The night had descended thickly upon the house. Lights were low. Curtains were half-closed, and the air was soaked in a silence that sounded louder than words. Upstairs. Arav sat on the bed edge, his fists tightened, his eyes blazing with an unspoken tempest , his eyes sank with tears.
He was not angry with the world he was angry with himself. The burden of something hidden deep within him was gradually shattering his soul.
His younger sister, Annu, was standing at the door, her face pate with uncertainty. She had been trying to knock, to speak, for the last two hours, but courage had deserted her each time. Tonight, however, she could not turn back.
Stealing herself, she pushed the door open.
"Bro" Her voice shook.
Arav raised his eyes, their cold facade hiding a vast ocean of pain.
"What is it. Annu? Another lecture? Don't waste your time." His tone was biting. almost like daggers.
But Annu did not back down. She stepped closer, holding her dupatta tightly between her fingers, her voice barely above a whisper but firm.
"I don't want to lecture you. Bro. I just. I just can't see you like this anymore."
Arav turned away, gazing at the window, as if the stars would be able to conceal him from the truth.
"You don't understand. Annu. You can't understand," he groaned.
Annu's heart tightened. She moved another step closer, speaking gently. "Then make me understand. At least let me share a little of what you carry. Please. Bro, you've closed yourself up from everybody. From me. From Mama. From Papa. From life itself. But why?"
Arav's teeth clenched. The memories were too shary to handle. yet too alive to leave behind. His fingers clenched into his palm.
"I lost something ....., no , someone and with her. I lost myself too. How do I explain that. Annu? How do I describe the feeling of breathing, yet feeling dead inside? I ... I became a movable deadbody. I'm ..... I'm mentally paralyzed." His voice was cracked at the edges.
Annu's eyes blurred with tears. She had guessed it was about someone important, someone who once meant the world to him-but hearing it break out of him was unbearable.
"But bro ... " she whispered, her throat tight, "Whoever she was. I don't know what destiny did, but I know this you don't deserve to die every single day with her memory. You deserve to live. For yourself. For us. And for her also . Her every memory is alive in you ."
Arav snapped, his voice lauder, shaking with repressed
grief.
"Don't speak of her. Annu! You have no idea what I promised to her. You have no idea what I saw in her eyes that last time. You have no idea how it is to see your entire world without eyes .".
"Then teach me. Bro . Learn me to feel some of your pain so that you don't sink beneath it alone. I don't want to take her place. I can't. But I can be your shadow when the world is too dark. Let me please. Let this Annu be a good sister."
Arav glared at her. His broken eyes softened just enough to allow a crack to open. For the first time in months, he took her hands in his palm .
And then, at that moment, the door creaked once more. It's Arjun, his best friend . Entered stealthily. He'd been talking to Arav's parents downstairs, promising to do his best to help. And don't be worried . Seeing the siblings standing together, he hesitated, then approached.
"Arav." his tone was steady but unyielding. "Annu is right. I know what happened, and you know. You need proper relief . But what I do know is this you can't keep bleeding inside and hope you'll heal by silence. Pain doesn't disappear when you hide it. It festers. We can see your pain from your bloody eyes . These are the things that can't tell lies "
Arav's eyes flashed toward Arjun. His mouth opened, but nothing emerged. He resembled a man struggling to hold back both anger and capitulation, hiding and shattering.
Arjun moved forward, setting his hand on Arav's shoulder. "Strength is not always about keeping all the things inside. Arav . Sometimes it's about allowing people to stand alongside you when you're falling."
Neither of them saw the faint shadow at the doorway.
Arav's mother was there, her sari pallu pressed firmly. her face was pale and shaking. She had entered quietly, hoping to visit her son, but what she overheard instead sliced through her soul.
Her boy. Her tough boy was shattered in ways she had never dreamed. The pieces of his speech regarding a girl, regarding a promise, regarding the loss they sliced into her heart like shards of glass.
Her mouth trembled as tears streamed down her face. She
put her hand over her mouth, trying to suppress the sobs that threatened to come out. For one moment, she wanted to rush in, to hug him like she did when he was a child. But something held her back the awareness that her son's pain was more than a mother's hug could heal.
Not being able to withstand another second, she turned silently, her footsteps feeble, near stumbling as she descended the stairs. When she got to the living room, her body weakened and she fell on the sofa, tears wetting her palms as she whispered. "My Arav. What burden are you bearing my dear ? "
Upstairs, the room remained heavy. Arav sat in the middle of his sister and his friend. the storm Within him not yet departed, but for the first time, partially divided . His chest puffed and fell erratically. his eyes were glassy.
"May be ... May be I cannot forget," he breathed, "but perhaps.I need not live alone."
Annu gripped his hand closer, her voice a soft assurance. "You never will, Bro. Not as long as I remain here."
Arjun nodded, his words firm.
"And not as long as I am. We'll bear it together whatever it is. And now onwards this pain is ours too . "
The silence that came after was not empty anymore. It shook with pain, yes but with the faintest whisper of healing.. What kind of pain does Arav have ? What happened to her girlfriend...
To be continued....