Chronicles of Life

#chap60 #chroniclesoflife #Sagas_by_Irvika #sweetlovestory

She sat down to write a note for her beloved.

My dearest hubby,
I am sorry I am going away like this. But have been feeling too low of late. Was missing my home. Hope you understand. I know I didn’t discuss with you priorly but I made the decision just a while back. Will miss you, love you loads.

I will come back in a couple of days, please take care of yourself and keep your cool. I know, I know… I am nagging you again. Feel free to do whatever you want to till I am back. If possible, come to Nashik to pick me up. It’s been a long time since you have visited. I know you will find it weird that I am writing a letter to you, that too such a long one. But you know how I am, right?

Love you, take care, will miss you a lot.
Hugs n kisses,
Shruti.

To be continued…..

Shruti was apprehensive about going away like this, specifically after her mother in law mentioned, but then shrugged thinking that Atharva would understand. She mused that logically, since her father was here, it would be more practical otherwise she would have to go by train and Atharva wouldn’t let her go soon since she had fever. She kissed the letter with love and then neatly kept it in his cupboard, on top of his pile of shirts so that it would be easily visible.

She quickly packed her bag, throwing in a couple of outfits and couldn’t wait to get out of the house. It was somehow suffocating and she was in a hurry. She knew that there were bound to be speculations behind her back, but she was determined. She once again checked her mobile for messages from Atharva but he hadn’t reverted. She knew better than to call him since he was busy.

At that moment, the door bell rang and Shruti almost ran outside. Her eyes again welled with tears on seeing her father and Rohan after so long. She resisted crying and simply hugged them. Anilji tried to reason, “Shruti has never stayed away from us for so long. So, I hope you understand. And since we are here, it would be more practical that we take her along.”
Alpaji chimed in, “We don’t mind, but Atharva doesn’t know.”
Shruti responded meekly, “He is busy in a meeting, had called him but he disconnected. I have left him a message.”

Alpaji showed her displeasure but didn’t comment further. Shruti messaged again, feeling uneasy in her heart. ‘Please call me as soon as possible.’ Soon, the Vermas left with Shruti and were on their way. Meanwhile, Atharva was through with his meeting and was just checking the messages when his mom called and complained, “Atharva, what is all this? Is it okay if Shruti goes at the drop of a hat? Kya farak pad jaata if she would have gone after a couple of days?”
Atharva had barely read the messages when his mom had called and the situation was still sinking in. He controlled himself not wanting to get in any controversy without knowing what the matter was and said, “Ma, I’ll call you back.” And he disconnected.

He quickly read messages sent by Shruti and realised what must have been the situation. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew she had been feeling vulnerable and had become pessimistic due to some reason, but he had no clue. Shruti hadn’t shared about her inner anxiety since she wasn’t sure. He grimaced as he realised that he had been so caught up in his work that he couldn’t make out earlier. He went out of the building and called her up without delay.

She picked up on the second ring, since she had been desperately waiting for a call from him. “Shru? What happened?”
She was feeling so low spirited that it was an effort to keep her tone normal. “Atharva, I’m so sorry I left like that. But believe me, it was a spontaneous decision since papa and Rohan were here. In fact, they had already left but I called them back otherwise it wouldn’t have been possible for me to go for another couple of days and I wanted to… desperately.”
She sounded so desolate that he had to pacify her and said, “I understand. But I wish we could have met before you left.”
She tried to reason, “I called you up and left quite a few messages but you were busy. And it would take time to reach also na. You know papa doesn’t like traveling late.”
He muttered, “Hmm… aur koi problem hai Shruti?”
She couldn’t answer and fibbed, “Your voice is cracking. I’ll message you.”