SS: Strangers in the Night. Uptd 8/05, Pg 18 - Page 11

she wants to share her story with him...

him supporting her...

update soon

Please do continue soon xxx

arjun wants her to share her pain

the sunrise was lovely

awesome

Wowww ... This was just beautiful !!! :)

Here with the next update. Wrote in a hurry...it's not too long but hope you'll like it! :D

Please keep those awesome comments coming, I look forward to reading them.

Matters of the Heart.

Good things did not happen to Arjun. Experiences in his life taught him that time and again. So, no one can really blame him for being a bit of a cynic, and treading his way carefully when it comes to letting anyone close to him. Even if he harbours a soft corner for some, he never shows it. With years of experience, he developed a knack for hiding his emotions and set up barriers to prevent any emotional connections.

But, when a certain stranger walked into his life - literally - things started to change. As he sat at the rock that night and waited for his companion of the last several nights, Arjun wasn't quite sure if this change was a good thing or a bad thing. Even though most of the nights all they do is sit in silence, though he does not know anything about her except for how she looks - he couldn't help but feel...connected to her.

No matter what kind of a day he had, at night when he comes to the beach and looks into her oh-so-familiar eyes - all he can do is smile and forget about everything else. It's like she pulls all the negative energy from his body and holds it off till they part ways, at which point it all comes back and hits him like a wall of bricks.

Arjun sighed. He wasn't even surprised with his thoughts anymore. Because in the last two days all he'd been thinking about was her. The Stranger. His stranger.

Okay, spoken too soon. That thought did surprise him. His stranger? She wasn't his stranger, she wasn't his anything. He felt a pang of guilt for that thought and immediately his eyes looked up as if to seek forgiveness from his wife. His guilt only increased when he found the star studded sky hidden behind massive grey clouds. It's as if his deceased wife heard his every thought and shut herself from him.

"Looks like it's going to rain today" The now familiar voice said, forcing Arjun to come out of his thoughts.

"Hmm? Yeah, looks like it" Is all he said before looking down at the soft sand under his feet. He felt her sit next to him. He felt the soft, accidently graze of her hand against his. He saw from the corners of his eyes as she shivered a little before wrapping her arms around her torso. As if out of habit, as if it's the most natural thing to do, he immediately took off his jacket and put it on her shoulders. And not once did he look at her face.

Absent minded, he picked up some sand and slowly let it slip through his fingers before picking up more and doing the same. Somewhere at the back of his mind he was aware that his every move was being watched closely, but he ignored it.

After a few moments of silence she spoke,

"Kya hua?"

"Kya hua matlab? Kuch nahi..." Arjun said with what he hoped was a convincing face. She didn't buy it though. She shook her head slowly, looking at his face intently.

"You are quite and you have this look o..."

"I am always quite"

"Nahi, roz ki tarah nahi. Aaj tum kuch pareshan dikh rahe ho"

Arjun stared at her and she stared back just as stubbornly. No one backed down for a very long time before Arjun gave up and looked away with a sigh.

"Kuch nahi bas wor..."

"Don't! Don't say work main kuch problem hain. Agar batana nahi chaah the toh math batao par jhoot math bolo" She said cutting him off and making her annoyance clear in her tone of voice.

He looked at her, surprised.

Now, how would she know he was about to lie to her? He did not even finish the sentence for god's sake. And her annoyance at even the thought of him lying to her, does it trouble her so much? Why would it trouble her at all? Why would she even care?

To add to that his own feeling towards her were rapidly changing. He doesn't want them to but he has no control over them whatsoever. And he hated that. He hated not being in control. He hated that despite trying hard not to, he was falling for her. Falling for a girl he has been meeting for the last three weeks and yet has no idea what her name was.

With each thought Arjun's breathing became heavier. Too many emotions were getting involved. Too much care. Too much concern. Too much uncertainty. Too much guilt. Too many questions. And a broken heart that is not just ready to handle any of it. None of it.

\

And just like that, he snapped.

"Kya matlab jhoot math bolo? Don't act as if you know me...kuch nahi jaanti ho mere baare main" his voice rang shrill and cold in the silence of the night.

"Sach main work main koi problem hain?"

"NAHI! Tum meri problem ho. TUM. MERI. PROBLEM. HO! God! Kyun chali aati ho roz yeha? KYUN?"

With each word he spoke he could literally see what's left of her heart break a little more. His heart clenched in his chest, protesting against his actions but it was too late. The words were said and they couldn't be taken back.

She did not give him time to think over his words or regret them. She stood up without a word, handed him his jacket and turned around walking away from him. The silent tears making their way down her cheeks fell to the ground quickly sinking into the sand just as rain poured down on them.

Arjun knew if he doesn't stop her now, he'll not see her tomorrow. Or the day after. Or any other day. Yet he stood there, confused and...scared about how he felt at that moment.

Apologies if you got the PM twice or not at all...something was up with the PMs...Let me know if you did not get a PM at all pleasee...