Talab - Chapter 13: Chapter 13

Samarth's POV
I don't know what destiny wants from me anymore.
I tried to leave her behind... tried to walk away before I broke more than I could fix.
But this damn car won't start.
And to make things worse, it's pouring outside.
Rain crashing against the windshield like it's mocking me.
In frustration, I bang my hands on the hood of the car.
Nothing.
With clenched fists and a head full of chaos, I turn around and storm back to the apartment.
But the moment I step in—
Something feels off.
Wrong.
The air is too still.
The silence too heavy.
I walk further in and my eyes fall on the balcony.
My breath stops.
There—on the edge of the recliner, under the open sky and merciless rain—
She's sitting like a statue.
Fanaa.
I rush to her. My heart is slamming in my chest as I pull her close.
Her skin is cold. Her eyes... hollow.
"Are you out of your mind, Fanaa?! What was this?! What if you fell from the 67th floor?!"
I shake her shoulders. She doesn't flinch. Doesn't blink.
Instead, she gives me a painful smile—
the kind that stabs a man right in the gut.
"Huh... I'm not strong enough to kill myself," she says softly, like she's already dead inside.
"If I had that much strength... I wouldn't be standing in front of you right now.
I would've already ended it.
But I'm a coward, Samarth...
A loser who fears death,
Yet loves the thought of dying."
Her tears mix with the rain on her cheeks.
"Fanaa, stop... Stop confusing me," I say, my voice cracking with frustration and fear.
"My head's going to burst."
She looks away.
"Go and relax, Samarth Ji. Don't worry. I won't die so easily."
She gently removes my grip from her wrist and walks to the kitchen.
I stand frozen, watching her body move like she's on autopilot.
Everything about her looks stiff. Mechanical.
As if her soul has already left and only a shadow remains.
I collapse on the sofa, resting my head in my hands.
Everything aches—my head, my heart, my conscience.
She returns silently and places a cup of tea beside me.
Then—her hand brushes against my forehead.
"You're burning up. Samarth Ji, you have a fever," she says softly.
I don't respond.
Without waiting, she walks off and brings a dinner plate.
She tries to feed me. I don't move.
But she insists—gently forcing the spoon to my lips.
I let her.
Maybe because I'm tired of fighting.
Maybe because... I miss her.
After the meal, she massages my head, helping me toward the bed.
I watch her... every move, every expression.
She seems self-conscious under my gaze, but I don't stop staring.
Then, out of nowhere, I ask:
"Fanaa... who are you?"
She doesn't answer.
Just keeps massaging my head until I slowly slip into sleep—
her touch, the only warmth in this storm.
⸻
Fanaa's POV
Who am I...?
I'm no one.
Just a scared, broken soul...
Still running from the shadows of her past.
I carry scars—
Invisible to the world but heavy on my skin.
Scars that whisper reminders of pain...
Scars that won't ever let me forget.
I am the silence after a scream.
The emptiness after the chaos.
A justice-less soul.
A haunted girl...
A broken Fanaa.
A woman who is terrified of being loved because she's forgotten how to be whole.
But maybe—
Just maybe...
If someone still chooses to see me through the darkness...
I might learn how to live again.