🍁"In The End, We All Become Stories"🍁

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Kabir's P.O.V.

The sun sets, darkness painted the sky. Today neither moon nor stars covered the sky. It was pitch black with dark clouds hovering the whole sky. Lightening and thundering outside were matching with inside situation of my heart. Only thing left was the rain to pour down. Clouds are miserable like me. I want to cry and they want to cry. We both are keeping our shits together.

The lights were lit and the whole hotel light up. The wedding which was going to happen tomorrow preponed to today. The boy who was going to marry the bride replaced and the girl I fall for ran away. Is Aashi in danger? Where is she now?

Two hours back, I returned back to the hotel with Dhruv, Jay, and Gautam after filing a case about Aashi went missing. Her brother and father went with us. I noticed how worried her dad was. His eyes were glistening and he looked so broken. Her brother was all angry and was losing his cool. I felt them. They love Aashi, even more than me. But it doesn't make my feelings for her any less. I'm just not her family yet.

The policeman promised us to find her soon. We can't do much. I can't do much because I'm not family. Aashi's brother and father will be staying here for further police investigation and I'll be leaving for my house. Why? Because I lack the right. She disappeared without giving me the right on her love, her identity, and her name.

Another drama took place when I was out getting FIR filed for Aashi's kidnapping. Priyanka locked herself in her room and decided to commit suicide because who will marry a girl whose groom left her at the wedding day? We live in an educated society who values education only on professionals level. Our mindset is the same as an illiterate, orthodox, old-time people. Marry a virgin girl, Don't marry a divorced girl, Not letting girls work at night, a model or actress is seen as characterless and what not. But there are no such rules for men.

Paras came for her rescue. He proposed the offer to marry Priyanka. He told everyone that he liked her but because she was getting married, he steps back. Such a liar. I'm still holding my flag that he's the culprit behind Aashi's kidnapping but no one is trusting me.

I sighed as I placed my last shirt in my suitcase and zipped it. I picked it up from my bed and placed it on my floor. I don't feel like staying here anymore. The reason I came here for is no more here. She's somewhere on other side of the country. I just hope she's fine.

Taking a last glance at myself, I walked out of my room carrying my suitcase with me. I've booked my train tickets. After one hour, I'll be going far away from this place back home. I saw Nia walking to me running. She stopped at a few steps from me and then bent down holding her knees trying to catch her breath.

"What happened?", I asked.

"Varun", she said taking a breath.

"Varun what?", I asked.

She pointed her index finger to downwards and said, "He came". She was still catching her breath. Hearing this, I left the bag and ran.

I ran as fast as I could. Varun came. It means Aashi came. A smile made its way on my lips. One whole day has passed since I've seen her big beautiful brown eyes who held complaints about me and her smile who just lifts up my mood.

My steady steps take a break when I saw Varun sitting on a couch with his head bandaged. I looked all around myself. Two Policemen wearing Delhi Police uniform were standing next to him. Few more policeman from Rishikesh were standing with Priyanka and Paras handcuffed standing next to them. Everyone was crying.

Nia walked and stood next to me. She nudged me and asked, "What happened?".

"Didn't you hear anything? I don't know. You tell me", I asked.

"When I saw Varun, I just ran to call you", she said.

"Why have you arrested my daughter?", Priyanka's father yelled.

"Where is my daughter?", Aashi's mother demanded.

"I'll tell you everything but I request you all to please sit down", Varun said but no one listens to him.

"Tell us everything right now", Jay demanded from his brother.

My eyes were all around the room. The girl I wanted to see was nowhere. My heart was hoping for her to appear from behind the crowd and just give me her blushing smile. My heart was thumping rapidly against my chest.

"Where is Aashi? Why are you alone?", I asked and Varun glanced at me. He gave me a cold stare but then he looked away.

What's with that stare?

"Paras and Priyanka had a plan of marrying each other by deceiving all of us", Varun said and then he narrated the whole story.

"They had a plan of eloping but Aashi got to know about their plan. So, they attacked her with a vase on her head", he said and my whole body shook. I felt my limbs losing their energy. The other moment, anger replaced my emotions. All I could see was red. I wanted to grab Paras and kill him right here right now.

