"There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds." - Laurell K Hamilton

Hudson Yards, New York

The retreating figure of Anuj made GK crease his brows. He was worried about his boy. He hoped for a miracle that would ease the pain because if Anuj needed something, then it was companionship, for he had been aware of the unrequited love that Anuj heralded for Anupama apart from reconciliation with Malvika. Moreover, Anuj is special so he did deserve the best. The patience had been wearing off showing its signs in the form of Anuj's painful eyes. The wait never seemed to end but he also knew that Anuj would never speak of it for he had seen him behave maturely when it came to his heart being ruled by one woman. The old eyes were a witness to the bruised heart of the boy. GK had seen the world in his times he knew about one-sided love for he too had fallen in love but lost her due to the cruel play of fate. He had spent his life alone looking out for Anuj for he was a shadow of Anand and Gayatri, a couple that he held in high regard. The feeling of being alone creeps him out given his age but he also knew what loneliness felt like. Anuj was an alien to that feeling. A father and a partner or a companion both are important but both have their respective and distinct places in relationships and the ways of showering love are different. However, he could only help when Anuj would decide something for himself. A habit that Anuj had long forgotten.

He was brought out of his reverie when Madhav called out to him asking for dinner. He told him to lay out the plates on the table while he went away to call Anuj. Though the world might consider Gopichand Karodiya as an employee of Anand Kapadia, he was a force to reckon with. GK was Anuj's father's friend and confidant, who had stood by him through thick and thin. Thus, then when Anuj lost his both parents twenty years back due to an accident, GK had turned into his shield, his protector, his mentor, his guide, his friend, and his philosopher. He took Anuj under his wings and made him see through his potential thereby helping him expand his father's business. The business had grown exponentially as what started as a small store in Ahmedabad grew into a global retail chain under Anuj's command.

The dinner was unusually quiet as normally they would be discussing business and projects but today as Gk observed Anuj, his left hand was twirling the magnets whereas his right hand did the job of eating food with the spoon, except for the whirring sounds of magnet it was absolute tranquility. Anuj was deeply thinking about something. He feared the silence as the last time it happened was when Anuj had blamed himself and had been blaming himself ever since the accident which led to the death of his parents due to which Malvika had started slipping into a shell. That day, the childish, goofy, and playful Anuj was lost in an abyss and the person that returned was Anuj Kapadia. The silence was deafening as GK followed Anuj's eyes when the twirling of magnets had stopped. GK saw the calendar which was being keenly gazed at by Anuj, and thus he sighed helplessly as he spotted the date on the calendar. The date was a witness to another traumatic event that left behind a gnawing pain deepening the scar on Anuj's heart.

The date was a reminder of that ill-fated day. Anuj got up with a start as the dinner had been long over even before he could realize it and walked out from there in long strides towards his room. The door was shut. GK hated this annoying habit of Anuj isolating himself from people on his bad days. It did refrain him from giving a new perspective to the sufferings that Anuj had suffered but also made him worried about his boy as he kept his emotions to himself when it came to that particular incident. That incident had scarred his boy for life. It further deepened the feeling of fear in Anuj's heart. He could deal with business deals and negotiations but found himself out of depth when it came to losing people. It was something that he had seen very closely and that too at a very tender age. GK ordered the servants to exit the house within the next fifteen minutes which was personally supervised by him. He retired to his room for the day knowing that Anuj would be distant yet close in the house till tomorrow night.

