N A N D I N I

"Are you bloody kidding me?" I successfully manage to dodge a flying boot thrown my way by a very enraged Perrie.

"I can explain!" I beg for her mercy.

"Then bloody explain!" She screams having the entire building brick by brick. "And you better have some worthy explanation up your sleeve, girl otherwise I'm just gonna end you and you know I am very much capable of doing that right now."

What on earth can I explain even? The morning before while sneaking out of our apartment I told her that I was gonna end things with Manik and here I am trying to cajole her for letting me explain that why I literally had to beg him to give me a chance.

"Perrie...I..." My mouth is desperately in need of some words or trick right now.

"Don't Perrie me, Nandini. Just fucking blurt it out." Her eyes turn a shade redder only if that is possible grabbing a rolled magazine in her palm ready for attack.

"First, you sit and calm down else I'm not telling you anything." I'm just delaying the process because honestly, I have nothing to say in my favour.

Even I don't know why even after thinking so hard about this, still why couldn't I get the words out of my mouth that Manik, let's not do this. Maybe, it was his ill-health last night or the lostness in his eyes which he never tries to hide or the fact that a beautiful life like that is so broken or the truth that seeing him trying to kill himself last morning scared the shit out of me. But I can't tell all these to Perrie, especially about Manik's suicidal tendencies because he already is in her bad books and I don't want this to turn into some blood feud.

Studying me hard for a while, she roughly pulls out a chair and sits with her piercing eyes ripping me apart.

"What now, the cat got your tongue?" Her plump lips are pressed tightly and I glance at the dead wall behind her.

I sigh, "It's true..that I went to end things with him last morning..." Murmuring in a defeated tone, I sit on the couch opposite her.

"Then how the hell that turned into a psychotic escapade at our apartment especially when I was stuck at Matt's place due to bad weather? God, what was that psycho of a man even doing here? Do you realise you were alone in this place with a mad guy? Can you imagine the consequences of it?" I take a sip of cold water.

"He's not mad. Just sick...with some mental health issues." I clarify. I hate when people confuse these two terms and become all judgmental and I usually brutally correct them but with Perrie, right now, I'll risk nothing.

"It's the same thing." She glares. "That still doesn't explain why on earth were you with him?"

"I went to talk to him and it's true but..but I found him in a terribly bad condition and he was sick-"

"That's the whole point." She intercepts with a winning glare. "That guy is sick!"

"Physically, I meant. He had high fever and practically dying." Perrie quietens for a moment.

"Is there anything about him that is normally functioning? And, have you never heard of the term 'hospital'? You could just admit him there?" She advances a little on her chair. "Listen babe, you don't have to carry a baggage on your shoulder like this. I know why you're doing this and let me tell you, you have done a lot to prove things to your parents. When will you be done doing things for other people and live a little life of your own?" She looks around licking her lip in irritation. "Girls of your age have so many stories to tell about their lives. Tell me, what single story do you have to tell other than psychotic stories of your patients?"

"Maybe because the best part of my story is yet to come." I curve a smile weakly playing with the rings on my fingers.

She grabs my hand into hers taking a seat beside me, "I just want you to get rid of all those boulders on your shoulder. You're one precious girl and you can't just get involved in every mess because I know how these messes leave scars on you. You should know that I'm scared for you. I'm scared...that Manik will be another..." She bites her tongue. "Have you forgotten how things started as a simple counselling and left you in shreds?"

I gulp, "I remember everything, Perrie. Everything." I glance upon her comforting hold around my hands. "He never tried fixing my broken parts or looking for all my missing pieces and so I'm done searching for his reflection too in every man I see. I know he is not there and never coming around. But this man, Manik..he badly needs my help, Perrie. Sometimes, you do things and you do them not because your are thinking but because you are feeling. You are feeling too much. And you can't always control the things you do when you are feeling too much. That's why, I have stopped feeling things at all."

"Can you promise me to take care of yourself? Can you promise that Manik will just be another patient to you?" She looks so worried.

"I do and I also promise to keep things between Manik and me professional." I blink in assurance before pulling her in my arms.

✿

I pull the car and turn the engine off before I sneak my head out of the window to look into the freezing evening sky changing its colours. The air is dry and cool smelling faintly of a car's exhaust fumes; the Sun dips lower in the sky until the trees that lines the lane stand as statues silhouetted against the orange-purpellish sky. In the near distance rises the spire of a Church and the irregular forms of old buildings and before I walk closer, I am standing behind someone who I knew might be found here on a Sunday evening. The evening prayer just got over and so there is a medium rush of people making their way outside and ahead of me stands a tall man with his back at me looking at the old-stoned, stained-glassed Church building.

