Kiara's journey back home was bittersweet. She knew that she wasn't going to be meeting Kabir and her other friends, that she had grown very fond of, ever again and there were no means of connection then. It was obvious to her that they wouldn't remember her after a few years and she was okay with that. She understood that sometimes distance is what makes you move on in life and she and her friends knew that if possible, they will get in touch with each other.
She was hurting, though, because Kabir did not deserve the closure that he got. She felt bad about not giving an answer to him. She felt that he deserved to know what she felt about relationships. It made her heart break into tiny pieces when she thought about the look on Kabir's face the last time she saw him. He felt so helpless and heartbroken, even though she saw him try hard to put on a brave face.
She sighed deeply and thought that whatever had happened, had happened for the best and that if destiny had to get them back together, it will. Her flight was a seventeen hour long one and she slept most of it so as to not overthink on all that was going on in her head. It did not help her much because she was reminiscing her time there and recalling all the fun times and conversations she had. She knew that she had made some irreplaceable memories in a short amount of time and was happy that she'll get to relive them as many times as she wants. Thinking all this, her eyelids became droopy and sleep overcame her.
She woke up to her mother shaking her and telling her that they had landed in India and her first thought was that she could not wait to tell all her experiences to her maternal grandfather who she shared all her life details with. She went to meet him soon and told her all that had happened.
"So, please tell me what to do and how to go about it. I am in a fix, now that I think that I had so many opportunities and ways to go about it differently." She asked.
"You are very young, Kiara, very impressionable. You take things to your heart very easily. I think all you can do now is just stop dwelling over what you could have done and focus on what you did and how you can move past that." Her grandfather told her, caressing her cheek.
"Okay, grandpa, as you say. I just wanted to tell you this because it feels really bad that I did not even answer him. Truth is, I was so scared. No one has ever said that to me and it happened so suddenly that I didn't even see it coming at all. I hope this empty void I feel goes away soon, it sucks!" Kiara said, putting her head on his lap. He brought his hand to caress her head lovingly and planted a kiss there too.
Young minds are very easy to influence. They always remember those episodes of their lives which were very impactful, and the Canada incident was no less, not at least for Kiara. She knew she'll remember this and cherish what she had back in Canada, no matter what happen throughout her journey. It was definitely obvious that she will make more memories as she goes to live on and that some of them will overpower others.
Though Kiara and her grandfather lived in the same city they met hardly because her parents were working. She couldn't visit them often but called to talk to them whenever she felt the need to. One of the main reasons she loved going to her grandfather's house was because whenever she used to go to his house, he used to give her a ten rupee note! She felt a joy so great receiving the money from him that she longed to go to the house as often as she could.
Kiara wasn't concerned about the value that that ten rupee note held. For her it was just another piece of paper. What mattered to her over the face value was the emotions behind it. It was the affection that her grandfather showed while giving her that note that made it so special for her. She never used to share that money with anyone and did not spend it too. She kept it safely in her and did not let anyone come near it.
She used to share all her feelings with him, took advice before all the decisions that she took. Basically her grandfather was her 'living' secret diary without whom she couldn't think of a life. She confided in him the most and depended on his advice.
But, that didn't seem to last long enough. After a couple of years, her grandfather's health started deteriorating. He started keeping unwell because he was aged and was admitted to the hospital.
As soon as Kiara got to know about her grandfather's condition, she begged her mother to let her meet him once! She could not fathom the thought of him lying in the middle of machines and wires and knew that he did not like syringes. Unfortunately, for her, she was way too small so was not allowed to enter the hospital, especially where her grandfather was kept. She felt helpless that she couldn't do anything to save his life. All she was left to do was, pray! And so she did. Kiara prayed day and night to save her grandfather, to pull him out from his condition, to bring him back to her as he was sometime back. She was desperate because she did not want to lose him to sickness. He did not deserve this pain that he was suffering from.
Kiara argued to God, tears streaming down her face, "What bad did he do to deserve all this? Why are you punishing him for the sins that he never did?" A teardrop fell from the corner of her eye and then another from the other eye and soon she was completely drowned in her own puddle of tears. She muffled her sobs because she did not want to seem weak in front of her family.
She couldn't understand what were those tears for, were they tears of fear that she might lose him any moment? Or were they of anger because God was giving her grandfather so much pain that he didn't even deserve? She felt like she was losing her grip on him with each progressing moment. She thought that maybe it's her. Maybe everyone she feels for, strongly, is taken away from her. She did not want to believe this but there was no one who could tell her otherwise.
Gradually, her grandfather's condition started improving and there was no one more happy than Kiara. She was relieved that he wasn't going anywhere. She had learnt from the last time that when it comes to closure, one has to do it the right way, otherwise you are left with a void that only time can heal and she did not want to feel that antagonising voice again.
When Vrinda came home from the hospital that day, she asked her, "Mom, is he going to be okay now?"
"Yes, sweetie, he will be. The doctors are just going to keep him for one more day to check if all is good, and if that be the case, he'll be home as soon as possible. Then you can go meet him also." Vrinda said, stroking Kiara's face.
"Thank God, I was so scared!" Kiara confessed.
"I know, we all were. Everything is okay now, so don't worry." Vrinda replied.
But, while all this was going on in Kiara's mind, she overlooked that it might just a calm before the storm in the process. She did not think that this state of his could be temporary. Her head was so consumed with the thought of him being okay that she forgot that nothing is permanent and that life is fragile, one change can cost too much. She just looked at the bright side and hoped that everything could go back to the way it had been for as long as she could remember.
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Don't forget to hit the star! ❤
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The Scars ✓
Romance'There won't be another me. There will be someone better, someone who'll love you much more deeply and for a much longer amount of time.' "He taught me, memories are not enough." Kiara was a bubbly girl, whose past was yet to be discovered. With hor...
