His Battle Against The Shadows
Dheeraj looked at the city's traffic flow like a turbid symphony. His interlocked fingers formed a cushion around his neck. The capillaries in his head thrummed in accord with the buzzing fluorescent tubes. The clicking noise was hard to ignore. He turned and faced the other side, trying to conceal the portion of his face suffused with redness. The coffee mug landed on the table with a clink. His colleague-turned-friend Prathibha sat opposite him.
"I'm cutting down on the caffeine," he said, his gaze fixated on the screen.
She stood up and walked around his cubicle. A look of dismay floated in her scrunched-up eyes. She crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow.
"You still haven't told her." She spoke with a hint of coldness.
He took deep, quick breaths, his lungs still feeling empty. His chiseled jaws trembled as a spell of pain prodded him. He reached for the bottle and wiped the sweat lodged in his skin.
"You can't run forever, Dheeraj. You have to face the truth and its consequences." Her eyes resembled a dreary winter morning.
The redness in his cheeks turned a shade deeper and spread across his neck. He grimaced and covered his face.
"The skeleton would soon be out of the closet. It would wrap its arms around your neck and squeeze the life out of you. One breath at a time," she whispered, making his blood curdle.
Worms crawled in his stomach as he remembered the events from the previous evening. The concoction of fear, shame, and guilt made his stomach churn.
Wrapped in a duvet, he lay on the bed. The blue light pierced his eyes. His right hand crept out of the duvet, trying to reach for the water bottle. Suddenly, he felt a bright light blind him. The phone slipped and fell to the floor.
"For how long has this been going on?" His wife Kavitha's raspy voice gave him jitters.
She held his chin, tilted his face, and glared at him. Her fingers ran across his cheeks like they were marking their territory.
"You wanted to bury the truth. Didn't you?" Her words reflected betrayal.
"I was terrified," he said, pain punching him in the gut.
"I will set this right," he held her hand.
"How are you planning to do that?" she scoffed.
He lowered his eyes and winced.
"Tomorrow, we are putting an end to this," she ordered.
"Kavitha knows," he feigned calmness.
Prathibha looked at him questioningly.
"I was trying to find a solution on Google last night when she caught me red-handed." Despair grasped him.
Prathibha chortled.
"Stop laughing and help me. She will be here any moment," he watched the doorway.
"Get rid of that tooth. It will not kill you. A doctor's husband is afraid of needles." Her laughter reached a crescendo.
He ignored her and said, "Kavitha's here," before dashing out of the office.
"God save him," giggled Prathibha.