Dhruv was stuck in traffic and he was getting late to Mahi's program.
This whole week he was listless. Avanthika 's death anniversary was this week. Nobody had noticed except him. After that accident, every year he used to isolate himself from everyone around him. He would bury himself in the pain and agony , his only comfort being the loneliness.
But this year was different. He smiled a bit at that.
He wanted to celebrate Avantika's life rather than mourning her loss. It had never occurred to him that Avantika would've wanted him to do this.
And Mahika made him realise that.
Dhruv had remained true to his promise and cancelled everything for this evening but an urgent meeting with an important client came up which he couldn't ignore. He finished even that as fastly as he could cause he knew it was important for Mahi and he wanted be there for her atleast now.
He wanted to change atleast for Mahi and his family of not for him. They deserve that.
Suddenly a knock on his car window brought him out of his thoughts.
"Bhaiya , please buy these bangles. "
The girl couldn't have been older that 15. She was wearing a torn dress and carried sets of bangles of vibrant colours and sizes.
"Tumhara naam kya hai?"
(What is your name?)
"Komal. " She replied meekly
"Tumhe school nahi hai?"
(Don't you have school?)
"Nahi"
(No)
"Tera maa baap kaha hai?"
(Where is your mother and father?)
She didn't reply to that and refused to look into his eyes. Dhruv didn't want to pry either.
"Yeh Mera card hai. Tum Singhania building pe jaakar ye card Karthik Iyer ko dena. Tum kal se school jaoge. "
(This is my card. Take this to the Singhania building and give it to Karthik Iyer. You will go to school from tomorrow. )
He told her with a smile.
"Shukriya bhaiyya " she replied with tears in her eyes.
"Bhaiyya chudiyan? " She asked again with hope.
(Brother, bangles?)
"Han.. "Dhruv chuckled
"Mujhe woh nila aur safed dono dedo. "
(Give me that blue and white ones)
As the traffic started Dhruv gazed at the bangles.
"I know this won't redeem everything I did to you, Mahi. But I hope this will help for a new start. "
Suddenly Dhruv heard a crash behind him and he saw a small crowd in his rearview mirror.
He was getting late but something in his heart was screaming at him to go and check.
He got out and through the crowd he could see the form of Komal, unconscious and coverd in blood.
"Komal...."
He pushed himself through the crowd who was doing nothing except watching her. The car that had hit her sped away from the scene.
Dhruv picked her up and rushed her to the hospital in his car.
It was all just a blur to him. He remembered seeing her in that bloodied state and the next thing he remembered was sitting in the emergency ward of the hospital waiting for the doctor to come out of the ICU.
He looked at his hands.
It was stained with a colour he had come to hate.
He called office to bring him a new shirt.
His mind found its way back to that rainy night when he had lost her.
"Dhruv let's leave he is not worth it. "
"Yeah listen to your bitch and get the hell out of my sight ... "
Abhinav Shekar said with malice and hatred dripping from his words.
"Say that again and I swear I will rip out your tongue. " Dhruv said ready to get his hands messy.
"Dhruv come lets go"
As Dhruv turned to leave, Abhinav said , "Yeah go hide behind your whore's skirt. That's all you could do even before her. "
Avantika left her hold on Dhruv and walked back to Abhinav and slapped him.
"Think twice about saying something about my man when I am standing there. And one more thing, I pity the lady who is your mother. "
"YOU BITCH!"
Dhruv was about to punch him but she pushed him back. Then said,
"Oh come on , be more creative. You already used that. "
"Come on Dhruv. "
She said leading him back to their car leaving a humiliated Abhinav Shekar behind.
"I should have murdered that son of a bitch right there"
Dhruv said his hands tightening on the steering wheel.
"Does the things he say change us. No right. Then leave it. "
"But how can he say that about you. You are mine " Dhruv said with so passion and determination Avantika was breathless for a moment.
"and he humiliated you there. If you hadn't stopped me...."
"I am so lucky to have you. " She said looking into his eyes , giving him one of her warmest smiles.
"Not as Lucky as me. " I replied, my anger evaporating into thin air.
Dhruv took her hands in his , gazed at his ring on her fingers and bought them to his lips.
"I love you Sunshine"
"I love you t..."
A lorry crashed into them and the force had Dhruv thrown to one side. She was sitting on the side were the truck had hit them and her body was crushed by the pressure of her seatbelt. Her eyes were wide and half of her face was covered in blood. He tried to reach for her but his eyes were getting clouded with darkness.
