47 Near Death Experience

Sofya stared at him. These things were not to be joked around, especially something as pure as marriage. However, judging by his serious face, she highly doubted he was joking. A feeling of panic instilled in her. She was not ready to get married, not yet.

" Stop the car! " she asked, her voice shaking.

" No. "

" Stop it! "

" No. "

Daringly, she put her hand on the accelerator and turned around the steering wheel hard. Arnav was completely taken aback. Trying to control the pace and direction of the car, he slammed the brakes hard. But it was of no use. The car sidetracked, away from the road and stopped just short of tree, preventing any accident. But not before two airbags had popped out, pushing both Sofya and Arnav back into the seat.

There was a lot of yelling and cursing from the cars behind them, which some of them had to sewer in order to avoid any further collision.

" Watch where you are going, young man! " an old lady bellowed as she jumped aside on the footpath to avoid the car.

The bonnet of the car was damaged and smoke & sparks was flying out of it. Arnav's head was throbbing as he tried to adjust his eyes to the surroundings. Everything seemed blur. Coming back to his senses, he realized they had just avoided a horrible accident. Looking sideways, he saw Sofya still not moving.

Panicking, he grabbed the water bottle in the backseat and sprinkled some on her face. Her eyes fluttered as she sat leaned back in the seat, breathing heavily.

" Are you all right? " Arnav asked concerned, his face scrunched up with worry. She definitely did not look all right.

Sofya nodded, her eyes wet. This near death experience just now had reminded her of her parent's car accident. She couldn't imagine how painful and agonizing it must have been for them.

Trying to control her tears from spilling, she stepped outside, opening the damaged car door.

It was almost twilight. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the fleeting colours of dusk began to fade away. The last remaining rays circled the large standing buildings, shimmering confidently before dark fell upon them.

Arnav followed Sofya, as he got out of the car slowly. Sofya stood on the bridge, a few yards away, watching the sunset. Not understanding what was going on, he walked towards her and lightly tapped her on the shoulder.

" Hey. "

Surprisingly, Sofya turned around and threw her arms around him. And... hugged him. He could hear her sobbing as tears ran down her face without stopping, soaking his expensive shirt in the process.

Arnav stood there at a loss. He didn't had a clue as to what he was supposed to do. He had never tried comforting a woman, let alone making them stop crying. Still, it was painful to see her like this. All he could do was embrace her and let torrent of her tears flow freely. He could feel her clench her fists, not knowing whether to be mad or give up hope altogether. He ran his fingers through her hair, time and time again, in order to calm her silent mind, though he was not aware of the reason.