Karan got up from a deep slumber and checked the clock beside his bed. It showed 6:15 AM.
"I am late. Need to rush to the park," he said to himself. Lately, he loved going to the park every day, but the reason was something else. He loved sitting on a bench by the tree and waiting for the girl, who he knew would join him eventually. He would talk with her for hours about the things going on their lives. He felt complete when he was with her. She wasn’t that pretty, but in just 2 months, Karan considered her to be the ultimate companion because of the way she made him feel.
She called herself Muskaan.
He checked his watch again. She was late today. After waiting for a few more minutes, he decided to stroll around the bench, hoping she’d come soon. And suddenly, there was a fervent Hi.
"Hi! Karan. I’m sorry I got late today. I was doing something really important and got late."
"It’s okay. I was just about to leave, though. I thought you won’t be coming," he said.
She chuckled. Karan couldn’t help but notice the way her smile added more beauty to her average facial features.
"You might want to stay because it’s cloudy and it might rain. Surely, you wouldn’t like to spend your evening in your house, would you?" she reasoned.
"Ah! You’re so sure of yourself like always, Muskaan. If you say, I’d stay here and chat. So, tell me how was your day? What work caught your attention that you ended up being late?"
"I could tell you, but you’d be scared out of your wits if I shared the whole story."
"What? No! Please tell me."
"Okay, I think I can let the cat out of the bag now since I trust you. But, mind you, you’ll be scared. You have to promise me you won’t tell anyone."
With hesitated breaths, Muskaan continued.
"I was missing my mom today. This cloudy weather reminds me of the time when I used to stay with my mother and father. My father used to beat my mother almost daily for no fault of hers. She used to lie unconscious on the floor for hours, as a result of that. And then, one day, she died. She was bleeding profusely."
With tears in her eyes, she continued, "Karan, I was devastated. I also made a forlorn attempt to escape, but my father stopped me. After my mother was gone, the whole responsibility fell on my shoulders. I used to take care of my dad, make food for him but inside me, I was always seething in anger because of his brutal deed. I wanted to kill him in the most painful way possible. I couldn’t do that, but nevertheless, I wanted him dead. So, one day, I mixed poison in his food. I still remember the looks in his eyes when he choked on his food and when his dying eyes caught mine. I was satisfied. I left that home and took a picture of my mom."
Karan couldn’t believe his ears. He couldn’t get over the fact that a frail girl like her could pull off something as big as this. He always thought that with that beautiful smile, she looked innocuous and couldn’t even harm a fly. And now, he shuddered to even make an eye contact with her because he feared that she might kill him too if he disagreed with her.
Muskaan felt relieved. She had let out the biggest secret of her life. No one knew about the real story behind her dying father; not even her family members, neighbors or the police. And during investigations, nobody doubted her even slightly because she was an orphan and looking at her sweet face, the culprit needle was never pointed at her. And she used this feature of hers to the best of her ability.
She looked at Karan. He was sweating. She could see a radiant drop of the sweat about to dribble from the edge of his nose.
"Hey! Are you scared?" she asked while shifting towards him on the bench and trying to pull him closer.
"Nooooooooooo! Stay away from me Muskaan. Just stay away. How could you kill your own father? And, you WATCHED him when he was dying? How on earth could I trust you?" he said while pulling himself away from her.
"So, you’re judging me?"
"No! But what you did was wrong. I always thought you were…"
"I was? What was I?" she shouted. A shout that made many people in the park look towards them.
"I am not leaving. I have trusted you with my dark secret. If you want, you can kill me."
She reached towards her bag and took out a blade. Handing over the blade to him, she said, "Slit my throat, Karan. I didn’t murder my father. That was pure vengeance."
"I–I–I cann-cannot kill you, of course!," he stuttered. There were so many emotions running inside his body. "I am shocked and I don’t know how to react."
Their argument had attracted a lot of onlookers now. And, one of them was the security guard. The guard let out a happy sigh after seeing Karan and Muskaan. He knew both of them since 4 years when they had been admitted to the Dissociative Identity Disorder facility. Both of them had been diagnosed with this disorder (in which, a patient forgets who he is and takes a form of some other distinct personality) and were left here by their family members. He loved to see their ‘switched’ personalities and the consequent drama that unfolded. One time he had seen them being an elderly couple, sometimes doctor and a patient or sometimes, just a teacher and a student.
He looked at Karan and Muskaan again. They were finally sitting next to each other on their favorite bench and fighting. The guard stood up to go home, hoping to see them again tomorrow, but in a different avatar.
He knew they were suffering from the most dangerous disorder, but he was happy because they always found each other.
Because, he believed, however, insurmountable obstacles the universe threw at them, they’d always find only each other.
And they always did.
Source: StoryPick
"I am late. Need to rush to the park," he said to himself. Lately, he loved going to the park every day, but the reason was something else. He loved sitting on a bench by the tree and waiting for the girl, who he knew would join him eventually. He would talk with her for hours about the things going on their lives. He felt complete when he was with her. She wasn’t that pretty, but in just 2 months, Karan considered her to be the ultimate companion because of the way she made him feel.