"I caught him carrying Aashi outside the hotel. She was unconscious. Paras asked me to join him as he's taking her to the hospital. He kidnapped her and me on a gunpoint and held us by the ropes. But I sensed his intentions way before so I called for help even before he could kidnap us. My team came to rescue me", Varun said.

"Your game is over now. You both will stink in Jail", He replied looking at the duo.

"Where is Aashi?", I repeated after listening to his speech. I don't care who gets punished or how things happened. All I want to know is where is my girl?

"When we reach to help Varun and Aashi, the place was caught by fire. Varun sir was saved because he could move but Aashi was tied to a chair so, she got severe burns", The policeman said and I stumbled in my standing position. Her mother started crying profusely. Nia holds me by my arm. I glanced at her with blurred vision and she was crying.

"We took both of them to the hospital and she had lost much of the blood by then. The doctor tried their best to save her and heal the burns but-", he paused.

"But? How is she now? Take me to that hospital right now", her dad demanded.

"We're sorry sir. She's no more", he said as he took off his hat from his head and bowed down. Breath left my body and I fall down on the couch next to me.

"No more? What do you mean by no more?", Her brother attacked the officer.

"Bring my sister back", he said.

Bring my Spooky back, my heart whispered.

"No, that can't happen. No way. No. No. No", her mother cried out loud. Her father holds her. He was crying too.

I looked at Paras and Priyanka. She was crying and Paras was looking down only. I found a strange kind of energy. I get up from my seat and I walked to him.

"You killed her. I'll kill you now", I said as I attacked him. I held him by his neck. I would have killed him if the policeman and Jay would not have pulled me away.

"Kabir, stop", Jay said pushing me back. Dhruv came and held me from behind.

"No, Jay. Leave me", I said struggling in his grip. I jumped and kicked that bastard to the place where he felt pain for days. He groaned in pain.

"Take him away", Gautam said and Dhruv and Jay dragged me away. They forced me to my room. I was raging in anger and only blood was on my mind.

"Just let me kill him already", I said when I was in my room and Dhruv and Jay guard the door.

"You can't take any irrational decision now", Jay said.

"Why? He killed my girl. I will not leave that bastard", I said.

"We've a law in the country for a punishing him", Dhruv said.

"It's easy for you to say. Because neither Ami nor Nia is involved. Talk to me when your girl will die", I spatted venom. Jay hits me hard.

"Stop talking rubbish", he said punching me.

"Stop telling me what to do", I said and punched him right on his face. He attacked me back and we started fighting.

"Stop fighting you morons", Dhruv pushed us away.

"He started the fight", Jay said.

"You punched me", I said.

"You deserved that jerk. Aashi was our friend also", He said as his voice blurred.

Aashi was our friend. Was? Is she a past now?

As soon as I realized his words, I fall down on my knees. Does she really leave me? I looked up at my two best friends looking down at me with the same pain as I do but their heart isn't broken. Isn't it? Their life will not be incomplete. Their support system is with them. What do I have? I lost the girl I love. What do they lose?

My mobile rang. A notification of leaving the place for catching my train flashed on my mobile screen. I got up on my two legs and dragged them outside.

"Where are you going?", Dhruv asked.

"Back to my home", I said without looking at them and walked out of the room. My suitcase was still standing at the place, I left it before. I again saw Nia walking to me. She was a mess. She was crying and hiccuping.

"We're going to see her in the hospital", She said crying. Her eyes were all red and she was having trouble breathing.

"Go", I could only say this. I don't have the energy to see her dead body. I can't see her going away. I want to keep her last image of smiling in my mind and heart forever. I don't want that image to be replaced ever.

"Will you come?", She asked.

"No", I said and closed my mouth. I gulped down the lump formed in my throat.

"Take this", She said passing me a diary. I looked at her. She just nodded at me and walked away.

I opened the diary. The first page of the diary has a title. It said, "AAHIR". Down it was written Kabir+Aashi. It was the same diary I gifted her.

Aahir, my heart whispered.

