T W O: Lost

4 years ago

-Grace-

@-Grace-

CHAPTER TWO

Lost

TRIGGER WARNING

He stared at the lifeless body on the floor, not a drop of tear reflected in his pain. He didn't make a single movement to show his grief, to fight for injustice, to bring his mother back.

The corpse covered in white lying peacefully on the marble floor glowed in the dark hall, his anger filled steely eyes talked of the catastrophe forming inside his being, eating everything in its way. His arms were locked around his knees, the sleeves of his black cotton shirt were rolled up and darkened with sweat. The crisp firm collar sat around his neck with pride, despite the creases on his entire form, it talked of the last straws of tolerance and stamina left in him.

His phone lay abandoned in the empty space beside him, despite the several ringing his attention remained undivided, his mind clouded by the darkness. 

"Arnav you are home already? How was your first day?" Asha asked, running a hand through his hair lovingly.

"it was alright ma, what did you make for lunch?" he asked, not wanting to talk about unimportant things like friends, classmates etc.

"why don't you go freshen up ill be right back?" she asked, caressing his face, taking his backpack and water bottle.

He gave one of his rare smiles and ran inside. His mother shook her head at her son’s mature nature despite being six. 

He blinked after hours as his stiffened muscles began to lose. Those anger filled eyes had started to become moist. More beads of sweat started to roll down, his breathing started breaking in pauses.

"Ma I made it" he told her calmly, with a glint of pride in his eyes and a smoothness of satisfaction in his tone.

Asha kissed his forehead and hugged him tight.

"I knew you would! I knew it" she smiled on his shoulder and tears of happiness formed in her eyes. Her heart grew larger knowing the content her son would be feeling, despite his silence. 

"congratulations!" she said releasing him. Asha held his face between her palms.

He smiled as he wiped her tears "thanks"

His high shoulders had now become slumped and his hair glistened with the sweat of fear.

"Arnav Im going to Jennifer’s  will be back around six" his mother said while grabbing her handbag and walking towards the kitchen to get a glass of water.

He sat there typing furiously on his laptop, lest he wasted a minute of his life and got left behind in the rat race. 

Asha gulped down half the glass in one go and made her way to the main door.

" and don't start talking to yourself again!"

 She grabbed the keys not forgetting to remind him, hint of playfulness in her tone. 

"don't wait for me over dinner and take care bye!"

She left closing the door without waiting for his response.

"Bye m-"

She was gone before he could bid goodbye. 

Finally a lone tear rolled down his cheek, his arms that had been tightly wrapped around his knees started to lose.

He couldn't even say goodbye. The final goodbye.

BREAKING NEWS

Attack on the World Trade Center!

AN ACCIDENT OR ANOTHER TERRORIST ATTACK?

Arnav’s eyes popped out and his hands froze in mid way, as he read the headlines on the TV screen.

The clock read 6:30 pm.

Ma. 

Not home. 

Attacks. 

His vocabulary  had simmered down to a few words that echoed in his head. Arnav ran to get his cell phone and dialed her number with shivering hands.

"Hello Ma!! Ma!!" he yelled in the piece of plastic.

*The number you have dialed is unreachable please try again later*

Again and again, again and again he tried the same number, abusing the redial button on his calling history, but there was no sign of his mother. .

Worry had turned into fear and soon it was replaced with dejection and that fraction of a hope that was lost forever.

"Ma!" his eyes shot open and he moved closer to the corpse.

"Please come back ma! Please come back!" he cried and pleaded and placed his head on her chest holding her body from both hands.

His voice echoed in the huge apartment, unheard, which was soon lost like his existence in the crowded selfish world.

*********

Vivan and Asher walked side by side in the huge hallway which was empty except for a few officers entering and exiting different rooms. After the formal welcome, Vivan led Asher to his cabin where he wanted to discuss some important details with him about a specific case. 

"working in the similar environment in Washington, I'm hoping you wont have any problem adjusting here, the entire staff is very cooperative" 

Vivan opened the door to his cabin and waited for Asher to enter first.

As soon as the two entered, Rohan and Khirad stood up from their seats.

"you would be working with the executive staff most of the time, which includes Rohan, Khirad and myself" 

He introduced his colleagues warmly. 

Khirad and Rohan shook hands with Asher and exchanged formal greetings. The three pushed other conversations aside to hear Vivan's words first.

"you will be introduced to the rest of the staff as needed but for now you will be working with us. Let me know if you have any questions"

Ashed  immediately went to his cabin to get familiarized with the surroundings. Rohan and Khirad retired to their cabins too leaving Vivan alone in the huge office just as he liked.

*********

"Aliya! Aliya!!!! Where the hell are you dammit!" 

He pleaded frustratingly and threw his phone on the bed, after searching for his only friend for whom he had started to develop new feelings. The only friend who wasn’t reachable at this moment of need.  

He had gone to her apartment, called her countless times, called her work. But she wasn't there. Every single time. Unreachable.

