The Impeccable Scar | COMPLETED ✓

T H I R T Y - S I X

ADVIK

I walked to her, my breath still tightening in my chest. She stood there, quietly staring at me. Her eyes, little moist and sad. She tried blinking her tears away but I missed her smile. Her hair all disheveled, still making her the pretty like never before. Holding her hand, I hope of comforting her but instead she came forward to hug me. I inhaled her fading lavender smell in the air full of smoke.

"Fire." She whispered.

I said nothing, just held her closer to me. Her fingers tightly clutched around my shirt as she let go of her breath.

I heard the news. I heard about the fire that broke out in her café.

"It's okay." I murmured.

She tilted her head upward and looked into my eyes before hiding her face onto my chest. I stayed still.

"Take me somewhere." She requested.

Without thinking twice, I took her to my flat.

As we reached, I quietly looked around. The room was mess with pile of clothes lying on the floor, wrapper of chips and plates with half eaten meal shamelessly occupying most part of the bed. I took a deep breath and a foul smell of fungi on the bread stuffed into my nostril.

But she didn't even bother to look anywhere else than floor. She was lost in her thoughts.

In no time, I collected all the clothes and push them inside the wardrobe and cleaned all the mess. Opening the window, I let fresh air to surround the room. I asked her to sit on the bed comfortably instead of chair.

"I am hungry." She looked at me.

I smiled at my own and quickly went to the kitchen.

I put the pasta to boil which Nikhil bought from the grocery just because he was tired to eating rice every night. I should definitely thank him later for this. He saved me today.

I cooked the pasta, patiently and with all the skill I know about preparing it. Serving it to plate, I came back to Vanya.

She smiled, faintly.

"Thank you." In few minutes, she finished the pasta.

"Now, I am feeling a little better." She exhaled.

To say that I was surprised would be an understatement. Maybe she's trying to act brave.

I sat beside her and after lots of thinking I ended up pulling her into my arms. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around me and rested her head on my chest. She was listening to my heartbeat, I was sure about it.

The feeling was soothing.

"Your café was result of your hard work, no?'" I asked.

"It's okay. Everything is okay. I can re-create my café but I lost all of my books. I don't know how I can bring them back?" She frowned.

Seriously?

She was sad for her books instead of her café.

I ran my fingers through her soft hair and asked. "Why are you not worried about your café?"

"Till now I've almost written fifteen books and I put them in the café. And now I lost all my feelings, imaginations, thoughts to fire. I can build my café once again, Advik but not emotions.''

If I were you, I would've thought about the café first. Money is important, Vanya. I wish I could tell you everything about and my miseries only because I don't earn enough.

"Sometimes it's okay to be materialistic." I told myself.

"In a midst of an evening,

Houses floating across the streets,

Empty blocks and unfamiliar territory,

I wandered around in search of peace,

Without realizing that it was always within me."

She clicked her tongue.

"Explain, please." I tried remembering the lines in confusion.

"Figure it out by yourself." She laughed.

"Advik."

"Yes."

"I know nothing about you." She was no longer in my arms.

I tried looking everywhere but her. I don't want you to think any different of me, Vanya. I don't want to spill a word about me.

Her calm eyes gazed straight to my face. It was as if she guessed my body language and was sure that I am not comfortable because the second next, she passed me an assuring smile. Her eyes, still dull in sadness but her smile was real.

She never hides her pain behind the façade of her smile.

I also know nothing about you, Vanya.

"I'll write more books, will you help?" She asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. I'll do anything for you.

"But I don't write."

"Just be with me, I'll get enough of feelings to write about." She placed her palm over her heart and smiled.