His Safe Haven

Chapter 27: Scars of the past

Rudraneel averted his gaze as soon as she completed. This confirmed Dhara's doubt of the topic being a very sensitive issue. She slowly let go of Rudraneel's hand that she was gripping, this made Rudraneel sacred, his fears were getting ignited, but before it could escalate, the next second Rudraneel felt her hands on his cheeks, then he heard her voice, "Look at me.." , she said slowly. But Rudraneel didn't look back, he was still hesitant.

Dhara sighed slowly before speaking, "Okay..You don't want to talk about it? Ok. Let's not. I will wait..
But Rudraneel..how long? How long will you carry this burden?"

This time ,Dhara's question made Rudraneel gaze back at Dhara, the question puzzled him and his eyes portrayed that. Understanding his puzzlement, she spoke, "How long will you keep it to yourself and keep these terms engraved in your mind?

Rudraneel registered her words in his mind and averted his gaze againa, but this time Dhara kept his eyes on her by increasing her hold on his cheeks, cupping his face even more firmly.
"Do you remember what I told you during my confession in the morning?..."

Dhara's question was met with silence.

"I said, when I see you hurt, it hurts me 10 times more, when I see you suffer, I suffer 100 times that. So tell me, how can I bear to watch you suffer?...Suffer for so long, for something that has happened years ago and still leaves an effect on you."

Hearing her words Rudraneel peered into Dhara's eyes, as if searching for something. But when he found it, he was assured and pained at the same time. It assured him when he sawthe pain in her eyes, it meant that her words held meaning.. but it pained him too.

Rudraneel wanted to say it..say it all to his love after seeing her in pain.. He opened his mouth to say something but no words formed..the lips closed eventually... As Dhara gazed more into his deep brown eyes, in the depths she saw a painful picture..a vulnerable little boy..nothing like the strong, calm and composed man infront of her..

Dhara knows how hard it is to open up about past trauma..afterall she herself hasn't opened up about her own to anyone. But she was pushing Rudraneel a little more in the hopes that he would atleast try to open up. And she saw it herself..he tried.. but he just couldn't...

Understanding his pain, she decides to let go but only for now.. As much as she understands that he may not be ready to open up but she also doesn't want him to carry the burden of his trauma for a longer time.

Dhara's POV:

It's terrible.. it's terrible that he had to hear such words from his own parents..

And what's even more terrible is the fact that I can't do anything except for asking him to narrate his story to me..to open his scars again..just in the hopes that this will help in healing the scars..

They say, time is the greatest healer..no it's not...
Time doesn't heal..it only conceals!

When the trauma becomes unbearable and the mind wants to forget, time slowly blurs the small details in the memory...they call it "healing" cause then it hurts less but it's concealing.. And when someone even digs a little To into those memories, the wounds burst open afresh!