FF: Leaving You

Prologue:

 

In a dim room, lit by the lone dying flames of the fireplace, lay an empty silver photo-frame, shattered. A few feet away, the photograph that had once inhabited the frame burned in a fiery blaze. Two smiling faces, one that of a boy and the other of a girl standing hand in hand, contorted and burned in the heat. Their happiness, their friendship, and their love smoldered in that fire, burning to ashes as a lone man sat in the corner of the room and watched the destruction with satisfaction.

As the last of the picture was consumed by the voracious fire, the man stood and walked arrogantly towards what used to be a memory. Never again would he be haunted by her innocent smile. Never again would he remember the beautiful orbs of color that her eyes were, the windows to her soul, expressing her emotions with greater ease than words could. The cold man felt satisfied, knowing he had obliterated her from his life a long time ago, and now also her memories. Yet, his emotions betrayed him as hot tears trickled down his masculine face, stripping him of his shield, his facade, making him vulnerable again after so many years.

OS: A Midnight Stroll

The chilly air pricked at his exposed skin as he pulled his jacket closer to his body and walked briskly. He put one foot in front of the other, walking robotically, not knowing or caring where he went, where he ended up. With each step ahead, he felt his life crumble behind him. Each step led him farther and farther away from his past. A past that he once had done so much to run from. A past that he would now give up his future to have.

Weak streaks of light illuminated his face every few yards as he continued his march into the unknown. His pale face contrasted deeply with the darkness that lay predatorily around him, threatening to consume him whole. His features made him look a sickly man, one without any life, as if all the soul and happiness in him had been sucked out. There seemed to be nothing human about him. And yet, there was. For hidden in those cold, stony features lay beautiful, soft brown eyes that gave sight into his broken life and his shattered soul.

These beautiful eyes showed his anguish, his pain, his love for those he had lost. For those he would never see again. These eyes were the most vulnerable part of Arnav Singh Raizada. It had been with these eyes that he had witnessed his mother, father and sister committing suicide, ending not only their lives, but also the good memories they had shared with him. He had then known only pain. His eyes had hardened after this, not allowing the beauty of life to delude him from the fact that though life was beautiful, death was ugly. Death was the ugly part of nature that once comes, never leaves. His eyes had not softened again until he had met someone. Khushi Kumari Gupta had softened this man's beautiful yet cold eyes once again.

She had walked into his life. A ray of hope and warmth after the darkest of storms. She had walked, no fallen into his life as an angel sent from above, and made a place in his heart. With every memory of pain, she had added a memory of love, of care, of passion. She had taught him that life was meant to be lived and enjoyed, not endured. She had taught him that death was inevitable and yet had to exist. Life was more precious, more beautiful because it was so limited. Any moment could have been their last. She had broken down the walls that he had built around himself, exposing him to emotions, leaving him feeling raw and exposed. Her lively and chaotic nature had lit up his life. Only she had the ability to make him smile, to cry, to laugh, to hate, and to love.

He stopped suddenly as her thoughts consumed him. No, he couldn't bear it, the pain, the hurt. It was all too much. The moon shone down on the man in the suit sinking down on his knees in the middle of an empty street in Delhi. Seconds and minutes ticked by yet the man continued to sit on the floor in the same position, as if he had no more strength to move, no more strength to carry himself. After what seemed like ages, the strange man lifted his head, looking up at the sky. Three stars shone down on him as he allowed himself to finally let go of his emotions. "Khushi."He whispered into the wind, his husky voice breaking as he stared at the stars so far away, his tears cascading down his face, revealing his broken and tarnished soul.

Short Story: A Surprise

Part One:

One Month Ago:

"Khushiji, come downstairs! There's someone who wants to see you!" Anjali had called up to her sister-in-law
"Coming!" Khushi had replied, elated yet curious at the same time. Someone had come to see her? Could it be her family? Had they finally forgiven her? Descending the stairs, Khushi saw a tall man standing in the middle of the living room talking to Anjaliji, wearing a suit and a tie and with his eyes completely covered with huge sunglasses. Upon seeing Khushi he had removed his sunglasses to reveal soft brown eyes and smiled so big that even Khushi couldn't help but smile back at him. Then, in mere seconds, he had crossed the length of the living room and pulled Khushi into a bone-crushing embrace. Khushi, due to Shyam's constant pounces on her in the past month, had developed the ability to shove a full-grown man away from her and this is exactly what she did to this man. "Who are you?" she had shrieked then, desperately trying to compose herself.


"I'm Amar Chopra, Khushi." He had responded in a deep yet gentle voice, adding "Your brother." Not knowing how to respond, Khushi had then done what any sensible person would do; she fainted.


