STORY: FACES (Chapter-7) The Final Farewell.

READ CHAPTER 1.

READ CHAPTER 6.

Rahul stepped out of the elevator and rushed towards his apartment, coughing through the whole hallway. The suffocation on his face finally turned to a pleasant smile when he read his and Trisha’s name the name board outside their apartment, suddenly, the image of the name being changed to "Mr. and Mrs. Kapoor" took over Rahul's mind and then, the smile turned into a blush.
He unlocked the door and hurried to the kitchen to have some water, “Trisha, I've brought flowers for you. Come here, I’m trying to be romantic baby.”

Two glasses of water were already down Rahul’s throat, but Trisha, she was nowhere. Rahul called her again, but there was no reply, he called again but again, no reply. Rahul panicked and looked around in the house.

“Oh gosh! There you are. Can’t you answer? I was so scared. By the way, what are you doing in front of the mirror without a t-shirt? Were you planning to like, seduce me when I’ll enter the room or something? Because I think I am seduced” Rahul winked.

“Shh! I’m trying to know something.” Trisha walked towards Rahul and wrapped her arms around him.

“Know what?” He enquired.

“That, how will I look after 3 or 4 months when I’ll have a big tummy. I just wanted to check.”

“Oh fuck! No. You are kidding me right?” Rahul asked in excitement.

“I’m serious. I’m pregnant, doctor confirmed it today. We are going to have a baby.”

Rahul hugged Trisha in happiness. And 2 seconds later, both of them were jumping in their room, filled with happiness.

“We are so crazy. Our kids will be crazy too. Haha”

“Hello? I’m pregnant and you are the father. Carry me to the bed. Period.” Trisha ordered and Rahul followed.

They met by chance, never thought of falling in love with each other and now, they were almost parents. That’s how destiny is, you plan something, something else happens, sometimes it’s something good, others, it’s bad. But whatever happens, happens for a reason.

“I wish it’s a girl. We’ll name her Tara.”

"Tara?” Trisha asked with a weird smile.

“Because I know she’ll have your eyes. And your eyes twinkles like stars. So, stars. Tara.”

And now, here we are, you are free from her and I love you more than anything now. I can’t wait 2 more weeks to marry you.” Just when Rahul completed his sentence, his eyes were stuck on his lover's face, Trisha was already in her dreamland, with a pleasant smile on her face, she was long gone in her dreams. Rahul kissed Trisha and slept beside her, holding her hand.

Rahul was half asleep. His hands were trying to find Trisha beside her but there was no trace of her. Rahul sat straight and tried to open his eyes. In a sleepy voice he called for Trisha’s name but nobody replied, calling her name twice or thrice, he finally stepped out of the bed.

“Trisha? What are you doing on the floor? Stand up please, you’ll get cold baby, it isn’t good for our baby.” Rahul walked toward Trisha and tapped her shoulder.

But as soon as he looked at Trisha, Rahul was left with a chill in his spine. 

Burning red eyes, ripped clothes, tangled hairs and a knife in her hand, Trisha once again lost in her battle to live free, in her battle to be free from Tish.

Trisha stood up and caught Rahul by neck. “You took her away from me. This is my body, her soul belongs to me you bastard. You can’t take her away from me, you can’t divide us. You can’t rip us apart because if you’ll make me go, she will go with me. She will die with me. I won’t let this baby live. I won’t let you live.”

Rahul was suffocating. Though, Trisha wasn’t powerful but Tish was. She was powerful, she was evil and she wanted to kill. Kill Rahul, kill Trisha and his relationship and, kill their baby. She wanted to end it all, forever.

After some struggle Rahul was out of Tish’s grip, but Trisha, she was still trapped tightly, inside her own soul. Rahul tried to take the knife away from Tish’s hand but she wasn’t ready to leave it. Rahul groped Tish and twisted her hands behind. Rahul tried to take the knife from Tish’s hand when she left it. The knife was on floor and so was Tish and Rahul, after she kicked his’s leg to free herself.