*********************

Escaping and running away from situations which are difficult to handle are easy because sometimes we don't have the energy and courage to fight. Sometimes we're so emotionally weak that we decide to find reasons to avoid the present situation. We look away, show our backs and accept defeat.

Death. The end of life, the end of the journey. It's such a cold and dark word. It drains out all the happiness life gives us. Life is an illusion, death is a reality. Death takes the body. God takes the souls. But our mind holds the memory and our heart keeps the love. Our faith made us believe we'll meet again. If not in this world then after this world, up in the sky. But we'll meet for sure.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I looked outside the window at the busy station. People were walking back and forth. Some were standing with their family, some with their loved ones, some with friends and some were standing alone busy smiling looking at their mobile screen. People were serving water bottles, samosas, newspapers, and tea. There was too much hustle and bustle outside. So many faces but my eyes were searching for one particular face who manages to skips my heart a beat. Sitting alone in my first class compartment, I dared to look at the diary placed next to me.

I can't find the heart to read it. I'm leaving this place with bad memories. I'll never come back here because this place snatched someone special from me. They say that whether someone walks away from your life or leave you by greeting death, your life will not stop. It will go on. But your way of living changes. A hollowness is created in your heart which no other person can fill ever. You've to live with this emptiness.

The train started running on the tracks and my tears started drying up as soon as air touched my eyes through the window. I picked up the diary and started reading it. Aashi wrote all about her and me.

One page of the diary said,

"Kabir is a monkey. He's so stupid. I proposed him and he denied. If he denied then why did he care for me? Why does he call me? Why did he help me with Paras? He's so complicated. Even maths will be easy than him. He's just too much to handle. Hate him. But love him too".
#Aahir

I laughed with bitter tears as soon as I read it. I flipped the pages and read all the ten pages. I could hear her voice whilst reading the diary. Her last page was written fifteen days before. It said,

"Dear diary,

I guess Kabir and I will never be a thing. He has stopped talking to me. I guess I've to stop giving me false hopes. I'm not the girl of his dreams. I love him and it hurts to think that he's always on my mind but I'm not capable of making his mind think about me or his heart skip a beat for me. He literally makes the zoo ran inside my stomach but it's one-sided. I'm glad I fall in love with him. I don't regret loving him because my feelings for him are genuine. So, what if our love story is incomplete or one-sided? Incomplete love stories have one special quality. You know what? It's that they never have an ending. Kabir and My story will never end and I can stay happy with this thinking. I know he'll never forget me as long as there are stars in the sky. I know after few years when he'll be with his wife and I'll be with my husband, on nights like these when we'll be thinking about our past times and when we'll be looking up in the sky, I'll smile looking at the moon and he'll be looking at the stars with a smile. I'll remember and he'll remember me because I'm his star. He says that. As long as there are moon and stars and as long as we're alive, we'll always remember each other".

  # AAHIR

I closed the diary and cried. I felt like someone has shoved their hands inside my ribs and are squeezing my heart so forcefully that it is paining. My breath is so shallow that I'm having difficulty in breathing. Love doesn't hurt. It kills. Why did you leave me without Goodbye? Why? I had so much love to give to you and so much love to take from you. Why did you not try giving me a chance to complete this love story?

I looked outside the window. I started tearing down the pages of the diary one by one. I tore down each page in the pieces and throw it away outside the window. The pieces of pages flew with the direction of the wind. They're scattered and all over the place. With each page torn down into pieces and pieces flying away from the air, I let my heart lose a piece of itself and accept the fact of letting go.

Those who we love don't go away. They stay by our side always, walk beside us each day, unseen, unheard but still loved. God kept you with him, I'll keep you with me in my heart. I checked for my pocket and took out the Star pendant I had with me.

You'll always by my star, Spooky!!

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No One's P.O.V.

Varun, Aashi's family and friends all reached to the hospital. They all walked to the mortuary one by one under the guidance of the doctor and the police officers. As soon as Aashi's mother removed the cloth over her daughter's dead body, she screamed in pain and agony. Her face was burned and so does her body. Noor fainted seeing the dead body of her sister. Nia could not even see her face. She refused to walk in. Everyone cried till their tears dried up. People miss the ones who die for the rest of their lives. Their tears may dry up, their pain may cease but the loneliness stays.