"Coincidental much?" I squeak and although he doesn't turn back, I know he acknowledges me by my voice because of the way his shoulders move.

"Do you really have to lie standing outside a Church?" Manik replies looking at the dusty description board that has hundreds of years of this Church's history inscribed. I chuckle stepping forward so that we are standing at the same level looking at the Lord's house.

"Outside which you are smoking, you mean?" He glances my way and squashes his almost finished cigarette by his boot.

"You really are officially stalking me, eh?" He asks and I gaze around, softly frowning.

"But for a change, your shoulders aren't stiffening seeing me. Progressing, aren't we?" I raise my left eyebrow.

"I have just come to terms that you aren't really going to leave me alone even in hell. So yeah, if you call that progressing then I'll surely call it a breakthrough." Even though I am smiling lightly, I fall quiet thinking what to tell next.

"You're not totally wrong, you know that?" I smile crossing arms across my chest.

"About you not leaving me alone even in hell?" He replies calmly.

"Yea that, partially. But I'm talking about me stalking you. You know, I kind of knew you might be found here." He nods looking at the passageway without going into his usual altercations. "So, what is it that's stopping you from entering?"

"Is it that obvious?" The fact that he is not pushing me away is nice. Maybe, something changed in him after last night.

Last night. He left no matter how much I begged him to stay. He didn't turn back even for once to see if I still was standing there under the snow waiting for him to change his mind. But even after all this, it still feels like he has shedded his old indifferent skin after our conversation last night and right now before my eyes stands a man who has taken a brick off from the major wall in between us.

"Indecision is practically written in bold." I map his face with my finger from an inch away.

He turns to the Church and exhales locking his arms crossed, "It's her birthday today. Every year, I come here.. to pray for her." He chuckles defeatedly. "I'd be laying if I say that because since the day she left me, I come here selfishly to pray for the mercy of the Lord that he be so kind to send her back to me like all of this was just a bad dream. Like none of this ever happened. Like, she was never gone. Like,.. she was in my arms all this time." He swallows trying not to let those emotions ruin his masculinity.

"Then what's stopping you this year?" My concentration on his tentative eyes does not break.

"Are you really asking me this?" He snickers glancing over the sky. "Weren't you the one who rebuked me last night for holding onto someone who isn't worthy of it? Moreover,.. this year it's a little different. This year, she's a little different. Her story I heard is a little different."

"But that didn't stop you from making it to the gate of this Church?" I observe his every battle with himself.

"You're a psychiatrist. You aren't supposed to speak this language. People like you don't do this." His eyes don't meet mine.

"Speak like what?" I question.

"Like all of this going to help me." He takes a step forward with a thumping heart.

"Then I'm afraid to tell you that I'm not like other psychiatrists. I don't know who would suggest what in this crisis but I'm not the kind of person who will ask you to close all the doors and windows of your heart and tell life quotes for the span of an hour in one air conditioned room." I step ahead and grab his elbow gently turning him to me. "I'll tell you to keep your doors and windows open so that her thoughts can fly back to you. I'll tell you to relive those moments you did with her and I'll tell you to remember her again and again and again. Remember her so much that you expend all of her memories that she left behind to you. I'll not tell you to push her memories away because that way, you will only seal those doors and windows permanently and you can't do that to yourself. No one deserves that." He stares at my hold on his elbow and I loosen the grip seeing the discomfort on his face.

"You have two choices, Manik Malhotra. One, walk past that door and do what you do every year treating it like a casual thing to do or option two, step back and ride on your Enfield and let me tell you, if you go for option two, you'll never be able to walk past the door of this Church ever again because you will know there was a day when you ran away." He stares at me without a blink, doubtful.

"Running away is what I am best at." He mouths.

"Then I want to taste your worst." I hold his hand and they are ice cold. When I lock my fingers with him, his fingers make no movement not even an attempt just like his lost eyes blankly gazing into mine.

"Let's do our prayers, come." I smile gently tugging his locked hand and without a protest he makes my job doable.

❃

We are sitting on two different metal benches on either sides of the aisle, all silent. The Church doesn't have many worshippers today and all it had, got done already. He sits like a dead man mutely staring at the Lord like he has nothing more to pray for. Mostly, his are empty but if one notices better, there is a silent protest the way he sees Jesus like a child whose only dream has been broken by his father.

