10
SAWAR LOON

April

Aastha had managed to stay cooped up in her room after the family day photo they had clicked. Luckily, the entire ordeal had wrapped up in an hour or so...and the classic 'I took a flight and I'm tired' excuse helped the woman to escape the fluffy scene. Abhishek was at practice so no one would question her presence in the room allotted for Nikita as well. It had all worked out perfectly.

But was it perfect? Staying alone in a hotel room, trying to avoid your husband all the time? Did it work out perfectly?

She blinked, as Abhishek's face flashed in front of her eyes. He looked different. Even two days ago, under the dark night sky, she had managed to take a good look at him, when the moon's glow illuminated his face ever so slightly. Even on the television.

He always looked sad.

"Okay, can you stop thinking about him?" She groaned. "Don't you have anything else to wonder about?"

She landed on the soft mattress, her back resting on the bed as she stared at the ceiling, thoughts spinning like the ceiling fan. Her baby hair swayed by the cool winds as she replayed the events of the past week.

Abhishek. Abhishek. Abhishek.

"Aastha?" Nikita di's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, stomach twisting in anxiety.

"Ye-yeah?" She replied, sitting up straight.

"You wanna go out?" Nikita offered, pulling out a comb from her handbag.

"You just reached here," she pointed out.

"So? It was like a one and half hour flight, lazy ass," Nikita snickered, rolling her eyes.

"Ugh. Fine. Where do you want to go?"

"Shopping. I need to go shopping,"

"Fine, let's go shopping," Aastha rolled her eyes, getting out of the bed. Nikita did her best to hide a smile as the two ladies exited to have a relaxing day for themselves.

_____

next day

Match day.

The air was crackling with excitement, nerves racing with anticipation of the game. While Aastha had gone out with her sister-in-law and mother-in-law the previous day, today she had busied herself in some work, not wanting to entangle herself in these matters anymore.

Yes, they were all good people and she loved them. But everything was still tricky, and she and Abhishek still had many things to figure out— i.e. she didn't know how comfortable he was with her hanging out with his family.

Her phone buzzed, distracting her.

One message from Abhishek.

Her heart did a quick leap, picking up the phone.

Abhay🩷
Lunch. Waiting in the hallway.

Her smile faltered for a second but she brushed off the weird feeling which spread in her chest, getting up from the sofa in the room. The room was eerily silent, the sound of the blades of the spinning fan was only audible.

She washed up, brushed her hair, quickly making her way out of the room. There he was, standing in track pants and a tee, hands tucked in the pockets, an unfamiliar air of nonchalance surrounding the man.

"Uh...yeah, I got the earring which fell in di's room," Aastha randomly announced, her voice louder making Abhishek furrow his brows. Before he could react further, she held his arm, interlacing their fingers. Abhishek stilled as her warm palm pressed against his.

Aastha on the other hand flashed an awkward smile to Riya who was passing by. Abhishek, startled, eyes wide slightly stepped away.

Aastha cleared her throat, a little shocked by his reaction.

"I didn't mean to startle you," she whispered, "Riya just thought that we're fighting and sleeping in separate rooms, so I..."

"Okay," he blankly replied, holding her hand again. Aastha blinked, as the two walked to the lunch hall. The ride with the elevator was awkward as the two just stood silently, hands still intertwined tightly. Aastha thought that Abhishek would leave her hand but he didn't, and she didn't want to.

The lunch wasn't necessarily awkward as Aastha and Abhishek sat beside each other but conversed with others. It was just like any other day in the IPL season. As if nothing had changed. As if they were still in love.

But did people pretending to be in love hold each other's hands even when no one was watching?

______

"HYDERABAD, HYDERABAD," the deejay shouted as the fans cheered for the home team. The vibes in an IPL match were always electric, each day celebrated with energy and enthusiasm.

The tournament was rightly dubbed as one of the many festivals of the country.

Despite Abhishek playing well, SRH seemed to be on the losing side, but the support by the spectators remained constant. Abhishek completed his half century, and while everyone thought that he wouldn't celebrate considering how he hadn't celebrated since the season had begun, but Abhishek Sharma had a trick up his sleeve, pointing his bat towards his wife.

Aastha felt heat rush to her cheeks, standing up applauding.

It truly felt like nothing had changed.

______

The match was over, with skipper Shubman's team winning yet another game. As the 'player of the match' and other hundred awards were being distributed, everyone was exiting. Aastha too made her way out, a bit anxious in the crowded area. She walked quietly, trying to draw less attention as possible when she heard a familiar voice.

"Aastha!" It was Sara. Aastha quickly turned around, spotting the woman who was grinning at her. It took Aastha a moment to respond, as she was slightly overwhelmed but Sara looked at her, thinking of her nonchalance as ignorance.

Sara turned on her heel just as Aastha smiled back, raising her hand and waving. Sara walked away, heart sinking in disappointment and Aastha's smile faltered, her hand going down. She cleared her throat, mind racing with thoughts.

She rushed to a washroom, suddenly anxious, head hurting as her heart clenched. Everything felt awful and bitter, as if she had eaten a bitter gourd. Unbestknown to her, she had entered a gender neutral washroom, wanting to calm her racing nerves.

She hid away in a stall, instantly plugging in her earphones. It was a comparatively old song, a soft melody which seemed to comfort her almost instantly. She didn't even realise as a few tears rolled down her cheeks, blaming herself for hurting Sara like that.

I didn't mean to.

The song ended and Aastha wiped her tears, deciding to go back to the hotel, it was just a matter of few hours and she'd be back to her apartment in Thane. Going back to the deserted house seemed like the only option.

Just a few more hours. She exited the stall, pushing the door open but gasped as she saw the man standing beyond the door.

"Abhishek?"

"Uh...Aastha," his voice was slightly shaky as he stepped aside. She got out, nervously tugging a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

"You...uhm played well today," she quickly said, the quiver in her voice almost unnoticeable but not for Abhishek, who instantly frowned.

"You okay?" His voice was gentle, concern palpable. The air condition was strong, and Aastha felt goosebumps on her arms as she swallowed.

"Everything sucks," she absentmindedly replied and he nodded.

"Agreed," he mumbled. "Agreed,"

The two locked eyes for a moment, just for a fleeting second, the world around them fading away.

"Wanna get out of here?" Abhishek offered and his wife found herself at a loss of words and a reason to say no.

"...Yes," she affirmed, her voice barely a whisper. Abhishek held her hand, the two running away from the bad, bad world.

badal rahi hai aaj zindagi ki chaal jara,
issi bahaane kyun na mein bhi dil ka haar jara,
sawar loon, haa sawar loon.

the twenty five year olds always doing random stuff😍

life's been...something lately, im trying to write since it keeps me sane but i feel it's not as good as the previous chapters, do give some inputs, thank you ‼️