Neil felt as if he was living the worst life ever. He was a non chalant police officer, forced to take up this job. He encounters Ananya, a mystery, who is quite contrary to him in all means. Ten days, they fall into a hopeless love story after whic...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
They drove back silently, not knowing what to say to each other. Neil deliberately took a longer route so that he could delay him going back to his home and face the wrath of his grandmother. There was pin drop silence between them which was broken by Avni saying all of a sudden - "Stop the car please." Neil applied the brakes and looked at her.
"What happened?" Neil asked. Avni didn't reply; she stared outside the window and rolled it down. Neil followed his gaze and was surprised to see where they had stopped : a cemetery. "Funny place to stop the car at the middle of the night." He joked, ready to resume driving but stopped abruptly when she whispered "She's here."
Neil's smile faded and he looked on. "I never came back here...just that day when we buried her." She whispered again, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I had promised her that I would come here either when I brought her justice or to lie beside her." She continued and Neil's throat went dry.
He couldn't think how he should console her in such a situation. "D...Do you want to see her?" Neil asked but as a mere formality. He got out and helped her to do the same. They walked in, their feet making the only sounds as they stepped on dry, fallen leaves.
"Where is she?" Neil asked, using his phone's flashlight to read the names of the graves. "I don't remember...you search in the left, I'll go right." Avni tried to walk by herself, painfully but she didn't seem to be noticing that.
"The names are in Urdu, I can't find anyway." Neil said and slid his arm around her waist as they walked slowly. After 15 minutes of search, Avni dropped to her knees beside a white tombstone at the edge of the cemetery, the carvings were barely visible in the night.
Neil knelt beside her, staring. Avni wiped the dust off the stone with her sleeve. Some writing in Urdu became visible; the dust had been deposited in the carvings.
"She's here." Avni declared, shedding another tear. "Hey mom." Neil spoke, thinking of nothing else to say. Avni chuckled and repeated his words. "Mum we've done it." She spoke after a few minutes brushing off the dust as much as she could.
"And he's Neil...mom do you know, we're getting married!" Avni spoke amidst tears, taking joy in talking to herself but also in believing that her mom was actually listening.
"And nanno. You also meet Neil." Avni turned to face another tombstone, wiping the dust off that one as well. "It will be so nice no? I'll go to another family, there will be new mum and dad...wish you were here." She broke off in the end and began to sob with her head on her knees.
"Mom, if your daughter is just going to cry like this, how will we get happy pictures clicked?" Neil spoke, touching the cold stone with his warm fingers. Avni stopped sobbing and looked at him through teary eyes.
"And thank you, for giving me such a wonderful woman like her." Neil added, pretending to talk to an invisible person.
"And you know right, you're here, always." Neil finished, pointing to his and Avni's heart. "I know you're saying you're getting the perfect son in law." Avni said, resting her head on Neil's shoulder. They sat there for a few more minutes in silence, after which they silently decided to go back.
