CHAPTER 55

CHAPTER 55 : The fading distance

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A cab was booked . Half family stuffed themselves in a car while Safia and Ismail simply took an auto towards the route . Safia's father had taken on the responsibility to pay with the little savings he had made .

After half an hour , they reached the place . Outside vendors stood with the food carts in their hands or colourful glasses and toys to attract little kids . They reached the fair , only to be welcomed with bright lights and huge rides which were visible from the outside too . It was truly beautiful.

The vibrant atmosphere managed to calm down Safia too , as she walked towards the stalls with her family behind . People stared and gave them a few looks , especially to Safia . Ismail felt weird as a sense of protectiveness rushed inside him and he quickly went near Safia and stood beside her , protecting her from the evil eyes of the people filled with lust .

Or so he thought.

They had accidentally entered the arena for chaos and disorder . This was a setup with only a few normal people to be in the fair while the others were Fawad's men who were here to kill Khalid's right hand man . Rashid .

Eyes of special shooters were on Khalid . It was supposed to appear like a public shooting or theft in which Rashid was killed so that they can escape the blame and shift the focus on Khalid , while the news of his scams and money laundering spread across the media .

The men had recognised Safia as the ex wife of their boss. Nobody had expected that she would appear on the scene and it just meant that everyone would have to be more careful now .

Injuring a few commoners was fine , afterall in the game of chess , a piece can't move forward without sacrificing the pawn . But sacrificing the queen ? It was out of syllabus. Fawad would skin them all alive and they were aware of that .

Fawad was in the security chamber of the fair . Words of Eliza were repeating inside his head ,

"You should get an operation get done as soon as possible"

"Possibilities of memory loss is high in your case , but I will try to prevent it"

"It could be possible that you forget all about your wife Safia, but don't worry you can always make a new memory"

He couldn't decide what he wanted to do , the headaches were bad than ever and his vision had been getting worse with each passing second . His body was slowly giving up on him, but he wasn't ready to even take the chance of giving up on Safia's memory .

"Fawad , are you fine?" Augustus put a hand on his shoulder as he witnessed his friend clenched the side of his head.

"Yes ,just pass me the tablets" Fawad insisted, and Augustus with disappointed eyes passed him the tablet . They all had been convincing him, but their words fell deaf to his ears.

After gulping the tablets , the pain reduced .

"You do know right, it's to suppress your condition, not cure?" Augustus asked with worry.

"Yes , and that's fine" Fawad got up from the chair where he was resting, "Where is Rudhra?" He inquired , shifting the topic smoothly.

"He is at his place ready with his sniper . One shot and Rashid will be done for once and for all" Augustus positively said . The plan was fully safe with the security of each member of their group ensured and there was no way it could be messed up .

'There is no way it will be messed up' Rudhra whispered to himself as he was leaning down in his position. His eyes were looking through the lens of the gun.

"Why don't you let anyone else do this?" Kalyani asked coming from the side taking a bite into the ice cream cone.

"I have been messing up things by myself , so I thought to mend them with my own hands too" Rudhra said , his eyes still fixed on the place they were . His tone was dry and his palms cold . The fear of losing this chance was very low , but never zero and it scared him . It was ironical how he was never scared when he was doing the wrong work , but now he was.

Kalyani stared at Rudhra with worry . He had been dedicating all his time in the plan of taking down Khalid , unlike others he never rested for even an hour . His sleep schedule was a mess, she knew it and even after trying she wasn't able to talk with him.

While he was in hospital, he used to find reasons to talk with her, but after the time she said she had gone on a date, he had completely changed himself . It scared him, that perhaps just when he was about to be his own self back, she lost him again. But it was never easy to forgive the wounds of past . They left scars , which were engraved on heart forever .

She silently stared at him for a few seconds waiting for him to start another conversation, but he never did . It wasn't like Rashid had arrived. They had a little spare time . But when no reply came , Kalyani simply walked away .

"What is it?" Niya who was standing mid-way put a hand on Kalyani's shoulder stopping her.

"What?" Kalyani was clueless on being interrupted suddenly.

