Broken Pieces - Finding Way To Eachother's Hearts

39

"You have a history with him, don't you?" Naina asked with her eyes speculating Arthi's sudden change of behaviour.

"I don't have anything with him" Arthi snapped at her and continued to eat the ice-cream she had ordered for herself. Sighing, Naina too started eating her's.

It has been over a month since Aditya and Naina had that conversation and he just wouldn't stop trying to apologize her everytime he got the chance. But just couldn't forgive him. Even if she did, she couldn't trust him.

And now Naina and Arthi were seated in an ice-cream parlor where they both ordered a gulkand flavoured for Naina and all mixed for Arthi. With the passing days, Arthi's behaviour was bothering Naina.

There wasn't much change but still there was which hardly anyone could notice. From what Naina knew her, from the beginning she had always been crazy to live her life with the way she wants and enjoyed all the delicacies she knew that existed. From coffee to all the smoothies, cookies to ice-cream and deserts, pizzas to pasta and Chinese food. But wherever Arthi went, she dragged even Naina also along with her. The only thing was, Arthi was overly enjoying her life.

The next day Arthi took her to have chats and in ten minutes they found themselves in front of the Pani Puri stall.

"Come....ssssp..." Arthi called her as she felt her mouth salivating from the fragrance of Pani Puri.

The stall boy started making them Pani Puri alternatively and as one after the other Arthi gulped down, she asked the boy to make more spicier than the previous one until she felt her eye stinging with tears prickling to roll down from her eyes.

While Naina chose to eat with medium spice. Observing Arthi, Naina said for the second time.

"You have a past with the coach" this time she didn't ask but stated as it was already confirmed for her that Arthi and Karan were hiding something.

"Maybe not or may be. But it does it even matter? I may have shut him off from my life but not everything or everyone else, like you have done." Arthi countered back to have her shut up for at least once where she didn't wanted to discuss about her past.

After a long silence, Naina said softly placing her hand on Arthi's shoulder, "You are living in a pretence, Arthi. You are pretending to be happy and alright when you are not. I may also be feigning myself but I am not pretending to be all cool and happy. Whilst you, you are escaping your reality and are living in a bubble that you have created for yourself. Where you are nothing but only happy, when in reality you are not and no one's seeing you out of that bubble you have created. No one's seeing you how broken you are.

Maybe I am the last person to tell you or advice you about life and happiness, but Arthi both of our past is on different pages. Neither of us have the right judge, but at least can't we be there for eachother? You were hell bent on helping me out and I know you still do want to and on that account, don't I have right to help you out?"

Hearing Naina, Arthi broke down into tears hugging her. Naina held her in her arms and tried to console her as Arthi profusely cried for which there was no end any time soon. Amidst of her crying out, Arthi exposed her past to Naina that day.

Hearing her, Naina had gone mum with not knowing what to say and how to say. Not in her wildest dreams she could have imagined something like this to happen to anyone, and here was her friend, Arthi crying in her arms.

All of a sudden she felt like her life was much more better than anyone else out there and instead of feeling grateful and gratified, she had resented all her life for nothing.

Even when Arthi had stopped crying, Naina could feel her shivering and finally Naina spoke only five words.

"It's time to go home"

Nodding her head, Arthi straightened herself and wipes all the dry tear stains.

"Will you be alright?" Naina asked.

"Hmm... Yes" Arthi squeaked.

"If there's anything you want or need, call me okay? And when I say anything, I mean it."

Arthi nodded her head again as a nervous smile crept on her face for which Naina smiled back asuringly.

Both the ladies parted their ways to their homes and with passing each and every single day, Arthi looked paler and paler which really worried Naina.

Upon asking, she always said that she was completely fine. But the question was for how long?

Arthi completed her portions earlier than anyone could've expected, as it was still only the second week of December and she had already given her resignation letter stating that she won't be able to continue working anymore not giving any valid reasons but only saying that it was personal. Naina on the other hand, knew very well why she had resigned and thought that it was for her good, at least hoped so.

Soon the Christmas holidays had begun giving enough time for Naina to visit Arthi everyday. The more time she spent there the more Aditya was enraged as she did not chose to spend time with her family as he was completely unaware of where she had been going all these days.

"You know that it's vacation, don't you?" Aditya asked grabbing her arm.

"Yes, I know very well but maybe you don't know that you're hurting me" Naina said hissing in pain.

"Then where were you? The school's closed, so what work did you have Huh? Did you go to meet that boy friend of yours?" His jealousy came out as anger which had reached to a limit where he didn't know what was he even speaking. Hearing him say something like that, she gasped unbelievably as shock took over her face which only turned into anguish.

"Just leave me" pushing him forcefully, Naina made her way towards Nia's room.

Many days before, Aditya had been secretly stalking her without her knowledge. Not everyday. But some days where she spent with Arthi mostly while there were also days where he saw her with a man.

She talked as if she knew him from many days and so comfortably, she smiled at him or laughed at whatever he said. Seeing her laugh and smile with someone who is not him, didn't settle down very well for him. It irked him to the extent of questioning what exactly was going on?

When in reality it was Karan with whom Naina had been meeting unintentionally and unpurposefully. It was Karan who had been following her to know what was wrong with Arthi as he could see how she looked pale and the last thing he heard about her and from her was that she, Arthi has resigned from her job without telling any reasons.

Deep inside, he knew that somewhere it was because of him why she had resigned. But she wouldn't go to the extent of quitting her dream job, would she? Like these many questions raised in his mind which he had been asking Naina each and every single day, but all she said was, "I am sorry, Karan. I bound by the promise I made her. "

Karan is good man who wished only simple life for him and somewhere that his simple life which once was beautiful, was eyed by the evilness. Who could even blame anyone? It was all the time was bad that one could say.

He cracked jokes here and there hoping for Naina to blurt the things out about Arthi, but he failed every single time.

When he found Naina to helpless because of her promise to Arthi, he started going to Arthi's area and stopped his bike a few feet away behind the tree and tried to visit her. But at the end, the hateful look which she had for him, won to stop him from even knocking on her door.

Every single night, he waited hoping he would go in some or the other day, but he just couldn't will up. He reached near her home by eight at night and then returned back to his once he saw all the lights being shut off.

_______

Please ignore the mistakes if you have found them while reading.
Thank you :)

Dated - 01 July, 2020

Edited - 18 June 2021