The day was fine. In fact, it was probably the best weather of the month.

Ajit, however, was distraught. He had been sitting at the park bench for sometime, looking at people walking past him happily.

There was no happiness in his heart. His wife was admitted in the nearby hospital, and he had just received confirmation that she was on her deathbed.

He had no one to share the grief with. They had no children. His siblings had passed away. His wife had a sister but they hadn’t spoken in a long time.

Ajit kept thinking about who else he could speak with. They had some friends but they were away due to the ongoing festival and he didn’t want to reach out to them and spoil their mood. They could always meet Malti once they returned.

His mind went back to his sister-in-law, Jahnvi. She was younger than Malti by a couple of years and lived in another city in the north.

The sisters had been quite close and the first few years had been a blast. They often planned vacations together and always made it a point to spend the new year with their parents. Ajit had always accompanied Malti on those trips.

However, a few years after their parents had passed away, the two sisters had an ugly fight. It was during their usual new year trip, which in that particular instance had turned sour.

The two sisters exchanged heated arguments with no holds barred. Malti was so distraught that she had compelled Ajit to leave immediately.

Ajit always thought that somehow they will make up. But neither approached the other. He had asked Malti to forgive and forget but the words she had heard that day had inserted themselves deeply within her heart. And she was not ready to forgive.

She had also said a lot of things that Jahnvi must have gotten hurt. And she also couldn’t forget. So, without any communication or forgiveness, the two families had grown apart…

Ajit, sitting at that bench that day, wanted to reach out to Jahnvi. He knew it could help heal a deep wound inflicted on both.

After much thought, he dialled her number. Someone else answered. She had changed her phone number. He tried his brother-in-law. Same result.

He wasn’t connected with them on any other platform. Nor to anyone else who could have helped.

All ties had been severed. The ship had sailed! The scar remained…