A Wait for Dawn

Chapter 18 - Aftermath 1

The same night, Shantivan

The house was dead silent. After Police arrested Akash, all went to their rooms and Aman left to his home. Everyone was in shock. All silently had their dinner in their rooms. After that Arnav started tending to his plants. He needed distraction but the more he try to think something else, the more he was remembering all that.

Khushi also sat on the recliner on poolside gazing at stars. She was thinking about everything that happened. Not even in her wildest dreams, she thought the day would end like this. But what happened was beyond anyone's imagination. She was trying to wrap her head around the incident. It was too much to digest.

In NK's room, both NK and Lavanya were doing their work absent mindedly. Lavanya was unpacking and arranging their clothes in cupboard. NK was watching TV but his mind was elsewhere. Comedy movie was running on screen but there was serious expression on his face.

Nani sat in her room looking at the old albums crying. She felt ashamed of herself. She was the eldest in the family yet she never showed her maturity and years of experience while handling matters. Always did things by a one track mind. Never thought about the perceptive and feelings of other people.

Everything that happened today, she had a bigger role to play in it. She could have prevented many things. She could have saved this family from destroying like this. Her entire family is broken, all are in pain, then she is also a reason. She looked at the photo of her daughter with her grandson. A sudden wave of guilt and remorse hit her.

Both of their lives were hit with tragedy and somewhere she is a reason. She shouldn't have got Ratna married to Aravind just because he was her best friend's son. Then maybe she would have been alive. She could have made Anjali a stronger person than molly coddling her. Then may be Arnav's life wouldn't have been hit with so many storms.

But now she couldn't do anything rather than repent for her deeds. She can't change past. And nothing is in her hands now. Everything that's to be ruined is already ruined. Lives are destroyed. And people are broken. If only she had a chance to go back and change everything.

In Mami's room, she sat in front of the dressing table and kept looking at herself. Who is she. She herself doesn't recognize. Each and everything kept on the table mocked at her. What had she done to herself. What had she done to this family.

She looked at herself crying. Then taking a tissue paper and soaking it in water, started removing all her makeup harshly. After removing her make up, she threw away her jewellery. She cried looking at herself and swiped away all the things kept on the dressing table throwing them on ground.

She cried and screamed out loudly. She threw away the pillows on bed and messed up the bed sheet. Crying, she fell on the ground near bed. She sat there crying keeping head on bed. Her eyes caught a photo frame kept on the bed. She took it and saw a photo of her and Akash.

She cried hugging the photo. She kissed the photo multiple times muttering apologies. She cried for her herself, for her son and for her family. She cried, and cried and cried....

In Akash and Payal's room, Payal sat on the bed with her knees drawn upto her chest. She looked around the room and felt the emptiness surrounding her. She had never been alone in this room before at night. Wherever Akash went, he always came back before night.

And for the first time, she felt lonely and lost. Is it what her sister felt when Arnavji was away. She mused. She couldn't bear it for a day. She didn't know how her sister bore it for all those years. She suddenly felt cold.

She remembered the first time she entered this room after marriage. The room was same like this then also. Nothing changed in these five years. But she changed. The girl who entered this room had dreams. She had wishes. She had voice. She had understanding of right and wrong. She had values. More importantly she had life.