"I'll go get the candles." My voice echoes in the empty Church but fails to get a movement out of him.

I make my way out of there pondering if I made the right decision. But then of course, it seems to be the right one. If I have let him return then this day would become different to him and he will forever remember this day like an altered history. Rather, he should do all that he does every year and treat it a same one. Change should be gradual in a patient like Manik, a day to day phenomenon not like shocking metamorphosis which his delicate brain isn't capable of handling. He'll think about it way too much and then tear up like a string.

"Thank you" I thank the vendor making my way into the Church and when I do, I halt seeing him knelt down before Lord.

When I make my way silently beside him with long lit candles in my hands and kneel down, his eyes again turn blank to Jesus.

"I have done this before, you know." His voice suddenly breaks the dead silence and echoes like a whisper within the ancient walls. "I have been here, like this, broken and down on my knees, praying to see her just once but this merciless man who resides caged within these four walls wouldn't just let me be happy. Maybe, I wasn't good enough for her. Maybe, she's with someone now who deserves and loves her more than I do. Maybe, I couldn't do something extraordinary for her love even though that was all I talked about." He sounds just quiet although I can sense the hurricane going inside him.

"Here" I pass him one tall candle and he holds it indifferent to the fact that our fingers accidentally brush.

"You haven't exactly told me why you are here." He asks.

"It's my dog's death anniversary and I have come here to pray for his soul." I do not lie. That's the truth.

"I suppose it was heartbreaking. I'm sorry." I stare down at the burning flame in my hand.

"Brownie was a piece of my soul and I know he is in a better place now. But heyyy!" I nudge his shoulder with mine. "Don't make that sulky face now. You're celebrating someone's birth whereas I'm someone's death. We are so opposite and I so fancy the idea that opposites attract." I wink and he shakes his head in disbelief.

"Kiara and I too were opposites, just in case you know..." He answers sarcastically.

"Not every experiment is successful on the face of earth." I roll my eyes and he stands up moving to place his candle.

Closing his eyes, he whisper some prayers and I am sure it's only one name in them. Kiara. This boy is hopelessly in love. Lucky bitch.

❀

"You don't have to walk me up to my bike like I'm some kid. More or less it feels creepy." He frowns holding his helmet firmly.

"Since you didn't have the chivalry to walk me up till my car, I thought why won't I fill in your flaws?" He pauses walking for a second and quickly resumes after throwing me an useless glare.

"Why do I need to walk you to your car when I could practically see it was at an arm's distance from the Church! You were the one who forced to walk this far with me and now don't come blame me." He exhales sharply.

"And this is the first thing you say after I tell you all that? Is this your way of ending a perfect date? Not that I mind but it's...I don't know, unique?" He freezes at his spot looking clueless at me.

"Date?" He asks like he sees zombies standing an arm away.

I part my lips acting shocked and then I close it, "Heh, don't pretend like you don't realise we are already dating."

"Are we?" He questions, horrified.

"What is it with your terrible expressions now?" I scream making him look around at the empty street. "If I'm telling you we are dating then it means we are dating, get that? Be a gentleman enough to stick to your words in that beach house." I tap my foot hard messing up some dust.

He looks at me from head to toe, "I'm not dealing with this again now."

Wearing the helmet, he sits on his bike only to feel it weigh more down with me on it.

"Listen, you just can't forcefully ride my bike like you own it or like I owe you something major. Get your ass off it!" He hisses while I move sideways to position my butt better.

"You actually owe me a lot, you forgot how I saved your life last night?" He bites his bottom lip looking away in embarrassment which I notice via the looking glass. "The fever, I meant." I clarify softly not wanting to ring a bell about his decision of ending his life. God, what must have been going on in the mind of this boy when he decided to kill himself. How terrible he must have felt about life and his chances. One can never imagine that unless he or she has been there in his shoes.

"That doesn't give you free passes to unlimited rides on my bike." Humourlessly, he rolls his hazel eyes.

"You're ungrateful." I grit. "Can't you drop a girl to her place who has got a flat tire?"

He rotates his neck, "New story. Yay! So it's a flat tire this time, eh? Do you want me to go and help you with it? I'm sure you must be having a stepney in your dicky. In fact," he turned the engine of his bike off. "I'd be a real douche if I don't help you with your dysfunctional car right now after all that you did for me yesterday." His grin is super fake.

