Once Upon a Heart

5# Little by Little

Ok ! I came back as promised with an update. I suggest you have a refresh through earlier parts as it had been a while. Before we move on to light hearted stuff, we have few serious issues to deal with in one or two chapters. Please ignore any typos ,errors and glitches.

Happy reading

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'Hope' is a strange thing, he thought

At times you go looking for it .. a little hope, just little enough to give you a much-needed pat or push, a simply assurance things would be fine, or simply just to make you feel better ..but it has a downside too, Sanskaar realized

Hope in other eyes can be tiring, the look that weighs you down as an expectation, and what makes it worse- You know you couldn't meet them. It weighed harder.

He simply ran a hand over his tousled hair, wondering how long he would go on like this.

And he had no clue.

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After that night, it's almost like they have fallen into an easy rhythm, an unspoken agreement. The morning breakfast, the night lullaby ...she seemed to understand and he was glad she didn't question how he ended up on the couch, near their room every night, waiting for that notes to float, that voice to soothe in ...help him sleep. He didn't complain when he woke up to fresh-brewed coffee, the noises in the kitchen, to the sight of that little kid or ... Swara.

He sighed.

He said he needed time, and she willingly gave him. Never pushed him but he knew he hadn't been nice enough, not strong enough to try. The hope in her eyes, every night he walked in. It tugged him.

They would wait, all of them at the dining table, with expectant eyes waiting for him to take a step and He walked away scared, sacred to see those faces from past, scared it would come rushing back to him, that nightmare he tucked and locked in somewhere deep, those voices and happy faces turning into black charred tangled bodies ..the sight of it...

Sanskaar squeezed his eyes shut. No, he can't ....he just can't. A tear threatened to spill out. He wiped furiously. He's not gonna let that pain get through him again.

Today will be just another day where he's gonna hide.

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That little knock on the door. Sanskaar closed his laptop

Mrs.Braganza must be here with dinner. He escaped today, walked away, and locked himself up.

And it was after 30 mins usually when they realized he wouldn't step out, The dinner would be served.

A nod of acknowledgment before he took in the tray of food, Mrs.Braganza took the message and left.

But that night he didn't expect Miss Bose to be standing right outside his door. There wasn't a tray he noted. His first instinct was to drive her away but he simply stood staring. And he knew his time was up. He will have questions to answer. He turned back. He needed time to compose his thoughts.

He didn't blame her. He wouldn't. Wouldn't have expected her to keep waiting for a lifetime for him to come out of his shell. Maybe he should tell her or ask her to leave ...find someone else

Maybe he should tell her, she can't help him or heal something she probably has no clue of, how deep the pain ran. He felt guilty for asking her to hold on to something with no trace of hope

.... He was hopeless and he should have stayed that way. Trying to rebuild a life ... wasn't for him. He sank into the comfort of darkness ... Now any light merely threatened him.