Part Two:


A sobbing Anjali had screamed as Khushi fainted in her brother's arms, triggering Arnav to come running down the stairs. The scene that greeted him was his sister, standing off to the side with tears in her eyes looking in horror at his wife in being carried by some man he didn't know. Rushing forward, Arnav had practically pulled the unconscious Khushi out of the man's arms, feeling a strong sense of jealousy and possessiveness. Who was this man and what was he doing with his wife?! Deciding to interrogate the stranger later, Arnav had carried Khushi to their room, called the doctor, and waited until she woke up. About a half hour later, Khushi had opened her eyes to see her husband's worried face looking down upon her, breaking into a relieved smile as she gained conscience. Looking around the room, Khushi had noticed the rest of the Raizada present in Arnav and her room along with the man who had quite recently given her the shock of his life. "Amar?" She had asked, not believing that this man could be her brother. He had smiled at her then, walking up to her and sitting down on the other side of the bed not occupied by Khushi's husband seething with jealousy.


Amar had gently taken Khushi's hand and looked at his little sister with such care and love. This was the last straw for Arnav and he had grabbed Amar's collar and pulled him away from Khushi in one swift movement, pinning him against the wall, and snarling, "I don't know who you are, but stay away from my wife."


Anjali came running then, to diffuse the situation and explained to Arnav that this was Khushi's elder brother, Amar. Shocked, Arnav's grip on Amar's collar had slackened and Amar moved away from him with a smirk on his face. Sitting down next to Khushi, he had explained everything to her. When Khushi had been very young, her brother had been sent off to boarding school due to his undisciplined ways and his parents giving up on him. Amar had been 19 years old when the news of his parent's death came to him. In one day, Amar had lost everything. His father's old-fashioned letters to him, his mother's constant packages of food sent to him practically every week, and his little sister's artwork. Even living thousands of miles away from his family, Amar had developed a strong bond with them and their loss had greatly troubled him. However, Amar did not know that his sister survived the crash and instead of returning to India, he left the job of burying the family to another family member and continued with life. This, he later admitted to Khushi, was one of his worst mistakes, for if he had returned, he would have found his sister sooner. Khushi also had not remembered her brother because when Amar got the hint that Khushi was still alive and sent a detective to find out about her, her medical history said that she suffered some amnesia due to the accident and only remembered a few events of her childhood along with the car accident. The Raizada family had welcomed Amar warmly, allowing him to live with them to give Khushi the family support that she had recently lost.


Part Three:


One month later:

Khushi woke to her husband's stubble tickling her neck as he slept on, his arms embracing his wife. She watched his chest moving up and down, and sighed in content, wishing she could just spend the rest of her life in his safe arms. Smiling, she thought of the previous night's events. A cricket game had come on and Amar Bhaya, Nanheji, and Aakashji were sitting on the couch watching each move with great enthusiasm. Arnav had opted out of the festivities however, and sat in a corner with his laptop, working away and yet still sneaking glances at the game, much like a child told not to watch TV and do homework instead. Amar Bhaya had walked up to her husband then, pulling the laptop away from Arnav and dragging him to the sofa. At first, Arnav had felt shocked at this behavior and awkward but he too joined the pandemonium, roaring when India missed a ball and cheering with exubulation when the ball was hit. Khushi was so thankful for her brother for helping her unlock the child in Arnav. But getting to this point had not been easy Khushi thought with sadness.

About a week after her brother's arrival, Khushi had found out the reason for Arnav's major marriage decision and come clean to him about everything. The lies, the engagement, and the hug. After that, Arnav's demeanor had completely changed towards his wife and he believed her completely. With the help of Amar Bhaya, Arnav had exposed Shyam for the lying scoundrel he was and Shyam was kicked out of RM and into police custody. However, that had been the least of their problems. Anjaliji suffered severe depression from the treachery of her husband but it did not affect her baby much and with the help of her family and Khushi's brother, who had found a good friend in Anjali, she too started moving on from her painful past.

Arnav looked at his wife as she stared into space, a small smile on her face. "I love you", he whispered gently against her cheek making her blush.

"I love you too Arnav" Khushi whispered back, her eyes closed committing the feel of his lips against her cheek to memory. He looked at her again, taking in her innocent face and feeling a heart- wrenching ache for her. How could he have doubted her? His Khushi? Despite Khushi forgiving him, Arnav always felt the need to constantly remind her of how truly sorry he was for doubting her and how much he loved her because he knew that his words had cut her and no matter how much love he gave her, they would only heal with time.