Tish’s eyes were on the knife while Rahul’s eyes were on her, after all the good days, it felt like it was time for a farewell. Looking into her eyes, Rahul realized that Trisha was trapped, she was in pain and to save herself, there was only one way. Rahul had to die.

Rahul kept looking at Trisha in hope but it wasn’t Trisha anymore, it was Tish who was controlling Trisha’s body, Trisha’s soul.

“You need to be strong Trisha. You need to be strong.” Rahul kept repeating the words, and Tish kept stabbing him.

He was living his last moments and there was a smile on his face. Every moment he spent with Trisha was right in front of his eyes, after a moment Rahul stopped feeling the pain. Which lover will choose feeling ‘pain’ in place of his lover’s face, in his last breaths? Rahul looked into her eyes and finally saw Trisha “I love you and I always will” he bid a farewell to his love with a smile.

Trisha collapsed as Rahul’s eyes closed.

“It wasn’t your fault baby.”

“But Rahul, it was. I can’t leave you now. I can’t go anywhere. I don’t want to leave you. I found you after all this time and you are asking me to go, no, no I won’t I can’t. Please. Please.” Trisha begged Rahul.

“Shh! It wasn’t a lie. You were trying to save yourself. Yes, I didn’t tried to rape you or anything but you were trying to save yourself, right? So it’s okay. Stop blaming yourself.” Rahul said, wiping Trisha’s tears.

Trisha’s eyes were heavy. She tried to lift her eyelids up but failed. She tried again and immediately,  her eyes were locked at a blurred image, she tried to clear her sight “Rahul”.

“Oh my God! She is awake. Doctor, Doctor she is awake. Trisha is awake. Can you see me? Can you hear me Trisha?” a lady, of something around 57, asked.

Trisha quickly recognized, “Mom?”

“Yes, yes. It’s me your mom. Can you see me? Are alright? Oh god! I was so scared for you. I thought I lost you.” Trisha’s mother broke into tears.

Though, Trisha was completely sane, she was still unclear of the happening around her.

“What am I doing here? Who saved me?”

“A guy. A guy called me the day you… you… you tried to commit suicide.” Trisha’s mother’s eyes were filled with tears.

“Which guy?”

“I don’t know. He just called from your phone and said that you tried to commit suicide and then he just hung up the phone. I ran towards you and Rahul’s apartment and, and you were lying on the floor. There was blood everywhere. I rushed to the hospital to save you. You lost a lot of blood and the doctor’s said that, you were in coma.”

“Where… where’s Rahul? Where’s him? I saw him. I saw his eyes. I know he is here.” Trisha tried to rise up straight.

“Don’t. Just rest. And Trisha, you already know that Rahul is dead. My baby I’m sorry but he, he isn’t here. He is dead. It’s been a year.”

“I saw him. I saw his eyes mom.” And as Trisha completed, she hears a baby’s cry.

“Who? Rahul’s eyes. What?”

Trisha keep staring at her baby and he replies with a smile. That one smile and Trisha understood, what Rahul meant before leaving, 'It's me', it was him.

Years passed, Trisha's pain was relieved. Though, the scars weren't gone, but at least the pain was. A wound so deep always leaves marks no matter how much you try to cure it. Trisha named her son after Rahul and later adopted a daughter, Tara. Within Tara and Rahul, Trisha tried to bury her guilt, but what's buried alive, pains a lot. 4 months after adopting Tara, one day Trisha found her old diary, there was a letter from Rahul kept in it.

Trisha named her baby Rahul, he had Rahul’s eyes.

We all have different faces, it’s just a matter of which one we choose.

There’s always a little black to something white and a little white when everything seems black.
Situations can go wrong anytime, they test us in various ways, but at the end of the day, it’s just a matter of what kind of a person you choose to become.