Deciphering His Love

33 | The One With The Goodbye

18th February 2017

There was something within him, a pain in Madhav's voice. Shree looked into his eyes, and the pain, the hurt reflect in his black eyes. Pain and hurt has been dwelling in those dark eyes for three consecutive days.

"Madhav, are you still angry?" Shree says softly, holding his arm as he comes back to the room after having dinner.

He seamlessly pulls his arm away from her hold.

"Madhav! I'm sorry!" She says as he walks to the balcony. "Please say something! You haven't spoken to me at all since that day!"

The silence was poisonous to them, in that void the shallowness of their conversation was laid bare. What used to be an animated effervescent banter had become an utterly vapid moment of silence. Silence was deadly in its nothingness. Silence clung to them like a venomous cloud that would choke the life out of them. Silence seeped into their every pore, like a poison slowly paralyzing them from either speech or movement.

"Do you hate me?" Shree asks after standing in silence for an hour.

"You know I can't stop loving you." He murmurs as he stands in the balcony feeling the soft winds of the night breeze past him. "But I'm hurt."

"Madhav, I didn't mean to-" She says but he stops her.

"I don't want to talk to you." He says and walks back inside, sitting on the bed.

"Madhav, please-" She pleads sitting down beside him, looking at his eyes.

"Shree darling?" Yashoda calls as she knocks on the door.

"Yes?" Shree asks, opening the door.

"Sorry to disturb you but have you finished packing, darling?" She asks.

"Uhm-uhm y-y-yeah. I'm done!" Shree stammers nervously. She finally remembers that her things are yet to be packed. The two American Tourister suitcases which Madhav got for her are lying empty in her walk-in-closet. There was so much to pack, and she had to do it soon, for there was only two days before she left for London. All her things, most of them were brought newly, were all around the room. The new laptop RK got for her was inside Madhav's cupboard. The bag that had her black and pink hooded-winter jacket was lying on the Barcalounger along with two boxes of new Skechers shoes.

"That's great! Now go get some sleep." She says and walks away.

Shree locks the door.

"You haven't packed yet?" Madhav asks as he notices Shree walk into the walk-in-closet. "Do you even realize that you are going to London the day after tomorrow?"

She opens the suitcase, starts pulling out a few tee-shirts and haphazardly starts to stuff it in. He holds her arm.

"What are you doing? This way you will be able to pack only quarter dozen tee-shirts! Let me pack it for you. Go sort out your shoes and your makeup." He says annoyed and spills out the clothes she crammed into the suitcase. "You are so lazy, dependent and unorganized! Thank goodness the university took care of your student visa and the other formalities. I can't imagine how messy your hostel room would look like- no less than Shyaam's messy room."

He patiently folds her clothes and looks at her. Her eyes were moist with a smile on her face.

After packing, Shree goes to sleep. Madhav walks downstairs to the living room and sees Yashoda seated on the sofa.

"I thought you were asleep." She says looking at him. "Come sit."