Broken (Wattys2016)

CHAPTER 2

She woke up to the irritating noise of the alarm clock. Aaliya used to get up early in the morning around half past five to prepare breakfast and lunch for both of them before they left for work. She rubbed her eyes and yawned as she turned to the other side after turning the alarm off.

She looked at Aarav who was still sleeping peacefully. A lot had changed in the last one and a half year but she still loved him somewhere deep down. Nothing could have changed her love for him. He was there with her always, when she was as still as a lake and even when she was destructive like a tsunami. She leaned forward and played with his thick dark brown hair, something he loved very much. She placed a soft lingering kiss on his cheek before going to the washroom to get ready for the day.

She took her toothbrush from the holder, squeezed some mint toothpaste over it and started brushing her teeth. What she saw in the mirror sort of scared her though. She looked like a mess with puffy eyes and huge purple eye bags. She had started avoiding the mirror lately because she didn't like her reflection. She wasn't really a big fan of herself even when she was a teenager but she didn't really feel like she wasn't good looking. She knew she was pretty beautiful in her own way and no one could ever let her down, but now her own reflection used to scare her.

She looked down at the blue floor tiles as she brushed her teeth and took bath. Tears streamed down her cheeks as the cold water poured down on her. It seemed that crying under the shower had become a routine, just like brushing teeth, taking bath and eating meals on time. Earlier she was crying because of what she had lost a year and a half ago and now she was crying because she knew she had lost Aarav too. She knew that there was no way in which she could bring him back. He had found his happiness somewhere else, and she blamed herself for that. She knew she had failed to serve him like a good wife and that was the reason she kept herself away from him so that he could live his life. She didn't wish to hurt him any further.

Wiping her tears she stepped out of the shower and dressed up. There were still ten minutes left before Aarav woke up. She went to the kitchen and started to prepare their lunch.

Aaliya Fernandes Vinayak was an English teacher in Delhi Public School, one of the most reputed schools and used to teach the eleventh and twelfth graders. Aaliya was also an author and had published two books, one before getting married and the other one, soon after marriage. She had quite some fans and her books had found a permanent spot at the top of the best sellers list. But she hadn't written a word ever since the incident that happened. Aarav was her idea generating factory and her backbone. She got the idea for her first book from Aarav, and he was the one who persuaded her to get her work published. She knew if she tried her hand at it right now then she would end up writing some crap story which wouldn't even get published and she wasn't really welcoming that.

Around quarter past seven Aarav walked to the kitchen all dressed up in a shirt and trousers. She made him toast and eggs while she packed their lunch.

"Aaliya?"

"Yeah?" She asked as she cleaned the kitchen slab. Aarav was so used to her one word replies now. She would never say anything more than that.

"There is a party tonight, a business party. I might get late."

"Okay." She said as she kept his lunch in his bag.

There was silence for the next five minutes, the same awkward yet familiar silence.

"Would you like to come?" He asked although he was sure that she'd decline the offer like always.

Aaliya's eyes lit up. It was after a long time that he was asking her out, even if it was a business party. She liked the way he was taking an initiative and there was no way she was going to rest on the couch and see him make efforts.