Posted:
This post is dedicated to my friend Prithu because I had a feeling she was not feeling all happy today, so darling, this one's for you🤗
I thought since these were missing, why not attempt a fictionalized assumption😳
The realization struck him like a firebolt. If he were not such a realist, he'd have admitted his heart stopped for a moment.
As it was, he was shocked to realize that she did not. She was not capable of that deceit, she would never betray him: he was right.
And as for what he had done, perhaps no words, no gestures, nothing was capable of making it right again. He had abused her in the worst possible way, knowing how much it would have hurt her (not exactly knowing why was not of importance).
How would he ever make amends?
Rudra, Om, they said if the apology came from the heart, she would accept it.
But she did not believe he HAD a heart, not for her, not for the outside world.
How will he show it to her that she was not an outsider?
Wouldn't he call him out on his hypocrisy?
How dare he pick and choose parts of her to accept or reject?
What was the truth for him?
Which Anika did he want?
Somewhere, he realized he wanted Anika to just return, where he could see her, and failing that, sense her. He wanted her around. He needed her around or his life will not function.
He needed to apologize.
She's ANIKA. She is kind, gentle, fierce, but also forgiving.
So he went, buoyed up with his brothers' advice.
Caught in the crossfire that had nothing and everything to do with her and her indulgences in one way or the other, Anika stood there, letting the world's words wash over her, letting that nauseating woman's words wash over her:repelled by her sense of love for herself, her respect for herself. she was Anika and she did not NEED the world, she used it to take care of herself and hers (which somehow now included the Oberois).
WHO were they to tell her about her relationships? THAT was her decision, always was, always will be.
However, the world finds a way to desecrate the most sacred of feelings into a mere play of desire and greed.
There she was, like a fierce lioness caught in a net of brutal hunters. As soon as he saw her, he could not help but recall all he had said to her. As blow after blow deterred him, he recalled with vivid detail every syllable he used to hurt her. And he let each blow be a reminder of that.
Looking at her, he urged her to understand, and if not, to simply accept the scene in front of her, perhaps his blood could pay for the insult he had thrown at hers.
So he let it fall, each wound, each cut, each drop of blood to atone for the harshness he had meted out to someone so innocent, to someone who had saved his family. Again.
What he could not bear was that scream of pain: HOW DARE that lout touch her? HOW DARE he make her scream in pain.
THAT enough was all it took for him to take charge. Atonement can come later, for now, they must pay for her screams, for her tears, and for the bruises on her skin that shone with goodness and kindness.
Each blow to him felt like it landed on her. WHAT was this? Why did he not fight back? Was it another elaborate way to hurt her? But no, he wouldn't. This was real. She screamed his name as he kept taking one punch after another. Until, until he saw she was hurting, and then, there was no going back.
She felt rather than saw the blow to his head, under which he finally reeled. Trapped, she waited for a miracle.
Om and Rudra could not believe this was happening. But it had, and she was okay and so was their elder brother. Nothing else mattered.
When they realized their brother was not capable of any other word after apologizing to Anika, they convinced her to sit in front with him while he drove to her house.
Om could not understand the charge between them and he had a compendium of multiple dictionaries at his disposal. YET, this went beyond words, the wounds, the concern, it was beyond words.
Shivaay glanced at her hands, and her bruised temple while she sneaked glances at his jaw, his forehead.
Everytime he noticed one of them began to say a word, the other stopped it with a look.
Why, he wondered. What was happening between them that was so intense that even he, who was so adept at reading silences could not understand?
Perhaps, a voice within him said, perhaps he was not meant to. This wall of silence was meant to kept everyone out, save the two who had firmly built it brick by painful brick.
Shivaay did not want to leave Anika, but he had to let her go. Despite her protests, he waited outside his car, until she went inside her house and the door shut. He waited a beat more till he knew she was not returning outside, and then went home, writhing in guilt but satisfied about her safety.
Sorry this was so long, I HAD TO!!!
I hope this was at least something worthy of being read😳
Geet
Current Affairs
Anupamaa
