He entered inside his house after paying off the money to the caterers who just left after the small funeral. The whole of Raizada mansion was drowned in darkness, the deepest pit of it, that it was hard for anyone to get out. The dark cloud has made its place over the house, leaving the other part of the sky very clear.

Shantivan, did stand to its name, but not with peace. Rather, silence. A gloomy one! A dark one! A scary one!

Every single member of the family was present, but there was no giggling or laughter heard. Instead, it was just silence! As if the time stopped ticking, the heart stopped beating and the earth stopped revolving! Everything came to a standstill.

No one knew whether they could fight the darkest cloud that surrounded them. None wanted to! They had lost their strength as if the reason for their life was sucked out from them. The liveliness of the house no more persisted. Some were shocked, some dejected, while some still tried to absorb the fact. The fact that a single accident took the life of the daughter-in-law of the house, leaving all of them stranded.

Shantivan and its members welcomed people with open arms and its daughters-in-law were cherished and loved equal to the daughters, infact more than that. A bond that was so strong to even weaken made it all the more difficult for them to comprehend what was happening around them.

His gaze shifted to his grand mother and his Di, who had settled themselves on the sofa lamenting over the loss. But what surprised him the most was Manorama who disliked the daughters-in-law of the house, was weeping uncontrollably in her husband's arms.

His eyes shifted to his brother who sat on the floor near the garlanded photo of his wife in a trance. Probably, he was trying to etch all the memories he had with her. Their moments! Theirs was a cute love story! But it had to end this way! Alas! It pained to witness his brother in such a vulnerable state. He knew him to be strong, but his slumped shoulders, tear strained face created a pang in his heart. This was not the brother he knew! But love had the power to reduce anyone to anything!

There was only one person who had not uttered a word since the accident. All she did was to shed tears and nothing! He tried to talk to her, get her out of her grief, but in vain. She did not even budge. He knew, losing a sibling was not easy, but he could not bear her tears too! He felt helpless, worthless and much more! But it was the game of destiny that played brutally in their lives. He knew, forgetting her would not be possible, but life does not stop here. They had to move on! And the only sane person who could get them out of this grief was him. It pained him to see his family drowning in sadness and agony, but all this has to pass!

He neared his wife who was sobbing clutching one of the pillars, and laid his arm over her shoulders. She just snuggled into his chest, weeping more and more, wetting his shirt. A tear rolled down his cheek too at the loss. Though he had minimal conversations with the one who died, she looked upto him as a brother. And he, as a brother, failed to protect her.

He knew, no one could be blamed, nor can anyone fill the void she created by leaving this world! Wish, she was alive!

His eyes automatically went to the photo kept in the centre of the room, his sister-in-law, who took away the joy of the household along with her! He was not complaining, he just wished she were here. She were here to tackle his brother, her sister and everyone. A silent but strong supporter of the family she was!

Arnav Singh Raizada looked at the garlanded photo and whispered, 'We miss you Payal'.

I dont know how it turned out to be! I wanted to write something and turned out to be something else! It has kind of become a habit now! Anyways, it is what it is!

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Love,
Shwetha