Etched In soul

Part 1

"Thank God..Adi beta.. you are here.. Misha has locked herself. She has refused to talk to anyone. She has not even had food since morning." A middle aged woman said in a worried tone.
"Dont worry..Aunty.I am here now." Aditya smiled at her.
He walked towards Misha's room and knocked the door twice. There was no response. The woman gave Aditya a concerned look. However, Aditya gestured his hand to reassure her that all will be fine.

"Misha.. its me..Adi..open the door." Aditya said in calm tone.
The next minute, door made a click sound and was left open.
"Go and bring food." Aditya asked the woman. She did as she was told to. Aditya entered her room. The room was a that one would expect from a typical teenager. The walls had posters of different music bands, all the characters of fictional show. A separate wall was decorated with a supernatural theme, with two handsome male leads of the show staring right at you. Everytime Aditya entered her room, he couldnt help but sigh just like this time, "teenagers." He shook his head.

Around the corner of the room, he noticed, a curled up figure. Her face looked tired. It seemed as if she was crying for hours. Her glowing teenage face seemed to have lost its shine. Not that it was the first time Aditya was going to console Misha. He had been lately helping her with all her teenage issues, from crushes to pimples. Misha was 17. Aditya had known Misha for long now. She shifted next door few years back. It started with occassional meetings and soon Misha became Aditya's life. He loved her like his little sister. Misha also grew fond of him. Such was the bond that she shared every little secret of her's with him and he, like a best friend would give her best advice.

However, today was different. Aditya knew no words could pacify the storm in her mind. Misha had lost her best friend in an accident. At such young age, loosing someone so close could be traumatic. He looked at her and felt sorry. He so wanted to help her,to tell her that it will be all be right but he was helpless. He of all people knew, nothing would help. After witnessing death from such proximity,Aditya knew the impact it has.

He slowly walked towards her. She didnt even move a little as if she didnt notice his presence. He sat beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder. It was then that she couldnt hold her emotions any more. In the next moment, she wrapped her her arms around him and started sobbing loudly. Aditya hugged her back and patted her hair gently.

"Adi bhaiya.. she was..she was my best friend. She said we will be together forever." Misha said between her sobs, clutching tight onto Aditya's shirt.
"Shh.. shh.. girl.. its ok. I know it is hurting but you are strong sweety." Aditya tried to calm her down.
After almost an hour, Misha stopped crying. However, the pain was clearly visible on her face. Aditya tried to talk about other things but somehow they would all remind her about her best friend and she would break into tears. With each passing moment, Aditya could feel his heart breaking. He couldnt see her baby sister like this. So, he decided, maybe it was time for him to share his pain with her. Maybe that would help her just like it helped him years back.

"Accha Misha sunn.. ek kahani sunegi?" Aditya said in an excited tone.
Misha didnt say anything. She knew Aditya was trying to cheer her up but she was in no mood.
"Soch le.. itne time se Zidd kar rahi thi.. aaj suna raha hun toh bhaav mat kha." Aditya said.
"Konsi kahani?" Misha said in an uninterested tone. She didnt want to break Aditya's heart who was trying so hard to cheer her up.
"Meri aur Zoya ki kahani." Aditya said in a cold tone. He noticed the change in Misha's expression. Her eyes still had tears but somewhere something shined.

It would be a lie if Misha said she was not interested. She had been dying to hear it. God knows how much she had pestered Aditya for telling her about this girl after once the name accidently slipped his tongue. One or the other way Aditya would deny it or somehow change the topic. She knew there was something about this girl because if there was something that her Adi bhaiya loved apart from her it was Zoya. She shifted closer to her him and looked into his eyes.

Aditya knew he had finally hit the right point. He knew how much Misha wanted to know about him. However, he had always kept his life private. He never felt like sharing it with anyone. Good or bad, it was his memory,only his and he wanted to cherish it alone but it was time.
"Ok I will tell you but first you need to have your food. " Aditya said handing her the plate. Without any tantrums , she quickly took the plate and started munching on food. She was definately hungry. Aditya looked at her and let out a small chuckle. In many ways Misha reminded him of Zoya. This was one of the reasons, he grew close to her.

"Ok start." She said after she finished her food. Aditya took a deep sigh,
"You know.. life never ends with death Misha. I was devasted just like you when I lost my best friend, my love of life, my wife, Pooja." He said.
"Pooja?? Abhi toh Zoya thi? Aapki life mein kitni ladkiyan hai?" Misha said with a bewildered expression.
Aditya smiled. "Bas teen."
"Teen??"
"Haan Pooja. Zoya aur tu." He said.
"Accha continue."
"So I lost my Pooja in an accident. I was so broken after that and I had no one around. My parents died long ago and I had no siblings. I tried living but Pooja ke bina kuch accha nahi lagta tha. I used to cry for hours. Pooja always said that she wanted her name to be engraved on a grave even if she was cremated. I would always ask her to not think of useless stuff. I never knew time would come so soon. Just like she had wished, I had her name engraved. I used to visit it everyday. Infact I used to spend my entire day there. I wished there was some way she could come back but it was impossible, she was gone.."
Aditya's eyes filled with tears. Misha didnt fail to notice it. She realised how painful it was for him.

"Uske baad?" She asked placing her hand on his after he went quiet as if he was lost somewhere. Aditya broke out of trance and looked at her.
"One day I was there at the cemetry, beside her grave, crying. That was when I first saw her, Zoya." A smile escaped his lips.
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So the first chapter is here. I hope you all read the A/N. This  will be a short story with short updates which might not be frequent but I hope you will like it. Do let me kniw how was the start. Comment n vote.
Love
Shivja.