Mysterious Hearts

Growing Intimacy

Annika closed her eyes, welcoming her fate just when she felt somebody pull her by her wrist.

Her eyes being closed, all she could hear was Twisha's screams.

"Annika you better come out on your own"

Annika felt strange.
Why wasn't she visible to Twisha.

She opened her eyes to see darkness around her. She could still feel somebody's touch, somebody had held her wrist .

" Are you OK?"
She heard the voice of her solace.
She turned around to see him, his cyan eyes shone bright even in darkness .
Ironically, the man who was scared of darkness, was the only light in her life.

She looked down to see his hold on her wrist.
A smile automatically adorned her face.
She could hear his voice, she could sense the worry in it. He was continously asking about her well being.
But she had no reply.

How could she tell that the only thing which mattered to her right now was his touch?
It didn't matter whether she was hurt.
Nor did it matter that her property was taken away.
Neither was the fact important that the people who brought her up were responsible for all the miseries in her life.
She could  only cogitate that he touched her,he touched her despite of whatever happened between them.
He didn't feel phobic to her touch.
Unknowingly a tear of happiness fell from her eye.
Nothing mattered to her more than that single touch.

"We have to go" she heard him whisper .
He interwined his fingers with her fingers, she followed his lead.
She couldn't stop staring at his penumbra.
Even contours can be composing.

As they entered his house, she felt uncertain emotions.
His place lacked illumination.
She was surrounded by a soothing atmosphere but also accompanied by some dubious emptiness.
His place was just like him, she gathered.
Absolutely Serene yet vacuous.

"Shivaay, why is the place so dark. Should I put the lights on?"
Annika questioned as she came inside.

" Light can betray, darkness protects!"
Shivaay replied while Annika just stared at him, as if reading his face.
She nonetheless put the lights on.

She walked ahead to see the portrait of shivaay's parents hanging on the wall.
Her eyes moistened immediately.
She loved them like she loved her own father.
Little Annika's thought of happy family always included herself, her father, her pinky aunty, her Shakti uncle and her billu until that day.
That fateful day changed her life completely.

"Annika"
She turned around, in the direction of his voice.
"Come here"

Following his voice, Annika reached a garden.
She saw him standing there, staring at nothing in particular.

"How did you get the house back?"
Annika questioned as she went near to him.

" I made myself The Shivaay Singh Oberoi and then used that name to get our house back"
Shivaay replied with a smile.

"Our house"
One word which made Annika feel countless emotions.

"This is the garden where we both used to play"
Annika heard him and looked at the garden, with a smile on her face, a sad smile.

"There, right there on that bench our parents used to sit and watch us"
Shivaay said while pointing his hand towards the direction of an empty bench.