SINGHANIA- tale of Toxic relationships

9.

🎵- Dekhte dekhte

[Ignore grammatical errors and typos]

Everyone was sleeping in their rooms. Then suddenly someone called Abhimanyu's phone. It disturbed both Abhimanyu and Ahana's sleep.
 
Abhimanyu became angry, but he responded to the call calmly.
 
He became silent after answering the call. Ahana studied his face; she asked him directly,
 
What happen? She asked 
 
Mom and  dad passed away, he said. His voice was not like before; it sounded very vulnerable and weak. Ahana never witnessed this side. It was a shock for Ahana as well. How can both of his parents die simultaneously?
 
Abhimanyu was sitting silently. His brain was blank. He is in his late fifties, and his parents were in their 80s. Still, it hurts him. Just like a child always stays as a child for parents, Parents never grow old for their kids.
 
Ahana tried to place her hand on his shoulder sympathetically. Before that, he grabbed his phone and got up from the bed, leaving her. He was not expecting any emotional support from her. He does not need it; he is not weak. He won't break even in the toughest situation. 
 
Abhimanyu reached down. He was standing in the middle of his  mansion, alone, making continuous calls. He wanted to know how it happened. 
 
Ahana followed him down; she called Vedant and Rudra. She tried Atharva's call as well, but he didn't answer it. Hopefully, Vedant and Rudra answered her call. 
 
Abhimanyu's legs became heavy. After hearing the news of his parents deaths, he can't walk. Still, he continued walking from left to right; he was waiting for his parents to come. They were in a foreign country. 
 
Ahana wanted to comfort him, but she never did something like this. She never witnessed him in a vulnerable state, or she didn't care enough about him. Vedant and Rudra also came down. Divya and Pisha came with them as well. 
 
Abhimanyu was continuously calling staff and other people. Vedant came towards Abhimanyu. He snatched the phone from Abhimanyu's hand.

You sit, I will handle everything.
Abhimanyu stared at him for a few seconds. Vedant made him sit on the chair. Abhimanyu obeyed him. 
 
Mom, please stay with dad at least for today; Rudra requested Ahana. Rudra never brought up the topic of their relationship. He never talked about the relationship between his parents to anyone, but today he spoke. He doesn't show his discomfort regarding his parents relationship, but that doesn't mean he doesn't feel it. 
 
Call Ruhi Bhabhi, he said to  Prisha. They were both absent at the same time. Atharva is closest to Abhimanyu.  With his growing age, Abhimanyu started taking  more stress. The doctor advised him to don't take any stress. He thinks a lot. The doctor asked him to think less. 
Rudra and Vedant don't want him to think more about his parents. They understand parents are everything for children, but they are old. They lived his life; their father should be practical and accept what's happening.
 
Ahana, who was standing beside Abhimanyu, was understanding Abhimanyu's turmoil very well. She was also understanding Vedanta's and Rudra's care for their father instead of their grandparents  deaths. Vedant may show he doesn't care about his father, but he cares a lot. 
 
Abhimanyu coughed, and Ahana offered him water and patted his back. 
Drink water, 
 
He took a glass of water from her and gulped it in one go. It's 4 in the morning now; his parents will come till the afternoon. He wanted to go to them, but they had already fled from there until then. 
 
Ahana checked the time on the wall clock. It's dawn now. She asked Abhimanyu, You should eat something.
 
As soon as the word slipped from her mouth, Abhimanyu glared at her intensely. It was pure rage. He lost his parents, and she cares about food. No words were shared, but Ahana understood from his eyes that he was not pleased after listening to her. She only suggested that he eat something because once the relatives start arriving, he can't eat properly. He needs energy to stay strong. As a son, he has to perform the last rituals of his parents. Losing both of them is hard.
 
In the morning, Atharva woke up. Ruhi was sleeping beside him. He remembered last night. He checked his phone, which was filled with tonnes of missed calls. Missed calls were from each member of his family, except his dad. That's shocking. If something had happened, then his dad would have called him first.
 
He checked his brother's text before calling anyone back. It was from Rudra first.
 
Rudra :
Bhai, please come soon.
Dada and Dadi passed away.
Dad needs you.
 
Vedant:
Why the hell are you not answering anyone's call?
Ruhi is also not answering.
She is with you, na?
 
Come back as soon as possible.
The oldies of our family are dead.
Dad is silent; he is not speaking to anyone. Neither he is scolding us.
Come fast.
 
He called them after reading the text. Now, both of them didn't answer his call. He started feeling uneasy after reading their text. Avoiding his uneasiness, he called Ruhi to wake her up. After some attempts, she woke up. Her head was shaking from last night. 
 
Get ready soon; we have to go back. He didn't say anything more and gave her phone back to her. She checked her phone and left the bed, ignoring her state. She stumbled a little where he caught her. He grabbed her arms and guided her to the bathroom. She is trying to get ready as soon as possible, but it naturally takes time for girls to get ready, I guess.
 
He was waiting for her outside. Right now, she wanted to run far away from him. I don't want to see his face. She came down. He grabbed her wrist and dragged her towards his car. Not seeing any other option, she obliged him. 
 
On his way home, he gave her one box. Eat it; you don't get to eat food until the evening. 
 
She can't believe him. His grandparents died, and he is asking her to eat food. He also ate. Well, he only cares about himself. She thought. He only said it because she was dull from yesterday; she put her whole strength into running away from him.
 
He reached his home; thankfully, his grandparents didn't arrive until now. He entered his house. His father was sitting with a straight face, deprived of any emotion. His brothers were arranging everything for his grandparents rituals.
 
He walked towards his dad. Surprisingly, his mom was trying to comfort his dad, and today he is not paying any heed to his mom. The view was new to watch. 
 
Dad, Atharva's voice came out low. Ruhi thought that he had the talent of changing voices for different people because she was the same with everyone.
 
Even in the demise, a lot of thoughts were coming into their brains. They were sad about the sudden deaths of Abhimanyu's parents but more concerned about Abhimanyu's health.
 
Where were you? Abhimanyu asked in response, meeting his gaze.
 
I was, and he became silent in between.
 
How many times have they called you? Abhimanyu asked him, pointing fingers in the direction of his daughter-in-laws and sons.
 
He must be busy; calm down, dad. Rudra came in between them, trying to change the topic of their conversation. Abhimanyu listened to him.
 
The bodies of his grandparents arrived. Ruhi, who was standing beside Divya, asked her, trying to form a better sentence, how were they both.. at the same time?
 
Food got stuck in grandmother's throat. Grandmother had dysphagia. Grandfather didn't tell anyone about it first. He thought it was a normal problem. Later, the doctor announced her death. He got an attack after listening to the news, and the doctor announced him dead as well. She explained it to her.
 
It's normal; vaise bhi unki umar ho gyi thi. (They were old.) Ruhi, Prisha, and Divya listened to some old women talking there.
 
In the last time also, Abhimanyu was not able to sit beside his mother. Pandit Ji announced we should perform the last ritual before panchak. He also told Ahana to dress her mother-in-law like a bride. She died before her husband. 
 
Everyone was hurrying for the last rituals. Abhimanyu stared at his father's face for once and then at his house. Just how were people hurrying to depart his father? Every relative was saying to perform the last rites fast.