PART 4
WHEN THE UNIVERSE POURED DOWN
Sunday passed slowly.
The hours dragged by, each minute heavier than the last.
Tomorrow was Monday.
The final hearing.
The day that could decide the future of their marriage.
Even though both of them wanted to talk, neither of them could forget the wounds of the past.
Nila lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
One thought kept returning to her.
Arjun never understood responsibility.
Love alone could not sustain a marriage.
Marriage demanded responsibility, compromise, and partnership.
Before marriage, she had ignored many things, believing they would change with time. But after marriage, when life demanded more from both of them, she felt alone carrying the weight.
They had planned to have children after two years.
But if Arjun could not handle the responsibilities they already had, how would they raise a child together?
Nila had repeatedly tried to make him understand.
Sometimes gently.
Sometimes angrily.
But nothing had changed.
That thought stopped her every time she considered speaking to him again.
So she remained silent.
---
That evening, Nila stepped out of her room with a headache.
She walked into the kitchen, intending to make coffee.
But when she opened the refrigerator, she realized there was no milk.
No groceries.
For months, they had stopped caring about the house.
Most days, they ate outside or ordered food.
The kitchen that had once been the heart of their home now stood empty.
Dark.
Silent.
Nila drank a glass of water instead.
Before returning to her room, she stood near the gate.
The weather was beautiful.
Cool wind brushed against her face.
Dark clouds gathered overhead.
She loved this weather.
And suddenly, a memory surfaced.
A similar evening.
She and Arjun had once walked hand in hand through the streets.
She had demanded pani puri.
He had pretended to refuse.
She had stubbornly insisted.
Eventually, they had shared a plate together, laughing and teasing each other.
They had walked for hours afterward, talking about everything and nothing.
The scent of rain had filled the air.
But whenever Arjun was beside her, she never noticed anything else.
Not the people.
Not the traffic.
Not even the rain.
His presence had once been enough to make her forget the entire world.
The memory made her heart ache.
She quietly returned to her room.
Outside, the rain began.
Heavy.
Relentless.
---
By seven in the evening, rain poured mercilessly.
Suddenly, a faint sound reached both their ears.
A puppy crying.
At first, neither paid much attention.
Perhaps it was searching for its mother.
But the cries grew louder.
More desperate.
The sound pierced through the rain.
Unable to ignore it any longer, both opened their bedroom doors at the exact same moment.
They stopped.
Both had come out for the same reason.
For a brief second, they hesitated.
Perhaps the other person would go.
Neither moved.
The puppy cried again.
Together, they walked toward the gate.
Arjun stood on one side.
Nila stood on the other.
Outside, in the middle of the rain-soaked road, stood a tiny puppy, shivering and crying helplessly.
Their eyes met.
Without exchanging a single word, both opened the gate.
The puppy immediately ran inside.
It curled up near the parking area, trembling.
Perhaps the universe had sent something fragile into their home.
Something that needed love.
Something that needed both of them.
Nila quickly brought a towel.
Arjun brought a bowl of warm water.
They had no milk.
So Arjun crushed some biscuits into small pieces and placed them before the puppy.
The little creature eagerly ate.
Nila gently dried its wet fur, softly pampering it.
Arjun sat nearby, watching.
Soon, he forgot about the puppy.
His eyes remained fixed on Nila.
"If love had a face, Arjun knew it would look exactly like Nila sitting under the rainlight, unaware that she was still the reason his heart continued to beat."
He could not hate her.
He had tried.
He had failed.
Every memory returned.
Every smile.
Every promise.
Every moment.
Every raindrop outside seemed to carry her face.
Every sound reminded him of her voice.
After arranging a small blanket in the corridor for the puppy, Nila returned to her room.
Arjun stayed behind.
He gently lifted the puppy into his arms.
The tiny creature rested peacefully against his chest.
For a moment, Arjun closed his eyes.
The warmth reminded him of Nila.
The comfort reminded him of Nila.
Everything reminded him of Nila.
---
A few minutes later, Nila quietly stepped out to check on the puppy.
She expected Arjun to have gone back to his room.
Instead, she froze.
Arjun sat in the corridor, holding the puppy like a child.
The puppy slept peacefully against his chest.
Arjun's eyes were closed.
He looked peaceful.
Gentle.
Safe.
Nila simply stood there.
Watching him.
"The safest place she had ever known had always been his arms, and now they felt farther away than the sky itself."
Memories flooded her mind.
The countless times she had cried on his shoulder.
The way he had comforted her during difficult days.
The way he had encouraged her when she had failed.
The way he had believed in her when she had stopped believing in herself.
Perhaps she should give him one final chance.
The thought frightened her.
What if nothing changed?
What if everything changed?
Confusion filled her heart.
Meanwhile, Arjun slowly opened his eyes.
Nila quickly looked away, pretending she had just arrived.
Outside, the rain continued.
Inside, neither spoke.
Yet something had changed.
Very slightly.
Very quietly.
Something had softened.
---
By nine-thirty, the electricity and mobile network had both failed.
The rain still poured.
Nila couldn't order food.
Nor could she go outside.
She simply remained in her room.
Hungry.
Arjun noticed.
Without saying anything, he picked up an umbrella and walked to a nearby hotel.
When he returned, he carried food.
His favorite dishes.
And Nila's favorite dishes.
He also bought milk for the puppy.
After feeding the little one and arranging a small shelter for it, he quietly placed the food outside Nila's room.
Then he returned to his room.
A little later, Nila stepped outside.
She noticed the food immediately.
She knew.
Arjun had bought it.
Even in the middle of everything.
Even after the court.
Even after deciding to separate.
He had still thought about her.
Tears filled her eyes.
Silently, she took the food and returned to her room.
She ate peacefully.
Every bite carried memories.
Memories of feeding each other.
Laughing together.
Living together.
Across the hallway, Arjun carefully opened his door.
He saw the empty food container.
A small smile appeared on his face.
He knew she had eaten.
Neither thanked the other.
Neither asked whether the food tasted good.
Yet both understood.
Love had not disappeared.
It had merely become silent.
Before sleeping, Nila placed the empty container in the dustbin outside.
Not inside her room.
Outside.
Where Arjun could see it.
A small gesture.
A silent acknowledgment.
"I ate the food."
Arjun saw it later.
And understood.
That night, for the first time in many months, both slept with a small sense of peace in their hearts.
---
Morning arrived.
Sunlight slowly entered the house.
Fresh flowers bloomed in the garden.
The puppy happily ran around the corridor.
The little puppy knew nothing about endings.
It did not know that this house, which had sheltered it from the rain, was standing on the edge of a goodbye.
It did not know that by the end of the day, only one pair of footsteps might remain in these corridors.
The roses blooming in the garden did not know either.
For months, they had been watered by two hearts.
From tomorrow, perhaps, they would wait for only one.
The dining table did not know.
The empty chairs did not know.
The walls that had witnessed their laughter did not know.
Even the rain that had brought the puppy into their lives did not know.
The entire house slept peacefully, unaware that dawn was not bringing another ordinary day.
It was bringing a decision.
A decision that could turn a home into nothing more than a house.
And somewhere, hidden within those silent walls, love waited anxiously—
wondering whether it would survive one last sunrise.
That by the end of the day, one person might leave forever.
And the other might remain behind.
Alone.
"For the first time, the house feared the morning"
