Note: hello, long time no?
Yeah, trust me, I know. But I was struck, with this huge block with this story, like I couldn't write down the characters like I wanted to.
Anyway, I am back, and here goes the update. This was supposed to be short story so not too much is left. Until then, don't forget to let me know how was it.

Jo hothon se na kah saka harf wo bhi toh hai,
Jo anakhon se na bah saka, dard wo bhi toh hai!

- Yaad hai, Aiyyari.

"My mother killed herself when I was fourteen", the words hung in air, heavy. Shravan didn't know what to say, how to react. Did any amount of 'I am sorry for your loss' would be sufficient to measure the depth of her wounds? Does the wound caused by loosing a parent ever heal, no matter the time, the apologies, the love?

Suman, did not mind though. She preferred silence over those formal condolences anyway. She took a deep breath before turning towards Shravan, looking into his eyes. If she had to do this, she would need to begin from the start. He would need to understand her perception of love and families to see where she stood at present and why.

" I loved my family, you know, mom and dad and me, we were such a small, happy family. Maa and Paa had a love marriage, they were high school sweethearts and with them, it felt like I lived in a bubble of love. A fairytale coming alive in front of my kid eyes", Shravan had never seen her smile this bright in the short time he had known her, and he absolutely loved the smile. All he wanted in that moment was to keep that safe, keep her safe.

"Like even as a kid, I always thought that I didn't need to be Rapunzel and get a prince charming, all I wished for was Maa-Paa kind of love, a grooving kind of love", Suman chuckled and Shravan could not hide the smile that broke on his lips either. These were her fondest memories, the one that hadn't blurred even remotely over the years, the ones that made her darkest days warm.

"But I didn't know then that forever was indeed a lie, that only the luckiest people have a happily ever after and that only very few people in this eight billion people crowded world are that luckiest", she smiled again, sadly this time and Shravan felt his hand moving on his own accord to hold her left hand in his, in a tight grip. Suman acknowledged, but didn't comment.

"A car crash broke my happy family. Paa left us all when I was ten", the car stopped with a halt and Suman looked outside to see if they had reached either of their houses. They hadn't. It was the park nearest to her house.

"I figured if we are talking we would not like it to be unfinished", Shravan shrugged as he clicked open his seat belt and moved out. Suman followed suit. Soon, they were sitting on a nearby bench, watching the sky turn pink as dusk approached.

"Maa was heartbroken, and who would not be? Paa was her world, because she had to leave her family to choose to be with him. Somehow, Nanu mellowed down though, he came to meet Maa and asked us to move in with them. Maa appreciated the help, but didn't agree. Our home was her happy place, she didn't want to leave it. She felt Paa's presence there, and moving out wasn't something she wanted. Neither did I. Though my reasons were different", a very silly smile appeared on Suman's face as she turned to face Shravan with a sheepish grin.

"My home had a swing set, Nanu's didn't", she confessed, and Shravan laughed loud at the way she said it, like she was confessing a crime. Suman smiled wider seeing him laugh.

Shravan's laughter was a fond sound, she felt like she could get used to it. It had a deep, rich edge to it, the one that could be distinguished from a group easily. His eyes twinkled when he laughed genuinely, and there was something boyish about it.

Suman blinked when she realised she was thinking too much about a man she had known only for three weeks and four days. She was behaving like she was ready to write an essay about him.

Sharavan noticed her lost from the corner of her eyes, but what gave him butterflies were the way her eyes remained stuck at him, like she was watching something more than what he wanted people to see.

" Yeah, where was I? Yeah Maa. So she continued to work, but Paa apparently had some loan taken for his buisness. Working extra hours to meet our needs, plus taking care of a ten year old was getting hectic for her. She started falling ill too frequent. It was then Mamaji interfered, and payed up the loan, so that Maa could relax. He said because he was family, she could repay him later. As much as it hurt Maa's self esteem, she didn't have a choice so she agreed. But instead of recovering, she started acting weirder, and it scared the shit out of me", Suman's voice had lost the edge and she trembled. This part of her life she had discussed with no one, except Dr. Kanchi.

"It wasn't like she did something wrong, she loved me like before. She took care of me like before, but I have always been sensitive to little changes. I noticed how she would sit for hours on the swing but won't swing it, I saw her staying awake all night long. It was nothing specific, samll things here and there, until one day I woke up at night thirsty and instead of water, I found my Maa in the kitchen with her forearm bleeding and she staring at it like it was some magic", Shravan was completely taken aback at what he was hearing. He couldn't imagine the horror and here she was narrating it like a children story.

"I didn't know any doctor, I was twelve years old. All I could remember was Maa's friend, Kanchi aunty was a doctor, so I called her from Maa's phone. I am glad I did because it changed everything for us", Suman visibly sighed this time as her mind travelled down her memory lane. Shravan felt something tug in his heart and in that one moment, all he wanted was to comfort her.

Somehow. Anyhow.

So he did what he felt like. He put his hand around her shoulder and tucked her close. Surprisingly, Suman did not mind.

"Long story short, Maa was diagnosed with depression. We shifted to Nanu's house and my home with the swing set was locked with a big silver lock. Maa as asked to be kept in constantly happy environment and we did, everyone tried their best. Mamiji, mausiji, Nanu, me. And she was happy. She laughed with me. She sang me songs. At one point, we even started tapering her medications but eventually, after two years of fight, she gave up. Left me a letter explaining why she gave up but she did. She ate all her sleeping pills together and the morning when I went to wake her up, she was gone. Long gone", Suman exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding. Turning her head to him, she tried to smile but his eyes were serious. Very serious.

He could easily make out that there were certain things she didn't say. That there was some more dark and twisty tales remaining in her.

"How did you find it in you to go through your days, after her? Why didn't you leave everyone here and shifted base to move on from these things?", Shravan asked, his hold on her tightening as he side hugged her tighter.

"She was my family Shravan. They are all my family. I chose to forgive her for giving up. I chose to forgive them for letting her go. I chose to forgive myself for hating her for leaving me. Sometimes forgiveness is the key. I forgave, so I moved on. You are still holding on to the resentment, hence you did not", Suman stated that so easily that Shravan was more amused than vulnerable.

A girl he had met just countable days ago was reading him like the back of his hand and he wasn't minding that. Heck, he did not mind holding her close for all this while.

Something broke inside Shravan only to be joined again. Something told him it was a huge chunk of his uptil useless heart!!!