Omkara tapped his alarm shut and woke up rubbing his eyes. Following his routine, he entered the washroom. This was one thing he hated. He always preferred sleeping late and waking up when the sun had climbed high up in the sky. However, he felt as though he had stepped back in his early bachelorhood. No late nights, no late mornings. 

It was awful. 

With his toothbrush in his mouth he walked into his open kitchen and put the tea kettle on the flame. He had always been a tea person. Putting the water to boil he opened the door to his flat and picked up the milk bottle. He happened to glance at his neighbor Lily entering her flat. He waved at her as she entered her home looking like she was sleep walking.

Omkara waved at her and kicked the door shut. She was a nurse and worked the night shifts. Although Omkara saw her frequently, there had been very minimal conversation between them. She was four inches shorter than him in height, had brown hair and grey eyes. She looked gorgeous. They had this flirty exchange of looks once in a while, nothing more.

Omkara's breakfast menu throughtout the week was limited to bread, pancakes, boiled eggs, omelets and sandwiches. Oh, how he missed parathas. Especially, the ones that Daadi made with home made butter greasing it. Of course, the other thing he missed was the breakfast time at the mansion. The only time when the entire family ate together. He scolded himself every time he rented his headspace to memories of home. They had potential to make him a weak man.

He no longer ate at the small dinning table that stood outside his open kitchen. It reminded him of his loneliness. He sat on the kitchen counter eating butter bread while occasionally sipping from his cup of tea. He scrolled over his phone screen. 

It was Rudra's Instagram. His brother uploaded at least five pictures a day. Gym picture was a must post every single day. He chuckled looking at the recent picture. How many girls did his brother know? In all honesty, Omkara saw a different face every time. 

What an irony!  When Rudra used to flash the phone screen right in front of his face for him to see, Omkara never took interest. Now, like a stranger, a stalker, he followed and liked every single of his picture. 

Same thing was true for business news. He followed every business news tagged with Shivaay Singh Oberoi. Sighing he kept his phone aside. He very well knew that Shivaya had instructed the family to not bother him. Because he knew Omkara wanted that. Omkara also knew that Shivaay was waiting for his call. However, Omkaar preferred texting. He took a deep breath and decided to get dressed for work.

Omkara was currently surviving on his own earnings. The flat rent and everyday necessities were all brought from that. He had taken up the profession of an arts teacher in a school popular for its courses in art. Given his already shining reputation in the field of art, it wasn't hard to get the job. The pay was decent. However, Omkara didn't very much enjoy it. Teaching high school teens was a tiresome job. Nevertheless there was one thing he enjoyed — observing different personalities.

There was a diversity in the emotional personalities, a whole spectrum. 

It intrigued Omkara. For instance, Beth, she was always cranky and fighting aloud with other kids, no matter what, but her art was gloomy and dull. On the contrary, Chloe was always silent but her art always had vibrant colors. Then there was Ben, he was unusually quiet and very observant guy. But never did great at art. This was just a trailer. Omkara saw a freaking movie, everyday at work. That was the only thing that kept him going on. He was trying to not get affected by anyone around him. His test case was his class. He was exploring his own emotional self while trying to gauge the other kids'. 

Probably he would figure out — the secret to be happy and unaffected by the lemons life rubs in your face.

* * *

It was late in the night. On Fridays, Omkara took evening classes. As a result his Friday dinner was always at different diners in the neighborhood of the school he taught at. 

The night was windy. Autumn had set in. Omkara had spent a great deal of his evening at the diner. An old man played jazz; the wooden interiors and the scent of old scotch appealed to Omkara. He had however, had nothing beyond a thirty ml. He couldn't afford to get drunk. There was no one he could depend on. He wanted it to be that way. So far, he was performing fine. A few more months and he was sure he wouldn't need another person in his life. He would make himself self sufficient. 

People came with a lot of baggage. Trust meant giving them a sword in hand and expecting them to never strike, not even if they had closed their eyes. Stupid, nonetheless most humans did that. He had done it too. But he swore to never do it again. To never trust another soul. 

He walked to his vehicle which was a second hand pickup truck from Ford. He sat inside taking a deep breath while starting the engine. He pressed the play button and the next song in queue from his USB drive began playing. 

"Mere sapno ki Raani kab aayegi tu..!" blared. 

