"So.. I suppose that's it then." She nodded slowly at him.
"That's it." She whispered.
"Bye Arnav. " She waved lightly and turned to leave. Sadness was profound in her eyes and he could see it.
"Khushi." He called out.
He suddenly realised an urgent need to hug her. Perhaps for the last time. But he couldn't bring himself to say it when she turned.
"I..actu.. um..u." He fumbled pathetically.
As if understanding his unsaid words she came crashing onto his large frame. Her face rested on his shoulders and hands around his neck. Bringing him closer. While hand automatically wound around her petite frame. He hid his face in the crook of her neck. He breathed in deep. Inhaling the familiar scent.
They stayed like that for a minute or two which literally felt like a whole eternity for them. On breaking the hug unwillingly, Khushi cupped his face in her small hands.
Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. And so were his.
"Take care of yourself." She whispered. As she pecked his forehead. Allowing her lips to linger on his head. Drinking in his appearance.
"You too" he nodded.
And that was the last he saw of her as she walked away, pulling her trolley behind. Her hair bouncing behind.
Arnav too turned to the opposite side. Taking charge of all his belonging. He walked towards his flight in calculative steps.
Maybe its not about destiny alone. Maybe it's about the choices one makes. Either to stay or not. Maybe it's just about showing immense love and respect by allowing the desired freedom to the person. Someone had said it right indeed.
Let them know you love them and they will find their way back to you.
Out here, Arnav had chosen to not control destiny for the first time. Nor did he choose to depend on the same. All he did was follow his heart and act a little selfless for the first time. He didn't know whether they were ever meant to be. He didn't even know whether she would return back to him. All he knew was she needed to be away from him and he from her. Both were wounded by the ravages of time and by each other. Both needed to heal themselves before they could become responsible for anyone else.
And so he concluded.
Both of them needed themselves before anyone else.
And he would not control this need. Not by blackmailing. Nor by a contract. Neither by force.
Simply by flowing with it.
And for the first time he was happy with his decision. He smiled lightly as he welcomed a new phase of his life with open arms.
There comes a time in your life when you have to choose to turn the page, write another book or simply close it.
They chose to turn the page and face it with a smile.
••••The End••••
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Hey! So here is the last part of "I Need Myself". For those of you who expected Arnav and Khushi to come together after everything, I'm sorry to disappoint you. But it's open ended. Maybe they'll find their way back to each other. All upto your imagination.
Author's Note:
I read a number of comments saying that Arnav was playing the blame game. No doubt he was! But there was some truth in it.
You see... Blind devotion had always been a Raizada trait. Nani's blind devotion to her granddaughter. Arnav's devotion to his sister. Anjalis devotion to her husband. So the members were ready to do almost anything for their daughter. Be it insulting anyone, destroying or even hurting anyone.
In Arnavs case, he had always been emotionally dependant on his sister. So much so that anything she said was right. So he literally shut out cries from anyone except his sister. He became rude to others except his sister because he felt it was okay to do so. His sister did not teach him that there were good people in the world. For him it had always been his sister.
So he thought it was okay to do anything to keep his sister happy. And he did it.
Anjali did not mind what he was becoming. As long as she had the control over him.
It takes a mother figure to instil in us basic etiquettes. Morality. Civility. But Anjali failed. She allowed him to tag the whole world as unfaithful like his father except his sister who was pure.
He is still that 14 year old who had seen his parents shouting themselves dead. Who witnessed betrayal. So we cannot simply blame him for having trust issues. Anjali is at fault too, to some extent. She couldn't pose as a proper mother figure for him. She failed to make him mature enough to deal with issues in a cool composed frame of mind. She failed to correct him when he was wrong and eventually is also a reason he became a monster.
This is my opinion on the whole thing. Your's is most welcome too.
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Thank you for your precious comments and votes!
Stay healthy!
Stay happy!
#Arshistan ❤
I Need Myself- Last
Start from the beginning
