JAAN ( Darr 2 )

To see you just ...that

Mornings walking to the bus stop, evenings planning flowerbeds or fixing the old fence, night times spent with books or tea or quiet music playing from the old radio. The world outside their quiet haven seemed to grow more distant. Not forgotten, never fully but no longer sharp or urgent. The grief, the betrayal, the chaos... all dulled by the scent of jasmine, the crackle of a fireplace,

 him folding laundry wrong on purpose just so she'd scold him and redo it with him beside her.

Maybe it wasn't the life she'd imagined.

 But maybe it was the one she needed.

The morning was gentle, the sun casting a soft, golden hue over the garden as Kiran sat on a spread mattress, coffee cup in hand. The scent of the earth, freshly turned, mingled with the aroma of her drink, creating a sense of peace she hadn't known in years. 

She gazed at Rahul, who was working tirelessly in the garden. His hands moved deftly through the soil, planting rows of flowers and vegetables with a quiet focus. 

The garden had been wild when they arrived, tangled with weeds and overgrown shrubs, but under his patient care, and her occasional interruptions it was beginning to bloom into something beautiful,  Kiran smiled to herself, feeling a lazy contentment wash over her. too lazy to join him in the work, She had chosen to sit on a grass patch and just watch him work.

After a while, Rahul wiped the sweat from his brow and walked over to her, sitting down beside her on the mattress. He let out a contented sigh, and without a word, laid down, resting his head in her lap.

Her fingers instinctively moved to his hair, running through the soft strands with a gentle rhythm. His eyes fluttered shut, his face relaxing into a peaceful expression, a stark contrast to the troubled man he had once been.

They had come so far.

Kiran looked down at him, her hand still moving through his hair, and her thoughts drifted to the beginning, how hard it had been at first, for both of them. The nights where they struggled to make sense of their pasts, the weight of trauma pulling them down. 

There had been moments when she hadn't understood herself, when the scars left by Sunil made her question her own worth, her ability to trust. And yet, here she was, with the very man who had once haunted her nightmares.

She marveled at how fate had brought them to this place. Rahul, the man she had once wanted dead, had become her strength. It was as if life had twisted itself into something unrecognizable, but in the best way possible.

 He wasn't just her partner he was the one person who truly listened to her, who accepted her for whoever she chose to be. He never demanded more, never tried to change her. All he wanted, all he had ever asked for, was the permission to be near her, to love her as she was.

As Kiran sat there, running her fingers through Rahul's hair, her thoughts drifted to the early days, when they were still adjusting to life together. Those first few weeks had been tentative, filled with a strange, delicate tension. They had been so careful with each other, almost like walking on a tightrope. 

But it was Rahul who had been the most cautious every word, every movement, as though he believed that one wrong step might make her vanish.

Work had been a welcome distraction for both of them during that time. It was easier to focus on the tasks at hand rather than the unspoken emotions that swirled between them. But even in those moments of distraction, Kiran couldn't help but notice how he held himself, always on edge, as if waiting for the inevitable moment when she'd leave him behind. It pained her to see it the guilt that consumed him, the weight of his past mistakes that he couldn't seem to let go.