It was good to be back home and Seema was glad that she hadn't gone with Varun or Shreya to their in-laws place.
She was not in the mood for petty talks and she needed time to embrace the little glimmer of hope of meeting Richard again. It had vanished now forever and there was no point in still believing that they would one day meet again.
A part of her felt relieved that she need not face the consequences of the decisions that she would have made had Richard turned up; another part felt a sadness and loneliness that she hadn't felt for a long time.
She now knew that her whole life ahead had to be spent alone, because she was not ready to rip her heart more than twice.
She sat by the window sill watching the grey ocean waters reflecting the grey sky. Sometimes she wondered how the sky reflected her moods so perfectly.
She had only a few editing work to be completed. The schools were closed and so was her pottery class. She took a book to read and without her knowledge, tears started seeping through the corners of her eyes. She tried her best to concentrate, but her heart suddenly gave up the pretence that everything was okay. Now no amount of justifications to her situations would work. The loneliness brought out all the pain and anguish that she had tried to hide from everyone, including herself. But now there was no place to hide. She finally put the book aside and cried like a ten year old hugging a pillow.
After an hour she felt relived and just as ever she knew this time that she would come out of this ordeal too.