Prologue
It was a windy afternoon. After returning to the hostel from college, she decided to take a shower. She changed her clothes and plonked into bed. Her headache had worsened. She didn't think that it would get exacerbated. She swallowed a pill and shut her eyes. She tossed and turned but couldn't sleep. After some time, when she felt a little better she got up, don her abaya and hijab and went out to get some fresh air.
As she walked on the sidewalk, her mind drifted back to him. She took out her mobile phone and began to type a message. She hadn't messaged him for the last few days. He hadn't messaged her either because this time it wasn't his fault. Once she had typed the message, she waited for her mind to decide whether she should send the message or not. Her heart suggested her to send the message but her mind stopped her from doing so. She was in a state of quandary.
She had walked to the bus stop. She kept the mobile phone inside her tote bag and hailed a bus. This time she let her heart win over her mind. On reaching her destination, she got off the bus and walked on the sidewalk until she arrived at the gate of the apartment. The watchman knew her. She walked inside the apartment complex and made her way to the elevator. She took the elevator to the fifth floor.
She walked out of the elevator and made her way to the flat. She fumbled for the keys in her bag. He had given her a spare key of his flat so she could visit the house anytime she wished in his absence. She took out the key, inserted it inside the keyhole and turned it. Twisting the handle, she flung the door open and stepped inside the house. It was completely dark.
She switched on the lights. She felt a surge of emotion the moment the house was illuminated with lights. Her heart was imbued with a strange emptiness. Every memory of her spending time in this house flooded back into her mind. She closed the door behind her. The silent atmosphere was disquieting.
She loosened her hijab and sat down on the sofa. Her eyes were filled with tears. As she was alone in the house, she didn't suppress her emotions and burst into tears. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. The handle of the door was twisted and the following moment, someone opened the door and stepped inside. She was startled. She raised her head and found him standing at the door with a confounded expression on his face.
She got up in mild panic and looked at him. Her eyes were pleading as if they were asking for another chance.
"What are you doing here?" He asked in a stern voice in order to masquerade his inner happiness. He was surprised to see her but at the same time his heart was overwhelmed with joy. She was taken aback as well as hurt by his cold behaviour. She wiped her tears and picked her bag.
"I am sorry. I-I will not come again." She replied and was about to leave when he caught her hand.
"Aina." He called her softly. The austerity in his voice had vanished.
She finally mustered the courage and raised her head to look in his eyes. She had aforetime failed to interpret his unspoken thoughts but this time she hadn't. Her heart was overwhelmed with emotions of love and regret but she let the emotion of happiness triumph over them. He came closer and wiped her warm tears. The strange emptiness that had imbued her heart was replaced with the feeling of gratitude the moment his fingers touched her skin. His eyes reflected the same devotion and tenderness for her, which she had unfairly pretended to ignore many times before but after a fortnight of no contact when she was standing again in front of him, she wished to tell him how impatient and restless her heart had grown in his absence. But her wretched heart once again whispered to her to choose silence over elucidating her feelings.
