Sifar - A Collection Of Desi Short Stories

🍂UNLESS I'M WITH YOU-6🍂

Past events are written in Italics

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The stairs twirled upward in a loop, and soft blue light reflects on the smooth white marble as he climbed it.

"Waah! Sahab aaj jaldi nahi aa gaye aap" He heard a taunt when he tried to pass from the corridor.

[Wow! You didn't come early today" ]

"Kyun apni neend kharab karti hai meri wajah se?" He responded.

[Why do you spoil your sleep because of me?]

"Sage aur eklote Bhai ho mere," Rabia said annoyedly.

[You are my one and only brother]

"Agar meri neend ki itni fikar hai toh insaano wale waqt wapsi kar liya karo" She added twisting his ear.

[If you care about my sleep, then do return at the normal time]

"Poora ek ghante pehle aaya hoon. Tareef hi kar data hai banda aur idhar kaan kheeche jaa rahe" He winced like a child on which she rolled her eyes.

[I came one hour before and you are twisting my ear instead of applauding ]

"Don't you dare to sleep without having dinner" She ordered to which he nodded his head.

After changing into a casual t-shirt and lower, he moves back to the kitchen. However, he is in no mood to consume but he can't hurt his sister by wasting her efforts. His steps halted in between looking at her near the fridge. "Roshail" He was about to turn to go back when she called her. There was a time when it was his favourite sound.

"Tum mat jao. Main hi chali jaati hoon" She mumbled looking at him who didn't care to spare a glance.

[You stay! I am going. ]

"Itni nafrat karne lage ho" Her voice broke.

[You start hating me this much? ]

"Aziyat bhi bahut di hai maine, issi qaabil hoon " She whimpered in herself.

[I hurt you badly. I deserve this.]

"Mohabbat isse bhi zyada ki thi" He whispered, his voice almost clogging his throat.

[I loved you more than this]

"You didn't" Her eyes were cast downward, anger boiled in him at the woman standing and telling her that his love was fake.

"So, I am at fault that you fucking ran away from the wedding " He shouts making her stumble back.

"I didn't say that," She said looking into his angry eyes. "You didn't love me as the lover does" She added making him more furious.

"I accept that I was a horrible person and I truly regret it. I am living every day with guilt, it is eating me up inside. But I am more regretful about not confronting you before" Tears flowed from her eyes.

"I was never your love but the stability you want in your life," She uttered, her voice turning hoarse from crying.

"What the hell you are talking about? You want to pretend that it is my shortcoming that we end up in mess" He yelled, raking his fingers in his hair frustratedly.

"I don't want to talk to you " It was getting hard for him to stay there.

"Your drawback was that you tried to make our relationship perfect to overcome your fear of broken relationships. But Roshail Perfection is an illusion" She said making him stop in between. "You forget to become the man whom I can love in being a perfect man"