Scars
She sat in the far left hand corner of the room, curled up into a ball. Her body raked with tears, as tiny sobs escaped her lips. Lifting her head and hands she turned her wrists. Through her watery eyes she could hardly make out the red inflammation left behind by his vine-like grip, the impression of his fingers still visible, though the stinging confirmed the swelling. The door clicked open, causing her to look up in its direction. She hastily made to get up off the ground by balancing on her hands when the sudden pain shot through her wrists and arms causing her to topple back down to the floor and shriek out. The unexpected pain and loss of balance once again triggered her tears, as they came rolling out again along with the sobs.
Hearing her shriek in pain the footsteps into the room came faster and louder before halting in front of her. The realisation of the position she was sitting in and what the family member now in the room must be thinking caused her sobbing to cease as she surreptitiously tried to wipe her tears. Looking up with her swollen eyes she saw his shoes, the sight of which panged her heart. Lifting her head to look directly up at him her eyes filled with tears once more, but the sobbing did not return. She watched as he slowly crouched down next to her, staring directly at her wrists, masking the concern she had caught a flicker of. "What new game are you playing?" he asked emotionlessly. Drying up her tears she got to stand up, trembling as a wave of anger over took her...losing her balance she fell to her right, placing her right hand on the floor to balance herself. Agony replaced anger on her face as the pain shot through her again. Seeing him move forward to steady her, she put up her left hand... "Don't pretend to care," she whispered through her gritted teeth. Getting up she started making her way towards the bathroom as he sat watching her from behind, walking with her arms hanging limply on either side of her.
Feeling a thud in his heart he moved rapidly to stand in her way. Looking up at him, she tilted her head to the right, questioning his action. Her reached out his hands towards her and brought them up, turning her wrists slowly to face up. The sudden touch made her wince as the throbbing increased. "How... how'd this happen?" he questioned, covering up his initial distress.
"What do you care?"
"Just answer me goddamit!" He shouted, glaring directly at her face.
"You don't want to know," she sighed, slowly trying to twist her wrists out of his hands.
"Tell me Khushi," he hissed.
"Inside this room we are strangers, I am to you as you are to me...nothing," she replied, looking down at her wrists and continuing with her efforts.
Dropping her wrists out of his grasp, he took as step back.
"You're right, I don't want to know."
Taking a step to the left she walked past him and towards the bathroom.
***
Walking across the room towards the pool and grabbing his watering can, he saw her scrunched up on the bottom step of the stairs. Staring straight ahead she appeared to be lost in deep thought. She hadn't come down for dinner tonight, preferring to confine herself in seclusion...away from human contact. Anjali had volunteered to go and fetch her but he had stopped her to prevent her from seeing her wounded wrists, stating she had already fallen asleep. Yet sleep deluded them both, her nights were spent gazing at nothing...dozing off outside when drowsiness took over...whilst his were spent twisting and turning in bed until darkness took over in the wee hours of the morning.
Yet tonight was different. The drowsiness and darkness refused to descend upon them tonight. The birds started chirping as the first rays of the sun rushed towards them, bringing light to their stark reality. Rolling off his bed he moved towards the wardrobe, falling back into his daily routine, when her figure appeared within the periphery of his vision. She was sitting, exactly as she had been when he'd finished watering the plants. She hadn't moved an inch, she has to be frozen, he thought. He couldn't take it any longer, the tension...the silence it was all just becoming too much. Turning around he walked outside taking rapid steps to close the distance between them. Coming to a halt in front of her he leaned down and in one swift movement picked her up, awakening her from her stupor. Turning around he made his way back into the room and put her down on the pistachio-green chaise. She sat silently watching him rummage through the drawers in the bathroom, before walking out with a two cloth bandages and a tube of what looked like anti-inflammatory ointment. Crouching on the floor in front of her he got to work, slowly applying the cold white cream on her wrist, moving his first and middle finger in a circular fashion, and bandaging it up before moving onto the next one. She did not try to stop him but watched on calmly as he continued, seemingly oblivious to her gaze.
Closing the tube he placed it on the floor and looked up at her, "Tell me the truth Khushi." She looked at him, amused before replying, "Ever since when have we started doing that?"
"I don't want to do this right now...I'm tired and I know you are too, just tell me," he replied, keeping his tone steady.
She got up suddenly and replied, "I've been tired for the last 5 weeks, don't you think I am more deserving of the truth?" Trying to step away from him she lost her balance and reached out at thin air hoping to steady herself when her hand grasped onto his shoulder. She stood holding onto his shoulder, taking guilty peace in the steadiness it offered, whilst he sat frozen...afraid of moving and causing her to topple over.
The silence between them for once was unconstrained by bitterness and indignation...there was a calmness within it that neither had experienced since the wedding, a tranquillity neither wanted to disturb. "Please," he whispered, his voice cracking and abruptly disrupting the stillness. She paused before she looked down at him and whispered, "You don't want to know Arnav...I don't know why you threw us into this mess but I can tell it is hurting you as much as it pains me...but some truths are just better left hidden. They only serve to scar...I have already been but you need not be...," she replied, before removing her hand and heading towards the wardrobe. Her words shook him as he continued to sit crouching on the floor until a realisation hit him... leaping up he walked towards her, grabbed her elbow and spun her around to face him. "Who hurt you Khushi?!" he questioned, nostrils flaring as the extent of her suffering hit him forcefully. "You hurt me," replied looking past him, "you..."
"You know that's not what I'm talking about!" he cut her off, trying to stifle the anger rising up within him, "I'm talking about the wrists!" Forcing her to look directly at him, she looked deep into his eyes. She knew he wasn't going to back down now...unlike herself, who had given up on questioning him a few weeks ago, he wasn't going to yield until he got the answers he demanded.
"Your jeejaji," she whispered, looking down...she didn't the strength to look into the turmoil within him.
Hope you guys enjoyed it, please excuse any errors...i don't have time to edit. Please do comment and let me know whether you like it or not...it means a lot and makes writing worthwhile. Pleas hit the like button at least, if you enjoyed it. 😃
Jiwan
Just a reference to my other work if anyone is interested:
OS: Usay Rohna Bhi Hoga: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/iss-pyaar-ko-kya-naam-doon/2759874/os-usay-rona-bhi-hoga-part-3-updated-pg-3
It has been six months: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/iss-pyaar-ko-kya-naam-doon/2799183/os-it-has-been-six-months
Don't Come Back At All: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/iss-pyaar-ko-kya-naam-doon/2801850/os-dont-come-back-at-all
FF: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/fan-fictions/1715974/arhi-ff-judayaian-updated-pg-18
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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