Hot steamy tears started to roll down his blood shot eyes, his lips started to quiver as he felt himself collapse on the marble floor beside the bed. His arms lay defeated. He cried in the dark room, which was illuminated only by a single bed side lamp, for what seemed like an eternity.

Arnav felt he had cried out all the liquid he had inside his body, feeling dried out and tired of living- correction surviving.

"where are you Aliya..where are you" his voice became hoarse, his throat dry, his chest paining as if a thousand knives had been stabbed.

The residue of his tears collected at the corner of his eyes.

Life had never been smooth for Arnav, the forces of the universe never showed him any mercy and he was used to living like that. But now he had reached his tolerance range and simply did not have the power to go on. After all, there was only so much one could take, there was a limit to being tested, to being judged.

*********

He sat in his brand new cabin, feeling the intensity of the metallic smell combined with the coolness of the air condition. He kept playing with the paper weight on his desk and his mind was deeply engrossed elsewhere.

"Aryan he is the one! Its all because of him! He killed him Aryan he killed him!"

She cried, Aryan tried to calm her down and made her sit on the bench.

"I don't want to see your face ever again!" she screamed at his face, while Asher stood there shell shocked.

What had happened all of a sudden which had changed their unbreakable friendship of eight years?

"Shikha relax, calm down" Aryan tried to lighten up the situation, he was at loss of words. 

She continued to cry and sat on the bench unable to breathe properly.

"Aryan.." Asher started unable to find the correct words to express his confusion. 

"Neel, he..he passed away" Aryan started calmly.

"how? What happened?" his voice came as a whisper.

'the..the plane crash" Aryan finally revealed, already fearing the heartbreak Asher would have.

"the…pl...plane..crash" Asher repeated, not being able to believe his ears.

His eyes instantly filled with tears, as his long eyelashes glistened with the salty liquid. 

The state of shock had been replaced with grief. Asher felt a lump in his throat. 

"Asher…Asher listen to me, breathe, sit down" 

Aryan tried to console a still but fragile Asher who was on the verge of breaking down. Not only for dealing with the loss of his friend but being accused of it as well. 

"Don't you even dare show any sympathy on him! He is a murderer! He killed him! It was a plan! He is a terrorist!" Shikha threw another tantrum breaking into sobs again.

"If you have any kind of contact with this man then forget we ever even met" 

She wiped her tears with a look of determination on her face terrifying Aryan. 

"Shikha-"she had walked away before Aryan could try to save the sinking boat. 

Giving a look of comfort to Asher he had left to search Shikha to give her a piece of his mind and clear the misunderstandings. Her grief was getting the best of her, causing a rift in the what once was considered an unbreakable bond. Not victim of some emotional outburst anyway. 

Asher was left alone on the bench, his mind trying to come up with a logical explanation to the recent occurrences, but failing time and again, no coherent thoughts were being processed.

He was brought out of his reverie from the light knocking on the door.

"Oh hi"  

A tinge of guilt appeared in his eyes for not noticing her earlier.

'All is well?" 

Khirad took a seat in front of him.

"yeah everything's fine" 

He forced a smile. 

Asher silently appreciated the effort but did not allow himself to fall for hollow bonds again. Once the damage had been done and it was a lesson of a lifetime. He wanted to shut himself and throw the key to his soul in the depths of the blue seas.

"so are you liking it here so far?" 

Genuine concern was evident in her tone. She straightened her back, her jasmine fragrance  melding with the metallic smell and entering his senses.

'yeah it's great here"

As a child Asher always had a lot to say, with times tangled thoughts had been replaced with friendly chatter. 

"I had come to give you this file, study it and you can ask me if you have any questions, for this specific case it's only you me and Rohan, Vivan won't be working with us on this one” 

She gave him the details, in a soft but firm manner. 

"ok ill get it to it" 

His voice came in a low but audible whisper as he continued to scan the documents.  

"ok ill see you later then." 

She left him alone sensing his need. 

Khirad had seen something different, something strange about him. Does he have any problems that he is immensely worried about? Or is he just uncomfortable in the new environment? His lack of eye contact couldn't be missed either. 

Her mind wandered off to endless questions. That stiff posture and shifty eyes couldn't be ignored. That dullness on his face, that gaze in search of something but being unable to find it,  had left her in a curious state of mind.

Questions which forced her to investigate, to find out more and maybe to help him out, and somewhere in the corner feeling sympathy for those lonely eyes could be sensed too. 

Never in her entire career had she seen a man who had been disturbed yet so calm. There was something about him that made her want to dig his soul, break the barriers he had created. She wanted to read his story, know the journey that brought him here. 

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A/N: I realize  9/11 is a very sensitive topic, and whatever I have written in this chapter and will in the upcoming chapters  is in noway a comment on ones feelings and turmoil  as I can never understand one's struggle as I have never been through that. This is based on imagination and stories I have heard. 

Also, I dont know how many of you are actually reading this story. I see a lot of views and some likes but it would help knowing I am not talking into space plus I love reading comments :) 

Thank you