Scar-Heart : Chapter 1
"Parth, bro, kya hua hai tujhe? Why are you not coming for dinner?" Utkarsh was positively alarmed. "Tabiyat toh thik hai na tera?"
"I am fine, Utkarsh. Don't wait up for me. Just go and have your dinner." Parth shifted to one side and pretended to fall asleep.
"Bro you are scaring me, you know. It's been three days since you attended English class. Vibha mam was asking about you." the concern in Utkarsh's voice was palpable.
Vibha. Mam.
Those two words were enough to set Parth's already raw nerves on fire. He wished he could erase that name from his memory forever.
She is going to be someone else's. She could never be with him.
The thought made him want to scream till his lungs gave up. It made him want to...run away somewhere and never return.
It made him want to DIE.
He bit his tongue hard to keep himself from screaming, or sobbing. That didn't stop the steady flow of bitter, salty tears rolling down his cheeks though.
A few moments of silence passed between the two friends. Finally Utkarsh gave up and headed for the canteen, assuming parth's silence as a symbol of a peaceful slumber.
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She was dressed in a beautiful red 'lehenga', looking ethereal in the bridal getup.
Parth couldn't take his eyes off her. A diffused golden light seemed to adorn her gorgeous face.
She looked into his eyes. Her lips trembled.
"Parth." she whispered softly.
Parth stretched his arms expectantly, trying to touch her.
There was something delicate, something intangible about the moment. Like one wrong movement and it will break into a thousand pieces.
Before he could take her in his arms, there was someone else.
A faceless shadow dragging her away from him.
Parth wanted to run. He desperately wanted to save his beloved, but it was too late.
He couldn't even move a muscle. She was gone before he could stop it.
"NO...NO..Please DON'T...LEAVE ME. COME BACK. COME BACK." Parth's scream echoed in the empty space.
The room seemed to be closing on to him. He couldn't breath. He couldn't breath...
Darkness was washing over him, before he jerked out of this nightmare with a final painful wail.
It was a dream.
He must had cried himself to a fitful sleep, but the feeling bottled up in his subconscious couldn't leave him alone even in his slumber.
Parth ran his fingers through his hair wearily.
"Gosh I need some air." he murmured and straightened himself up on the bed.
There is only one place where he could go right now.
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It was 8.30 at night. Vibha was sitting at her favourite spot - the wooden chair beside the large lamp in the library.
A half read novel was lying open on the table in front of her. It was her favourite book- 'The sense of an ending' by Julian Barnes; but tonight she was hardly in the mood to read anything.
In fact, she didn't know what she was doing in the Library at such an hour. The only thing she knew that being surrounded by the books gave her an odd sense of comfort.
It was like being with your best friends.
She wondered whether her increasing inability to understand human behaviour was forcing her to spend time with inanimate objects like books.
Take, for example, Parth's inexplicable behaviour since the very public announcement of her wedding. It was the third time in a row that he had missed her class, and she already felt like a part of her life was gone.
She pondered whether the absence of a certain student should make that much difference to a teacher's life; but he wasn't JUST ANY STUDENT, was he?
Behind her, someone cleared his throat loudly. Vibha almost jumped with shock.
"Did I just bring back the fairy princess to the mortal world?" Rishabh had a pleasant smile on his face.
"Rishab, what are you doing here?" Vibha tried to ignore the uneasy feeling in her heart.
Why can't she be normal around her would-be spouse, just for once! She cursed herself inwardly.
"Watching my beautiful bride-to-be dwelling in her dream land...and hoping for an invitation to join her." He winked merrily.
"Oh, ya, right! Well, you can have a seat if you want. It's a library. It's open to all." Vibha tried to sound casual. "Feel free to grab a book, but make sure you enter your name in the register."
"Well, I was hoping for a tour of the library. After all, being the library mam's fiancee should count for something." Rishabh stretched his hand out for her.
After a few moments hesitation, Vibha took it.
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Parth entered the library and quietly closed the door behind him.
It was well past bedtime. Even a harmless trip to library could land him in detention.
As soon as he stepped inside, the brightly lit lamp and the half opened novel on the table caught his attention.
Clearly, someone was here minutes ago, but he couldn't see anyone.
His brows furrowed in confusion. If it was Urmila mam or Kamini jee, he could be in trouble.
Just when he was contemplating walking out, a muffled voice at some distance startled him.
Parth tip-toed towards the long racks of book standing at the furthest corner of the library which was drowned in semi-darkness.
He peeped through the narrow gaps between the stacks of book. His heart nearly stopped beating when he spotted two shadowy figures standing there.
"I don't understand. Exactly which book are you looking for?" Vibha's voice sent another jolt to his heart.
He didn't want to know who the other person was. It was like peeping in someone's else's private space, but his legs refused to carry him further and he stayed rooted to the spot.
"Do you have something by Shakespeare?" it was Rishabh. His voice sounded a little different, deeper and raspy, but Parth recognized it right away.
It was at this point when Parth started feeling a little ashamed of himself.
They were just talking about books. It was no big deal, and not to mention none of his business. Yet it felt way too personal to witness.
He willed himself to walk out of the library before it's too late, but as soon as he turned round to leave, a low gasping sound froze him to the spot.
"Rishabh, what ...what are you doing?" Vibha's voice trembled with shock.
(NEXT PART: SEE BELOW 😉)