Knock Of The Past #BarAThon

Read Here:  Part one  | two | three | four

Days passed by and then the weeks did too, but nothing much changed in anyone’s life; neither Ruchi’s nor Avinash. Ruchi got engrossed in her list of events which were due in the upcoming months. Avinash was even more absorbed in his work, making his company a success story since the time they had received the funding. Of all the founders, he was the only one who wasn’t married yet. He was now married to his company, everyone joked.
The only one who was affected after the success party was Dipshita. She had suddenly become the girl who has found some lost mission in her life. Only she had sensed the invisible sparks flying between Ruchi and Avinash at that party, which even they didn’t know. After a lot of probing, she could only figure out that Ruchi and Avinash had’t spoken even a word while they went back home after the party that day, except the Thank Yous and the Goodnights. But she was hell-bent on playing the cupid of their life but with hardly any success. Some more days flew by.

***

Avinash was back home earlier than usual after a very long time. It was his parents’ wedding anniversary. On the way he had picked up his mother’s favourite butterscotch cake. It was a sweet family dinner at their favourite restaurant, as always. There was something about routine things that he liked, always the same.
It had been a good day and the happiness of her mother was quite visible on her face. She was happy that her son was finally back. Little did she know that he was just getting good at pretending and holding things together but always fearing the nights when the darkness would engulf him and the loneliness would suffocate him.
He locked the room when everyone else had gone to bed. He was feeling content after a very long time. He was about to drift to sleep when his phone buzzed. He picked it up to see that it was a news flash notification. He would have mindlessly swiped away the notification had he not noticed the name Tiny Shoes. A flashback of memories engulfed him and a tear or two escaped.
Tiny Shoes couldn’t survive long without its owner Aditi, the news flash had read.
Aditi, his childhood buddy, his best friend rather his only friend that understood him. Tiny Shoes had been the child of her own troublesome experiences. Aditi had married early at the age of 21 to her college sweetheart, against her parent’s wishes. Only Avinash had stood by her when nobody else had. But Fate had its own way with her. Her marriage was short –lived and died a tragic death soon after she had broken the news of her pregnancy to her husband. Aditi was broken. Avinash had helped her deal with it as she struggled to prepare herself for the battles of single-motherhood that would be in her life soon. But all was lost when she gave birth to a still born. She took revenge with destiny by taking away her own life a few months later.
Tiny Shoes had been Aditi’s initiative to help women like her to stand tall against the society. It was her idea to help these women to bring their babies in this world and Tiny Shoes was planned to help both mother and the baby for the initial two years of the baby. But with Aditi gone, Avinash broken and occupied with his own commitment, Tiny Shoes couldn’t survive much long.
Avinash picked up the picture Aditi had gifted him on his last birthday, a week before she left him forever in the hole of darkness. The picture had two of them from the college trip that was still as fresh as it has happened yesterday.
Out of a sudden, Ruchi’s words rang in his ears. Life isn’t that bad! It’s pretty much good. He didn’t know what made him do that but the next moment he picked up his phone and typed a message.
There?

***

Ruchi had just returned from the work and was almost dead with sleep when the message shocked her.
There?
She stared at the message for the next five minutes and felt a strange knot in her stomach. It was from Avinash. Though her mind convinced her of various reasons but her heart was already beating faster when she typed back.
Yes.

…to be continued here.

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