"Uh," I look at the sky. "No. I remember now there isn't a flat tire. My car ran out of fuel." God, he makes things so hard for me at times.

"That just is easier. I can siphon fuel from my bike to your car." Ugh, my face turns salty.

"Why do you so desperately need to get into my car? Don't tell me you have plans to make out with me after seeing me in this skin tight jeans." His mouth drops and soon he narrows his eyes with a soft glare burning out of it.

"I was just trying to help." He answers dryly.

"Which you can even by dropping me on your bike unless you plan to abandon me in the middle of the road." I taunt about the first time and he shrugs like it doesn't affect him at all.

"Fine," Angrily, he rotates the key turning the heated engine on again. "Everyone just pays for his sins and even I have to."

The bike starts with a force which makes me hold his broad shoulders tighter as I fail to stop myself from laughing as the wind keeps playing with my hairs.

"You realise I'm not wearing a helmet, right?" I remind him the speed he is driving by clamouring into his helmet.

"Don't worry my stars aren't so lucky to get rid of you this early." He speaks a little higher for me to clearly hear it against the chasing wind.

I shiver a little as the wind is all crispy and hitting but spending time with him is more needed even if I have to get slapped by this cold wind on his bike ditching my ever so warm, comforting car. He keeps accelerating the bike and the trees around pass like a blurred movie scene. The streets cluster together like they are cold, and under all that snow I don't doubt they are. I imagine them to shiver under their white coats, the real cause of the avalanches perhaps.

——

"Stop stop stop stop!" I scream and hurriedly, he presses the brake making me bump into his back though I immediately lean against.

He eyes around creasing his brows having no idea why I forced him to stop in the middle of the street with a frozen lake on our right like a sleeping cobra.

"Sometimes I need a high dosage of benzos to tolerate you better. Why the fuck have we stopped here?" Feeling me jump down the bike, he huffs pulling the helmet off.

"Don't blame me later if I abandon you right this minute. You really test my sanity which I have in limited quantity." Manik places his helmet on one handlebar.

"Just come with me, okay." I walk ahead hearing him curse his fate out loud; regretting every second he decided to give me a lift.

"What the hell are you going to do?" He enquires apprehensively seeing me step on the frozen lake. The lake has completely turned white and solid and had it been at some posh position in the city, people could already be found here skating.

"Come along and find yourself." I speak higher steadily walking ahead.

In this wasteland of white there is nothing for our minds to hang onto. Familiar sights are now all frozen and altered; no sound other than the sharp, howling periodic wind cutting through my chest and sometimes one can hear few hissings coming from the man I left behind. Only our hearts are beating in our chests stopping them from becoming as frozen as the landscape.

"What? Are you really doing this?" He sounds super annoyed.

"It's 'we', Sir." I giggle.

"You're insane! That's just too dangerous. Come back unless you want to die when a chunk cracks and you slip into the ice water." His voice starts to fade.

"Go back if you want to. It's not like I'm forcing you but just know, this is all I plan to do." I screech smiling to myself feeling the cold feeling sipping inside my high boots. There is always some awkward pleasure whenever I do anything crazy and most of the times, I don't complain.

"Do what? Going nuts? It's practically suicide!" He screams.

I slip which brings out a shriek out of my lips but somehow I manage to steady myself without breaking any bone. It might be so because I just am coming from the Church.

"Why does this word scare you now? This was something you wanted to do yesterday?" I shout back placing palms on both sides of my lips so he can hear me clearly. "You go back if you have to, Manik. Don't ruin my fun. I'll die if I have to and that too without any regrets."

"Fine." He shouts back and shortly, I hear the engine of his bike roar.

I don't plan to turn behind to find out if he really is leaving but I get sure he is not when the roar dies into the emptiness of the still air. When I rotate my neck, I grin seeing a very careful Manik stepping cautiously on the frozen lake but when his eyes meet mine, his flattened lips press against one another ready to smother me.

"Come" I gesture with my hand, grinning.

"You could stay at the edge too. Did you really have to walk till the middle of a goddamn lake? How the hell are you a Doctor?" His steps are so quiet that I wonder if the fishes inches below the thick snowy layer can feel the vibration.

"Seems like I took the quote 'live life to the fullest' way too seriously." I grin finding him shake his head with a cringed nose. He taps on the solidified snow a few times before stepping on it each time and I observe his every little movement.

