SS: Strangers in the Night. Uptd 8/05, Pg 18 - Page 3

who is the stranger...? hope its riya...

Wow nice concept dear ... Arjun is so heart broken... Plz update soon and Plz pm me also ... Thank you :)

superb prologue simran...

super amazing prologue

okay so i will be waiting to see what will be the effect of this stranger on arjun

loved the concept

I hope you guys will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!!

1. Silent Witness

As he sat there watching the waves crash against the rocks, the cold air turned slightly warm. He welcomed the sudden change in temperature. Resting his head on the solid rock he closed his eyes, letting Roshni's memories wash over him yet again. A stranger would think he was peacefully asleep, but only he knew the storm that was brewing inside him.

Arjun had been an orphan most of his life. Experiences from early in life had ministered his inability to trust people, making him a lone kid who kept to himself. Years later when he joined the training academy he found a family in his best friend Sameer Rathore and later in Roshni Wahi. The only two people who had enough patience to dig him out of the burrow he dug for himself and befriend him.

Soon he had the life he had been desperate for since childhood, a family he yearned for many years. Just when he thought life couldn't get any better, when he thought he was finally getting his share of happiness that was long due, destiny played its crude game once again. Roshni was snatched away from his life as quickly as she entered it.

If, not having a person to love in the whole world is tragic, having one, then losing them is life shattering.

Now, he was stuck in this life that he wanted nothing to do with.

A shuffling of sort coming from the other side of the rock made Arjun open his eyes, but immediately closed them out of irritation. It was not uncommon to come across people at the beach at this time of the hour. Usually they are drunkards whom he'd shoo away as quickly as he could. He was hoping he wouldn't have to tackle some drunk kid tonight.

Peeking around the huge rock in the darkness he was surprised to see a woman just about to settle down on the sand. He couldn't see her face but just the way she looked, he thought she was maybe in her mid-twenties, she wore jeans and a light coloured top. As he watched, she sat down hugging her knees tightly to her chest and stared at the vast sea in front of her.

Arjun felt irritated. This was his place, his hideout from the world...he was not about to share it with anyone. He even opened his mouth irritably, but something about the way she was looking at the sea made him stop. Gazing steadily at the water body in front of her, she rocked slowly where she sat. Thinking he couldn't possibly make her leave just because he was there, he went back to his side of the rock.

As long as she is quiet..., Arjun told himself sitting down.

For the very first time since he'd been coming here he found himself thinking about someone else other than Roshni. He kept wondering why a girl would come to such a place at this time of the hour. Few minutes passed by with him becoming very conscious about the stranger.

Amidst the sounds of the waves crashing on the sand and the light whispers of the wind Arjun thought he heard a whimper. Frowning, he strained his ears and sure enough he heard it again, this time no longer a whimper. A series of convulsive sounds heavily laden with pain and distress made their way to his ears. The girl was crying her heart out.

Had he been looking at her, he would have seen a pair of bloodshot eyes looking accusingly at the heavens for the wrong that has happened to her. He could almost hear the flood of tears drip to the already wet sand.

He felt strange restlessness settle inside him as he listened to her cry. With a deep frown on his face, he moved uneasily where he sat. He thought of going to her and making sure she was alright but then he didn't want to pry. After all, he realised, she came here just like him, mourning for whatever loss she endured.

Hearing her gasping and sobbing, he couldn't contain his concern for the stranger any longer. He cleared his throat loudly to let her know that she was not alone. He was also there, grieving for a loss of his own, though he wasn't crying like her - he felt no different.

"Are you...are you alr..." He paused, what was he going to ask her? If she was alright? Of course she wasn't, her heart wrenching sobs were proof enough. He cleared his throat again,

"Is there anything I can do for you?" He spoke softly and warmly from his side of the rock.

Moments passed. There was no reply but the sobbing seized...for a while, and then it started again. It seemed she did not care who heard her. Minutes passed like hours and all he heard in the silence of the night was the cries of the broken soul behind him.

Crying was a way to express those sorrows that have no words. It is also something Arjun had never been able to do. Going through hard-hitting experiences ever since he was a kid has hardened him. Roshni was the only one successful to melt his heart but her sudden dismiss plunged it back into cold darkness. It has been two years since her death, he had not cried a tear. Initially he was in denial, later on as it slowly dawned upon him that he'd lost the only person he had ever loved - he just froze from inside.

But, today as he sat there listening to this stranger weep for reasons unknown to him, something stirred in his chest.

Was it his heart?

He took a deep uneven breath through his mouth. Her soul piercing cries have triggered his worst nightmares. He saw a flash silver, heard a dreaded gasp and his name on her lips one last time. Then there was blood everywhere. Arjun gasped for another breath of air as he looked around wide eyed. His fingers ran through his hair as he bent his head down onto his folded knees. The sea which was clam till now seemed to mirror his emotions as it trashed around violently.

When he looked up there was a lone tear trickling down his face.

Heart pounding, he wiped the tear and looked at his fingers in disbelief as they glistened in the moonlight.

Today, his heart felt one tear lighter.

Her cries still piercing through the darkness of his heart and night, he sat there till dawn - a silent witness to her grief.

WOW!!! Really nice... It was a beautiful update!!! So intense!!!