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Shayan pulled the curtains apart. Outside, the snow was starting to melt and the rays of the sunlight reflected on the surfaces of the ice, brightening up the day even more. It was a good change.
"The sun finally decided to show up today. It hasn't snowed this much in New York in ages. You would've hated it, the dead cold waves, dark gloomy days and hours of shoveling snow from the driveway. Thankfully it's starting to recede." He clipped the curtain to the holdbacks and walked back towards the bed. Pulling the chair beside it, he sat down and picked up the newspaper.
"Oh! Here, listen to this. A group of young teens lit their house on fire to claim insurance, accidentally blew up the entire floor. Dumb kids. The prices of gold have hiked again, and ah, what's this? They are relocating Big Shake from downtown to somewhere in the central."
That's how they started their mornings. Not a single day had gone by he hadn't paid her a visit the first thing in the morning. Shayan lifted his eyes from the paper and looked at his wife. He could stare at her face for hours, wondering if she can feel his presence. He ran his fingers through her hair, untangling the little knots. They needed to be combed. She hated tangled hair.
Bending towards the bed, he brought his lips closer to her ears and kissed them.
"Hey, I love you."
Shayan locked his gaze on her, listening to every beat of her heart. The beeps on the monitor. He stopped breathing for a second, as if almost expecting her to say 'I love you too.' He waited, and waited. Nothing. As always.
Heaving a sigh, he sat back up. Somewhere deep inside he knew he would keep on waiting, no matter how long it takes.
*****
The drive to work was of an hour and a half. That would mean almost half the day gone just on the roads in between home, work and the hospital, thus he took a sabbatical from the office. Not like he could focus on work either way. But occasionally he did go and he was always pleasantly surprised by the amount of love and good wishes his colleagues had in store for him. After all Shayan Chatterjee had given ten years of his life to this company and turned their visions into achievements. He was a favorite around the office, maybe the reason behind them allowing him to take such a long leave without any conditions. However, his guilt and love for the job kept bringing him back to the place from time to time.
"So, how's everything going at home?"
"Not much different, but thanks for asking Jackson. I appreciate your concern."
