Cherreads

Chapter 31 - 31

When we do not yearn for love, it knocks uninvited at our door. Yet when we need it the most, it slips away silently on tiptoe. Why does love play such teasing games?

If it came quietly, it should have left the same way—without noise, without fuss.

Why, then, did it stir up such a storm of emotions in between?

Your love was like the first ray of dawn for me—bringing fresh light each day, piercing the melancholy of the night and touching the earth with its rosy glow. Just as the crimson light of sunrise dispels the darkness, you chased away the shadows from every corner of my heart. Your memories are like gentle drops of dew that refresh every string of my being. When I looked into your eyes, it felt as though I were gazing at the reflection of my own soul in a tranquil lake—where nothing existed except peace and love.You know, being around you was the safest place in the world for me. As long as I was with you, worry remained miles away. There was only that blissful carefreeness, that sweet sensation.

How I wish those moments could return once more—this time, I would not be in any hurry to leave.

Reaching his room, Arjun closed the door softly behind him. In the silence of the night, the room felt even quieter—a stillness that carried the most dangerous kind of pain. He placed the glass on the table as if setting down a burden, yet the weight on his heart remained untouched. Without turning on the light, he collapsed heavily onto the bed.The scene from the party kept replaying before his eyes.

In the midst of laughter and a warm family atmosphere, amid soft lights and sweet music, Kavya—dressed in a flowing blue gown—leaned slightly forward with a gentle smile as she cut the cake. Her open hair enhanced her exquisite beauty even more.

Tonight, he wished the morning alarm would never ring, that no urgent tasks awaited him. He simply wanted sleep to come, or for a conversation to begin between them once again—so that their old, unbroken story could resume. He wished all the differences between their hearts would slowly melt away like slabs of ice. He longed to fall into a deep slumber while listening to the lullaby of her heartbeat and the sound of her voice. Even her anger, those long hours of sulking with puffed cheeks—everything came rushing back to him.

For the first time today, when he saw her, it truly felt as though he had lost her forever.

A faint, weary smile touched Arjun's lips."Some people are not written in our destiny," he whispered to himself, "they simply become our habit."

One never fully understands why we like certain people and not others. The heart simply finds comfort in their company, and that is reason enough—without any logic.

As they were leaving the restaurant, Sudhanshu had asked him directly,

"Do you still like Kavya?

Brother, your relationship has no name, no rights, nothing at all… and yet?"

Arjun had simply replied,"She was never written in my fate, but she was the most beautiful feeling of my life. And feelings never die—even if the person leaves."

He had added, "You will never understand this, my friend, because one only realizes someone's true worth after losing them. You have never lost anything in your life. God has given you everything so easily; you have never had to struggle."

Realizing his words might have sounded harsh, Arjun softened his tone.

"Please don't take it the wrong way, Sudhanshu. It's just that I have only known struggle in life. I have lost everything—my things, my relationships. Every path I walked, every stop I made, was filled with risk, yet I never reached any destination.

Destiny was not written for me with a golden pen; it was only about stumbling and falling at every step, then picking myself up again."

"I have lost far more in life than I have gained. I lost for the sake of the country, for the happiness of my loved ones, but everywhere, fate turned out to be flawed. It seems I was destined to be a counterfeit coin—never accepted, never valued.

"Sudhanshu had said nothing in return. He knew Arjun's state of mind well and did not wish to hurt him further by replying.

Lying on his bed that night, the truth of those words struck Arjun deeply for the first time.The pain written in the lines of destiny is the deepest of all; even attempting to erase it feels like committing a crime. Sleep refused to come. Almost unconsciously, he reached for the old diary on his shelf. He had no desire to write tonight, yet he needed to release the turmoil inside him—otherwise, the inner storm would rot his soul from within.

He opened a fresh page and began to write:

" Dear Kavya,

Today, seeing you happy made me glad that you are at least trying to be happy and moving forward in life. Yet, for some unknown reason, it also hurt a little. Your presence has always given me peace and strength, but today, your 'absence' has given me unbearable pain."

His hand stopped mid-sentence.Two teardrops fell onto the page, smearing the ink of the pen—just like his shattered hopes.

People think a soldier becomes strong only by walking on explosive-laden ground. But Arjun knew better. Wounds of the heart are far more dangerous than any war. Such wounds do not heal; they turn into festering sores. He opened the window of his room. The cold night air felt even chillier, yet the temperature inside him was boiling far hotter.

Kavya murmured into the quiet of her room, her voice a fragile thread laced with ache: "The heart is so shallow… it brims with even the slightest sorrow and bruises at the gentlest touch."

You arrived whenever the whim struck you, sweeping in like a sudden summer breeze. And when the moment came to leave, you vanished without a whisper—slipping away like mist at dawn, leaving only the echo of your absence. That stretch of time between your coming and going—whether a heartbeat or an eternity—now feels as if I have wandered through countless lifetimes within it.

At times, it seems our story might linger forever unfinished, a half-written page fluttering in the wind, yearning for its final line.

"Relationships aren't ruled by clocks or calendars, Arjun… they are woven by the invisible threads of destiny."

"Should Arjun contact Kavya… or let the past stay buried?

Vote and tell me ❤️"

© Copyright Pushpa Chaturvedi

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