Shiva opened the store. By the time Hasmukh kaka arrived, he had already completed inventory and made a list of items that they had to purchase. When he told kaka that he was going to get the merchandise himself, kaka said that he didn't need to go in person; they could just have it delivered. But Shiva refused because he didn't want to see anyone. He knew his brothers would avoid him because they were mad at him so he didn't need to worry about hiding from them. But he didn't want to see Disha's face or face his mother so, to avoid them, he insisted that he would go to Rajkot himself and pick up the stuff. Since he didn't have a bike, he decided to take a 3 hr train ride to Rajkot and spend the entire day there so that by the time he came back and stocked up the store, everyone would be home and asleep.
At the library of her college, Raavi couldn't concentrate. Her mind kept playing her and Shiva's moments on loop. She knew she had to focus on her studies because she was so far behind and the exams were coming so she put the earplugs in and played music at high volume to drown out Shiva's voice in her head and started reading. After the study session in the morning, she attended all her classes, and decided to stay back at the library and study some more as long as she could so that when she got home, she'd just need to eat dinner, clean the kitchen, and go to her room for the rest of the night without speaking to anyone at all.
Shiva and Raavi fell into a pattern! Every morning they found one reason or another to stay as far away from their families as possible and spent most of the time by themselves, trying to stay busy so that the pain in their hearts wouldn't wreak havoc on their minds.
After a few days, however, Shiva started feeling the effects of the negligence he was inflicting on himself. He hadn't been eating or sleeping much and started feeling weak. But he kept doing the physical labor because if he stopped, his mind would spiral out of control thinking about Raavi. He hadn't seen her in days and every moment spent away from her added more weight on his heart to a point where it had started to suffocate him. He missed her so much. After a long and exhausting day, Shiva finally came home. He thought everyone would be asleep but Dhara was awake; she was waiting for him. He could tell that she wanted to know why he was avoiding everyone and everything but he wasn't in the mood so he simply told her that he already ate and that she should go to sleep and went to the bathroom. He was feeling dizzy and exhausted now. His body ached and he had a terrible headache. He needed to see Raavi; he needed Raavi! So he left!
In her room, Raavi laid awake just like past several nights. She didn't feel like eating much these days and couldn't sleep without waking up crying several times a night. She was exhausted and her heartbreak had manifested into physical pain. Her stomach hurt and so did her head. She paced back and forth thinking about Shiva. Even though it had been just a few days, it felt like she hadn't seen him for an eternity. She needed to see him; she needed him! She closed her eyes to stop the tears from rolling. Suddenly, she heard a flurry of movement and opened her eyes. When the tears rolled down from her eyes, the blurriness cleared up and Shiva came through the balcony. She thought she was dreaming as he walked towards her but then he hugged her tight. Raavi felt his shivers as she wrapped her arms around him. She could feel the heat coming off of him so she pushed him a little and touched his face and his forehead. He was burning up with fever but before she could say anything, he collapsed in her arms! She fell with him on the bed and hugged him tight.
Continued on pg 4
Edited by Mitsu91 - 3 years ago