calm, to not think of anything worrisome. I don’t know for how long I sat there, thinking of uninteresting things like what to eat for dinner today, what to wear to office tomorrow or about how life can be fun and boring at the same time, and so on, when my eyes landed on Clara and her infamous boyfriend. I had heard so much about him. What was his name again? Ray? Ya, Ray. I had given them the couple name ‘Larara’. I grinned triumphantly at the memory, or rather memories, of how I had annoyed her with that name.

As she approached me, I could see that she looked serious and that turned my smile into a frown. I hoped everything was alright and it was something silly that she wanted to talk about.

I shifted to the left end of the bench, leaving enough space for both of them to sit down. I remembered Clara talking about Ray’s brother’s accident. That must be why he looks so worn out. It’s been almost 2 weeks since I had heard about it.

“Hi. Ray”, he forced a smile as he extended a hand of friendship.

I politely returned the smile and shook his hand firmly, “Diana.”

Silence fell between us as they sat down. The weather was perfect but my attention was on Clara who was fidgeting with her fingers.
I just decided to break the ice by asking the question that was bothering me.

“Is you brother okay now?”
I bit my lip when he glanced back and forth between me and Clara. I wasn’t supposed to know? My eyes darted to look at her but she was just staring at Ray, with a sad smile.

He sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Actually…”, he started, “That was what we wanted to talk about.”

Did they need financial help? Wrong person to ask though. Doesn’t Clara know that already? But I would help, though I don’t think the help I could offer would even count.

“He had a girlfriend. Tina...” That name rang a bell but there are hundreds of Tina’s in this world and why are they telling me this? But I just listened, knowing his tone wasn’t one that would want to be interrupted.

He continued, after taking a deep breath, “When the doctors said they weren’t sure whether he could walk again, it was quite clear that mostly he wouldn’t walk again. At that… She, left. And hasn’t returned since… She isn’t picking any calls either. When Chase woke up, she was nowhere to be seen and he panicked. We thought we could tell him but the more we tried, the more we realized, we just couldn’t. He became so silent when he started to doubt that she had left. It’s very clear he blames himself. Though it is that Tina who is to blame.”

He smashed his tight fist to the bench as his anger turned to defeat, “I don’t know how to tell him, how to tell him that she left. That she didn’t love him like he loved her. That she won’t be coming back. When we spoke to the doctor, he said that Chase needs all the motivation and any reasons that we can give him, to strengthen his will power, to make him want to walk again. And I know this news would do the exact opposite… I don’t want my brother to spoil his life thinking about some useless woman who left him when he needed her the most... I want him walking. I want him happy.”

He was just ranting. More to himself than to any of us. Yet, I felt bad, because I knew how it felt to lose faith in a brighter future and to feel abandoned. But how could I help? Wait a second. I know where this is going…

“Could you act like his girlfriend, D.” Clara was the one who spoke this time. I turned to her as my eyes met her pleading blue ones while she continued, “You can imitate anyone’s voice. Can you not help him with it?” Her voice held so much desperation that without thinking, I just nodded.

A relieved smile formed on her face as she hugged me, repeatedly yelling ‘Thank You’ as Ray mouthed the same sincerely, making me smile.

Here you go, D. Now, you are on a mission to help.

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Hi!

Since the prologue is short, I figured I could put in one more chapter today. So here it is.

Enjoy reading.

Do let me know whether you like the story. Comment. Vote. Follow.