Serendipity

Episode #21 : Shattered

SCENE 1

“You are right Suman. It is love.”

Everything around Suman vanished. It was just her and Abhimanyu in the room. Her heart slammed to her ribcage with such force, she felt a sweet ache in her chest. She slightly leaned back to look at him, her eyes wide.

He was smiling. A soft, warm and loving smile.

“W-what ?” - she breathed out.

His palms flattened on her back and he drew her even closer. Making their noses rub against each other's.

“I am in love with you Suman.” - he whispered. “The kind of love that races my heart, the kind where I can't take you off my mind even for a second. The all consuming. Of the sorts of your ‘helpless, hopeless and irrevocable’ love...”

Did the ground beneath her feet actually disappear or was it just her ? Feeling like they were floating in the air ?

He took a hand off of her waist and raised it to rub against her cheek. That's when she realized tears were flowing down her cheeks, in ecstasy and euphoria.

The lights of the hall brightened again as the dance came to an end followed by an applause. “What an amazing...”

Suman didn't pay attention to the host. She and Abhimanyu had so many things to talk about and no one was going to interrupt them. The nurses of the hospital present there and some doctors watched gobsmacked as Suman grabbed Abhimanyu's hand and dragged him out of the hall. The sheer audacity was mind boggling.

They came out in the corridor which was empty and quiet. Abhimanyu stopped, causing Suman to stop as well. She pulled at his hand to drag him further away from the hall but he didn't budge.

“Abhi.” - she said impatiently.

He smirked and tugged at her hand. She gasped as she came crashing with his chest. He spun her on spot and pinned her against the wall.

She sucked in a sharp breath.

They were so close that she couldn't differentiate between their breathing. His intoxicating fragrance was making her lightheaded. As if, high on drug.

“Do you know that, except for my mother, I don't allow anyone to call me Abhi.” - he said, his voice husky.

The hair on her nape stood. Was he offended ? But he didn't seem so...

“Why didn't you correct me then ?” - she asked whispering.

His smile turned so soft for a moment she thought that if touched, his lips would be cottony. He raised a hand and tucked a few hair tendrils of her behind her ear. His fingertips rubbed against her cheeks and the touch was just as soft.

“'Cause you have that authority over me Suman.”

And she felt the ground slipping from beneath her again. Not in a way like the disastrous earthquake. But in a way when your feet leave the mountains as you paraglide. The way thousands of balloons lift you up and slowly, one after the other, your toes lose contact with the ground and you fly high in the sky.

She adjusted the lapels of his blazer and fiddled with the button. “I have ?” - she asked softly.

“You have.” - he whispered with conviction.

“Then why did you run away from me that evening ?”

Her question caused his smile to dim. A deep sigh leaving his lips. It saddened her but she wanted to know. Not to satisfy her curiosity but to reach the deepest part of his heart. To see the real him.