Time passed and everyone leaves the hospital except Varun. He stayed behind with the police for further investigation and for claiming the dead body. Body. After someone dies, their name is so easily replaced to a body. Their identity dies with that. Aashi's parents left after filling the form. They decided to give a funeral to their daughter at this place only. The festive occasion of marriage turned to the funeral of an eighteen-year-old girl.

When everyone leaves, Varun and his friend Rohan, walked to the reception. Varun said, "Can I meet the patient in room No. 102?".

"Sure", the lady said and they both made their way to the room.

As soon as Varun reached outside the room, the doctor came out. He looked at Varun and smiled sadly at him.

"How is she?", Varun asked.

"She's stable and fine. Her head was severely injured. It seems someone has hit her more than once. It caused a concussion. We've done our best but she has fallen into retrograde amnesia. We can't tell how much she knows and how long will she take to recover. She may remember some part or familiar faces or maybe not. It can be temporary or long-lasting. You've to take care of her since you're a family. All the best. Now, she needs your support", The doctor said as he patted his shoulder.

"She doesn't remember anything yet", Rohan said and Varun nodded. They both walked inside the room.

They glanced at the confused girl who was looking at them with narrow eyes. She had difficulty in looking at them because of her weak eyesight. Varun picked out her spectacle which he manages to steal from her room and gave it to her. She took it from him and placed it over her nose. She could see clearly. She understood that he's someone known because no other spectacles could fit her.

"Do you know me? You came here two hours before also", she said and Varun nodded.

"Who are you? What's my name?", She asked. Earlier, when she woke up from the surgery, she panicked when she wasn't able to remember anything. But now, she has accepted the fact that she lost her memory and had made her peace with it.

"Your name is Aashi", Varun said and she nodded. She repeated this name in her mind multiple times. She got her identity back.

A word faintly crossed her mind and her heart felt heavy all of a sudden. Her head hurts and she holds her forehead groaning. Varun ran to her and asked, "Are you alright?".

"Kabir", she whispered. Varun stepped back.

She looked up and asked, "I remember only this name. Are you Kabir?". She enquired looking at him with hopes in his eyes. Varun clenched his jaws. He remembered how in the half unconsciously state even, Aashi was recalling his name.

"Yes. I'm Kabir and I'm your husband", he said and Aashi's eyes widened.

"What happened to me?", She asked.

"I'll tell you everything. Right now you take rest. I'll come back to take you home", Varun said and he left the room after giving her a smile. Rohan followed him outside.

"Why did you lie about her to her family and friends?", Rohan asked.

"Because now I'm her family. She only needs to know that. You also keep it with you", Varun said and Rohan nodded hesitantly. Varun owes him so much that he can't go against him.

A nurse walked inside the room and Aashi looked at her. Not being able to regain her memory made her feel vulnerable. She was crying. She knew nothing about her or her family and she's married. She doesn't even remember her marriage and that pinched her heart. The nurse placed a tray next to her.

"What's this?", Aashi asked.

"Your belongings", she said and walked away. Aashi picked up the tray. It had bangles, a necklace, and earrings. It has a small pendant in the shape of the moon. Aashi fell in love with the pendant immediately. She asked the nurse for a piece of thread. She strung the pendant to the black thread and tie it around her neck. She touched the pendant and felt at ease. She felt like it's something special.

Kabir must have given it to me, she thought!!

Aahir, her heart whispered. Sadly, her mind couldn't hear it this time.

 "Every Ending Has A New Beginning. The Thing about new beginnings is that they require something else to End. We cannot start over but We Can Begin Now and Make A New Ending. Happy Or sad, in the end. We all become Stories".

(The End)..

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Hey cupcakes. How are you guys?

So, how was the chapter? Let me know.

The story ends here and I'm so grateful for all of you for your amazing comments and so much love you've shown to Aahir. I'm just so overwhelmed.

Will the story actually ends? Nope. This is the ending of their journey part one. I'm coming out with a sequel because I don't want to extend this story too much.

I'll be coming with a sequel super soon. Suggest me some new titles❤️. Stay tuned.

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Aana..