OS: A Midnight Stroll

Weak streaks of light illuminated his face every few yards as he continued his march into the unknown. His pale face contrasted deeply with the darkness that lay predatorily around him, threatening to consume him whole. His features made him look a sickly man, one without any life, as if all the soul and happiness in him had been sucked out. There seemed to be nothing human about him. And yet, there was. For hidden in those cold, stony features lay beautiful, soft brown eyes that gave sight into his broken life and his shattered soul.

These beautiful eyes showed his anguish, his pain, his love for those he had lost. For those he would never see again. These eyes were the most vulnerable part of Arnav Singh Raizada. It had been with these eyes that he had witnessed his mother, father and sister committing suicide, ending not only their lives, but also the good memories they had shared with him. He had then known only pain. His eyes had hardened after this, not allowing the beauty of life to delude him from the fact that though life was beautiful, death was ugly. Death was the ugly part of nature that once comes, never leaves. His eyes had not softened again until he had met someone. Khushi Kumari Gupta had softened this man's beautiful yet cold eyes once again.

She had walked into his life. A ray of hope and warmth after the darkest of storms. She had walked, no fallen into his life as an angel sent from above, and made a place in his heart. With every memory of pain, she had added a memory of love, of care, of passion. She had taught him that life was meant to be lived and enjoyed, not endured. She had taught him that death was inevitable and yet had to exist. Life was more precious, more beautiful because it was so limited. Any moment could have been their last. She had broken down the walls that he had built around himself, exposing him to emotions, leaving him feeling raw and exposed. Her lively and chaotic nature had lit up his life. Only she had the ability to make him smile, to cry, to laugh, to hate, and to love.

He stopped suddenly as her thoughts consumed him. No, he couldn't bear it, the pain, the hurt. It was all too much. The moon shone down on the man in the suit sinking down on his knees in the middle of an empty street in Delhi. Seconds and minutes ticked by yet the man continued to sit on the floor in the same position, as if he had no more strength to move, no more strength to carry himself. After what seemed like ages, the strange man lifted his head, looking up at the sky. Three stars shone down on him as he allowed himself to finally let go of his emotions. "Khushi."He whispered into the wind, his husky voice breaking as he stared at the stars so far away, his tears cascading down his face, revealing his broken and tarnished soul.