CHAPTER 7
Shaurya's eyes opened at around midnight, as he found himself on the hospital bench. He instinctively yawned, and checked his phone afterwards.
The thought of checking upon Anokhi striked in his mind.
"She must be sleeping." He thought to himself, as he got up from his seat and stepped towards the room's door.
Shaurya walked inside the room and found Anokhi in an obvious state, laying down on the bed with her eyes closed.
He had barged in with the plan of checking upon her once, but he couldn't resist sitting on the stool placed in front of the bed. He was drawn towards her, and it was not an unusual thing for him.
He sighed as he looked at her.
She looked pretty. Like she always does.
Her face reflected an unintended serene aura.
His Anokhi.
He shook his head at that thought.
He took a deep breath, as he moved closer towards her.
Once inch closer.
One inch more.
Soon he found his face almost lingering over hers.
He moved his palms over his face, and finally decided to go back. He got up in order to step towards the exit, until he was pulled back by a weak tug.
His body shivered at that touch. He slowly turned backwards, to find Anokhi gazing at him intently.
"Leaving?" She asked softly.
"Never." He answered in the same pitch.
And they were thrown back to the memories of what seemed a parallel world now.
Anokhi's sleepy dark orbs flickered, as she woke up in her hostel room to find Shaurya's arm caged around her waist, while his head was buried in the crook of her neck. She ruffled his hair playfully and pecked his head, until last night's events rushed in her head.
Oh what a wild night they had. A breathless one, only filled with moans and groans. She felt a red tint reappear on her face, before she stepped out of the bed carefully and went to freshen herself up, while a constant smile danced on her lips.
After a while, she was leaning over the window, sipping her morning tea, when Shaurya embraced her from behind. She smiled almost immediately, and placed her hands above his.
"Good morning." He whispered while nuzzling her cheeks.
"Good morning." She chirped back.
"Should I make some coffee, or you want to freshen up first?" She further inquired.
"I guess none. I have to rush to house, Bade papa said he had an urgent work." He explained while turning her around.
"Leaving?" She asked in a dejected tone.
"Never." He tried to cheer her up.
They laughed at that.
"But for now, yes." He added later.
"Alright."
"See you in SIAC." He said while putting his shirt back on, and rushing out of the room, but not before whispering an 'I love you' in her ear.
"I mean, I'm not leaving. I just came to check upon you, and presumed you were asleep." Shaurya added hesitantly.
"I'm not feeling sleepy, so I just had my eyes closed." Anokhi told him, while he settled back on the stool.
"How are you feeling?" He put the question up, not wanting an awkward silence to fill the air once again.
"Much better."
"That's good."
A momentary silence preaviled, before she chose to break it.
"Do you remember the last time we ended in a situation like this?" She said smiling.
He loved that smile on her face.
"Ofcourse. Mom- oops - when your Aastha ma'am went missing." He chuckled and she responded with a giggle.
"Duh, that time was certainly not a good one." He exclaimed.
"But better than the last 4 years." She said lowly.
They both stared at each other. He averted her gaze, as it was piercing through his heart.
The room fell deaf for a while again.
"Shaurya?"
"Mhm."
"How's everyone? At home?" She asked feebly, her hesitance clearly noticeable.
"Dad and Mom are doing well." He said in a cold tone.
"I already met them. How's everyone else?" She asked reluctantly.
"Why do you have to care Anokhi. Every single time. Forget them. Damn it. Did they ever care about us? If they had, we would not have ended in this state." He blurted his frustration out.
They gazed at each other. His eyes displayed helplessness, while hers were shocked at the sudden outburst, but not surprised. She got herself seated on the bed.
"It's not entirely their fault Shaurya."
"I guess."
Their conversation had taken an uncomfortable turn.
"I'll get discharge tomorrow. Then we can begin with our work from Monday onwards." She muttered in order to change the topic.
"Only if you're healthy enough."
"I'm fine Shaurya."
"We'll see. For now, should I leave? You have to sleep too." He tried to conclude.
"Do you really have to go outside?" She asked him, while fidgeting her fingers.
"No, I mean —" How could he ever turn that down?
She smiled satisfactorily.
"Goodnight Shaurya."
He smiled back too.
And they drifted into a slumber in their respective positions.
~
Shaurya found himself wide awake at 5 in the morning. He looked at Anokhi, before standing up and getting the formalities for her discharge ready.
After the discharge, He drove her back to the house.
Silence reigned through the entire ride, until she stepped out of the car finally.
"Take care Anokhi."
"Thankyou."
They exchanged frail smiles.
While Shaurya was heading back, he drove to Aastha's house, to spend some time with her.
"Shaurya! Come in." Aastha welcomed him delightfully.
He got seated luxuriously on the couch, and slipped his legs out of his leather shoes. Aastha smiled at him.
"How's Anokhi?"
"Discharged. At her home. Fine."
"So, did you talk to her?"
"About what mom?"
"What do you think Shaurya?"
He sighed and pulled Aastha on the couch too. He rested his head in her lap, and let her caress his hair. He let the stress ooze out of him, slowly.
"I don't know mom."
"Alright."
"Mom?"
"Yes?"
"Don't you think we're even worse than you and dad. Atleast you guys still remain together. Me and Anokhi— it's so bad mom. I feel like I'm just breathing since the last four years, I'm not living."
"Shaurya, you know, the hurdles me and Shaan faced were adverse. I was pushed to live without my child, for my whole life. Shaan didn't even raise you. Hadn't the tables turned a few years back, we would've still be living the same montonous life, filled with regrets."
"Mom. You and Dad didn't deserve what you went through. I and Anokhi don't deserve what we are going through. I just don't know.
Leave it mom. It's all too bad.
Me and Anokhi are just back to square one, and we are helpless. Really helpless. We can never hate each other. We can never move on. Argh—"
"Shaurya, you love Anokhi. I have said this many times, and I'll keep saying this. What did you guys think? You'll seperate, and eventually move on. Seperation just makes love more powerful, Shaurya.
It makes you get to know, that how your life is always incomplete without that one person. Love doesn't dwindle Shaurya. Never."
Shaurya hid his face in her belly, to avoid the suffocation he was feeling.
They tried running from each other, and instead they ran far away from their own selves.
"I love her mom." Shaurya mumbled in her embrace.
~
Anokhi combed her hair and then made herself comfortable in her bed. She released a deep breath, as the instances of the last two days ran in her mind.
"I love him." She mumbled to herself.
Both ended up recalling the bitter happenings that took place four years back.
——————————
To be continued.
Hey guys.
The next one will reveal the awaited truth. Please bear with me :p
Do tell what you think of this chapter, by voting and commenting down.
Yet to proofread, kindly ignore errors.
Keep motivating by your feedback. Thanks for reading :)
Link for Chapter 8 -
Naagin 7
