Somewhere not far off, in her half-conscious state, she heard the familiar clink of keys and she woke up with a start. She looked frantically around her, and there he stood... At her door. Was she dreaming? Was he there for real? It was like she saw a ghost... But all her questions were answered when his mouth curved into that boyish grin she adored.
She leaped into his arms, and in that one moment, her world was complete again. She was complete again.
24 hours earlier...
He paced about nervously in the stark white room. It had been 4 months since he got himself admitted... It had taken 4 long months to turn his life around, but through that excruciatingly painful process, his life had been at a standstill.
Life at a rehabilitation centre wasn't easy. The tough schedules, the orderly discipline, the endless hours of counselling...Varun felt that his life was now controlled by the bull dog faced, fat and bald administrator, and he had all the power to control him like a puppet. But this wasn't the major cause of his discomfort. What pained him more, was his longing to see the love of his life smile again. His counsellor seemed to attribute his longing, to the withdrawal effect that a drug like crystal meth would tend to have; but he wasn't quite sure.
He spent his free time pacing up and down his room, wondering if she was okay... Wondering if she had eaten properly... Wondering if she could sleep without hearing his voice. He suddenly stopped dead in his tracks as his mind Wondered if she was still waiting for him.
Painfully he thought of that time when she had walked in on him as he succumbed to his fatal addiction. He could see her eyes so clearly even now... Wide with shock. She stood still for a few seconds... Minutes... Hours... He didn't know. It was almost like she had caught him sleeping with someone else. Her pain was evident. He expected her to be angry. He expected her to run away. But she didn't. She walked up to him, her eyes vacant and teary. Finally, she sighed, and said, "Love itself is a drug. Life is too short to be addicted to two drugs. Choose yours wisely." He saw her trust break in front of him. And that broke him.
He ran his hand through his hair in frustration... Now wasn't the time to reminiscize about the pain he had caused her. He had to concentrate on the future, their future. He closed his eyes and imagined himself riding his beloved bike again, with her hands wrapped tightly around him. He almost smiled at the thought of reliving all those memories again.
All through these months he had lived in the fear of his love going away from him, and this fear had made him work harder on improving himself. Her memories had helped him tremendously, and somewhere deep down he knew that she would love him in spite of his weak shriveled up body. She would make him feel alive again.
Yes, she had always been there for him, borne his aggression and his anger. She had accepted him for who he was, and never complained. It pained him to watch her get hurt, and it pained him even more to be the one who hurt her.
They say that substance abuse is the only crime in which the criminal and the victim is the same person. But this wasn't true. He had put the woman he loved through the worst of hells, and he had helplessly watched her crumble before him. The memory of her vacant eyes was enough, to stop him from even thinking about meth ever again. He had found his addiction, and it was only and only to watch her smile.
A few hours later, he stepped out onto the wet earth... The storm had passed, it was only bright sunshine again. He smiled as he looked back at the main building, and he silently swore to himself that he would never do anything that would bring him back to the hell hole again.