He couldn't do anything , he couldn't even move and the Last thing he remembered was the unseeing eyes of his Sunshine.
Dhruv wipped his tears and checked his watch. He was super late to the dance. He called his assistant and asked him to do whatever it was needed for the girls treatment in his expense.
He then rushed to gis car and started driving to the venue.
***
" I'm sorry I'm late. " Dhruv said barging into the dressing room.
Mahi had already changed out of her costume and was currently packing her things.
"Well someone decided to show up. " Mahi said refusing to look at him.
" Mahi I am so sorry I......"
" You promised me Dhruv "
Dhruv moved forward to hold her hand as she moved farther away from him.
"Every damn time , you give me this little ray of hope and then you snuff it out like it's a spark of fire in a rain. "
"It was not intentional. I had an urgent meeting...." She interrupted me before I could complete.
"Yeah ofcourse. Work comes first. How silly of me to even think I mattered. "
How could she even think that?
"You know that's not true Mahi"
He replied offended and saddened.
Mahi was the last person he thought would do this. All he wanted right now was understanding and she was piercing his heart with every word like shards of glass.
"Do you know how many people asked me where you were? Do you know how much it hurt when you weren't there to answer them. " She said accusing him.
" Well I didn't tell them to ask you that did I?" Dhruv replied. He was starting to lose his temper. He was already listless because of what happened. He was too exhausted to make sense of anything.
"You. You are selfish and cruel and a sadist. You are not the person who I once called my best friend.
I want to hate you Dhruv. So much that it drives me mad. But I love you more. So now I hate myself. "'
" The way you say it makes it seem like I'm the only one who is selfish. Did I force you into marrying me? Did I ever force anything that happened on my life to you. " He regretted the words the moment they were out of his mouth.
"You don't understand. I want to know what happened. I want to be there for you. But you never allow me. You never allow no one. We all loved Avantika but that doesn't mean that the world ended with her. "
He felt the wetness of blood on his hands as she said those words.
"You don't know how it feels to lose a part of you. I never want you to feel that. Why don't you understand that. Whatever that is between us , it will only lead to more pain. Trust me Mahi. "
"You know Dhruv. The thing is that your world revolved around her but sadly mine revolves around you. And it's alright. I guess the gods are cruel after all. I got the one thing I wanted the most in the world but they still find a way to mock me even through that. "
Mahi wiped her teares and stared at him with much more determination.
"I am really sorry for not keeping to our promise of being strangers and nothing else. Even friends.
She scoffed to herself. "
"Mahi please. Both of us are not thinking right. " Dhruv said his voice breaking. He couldn't do this anymore.
"It's Mahika from now own Mr Singhania. And my thoughts have never been more clear. Thank you for everything you have never done for me and for those few memories that I cherish the most. "
He knew this would happen. He fucking knew it. That's why he always maintained his distance. But no he had to break her heart too.
He just wanted to kill himself. Atleast then he won't hurt everyone around him. Knowingly or unknowingly he had broken all of their hearts. But he didn't want to. Ever.
He walked into the rain and broke down completely. He was alone in the rain under a stormy sky. The rain seemed to wash his tears away consoling him and in that coldness he found himself yearning for warmth of his mother. She was never there to scold him when he did something. She was not there to teach him the right and wrong. But he had always felt her presence, her warmth whenever he needed her the most but now even she had abandoned him.
He couldn't blame her. He was like this and he hated that. He hated himself so much that the hatred was taken out on others. He knew that but he could never control it.
And now it was wreaking havoc in the lives of the people he loved the most.
***
"Her brain has some damages. We Can save her but we have to do an operation"
"Then why are we wasting time?"
"but we need the consent of her family. "
"I will do it. "
"Sir are you sure" Karthik asked.
Dhruv had called him to the hospital to verify whether there was any legal formalities.
"Did I stutter?"
He took his pen and signed the form the nurse gave him.
Please God. Please don't take this beautiful soul away from this world. I can't live with one more death.
He said in silent prayer.
Dhruv then went back to his car and started driving.
The bangles lying on cabinet were long forgotten.
He went back to his office. He didn't look at anyone around him. He walked straight ahead towards his cabin.
Dhruv had a small room made attached to his office which had a small bed and a small wardrobe and what he needed the most now. Alcohol.
