Anamika silently fawned over the sweet bond the old couple shared.
"You tell me, what is happening in school?" he asked off-topic,
"Ahh... nothing much just the preparations for the Republic Day have started from today. We are also thinking of practicing a dance routine for that day," she spoke, sitting cross-legged on her bed.
"Chuski is a little under the weather, I'm thinking of taking her to the vet with Shivangi di," she opened the ribbon that tied her braids and let her hair break free from the tight and neat plaits.
Eklavya's shrewd eyes crinkled slightly at the information, "Just tell your sister to drive carefully,"
Anamika pouted at the unneeded advice that came from him and said, "My sister drives carefully okay! It was just an accident and you need not hold it against her,"
"I certainly am not holding it against her. It's just genuine concern coming from an extra cautious person who doesn't wish to see his girl with plaster and a very swollen head again," Eklavya mouthed smartly making Anamika scoff at his cheekiness.
They talked about little almost irrelevant things that happened during the day and she proved successful in eliciting a few small chuckles from his side too.
"Leave all that, you tell me how's it going over there?" in an attempt to change the topic, Anamika queried innocently,
"It's going on great. It feels like I'm on a picnic," Eklavya replied bitingly. The sudden shift in his tone stung her viciously as her eyes twitched for a very brief moment.
Ouch! It feels like someone is susceptible to getting nettled easily today. Better not talk about it then. Anamika thought to herself and decided to settle the score some other day.
She opened her mouth to say something when he beat her to it,
"I'm sorry..." he rasped making her go still,
His voice filled with remorse at the momentary failure to keep his turbulent emotions in check tugged at her aching heartstrings,
"I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just... it's just that I..."
Anamika's whole body grew tense when suddenly all she got from his side was treacherous silence. Her heart started thudding loudly grasping that something was extremely wrong with him.
"Eklavya," she called out his name softly, as he hummed back a few moments later,
The sound of soft sniffs reached her ears and she sat stupefied with inexplicable horror pounding her heart.
Hot tears rolled down Eklavya's smooth cheeks and dribbled down his chin. Looking up he tried blinking away the moisture but to no avail. 
Right now, all the things felt too much to him. He certainly was not weak nor was he a coward to run away in difficult times. But he certainly wasn't made of stone. Cruel things hurt him too. The cuts still bleed unceasingly. And more than anything salted wounds made him writhe in unfathomable agony.
He felt sapped of all his energy. It had been four long years and he felt tired of acting up as an adult when he was but an extremely young lad of only eighteen springs.
Searing tears stung Anamika's eyes. Her throat ached raw with choked cries. How she wished she could fly and reach him?! 
Keeping her tears at bay with a firm resolution, Anamika silently let him have his moment. More than her words he necessitated her silence.
She realized it had been so long since he felt so much emotionally spent. And it was much better for a person to cry than to bottle up their emotion and continue bleeding from the inside.