Os-The Boy who cried wolf
Shlok hated being there ,not in his wildest dreams did he think he would be in the Masjid again crying, begging the almighty to save the life of one person who he hated initially but now was his salvation...All he could see in front of him was The body of his wife Astha lying in a pool of blood ...The image made him feel sick and he loathed himself more if possible...She was the girl ,meant for him and him alone...but he had failed to realize it...He hoped it was not too late now, though a part of him told that Astha would never go back to his innocent ,nave,petite and clumsy girl she was...the butterfly in his paradise, the rainbow of his colorless life.
He sat back in the car as his driver took him to the hospital, not that he liked one .He laid back and his eyes closed...He recalled all post marriage events...
Him breaking Astha's heart terribly on their First night, abusing her, torturing her physically, mentally and emotionally within the 4 walls of the room. She endured everything without a word, as if punishing herself for loving a monster like him. Only good thing as all of these tortures were confined to the room, outside he pretended to love her the most and irked her to the core.
Over months of abuse, the Astha who he came to know initially had died and in front of him was a silent, emotionless and a very matured person who hid everything well under her fake smile. She moved like a dead body doing all the works in the house and dressed up and behaved as exactly as his Ayi wanted her Bahu to be...
The sudden break of the car brought him to his present. He realized his arrival to the front of the hospital.He literally ran to the ICU where his wife was,yes only when he had seen her lifeless had he realized his true love for her.
Aastha sat there watching jyothi leave with Kavya.She inhaled sharply as she realized that now she was alone with her husband Shlok...As soon as they left Shlok pounced on her ,He felt her shrink back in fear but the fear of neaerly loosing her was killing him..He hugged her ,burying his face in her hair and kissing her softly..Aastha did not hug him back and he noticed it.
Shlok-"Aastha what is it baby? Are you hurting somewhere?Should I call the doctor?"
Aastha-"You can stop pretending you care,there is no one from your family here..."
Shlok felt as if he was shot and looked into his wife's face to see no emotions or feelings for him...He felt the story he read in primary school come true...the story about THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF...
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