He locked the room and then took a bottle of whiskey and started to drink himself into oblivion.
***
Dhruv woke up late evening the next day to vomit blood and broken glasses around him. His pants were soggy from the rain and he had cold sweats. His shirt was thrown away at the other side of the room.
He tried to stand up. Suddenly both his arms started to bleed from cut wounds that he didn't remember having.
There was a piece of broken glass near his hands covered in blood.
As he stood up the wounds started to bleed more.
Dhruv hissed in pain but didn't try to bandage them.
He changed into a new set of clothes , ones that would cover the marks of yesterday's incident.
He called for his driver and opened another bottle and took a sip. This time to numb the pain going through his arms. Still he didn't drink much. He didn't want to repeat what happened yesterday.
Veer was sitting in the living room when Dhruv entered the house.
"Where were you today ? There was an important meeting by Dad and you weren't there." I asked
"And where is Mahika. I thought she was with you. "
Dhruv ignored my words completely.
He was acting as of I was invisible.
"Mai thumse kuch pooch raha hu"
(I am asking you something)
That's when I noticed the bottle he had in his hands.
"What is that?"
"LOOK AT ME WHEN I AM TALKING. "
On the question as if remembering the thing in his hands, he took a sip straight out of the bottle.
This was way out of line now.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?"
"Can't you see? Drinking " he answered emotionlessly.
"Seriously Dhruv. " I sighed exasperated ly
"What happened now?"
"Why do you assume something happened?"
"Because I know my brother and you touch alcohol only when something is bothering you"
"Well nothing is bothering me. I AM COMPLETELY FINE"
"Awaz neeche "
Chachi came downstairs hearing the ruckus. So did the helpers of the house.
"I am going to my room" dhruv said.
" Do you just assume that no one would care if you neglect your family and office and waste your life being an alcoholic? "
"Well no one complained when you were doing it."
"Where is Mahika?"
"Don't know. Don't care"
"Seriously, that's what you have to say. After all that girl has ever done for you??"
He fisted his hands. He was trying his level best to maintain a calm composure.
"Privacy" Chachi said and all the helpers went out of the room back to what they were doing.
But Veer knew atleast one of them would be eavesdropping and he didn't want to create a scene right now.
"Dhruv I'm saying this because I care. If something is wrong talk it out with Mahi " Veer was getting really angry now.
"Look who is advising me. The person who couldn't even save his own child let alone his marriage wants me to save my relationship. The irony. "
Dhruv was silence by a sudden slap from Chachi.
"Apne bhai se tameez se baat kar.
Tu kya samajhti hai apne aapko? "
(Talk politely to your brother. What do you think of yourself?)
"Without him neither you or Rehan would have reached were you are.
Control yourself first then try to control the life of the people around you. "
Dhruv was not reacting to anything.
"It's ok Chachi. He's right. "
"I don't have the right to advise him. But know this much Dhruv I told you all that because I know the mistakes I made and I don't want you to repeat the same. "
I walked towards my room dejected.
Dhruv's words were honest. Atleast he was there for Dhwani when I wasn't.
And his brother, his Dhruv, he had never talked back to his this way before.
Yes they fight. Yes they yell at each other. But this , this had gone way out of control.
Something was wrong. He knew it. Dhruv wouldn't behave like this otherwise. But still the feeling that somewhere he had failed in being there for his brother nagged him.
Veer opened the room which was his sanctuary. Even Dhwani was not allowed to enter it. But she did make him promise to show her it on their 3rd anniversary. Next month.
How time changes things. He chuckled at his situation.
How he wished to change everything. Repent every mistake he ever made. But that's not possible because then it won't be life , will it ?
The room was filled with his paintings. There were dark ones , vibrant ones. Canvases and paints laid here and there. Moonlight came in through the glass ceiling giving it a mysterious look.
Veer needed an escape.
He took a brush in his hands and Veer Singhania started painting.
â
I was true to my word and
Here's the update.
2800 Words
I have noticed that the comments are really decreasing in no.s. You guys know that I am never really particular about the votes I get , but I really do care about the comments so please try to increase them. They are my motivation and most of the time they make my day.
And about the story, all I have to say is ; there are two sides to a coin , so do to a story.
With Love,
Aswa_maya
"Pain is when you are slowly dieing inside and you are way too weak to speak about it so you keep silent and suffer, alone. "