"The frown on your face, you look like you are deeply thinking about something or are worrying about" seeing the silent reaction, Niya thought to continue "Is it perhaps Rudhra?"

Her words made Kalyani turn her head up and stare at Niya . Her eyes flickering with emotions .

"I-I wanted to punish him by pushing him away , but now that he is actually away , it's hurting me" she whispered . She felt broken . Her heart was perhaps never healed to begin with .

"He..He is so stubborn. Once he decides something—He never backs down . That's what happened to him on the path of evil . I felt like if I will teach him a lesson ,he will turn his side and turn good" Kalyani said as tears whelmed up in her eyes.

"But isn't he good?" Niya knew the solution to their problem . It was rather simple than it actually looked ,  but to solve it the two should realise it first.

"He indeed turned nice—he's regaining his past hobbies.  Feeding dogs again , reading books to be polite—and have left the side of Khalid too"Kalyani answered.

"It doesn't sound like a problem to me." Niya shrugged.

"Because it isn't. The problem is difficult you won't understand it" Kalyani turned her head finding this conversation fruitless.

"I will, or is it because you yourself don't want to accept that you want him back in your life?" Niya finally said those words Kalyani had been trying to conceal for the past months.

"I don't know"Kalyani whispered.

"You know.  You are just denying it , but again it's your wish " Niya shrugged. You can't guide a blind who refuses to walk .

"Wait.. even if it is , then there isn't something I can truly do about it" despite it sounding more like a statement accepting the cruel truth, it was more like a silent urge to tell her if there was another way possible.

"There is , just go and tell Rudhra that you love him . You did by all this time , and you just wanted him to change his way and now that he has done so , you want him to be part of your life" Niya told her, "It's not easy. Saying such things is never easy" Kalyani whispered weakly . The feeling of despair was taking over her , even with the cheerful sound of music in the background.

"Well , you said hurtful things so easily,  then why can't you say the good ones?" Niya asked staring at Kalyani seeing her silence Niya sighed, maybe it was time to tell her a little backstory to give Kalyani a lesson.

"You know before my brother was kidnapped , we had a little fight . I said few hurtful things to him,and I realised it was wrong too but despite that , I didn't apologized . The next day he went to school. I ignored him that day during the school hours too , but on the way he was kidnapped and killed . I never got to say sorry , or that I didn't meant any of those words . I had 2 days , yet I wasted both . Life is similar to everyone . You are doing it in anger , yet you might feel regret because when you later want to say those the person might never be available"Niya told her.

Kalyani stared at Niya feeling sad for her , but Niya just pressed her lips tightly "Now don't give me that poor girl look or sympathy, just go and mend your bonding" Niya advised and Kalyani gave a little nod and ran towards the side where Rudhra was with a change of mind , and heart.

But she halted as her eyes fell on Safia ,who was caught up in a discussion with her own family .

"You should try shooting Safia. You liked the game in your childhood.I used to earn you the toys back at the village , but now that you have grown up,  get your own one!" Her father insisted . The prior energy of Safia of wanting a new life was dying down , but she tried to maintain a smile and gave a little nod while going towards the area .

Seeing the little hesitance which Safia's held despite the initial nod , her father nudged her towards the shooting gallery, a nostalgic glint in his eye. "Come on, beta! Show us your skills!"

Safia hesitated, but her father's enthusiasm was hard to resist. She picked up a gun, feeling a familiar weight in her hands. The target loomed ahead, its bright colors and cartoon characters a stark contrast to her gloomy mood.

She took aim, her eyes narrowing as she squeezed the trigger. The first shot missed by a mile, hitting the edge of the counter with a loud clang. The next few shots didn't fare much better, each one missing the target with embarrassing accuracy.

The crowd around her began to snicker and whisper, their amusement grating on her nerves. Safia's face burned with embarrassment, her frustration mounting with each failed attempt.

Just as she was about to give up, a gentle voice spoke behind her. "Lemme help you a little?"

To be continued ......

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So yes second update of today 😌 Thx for all the votes and comments in the previous chapter ❤️