Monday 13 August 2012

Cherry Blossoms - Part 6 (END)

            But he had no choice but to think things over now.  He was beginning to understand how difficult it was going to be and he was in no mood to let Arnav off the hook like others had done.  He was preparing himself for a long-drawn battle starting with his own family because he was sure that they won’t agree to his approach.  They would have preferred some other way of getting rid of the person who had harmed their family.  But for Krishna it was not just a question of ego but justice.  He wanted everyone to know who Arnav really was. 

            As he prepared for the battle, he could see that Sneha was slowly fading away… he was worried.  

            Meanwhile, Sneha felt as a mere observer of all that was happening around her.  She had never been a chirpy and lively person.  But slowly, her smile faded away.  She saw others look at her questioningly but she had no longer the courage or force to say anything.  She had suddenly realised how fragile she was.  She didn’t want to harm anyone and felt that by punishing Arnav she was actually going to kill her own spirit.  She was a non-violent person who believed in forgiving and forgetting.  But this was so hard to forgive or forget.  Arnav had taken away her childhood… he had killed her spirit and now he was going to kill her by making her do things that were against her nature.  The sadness in her eyes hurt.  And her silence froze all questions.  Krishna was too busy trying to get Arnav punished to pay any attention to his wife for whom he was doing all this.  

            Sneha’s silent and sadness pushed Krishna further and further away from her.  She no longer felt attached to anything and one day Krishna woke up to find her gone.  He searched everywhere like a dutiful husband but in a way he felt relieved because this was making him feel so hollow inside.  He had never told Sneha how he couldn’t bear to see her sad and silent and had thought that she knew… 

            And Sneha was feeling so lonely.  She hadn’t left any note, nothing.  No one knew whether she was dead or alive.  Whatever the case might be she hadn’t used her credit cards or bank account.  They had searched for her for some days, some had continued for some months, only Krishna continued to hope against hope that she’d return to him one day.  He felt guilty but there wasn’t much he could do.  He had failed where he wanted to succeed.  Everyone wanted him to remarry but Sneha was the essence of his being and he couldn’t think of leaving her even when she had left him.  His love for her grew with every day that passed and no one could ever replace her in his heart.  One day, fed up of being pressurised, he went to the temple and renounced the world.  He had done his own last rites and no longer belonged to this world.  He was alive but life had gone out of him long ago. 

            Sneha had always known what he was doing and had done her best to help but there was little that she could do for him from where she was.  Tears welled up in her eyes again and as another cherry blossom fell at her feet she saw Arnav go to another little girl… another Sneha?

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