Little does he know that these observations are a part of my therapy which already has started. The number of times he taps his shoe on the snow symbolises how cautious and unwelcoming he has grown to new possibilities in life but I pretend like its nothing and wait for him with a smile to reach me.

Just as he stands close to me, worriedly, he watches around under his feet to check if the snow is cracking and I hold his hand diverting his attention to me.

"Let's go a little farther." I smile.

"Are you mad?" He places his hand firmly on my hand stopping me from pulling him. "Let's just be careful and get the hell out of here."

When he looks far at the horizon and realisation hits him that he stands with me in the middle of one frozen lake where life and death are just a crack away, his eyes almost pop out of their sockets.

"We think we control life but it's not. Our lives play a major role in controlling us. We think we give life a second chance but it's just the opposite." I utter.

"Why are you telling me all this in such a deadly situation? Don't you realise we should be heading back already?" He doesn't even realise that our hands are still locked.

"We should not waste a second chance given by life to us, Manik." I speak to a man who is constantly looking around to see if he can call for any help. The more helpless he acts, the more triggered his bipolar disorder gets in my checklist.

"You have spent so much time mending your broken past that you don't realise that you're breaking your future as well." He becomes still as his eyes lock with mine and his gaze turn more painful for anyone to take in. "Life has given you a chance yesterday. Don't let it go in vain. For nothing." He lowers his eyes.

Just as I decide to withdraw my hand loosening my grip as I think I went a little over the top this time, his hold around my fingers harden; not in a way to hurt me but to make me realise that he is a living individual.

He stares into my eyes, "You think your whispering words have no effect on me because that's how I pretend like but little do you know, those whispers scream in my mind when I'm trying to sleep at night or see myself in the mirror."

I brush my thumb over his bruised knuckles and wonder how tired those knuckles must have been from expressing all his frustration in the form of filthy anger and self harm.

"The world is not really a very lonely place, Manik." I curve my lips but a smile hardly shows up seeing his hollow face. I want to ask him why did he come after me even though he was at freedom to leave me here. I want to ask why even after turning his bike on, he tossed the idea of leaving but I will not because deep down I know he's a wonderful human being.

"Here," After hunting my handbag a little, I hand him a rubber pen.

Manik looks skeptic to take possession of it but does it anyway seeing me raise my brows. He nurtures it a little trying to get a hint out of it.

"My purpose of bringing you here." I smile rubbing my palms.

"Excuse me?" He asks, uncertain.

"It's a magic pen." I twinkle shrugging my shoulders.

"Can it rewrite my stars?" He mutters sarcastically rotating the pen.

"I'm not quite sure about that but it'll definitely bring a smile to your face." I beam expecting him to react.

"We should go back." He returns the pen to my direction.

"Come on, you've come this far. At least make it worth the risk." I push the pen back at him. "Come on, write the first thing you want to write about her on the snow below."

"What?" It comes out of his mouth almost instantly the moment I finish. He appears shocked and if anything, this is the last thing he expected me to do right here.

"The longer we stay here, more are the chances of us dying." He parts his lips breathing heavily taking a close look of the pen. "Write anything. Even an alphabet but do it."

He shakes his head in denial, "Manik, for once, mute those voices in your head. I'm telling you, you won't regret it."

Dubiously, he looks at me, "Give it a try at least. It's not like you're losing anything."

Averting his eyes down at the surface of the frozen lake, he draws some thick air in and uncaps the pen, unsure. "I'm right here." I assure rubbing his upper arm.

Kneeling down on one knee, he glances back at me to check if I really am here and I blink nodding my head. It is one of the most powerful habits of facing one's own failures or problems or fears, simply write the word down. You might feel hesitation at first and this hesitation is like the shackles on your feet. You need to gobble it up and type it down and once you do, you'll feel a huge chunk off your chest because now you can proudly place a finger on what your exact problem is. I want Manik to write whatever the first thing comes to his mind about Kiara. Even if he writes how much he loves her, I don't have issues with that as long as he is proud of his own feelings. He has kept so much within him that things are now starting to swallow him and he must need to get them off his system. Manik needs to start swimming even in the puddles of his thoughts.

His shaky fingers near the snow and he chuckles to himself in fear, "This is crazy."

"And, we all know you have limited sanity." I remark.

The second the nib of the pen touches the snow, he closes his eyes before swirling the pen in curves I don't understand. He keeps his eyes closed throughout and I can see tears rolling down the corners as his hand brushes swiftly in motion he masters.

