Prologue

Miss.M

@Miss.M

Prologue

He climbed down the steps to get to the ground floor, seventeen steps to be precise. If anyone had asked him this question earlier, he wouldn't have been able to reply, after all who ever remembered something as mundane as counting steps. But today he counted them, those seventeen steps were the hurdle to freeing her from him. He had known from the start that it wouldn't be easy to remove themselves from this relationship, but it was part of the process and they would have to do it. 

They had just finished the first motion and the court had recommended them living together for the mandatory six months cooling period. He had known before stepping into the building that despite its age showing on the exterior, held some of the most authoritative figures in Somnath; those representatives of justice that were unable to show bias. Therefore the decision they had made would have to be followed by law, the only reprieve being the leeway of being interpreted in a way that would accommodate both their initial decisions. 

***

She felt as though even fate was conspiring against letting them live their life on their own terms. She could hear masimaa mumbling under her breath about how unjust the court was; could they not see how sad Raavi was? Wasn't it better for everyone involved that they separated immediately? Raavi agreed and for the first time, wanted to break rules and not follow the decree that had been set down by the judge. Even keeping her ego aside, there was no benefit in her living with Shiva; it would accomplish nothing and only make things harder for the rest of the family later. 

The brightness blinded her slightly after walking through the dimly lit corridor and as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight, she saw that he was waiting outside the building, her breath hitched as she captured a snapshot of the way he looked. The sun was setting and the backlight provided the perfect backdrop for the reflective contemplation on his face. He looked up at her, the mask clicking into place one piece at a time, till the only expression she saw was indifference. 

"I'll come pick you up tomorrow. You can spend the night with your family." And he rode off not waiting for her to form a reply.