Undying Love |✔

Chapter 17- Verbal Apologies

It had been yet another week and to say Amit was restless was an understatement.

He was angry at himself; frustrated at the utter hypocrite behavior he never thought he was capable of pulling. Every day he went to work, performed his usual duties- taught students music and practiced his own. But, it was like he was desperate to utter those apologies verbally to a stranger, whom, in his furious state, he had hurt.

Every day felt like a weight that was increasing with each passing minute.

To make things better, every day after work, he went for a run. However, his feet often took him to the same street he'd come to know about a month ago. Sometimes, he just turned back without even pausing for a second, as if the thought of being there created havoc in his heart and mind.

The other times, he stood there for hours in a corner, under a pole; he tried walking through the wooden door and coming face to face with Avni. He imagined himself apologizing. But what crushed all his courage he gathered every day, was the thought of Avni not accepting his apology, and looking at him with disgust drawn on her face.

So, he did the only thing he could do. He stared at the wooden door in the hopes of making his feet move that always seemed to be frozen, at the exact same spot.

In doing so, he came to know about many sides of Avni. Sometimes, he saw her exiting the shop with a forlorn expression on her face; sometimes, he saw her yell at the kids who tried to play outside her shop. It was on these occasions, he thought, it was her way of venting all the frustration, which was maybe prevalent in her life.

He even saw a soft side of her when she took out many bills, and gave to an elderly woman, without a second thought, who was starving of hunger and cold.

But, it did give him a chance to observe a girl, who had inadvertently entered his mind. He felt something similar that he'd dealt in his life too, albeit in a different way. It was the sole reason he wanted her forgiveness.

Today was no different. After staring at the shop's door, making up his mind, and reassuring himself of another tomorrow, he turned to go back.

As luck would have it, just when he turned, he came face to face with Nanny.

For a moment, both were shocked. Amit more so than the lady.

As Nanny realized of who he was, she greeted him with a, "Hello, it's good to see you after a long time!" in the same gentle voice. Her eyes were twinkling indicating that she was genuinely happy to see him.

Amit greeted her with the same. He was trying not to sound too nervous but failed as the old lady's eyes scrutinized him from top to toe.

"Uh... Um...Hello, ma'am. I was just heading to your shop for the rest of the payment." Amit stated in a rush.

"Ah, yes! Then, come on. Let's head inside," she ordered swiftly and started moving. "And, please call me Meera." She added.

Amit wanted to bail right that moment, as he wasn't ready to face Avni. Also, he hadn't brought enough money with him. In his hurry, he'd said the first words that entered his mind. When he saw Nanny turn around, the thought of running in the opposite direction sounded so tempting to him.

He didn't run, though. Instead, he started with, "Um...it's okay I can come back tomorrow," in a voice that didn't sound like his own. However, Nanny didn't seem to hear him and was apparently on her own.

"I was out of town for a couple of days and just got back today. I actually have many instruments to shuffle but I can't find anyone. Avni had tried hiring a person, but no one was available for small work," she shook her head and kept walking. Amit had no other choice but to follow her.