THE PROMISE
"Trust me" he said.
"But Arnav..."
"Shhh..." he cupped her face and looked deep into her eyes making her calm down. "I will be back soon, I promise!"
She hugged him tight, not wanting to let him go. But duty comes first!
*****
Khushi was constantly watching the news on television, not blinking even once. Her heart was pounding. She was terribly nervous. And why would not she be? Just a couple of days after their wedding, her husband was out there at the border, fighting the terrorists.
After constant firing going on for hours, Khushi felt a hitch in her breath as she heard that the terrorists were killed but at the cost of the martyrdom of three soldiers and two fatally injured. Khushi was numb with shock. Before she could come out of the shock, her phone rang. It was a familiar number flashing on the screen. Khushi's hand shivered as she reached out for her phone. She knew it was from the Army base to inform her about Arnav. "No..." a weak voice left her mouth. She didn't dare to answer the call. She felt as if life was slowly leaving her body too. She just stared at the ringing phone till the rings died. She gulped. Another ring of her phone sent shivers across her spine. Her throat was dry. She knew this fear; her late dad too was an Army officer who had sacrificed his life for the country. Pulling herself together, she accepted the call. She had to face it, now or later. She wasn't in a condition to say "hello.
"Hey, don't cry..." she heard, "I have kept my promise!"
Khushi couldn't control her tears that had been held back for so long. Those were the tears of relief, tears of feeling blessed, tears of thankfulness, tears of happiness.
Ofcourse! Khushi remembered something. Arnav didn't have the habit of breaking promises!
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Link to my Index of ArShi Stories
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