Anuj entered his room which was dimly lit and shut himself from the world. He sat down with a thud on the couch to calm his racing heart. He rubbed his temples to ease the headache whilst closing his eyes. A moment later he rushed his way through the bathroom sink where he threw up. It was the sign of an upcoming panic attack. He repeated the motion twice until it was over. He rolled up the sleeves of his jacket and walked towards the punching bag that was there in the corner of the room. "Whack" he hit the bag harder with his bare knuckles as he started to have flashes of the unfortunate episode. "Whack, Whack Whack" this time he hit the punching bag with more force. 'Whack' he hit it harder while he screamed in agony. said Anuj in a bitter tone. He thanked the heavens for the room was soundproof allowing GK some moments of peace. "Whack, Whack Whack" he hit it exerting more force and energy causing his bare knuckles to bleed. "Whack, Whack, Whack" he kept on punching the bag venting out his anger, frustration, pain, and anguish. The guilt had amplified ten folds. The eyes held remorse. His hair was disheveled and sweat beads were trickling down his forehead. The stinging pain due to injury to his knuckles was too small in front of his heart which had been broken badly beyond repair. 'Whack, Whack, Whack" he hit the bag with more power. He continued the actions till the flashes subsided. He ultimately sat down on the floor with a thud. Anuj was panting and soon he kept his hand on the chest as he started gasping for breath. The flashes came back again and he nodded his head sideways vigorously as if he was trying to erase that memory.

Mujhe yunhi karke

Khwaabon se judaa

Jaane kahan chup ke

Baitha hai khuda

Jaanu na main kab

Hua khud se gumshuda

Kaise jiyun rooh bhi

Mujhse hai judaa

Kyun meri raahein

Mujhse pooche

Ghar kahan hai

Kyun mujhse aake

Dastak pooche

Dar kahan hai

The intensity of the panic attack increased as he started trembling and had erratic breathing. Slowly he somehow managed to reach towards the drawer albeit wobbling on his feet and opened it. He rummaged through it trying to get hold of a medical strip with his trembling right hand when his other hand hit the mirror. It came crashing down injuring his left hand and a small piece got pierced into his head. He popped up the pill and drank the water that was kept on the glass table uncaring about the wounds that he had just received. He leaned onto the wall while his hands clutched the onto the wooden panel till he was stable enough. The panic attack was slowly subsiding when his eyes fell on the photo frame which was kept on the panel leaning on the wall for support. It was adorned differently rather than hanging the frames on the wall or creating a collage on the wall. He picked up the frame and laid down on the floor holding it. He was hugging the frame tightly as if he was trying to draw in some courage while tears rolled down from the side of his eyes. It was his favorite photograph and the person clinging to him was all the more special to him. It told the story of a bond that he cherished the most. The photo was taken before the catastrophe struck which had overnight changed the dynamics of the bond. He recalled the good memories which brought fresh tears to his eyes. The unkempt room was the representation of the joined pieces of his broken heart where the cracks were still visible.

Dil hai kahin aur

Dhadkan hai kahin

Saansein hai magar

Kyun zinda main nahin

The incident had left behind a lingering pain. No matter how hard Anuj tried he could not bring himself to hate that person for he was a piece of his heart just like Malvika. He had learned to overlook the flaws and simply shower on the love that his heart possessed for that person. In fact, hatred was something he had never learned. So he had simply distanced himself. That was the biggest blow that he had received after the death of his parents. It had made him realize the importance of boundaries and space in a relationship for he had seen blooming and flourishing relationships in his family that had an essence of positivity, growth, and most importantly unconditional love. The small patches of blood on his knuckles and hand had long dried up and the tear marks were seen on the creamy beige carpet. The lifeless eyes stared into the blank space for a long time. Anuj stayed there wide awake the whole night. He slowly drifted to sleep in the wee hours of the morning only to be wide awake by the nightmare. It was dusk when he looked at the time on his smartwatch. It was four in the morning. He absent-mindedly bandaged his wounds. He looked at his messed-up room and cleaned it up. Anuj freshened up and made himself a coffee- strong yet mildly sweet just like that person. The aroma of coffee brought in another wave of nostalgia. He walked towards the balcony letting the cold winds hit his face. He stood there soaking in the freshness when the rays of the sun hit his face. The glow was adding to his charismatic face. It was a new dawn for the new story to begin destiny had already set things in motion.