Omkara chuckled imagining the old movie's scene. He had a very clear picture of Rajesh Khanna, the very famous actor it had been picturized on. He changed the song while the car moved forward. He pressed the play button once again. He frowned glancing at the small display when the next song didn't start. He glanced up at the street and his eyes widened instantly. He quickly moved his hand to the break. While his foot pressed on the foot break. The vehicle came to a screeching halt. He sat stunned as his past crawled in and spread itself all over his mind. 

The girl ...! 

Sweat beads formed on his forehead. His palms were sweaty. He quickly rushed out of the car. He had hit a girl. 

Damn. Not again. 

He dropped down beside the girl and turned her face. She was unconscious. He quickly gave a scrutinizing gaze over her body to make sure that there was no wound. She,oat likely, wouldn't be hurt cause the car wasn't at great speed, on the contrary it was only crawling slowly down the road. He breathed out in relief and looked around. No one was around. 

Thank God. 

He quickly lifted the girl and made her sit on the passenger seat. He didn't even have a legal license to drive around the place. He would be so doomed if the accident had had any witnesses. 

Once inside the car, he sprinkled some water over the girl's face. She was fair, had deep black raven hair. Omkara gently tapped her cheeks and held her hand to feel her pulse. It seemed close to normal. It was then that he noticed the red thread tied around her wrist. He was almost certain now that she was an Indian. The girl moved and opened her eyes. 

Thank God! 

"You okay?" He asked quickly. She tried opening her eyes wide. 

"HMM." Was all she said before closing her eyes again. She seemed tired. Omkara decided to drive her to his home. Once she was in a better state he would drop her to her place.

* * *

Omkara waited restlessly, for the girl to wake up. He hoped she wasn't hurt. He placed up and down his living room. Praying for the girl's good health. It had been four hours now. Omkara had snoozed off for an hour but the worry woke him again. It was three on the midnight clock. He finally decided to try and wake her up. 

"Hey!" He addressed her softly while tapping her shoulders. 

No response. 

He attempted once more. 

No response again. 

He sighed and shook her shoulder this time. 

That did it. She woke up with her eyes growing wide. She blinked a couple of times and horror wrote itself on her face. 

"What the hell! Who are you?" She exclaimed in panic trying to move away. Omkara immediately stepped back to help her ease. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel threatened by him.

"Hey! I am Omkara." He began softly while she looked around. "This is my home." He spoke to answer the obvious question that he assumed would be running in her head. 

"Why am I here?" She asked while looking at him cautiously, her hands running down her dress.

"Umm, you came before my car. Early this night. I suppose you were extremely tired. You just fell into deep sleep." Omkara spoke looking at her. "Er, would you like to eat something? You look pale." 

Her gaze softened when she saw solicitude in his eyes. She let out a soft yawn. "I would really appreciate that." 

He nodded. "What's your name?"

"My name is .. Krystal!" She said sitting up straight. 

Omkara couldn't help but let the smile slip loose on his face. "Before you lie always rehearse it in the head. Otherwise it's as easy as 1+1 to catch that you're lying." Having said that he walked into the kitchen. 

She exhaled sharply looking around. The house seemed well kept. Small but tastefully furnished. She noticed the various paintings on the wall. Her gaze then rested on a photo frame on the side table. However, she couldn't see the photo clearly. Turning the other way around she saw two doors. Each leading to a bedroom. Her eyes finally reached the small dining table and beyond that an open kitchen. 

She quitely observed the surroundings as he bought her a glass of water. She took it from his hand, scrutinizing the contentsof the glass. Should she drink? Maybe she should. He didn't do anything when she was sleeping. 

"Drink it. I haven't added anything into that. You can trust me. I am really sorry, I wasn't looking while driving." He apologised not able to hold back his guilt. "Are you hurt or in pain?"

She bobbed her head sideways in a no. Then gulped the water in one go. Oh how thirsty she was! "Where's my bag?" She asked suddenly remembering about her only stuff. 

"There!" He said pointing down beside the sofa she sat on. She smiled awkwardly, quickly picking it up. "I haven't touched a thing, rest assured." He offered her the unasked detail. She stared at him nodding. 

"I hope you eat rice? I .." 

"Yes, thank you!" She answered before he completed. He passed her a light smile walking back into the kitchen. 

There we go with yet another chapter! Do let me know your views and thoughts!

-Anami!♡