Twist in Time

Settling waters

The next morning the two begrudgingly headed back to Mumbai and Abhimanyu had driven. The little town on the way to Surat where Akshara and Abhimanyu had unexpectedly landed themselves, had become like a little oasis that they know they would cherish for the rest of their lifetimes.

How their life had changed overnight.

They both stopped by a roadside restaurant to have some breakfast, and savor each others company for a little while longer.

Enjoying the cold morning breeze and the taste of chai, Akshara hummed in contentment staring at Abhimanyu's face. This was her happiness. Abhimanyu beamed down at her, feeding her the parantha they had started digging into.

Pausing he realised what he had to do next.

"Akshu...." he said slowly as he watched her cutely eat, smiling as he wiped the little bit of butter that remained on the corner of her lips.

"Mmmm" she said caught up in her parantha, she was famished.

"Can you stay low for a little bit... Mahima is still out there tracking your steps" Abhimanyu reminded her.

Akshara stopped, pausing her munching. She sighed, she knew this was coming and she understood it too. It was not wise for her to go to Birla Enterprises right now.

But staying away from Abhimanyu made her miserable.

And she wanted to go hunt Mahima right now.

"I can't come to work can I?" she asked frowning and Abhimanyu gave her a pained nod in return.

"It's okay..." she mumbled, "I know this is what we must do.."

Abhimanyu sighed, bringing her chai to her lips and making her take a sip.

"Soon baba... I promise soon... this will all be sorted"

Akshara took a deep breath and nodded smiling, "don't worry, I am strong... I did not endure years of hardship for nothing... you don't have to worry about me Abhi" she reassured him, noticing that he was in visible pain.

Abhimanyu sighed, "I don't wish for you to have any hardship anymore"

Akshara gave him a sweet reassuring smile of understanding, "We have to be smart the next few days"

Abhimanyu nodded kissing her knuckles as they both settled into their conversation and suddenly Abhimanyu remembered something he wondered.

"Akshara... what did you do all these years, away from Mumbai?" he questioned curiously, in reality - he did not know much about the last thirteen years of her life and he wanted to know every detail.

Akshara smiled wistfully, looking into the distance as she took in the glorious morning views. She took a sip of her chai and then turned around to him.

"Rosie saved every last bit of her money to send me to a boarding school in Delhi..." she whispered, "It was a lonely time... I did not have any friends... and I was traumatised... but I knew I had the responsibility of moving forward because I was the only one that had survived... guilt outweighs pain you know" she said shrugging her shoulders as if it was the most casual thing in the world.

"After secondary schooling... I was able to get a scholarship to apply to the top business school in Delhi... by then I had already grown into a rigid and intimidating personality - the one and only Akshara Goenka" she said giving him a bittersweet laugh as he watched in pain, closing his eyes, thinking about her pain. "If I didn't have any friends or close people before... I really did not have any now... the cold Akshara Goenka"

"Life had taught me that you had to fight back... or else it takes everything away... I could not afford to be quiet... I had to make myself known..." she reflected softly.