AFFLICTED

Prologue

~ Aaa na, aa bhi jaa na.... Intezaari hai teri ~

What is more hurtful, is when you crave for it, crave for it for ages, die everyday, to get it. When it's near you, but not close to you. In your heart, but away from the heartbeat. In the mind, but not in the future memories. Your heart dies, everyday, and then reincarnates the other day to feel all that, all over again, like a cycle, like a music octave, repeatedly. But still, you chose it. You chose to bear it all, with the whole of your heart. Whole of yourself. That one day, the pain will be over, the dreads will be gone, the piercing needles will be taken out of the heart, soothing it with the ointment of love. And finally, when you get it... When the floors of your life get scattered by the fragrant petals of rose, when the barren land of your heart, gets rained by the water of love, when the heart gets it's beats back, when the life starts to seem no less than heaven...... And suddenly, in a while, with a jerk, on a flash, like a shot... It all gets snatched, gets stolen from you. How does it feel? Only the lacerated heart knows.

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Resting the back of her head on the wall, she closed her eyes, letting a tear escape out. The tear sighed, for the freedom she let it get. It didn't want to feel it's part, of the pain she was getting. It wanted to get over it, and now, she gave it that. As much tears she was shedding, as much pain her heart was getting replenished with. Those tears were not taking away the pain with them, but also leaving behind the pain they were holding in them when they were dwelling inside her eyes. They were endless, unstoppable. The pain was this much, that the tears too were impotent to endure. So each of them were freeing out, leaving her alone to be racked with it.

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FLASHBACK.

"I'd never thought it would happen..." He said with a blushful smile on his lips, with his face turned to the other side.
"But it has happened". She replied with the same expressions. He turned to her. As he turned, her eyes started to move around the room, God knows trying to look where, to hide her eyes from him, or to hold her gaze from sticking at his face, what she can't help, but drool over. She never says, but like everyone, she knows, that her husband is the most handsome guy out there. Nobody can match his range. He's the best, the best of the best.

"What happened? Trying to seek out your eyes from mine? As you'll be going head over heels if you'll meet your eyes with mine. Then you'll drown inside them. You will be wanting to come close, then nor will I stop you. You know.... I'm a good boy na.. I can't hurt a girl's feelings. And when the girl is...." Lowering his head to her level, he whispered this in her ear, ending it up with that signature wink of his.

"When the girl is?". Being as curious, she asked. "Hmm? You're so desperate, aren't you? So okay.... listen. When the girl is, the irritating, the annoying, the bitter, the crazy, the psycho, yet.... the beautiful, the gorgeous, the exquisite, the exceptional, my best friend, my love, my wife... Preeta Karan Luthra., so how can the poor guy resist?". While saying all this, he saw variations in her expressions. From cutely irked, to his angry bird, to the miss self obsessed, to his bestie, who has the love of the entire world for him in her eyes. And the last but not the least... To the one with a blushing face, of his wife, that does nothing, but drives him crazy.

"You know I can't hold my inner husbandly feels, when you make that face". "Shut up!". He said huskily, and she went to the bed pushing him slightly with a blushful reply, and lied down, getting into the duvet all over. He chuckled and went to the bed and lied on his side of the bed. Her face was turned to the other side, while he was smilingly looking at her from back. She was biting her lips with the laughter she was controlling, out of the blush, shyness, or the upcoming action of him she was expecting. But him, being no less, stayed firm. Waiting for him to say something for few minutes, she annoyingly rolled to him. "How boring are you!". She exclaimed, leaving him die in a pool of endless laughter he got, to see his wife's adorableness. He couldn't control his laughter, while she was sitting on the bed with her arms folded. He stopped laughing and sat up, covering her in a tight, lovable hug, and a sweet smile immediately captured her lips.

"Myyyy babyydollll!" He said digging his face in her hair, and she chuckled with her eyes closed. He started tickling her, making her laugh loudly. There were the sounds of their cute laughters in the room, her saying his name and asking him to stop tickling her. And then they ended up falling on the pillow and getting into deep dreams of each other, in each other's arms.

FLASHBACK OVER.
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She squeezed her eyes tight, biting her lower lip, and hugging her legs. She rested her forehead down on her knees, wetting herself more and more. Her heart was aching hard. She wanted it all back. She wanted their fights back, she wanted their laughters back, she wanted his chuckles back, she wanted his arms back. Back to her, covering her inside them. Her life without him? A question which has no answer. It can never have.

Suddenly, there was a slight knock at the door of the room. She straightened her head up to see, and a guy came inside. He slowly sat in front of her on his knees. "Preeta ji..... I think you need to get some rest. Please..." He said, keeping his hand gently on her arm. She slightly nodded, wiping her tears.
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