One can never understand what he wrote because it all seemed like haphazard intersecting lines on the chest of the snow by a pen which has no ink in it. Manik exhales when he is finished and stares ardently at it like he is reading everything I can't.

"Done?" I step closer and he stands up with the help of his palms pressed against the hard snow.

"Why did you make me do it?" He wipes his watery hands against his warm clothes.

"You'll know. Ready for the magic?" I enlarge my eyes dramatically trying to get something out of my bag.

He looks away into the scattered whiteness, "Come on! Show a little excitement, at least." I try charging him up.

"I can't fake an excitement, I'm sorry." He takes a few steps ahead dipping hands in his pockets.

"Fine, now don't turn back until I ask you to. No cheating, all right?" I grin.

"Let's just get done with this stupidity, okay? I don't feel too good to be standing here." He begins to rotate.

"Ah-ah-ah! You can't do that. You can't turn back unless I ask you to." Twitching his cheeks, he walks farther ahead in exasperation. I want to know what all is going on in his mind right now but I know I will, soon. "Don't go too far away!"

"All right. You can turn back in the count of three. Ready? 3...2 and a half... 2... 1 and a half...1 and..." I squeak as he swiftly turns around before I voice out the zero.

"Listen you just are wasting my time, aren't you?" He looks at the his scribbling on the snow which by now is starting to melt. "What's so magical about it? It all seems fun and entertaining to you, doesn't it? My pain, my misery, the bleeding of my heart, everything, isn't it? Tell me? Tell me what's so special?" Every word he vomits, echoes in the empty space surrounding us and the way his eyes are turning vulnerable, I can vouch he will not be able to hold it any longer.

I move my eyes up to the sky and his blazing glare turns a little confused. I repeat the direction back to the sky gesturing with my eyes and the second he does, those vulnerable eyes get glued to the sky only. Manik averts his gaze back at me to realise I am holding a neon light in my hand which reflects everything he scribbled on the snow up in the sky like a mirror. I knew he would be surprised but never knew it was going to shock me as well when I gaze up.

Shocked, is going to be an understatement of the century to describe my feelings right now and rapidly, I look down at the ground to check if I am seeing the right thing. The scribbling Manik did with his eyes closed, wasn't any normal name or word he jotted. It was a face he drew that is now shining bright in the evening sky amongst the stars. He drew her face flawlessly with closed eyes and I can bet she'd faint too if she sees this right now. How well Manik must have sketched her in his heart that he can portray her so effortlessly on a slippery ground.

The sketch starts to turn blurry as the snow starts running watery and in a fraction of moments, she will be gone; wiped from our skies. Manik forgets the whole universe as he keeps staring at her face, shocked.

"You said she maybe is with some other guy who deserves her more than you do. Maybe, loves her more than you do. But can he draw her face amidst the stars? Can he love her to this extent where there remains no barrier between sanity and insanity?" It was my whole agenda; to bring back the lost confidence in him slowly. To make him comprehend that maybe, it wasn't because of him that she left him; maybe, it was just the fate.

Manik keeps gazing at the sky even after her face is erased with tears running down his face. The neon light I am casting brings a different pinkish aura around the snow surface on which we stand. There is no one here except the two of us trying to register all that happened a minute before. He closes his eyes drawing in some air through his blocked nostrils and murmurs "Happy Birthday, Ki. I wish I could be there with you."

His tall frame like a sand castle hit by the wave flops on the cold hard snow and I gulp trying to contain the tears within the lids of my eyes. They call drugs the worst addiction but I call it being in love with the wrong people. But there is nothing like a wrong love. No such term exists in my dictionary. People can be wrong but a love, never. Every kind of love is necessary even if it breaks us into zillions of pieces because there is no heartbreak without a lesson. A lesson that helps us become what we are meant to be.

I kneel sown beside him, softly caressing his shoulder, "It's okay." I whisper. "Let me take care of you."

Two strong arms wrap around my body pulling me into a soul crushing hug. Despite the heaviness in my eyes, my senses flutter at the feeling of my body pressed against his. I sink into the warmth of his side, appreciative of the welcoming gesture. His touch in many ways makes the surrounding warmer somehow, making the piercing cold bearable.  He holds me closer in a way like he is pouring every piece of his crushed heart into the tight embrace. It's just a hug; a simple heartwarming gesture but this seems to lessen the Spaces Between Us.