SS: Strangers in the Night. Uptd 8/05, Pg 18 - Page 9

That was sooo good !!!

But you've got no clue how intrigued I'm to know who's that girl ??? :S

I'm lovin' the way they started being kinda comfortable around each other ... :)

varna me crying😭 😭 😭

It was so peaceful!!

Hey Guys!!

Back with the next update!! :)

I wanted to update this one before going off IF for a while - concentrate more on my studies. Apologies in advance, because I wrote this one in a hurry and I am not 100% about the update...It sort of ended up differently to what I had in mind...

Anyways, do have a read and let me know what you think of it.

Thank you soo much for the comments on the previous update!! Please keep them coming and let me know your opinion on the story so far...

Update in the post below...

❤️ Simar

Mending Scars

As he walked to the rock the next night, he saw a dark silhouette of a delicate form already sitting there. With knees pulled to chest, she sat resting against the rock - not on his side or her side, she sat in the middle. Smiling slightly he slowly made his way to her. As he neared, she looked up at him, shuffling to her right giving him space to sit down next to her.

"Hi" she said gently as he sat down.

"Hey" he replied.

"You are early..." he said looking around the almost deserted beach. He was troubled to see her sitting alone at such place, at such a time.

"You are late..." she contradicted, pointing to his watch. He smiled looking down at his watch, yup he was late alright, by almost an hour.

"Haan, woh case...aah, work ke wajese..."

She nodded and said nothing.

"Aap iss..." Arjun started saying but was cut short.

"Tum...tum keh sakthe ho..." she said.

A momentary eye lock ensued before he continued,

"Okay, tum...tumhe aise, iss waqt...I mean, akele safe nahi hain. Darr nahi lagta? Ghar kaise jaati ho roz?"

She did not reply. He knew, she wasn't comfortable to disclose any kind of details about herself. As a cop he was glad that she was being vigilant and sensible, but he was still concerned about her. When they part at the beach every night, Arjun's anxiousness only subsided when he saw her back there the next night - safe and sound.

"I am just, I am just saying that...agar jaldi aajati ho toh thoda sambhalke rehna. Car main aati ho toh, mere aane tak car main wait karna...aise akele math baito..." he heard apprehension spilling out of his own voice, he just hoped that she wouldn't take it in any other way than it truly was - genuine concern.

She gave him a slight smile, and nodded.

"Aap.." she began but got interrupted by Arjun.

"I thought we decided on tum'...?"

"Tum...tumhe kaise pata ki mein car main aati hoon??"

"Tum jiss taraf se aati ho...waha ek car parked rehta hain, iss time pe aur koi vehicle nahi hoti hain waha. Toh I assumed that is your car..."

She smiled, it wasn't a smile like yesterday which had sweetness and innocence in it. This one was forced, this one had sadness and nothing else. It left almost immediately, leaving no evidence of its presence.

He knew she had scars on her heart as deep as his, maybe deeper.

He remembered her crying a few nights back and couldn't stop the choking feeling he felt in his throat. He gulped audibly and looked at her to see the ends of her eyes moist with the tears she was trying to hold back.

"Ek baat poochu?" Arjun asked slowly.

She nodded in reply but did not look at him.

"Uss raat...woh pehli raat, kyun royi thi?"

It wasn't until the words left his lips that he realised, he didn't want to know about her painful past. It was like he already knew and didn't want to put her through the torture of having to recite everything that she was trying so hard to move on from. He regretted asking.

A few moments passed in silence before she slowly turned to him. Her beautiful, doe like eyes which should only shine in happiness, brimmed with tears. Drop by drop they trailed down her cheeks, leaving her face sadder than he had ever seen it.

His hand raised up as if it had a heart and mind of its own and wiped the tear off her face, only to have another replace it. Arjun again wiped the tear off, gently caressing her cheek with the back of his fingers as he did so. The softness and warmth of her skin forever embedded into his heart. He would, hereafter, recognise her touch even with his eyes closed.

It wasn't until she looked him straight in the eye, that he realized what he was doing. His hand quickly jerked off her and retrieved to his side.

After a few moments he spoke,

"You don't, you don't have to say anything"

"Agar boloon toh dard kum ho jayega?" She asked with all the innocence of a five year old. Her voice hinted with desperation. She was suffocating in the pain that engulfed her and wanted to be lifted out of it. Her eyes looked at him pleadingly, hopefully.

And he found himself wanting to tell her that, it would. He wanted to tell her that the pain will become tolerable, that she would feel normal' again.

Oh! How he wishes that was true and he could tell her that.

Angered at the fact that he can do nothing to lessen her pain, he looked away and shook his head in reply to her question.

~~oOo~~

"I should get going" she said hours later, putting her palms flat of the sand preparing to get up from the ground.

"Stay" was all Arjun said as he pulled her back gently to sit next to him.

"But..."

Arjun shook his head and pointed towards the horizon,

"Have you ever seen a sunrise? The very first rays of light??"

She turned to face the horizon.

"No, never"

"I have many times. But, I always felt something was missing, incomplete. It will be different today though"

She turned, looking at him intently, "Why?"

He smiled lightly, "Because, today I have company...someone I can share this moment with. It will be different today. It will be better"

And so they sat, gazing at the horizon.

As the sun rose bathing them in its warm golden rays, as they watched their very first sunrise together and as they looked at each other in light for the very first time, they realised. They realised, like the first rays of light, life becomes incomplete and insufferable, alone.

Life needs to be lived and shared - with a friend, a loved one or even...a stranger.