Meow's Shivi OS/TS Book

I am tired- part 2

It had been a week since that day. A week since Shiva had committed the greatest mistake of his life and realised his folly, all in a day's time, as they say. 

It was as if Raavi was broken and the part that made her Raavi had been swept away with the wind. The walls of ice he had put around his heart and his tender, new, feelings had melted away the moment she had admitted to liking him, to wanting to truly move on with him. And then as he had stood outside the door to his room and watched her lie in their bed, eyes open yet unseeing, his heart had burnt. 

He had gone to her to beg for mercy, but she had not seen him, had not heard him. He had gotten so worried something had happened to her that he'd dared to touch her, to gently shake her awake from her world of dreams. She hadn't bothered to look at him as she told him in a blank voice, "Main thik hoon, bas tak chuki hoon, itna pareshaan hone ki zaroorat nahi hai kisi ko bhi", and closed her eyes to go to sleep. When Shiva had gone to sleep he'd tied her dupatta around his hand in the fear that she would leave, because who wouldn't after what he had done? 

And when he'd woken up to find her dupatta still tied to his hand but no Raavi in sight he had lost it. He had run out of his room screaming for her only to be sat down by his bhabhi. Moments later she had walked out of the kitchen with tea for everyone, even him, and then walked right back into the kitchen. His bhabhi had then confessed to how worried Raavi had been when he had read her diary that something of this sort would happen. That he wouldn't understand that she truly had moved on, had wanted to move on with him. It was then that Shiva had understood the magnitude of his mistakes. 

In the week since then it had been the same story, she did all her work mechanically, she only responded when directly questioned, and that too with the shortest answers she could come up with. Shiva hadn't had the courage to see if it would be the same in his case too. And so he hadn't spoken a word to her after that night, until today that is. 

Shiva had eavesdropped on his bhabhi and Raavi's conversation from outside the kitchen that morning. "Raavi, bachi, Maami ki call aayi thi kal raat ko. Voh keh rahe the ki tumhari chacha aa rahe hain kal Somnath main, aur ki voh kal subah naashta yahin par karenge". At first she had hummed in response and turned away to continue with her work, not noticing bhabhi's face fall. Then she'd turned back around full speed, "Kya? Chacha aa rahe matlab? Aur aap Ram chacha ki baat hi kar rahe hain, hai na Dhara di?" Shiva had been pretty sure that was the most words she'd spoken at a time since that day, and he was sure that this was the most animated she'd been too.

Shiva had known about Raavi's chacha, of course he had. The man had wanted to adopt her despite being unmarried and having to take care of his parents as well. When Maami had said she would take care of Raavi, he'd put up one hell of a fight until she'd threatened to go to court. Knowing he would lose any access to her life if the case went to court, he'd  agreed to give Maami custody on the condition of being allowed yearly visits. And ever since, he had managed to spoil Raavi pretty well during his visits, building a strong bond with her despite the distance. 

Just a while ago, he'd come into their room, expecting to go to sleep, quietly holding onto her dupatta like every other night when he'd heard her, "Shiva?", she had whispered. He had stood frozen for a minute before he'd scrambled to kneel by her bedside, wondering if he'd perhaps imagined her calling out to him. But no, she had been lying on her side, eyes wide open and trained right at him. 

"Raavi?", he had whispered back, still in disbelief. And with a curious look on her face she had asked him, "Hmm. Shiva, voh, kal, chacha aa rahe hai na?" He nodded his head, still too shocked for words. After a moment she turned her face down mumbling, "Main nahi chahti ki chacha ko yahaan ki haal bata chale Shiva, unhe bahot bura lagega. Tho please, bas kal ki ek din ke liye mujhe pasand karne ki naatak kar de Shiva, please." She peeked up at him as he stared at her and hurriedly said with her eyes closed tight, "Aur main naa nahi sunungi Shiva." He wanted to tell her so much, that he wouldn't need to act at all, that he was sorry, but she had made a request of him, and nothing came before that. He raised his trembling hand to her head, gently stroking her hair as he said, "Tho maine kab kaha ki main mana karne vala hoon? " She had opened her eyes to look at him, and seeing his sincerity had nodded, whispered a good night, and promptly fallen asleep.