She called herself Muskaan.
He checked his watch again. She was late today. After waiting for a few more minutes, he decided to stroll around the bench, hoping she’d come soon. And suddenly, there was a fervent Hi.
"Hi! Karan. I’m sorry I got late today. I was doing something really important and got late."
"It’s okay. I was just about to leave, though. I thought you won’t be coming," he said.
She chuckled. Karan couldn’t help but notice the way her smile added more beauty to her average facial features.
"You might want to stay because it’s cloudy and it might rain. Surely, you wouldn’t like to spend your evening in your house, would you?" she reasoned.
"Ah! You’re so sure of yourself like always, Muskaan. If you say, I’d stay here and chat. So, tell me how was your day? What work caught your attention that you ended up being late?"
"I could tell you, but you’d be scared out of your wits if I shared the whole story."
"What? No! Please tell me."
"Okay, I think I can let the cat out of the bag now since I trust you. But, mind you, you’ll be scared. You have to promise me you won’t tell anyone."
After repeated I-won’t-tell-anyone promises, Muskaan agreed. Karan couldn’t wait to hear the story now because he felt that talking to her was like an endless archaeological digs; just when he realized he had reached a gold mine, she was ready for an altogether different mine, this time stuffed with diamonds.
With hesitated breaths, Muskaan continued.
"I was missing my mom today. This cloudy weather reminds me of the time when I used to stay with my mother and father. My father used to beat my mother almost daily for no fault of hers. She used to lie unconscious on the floor for hours, as a result of that. And then, one day, she died. She was bleeding profusely."
With tears in her eyes, she continued, "Karan, I was devastated. I also made a forlorn attempt to escape, but my father stopped me. After my mother was gone, the whole responsibility fell on my shoulders. I used to take care of my dad, make food for him but inside me, I was always seething in anger because of his brutal deed. I wanted to kill him in the most painful way possible. I couldn’t do that, but nevertheless, I wanted him dead. So, one day, I mixed poison in his food. I still remember the looks in his eyes when he choked on his food and when his dying eyes caught mine. I was satisfied. I left that home and took a picture of my mom."
"Will you judge me for what I did, Karan?" she inquired.
Karan couldn’t believe his ears. He couldn’t get over the fact that a frail girl like her could pull off something as big as this. He always thought that with that beautiful smile, she looked innocuous and couldn’t even harm a fly. And now, he shuddered to even make an eye contact with her because he feared that she might kill him too if he disagreed with her.
Muskaan felt relieved. She had let out the biggest secret of her life. No one knew about the real story behind her dying father; not even her family members, neighbors or the police. And during investigations, nobody doubted her even slightly because she was an orphan and looking at her sweet face, the culprit needle was never pointed at her. And she used this feature of hers to the best of her ability.
She looked at Karan. He was sweating. She could see a radiant drop of the sweat about to dribble from the edge of his nose.
"Hey! Are you scared?" she asked while shifting towards him on the bench and trying to pull him closer.
"Nooooooooooo! Stay away from me Muskaan. Just stay away. How could you kill your own father? And, you WATCHED him when he was dying? How on earth could I trust you?" he said while pulling himself away from her.
"So, you’re judging me?"
"No! But what you did was wrong. I always thought you were…"
"I was? What was I?" she shouted. A shout that made many people in the park look towards them.
Karan held her hand and dragged her in a corner and said in hushed tones, "Trustworthy. I thought you were trustworthy who could be with me always. I thought I could bank on you. And now that I know you’re capable of killing your own father, I’m scared of you. Just leave me and go from here."
"I am not leaving. I have trusted you with my dark secret. If you want, you can kill me."
She reached towards her bag and took out a blade. Handing over the blade to him, she said, "Slit my throat, Karan. I didn’t murder my father. That was pure vengeance."
"I–I–I cann-cannot kill you, of course!," he stuttered. There were so many emotions running inside his body. "I am shocked and I don’t know how to react."
Their argument had attracted a lot of onlookers now. And, one of them was the security guard. The guard let out a happy sigh after seeing Karan and Muskaan. He knew both of them since 4 years when they had been admitted to the Dissociative Identity Disorder facility. Both of them had been diagnosed with this disorder (in which, a patient forgets who he is and takes a form of some other distinct personality) and were left here by their family members. He loved to see their ‘switched’ personalities and the consequent drama that unfolded. One time he had seen them being an elderly couple, sometimes doctor and a patient or sometimes, just a teacher and a student.
It bothered him that they didn’t remember what they were the previous day. But what made him happy was the fact that they always chose to be with each other among all the other inmates. He wondered about the marvels of nature and he was sure they were one of them.
He looked at Karan and Muskaan again. They were finally sitting next to each other on their favorite bench and fighting. The guard stood up to go home, hoping to see them again tomorrow, but in a different avatar.
He knew they were suffering from the most dangerous disorder, but he was happy because they always found each other.
Because, he believed, however, insurmountable obstacles the universe threw at them, they’d always find only each other.
And they always did.
Source: StoryPick
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