Disclaimer: This is a work of FICTION.
Not proof read and the entire chapter was typed using a mobile device. Please bear with typos.
Trying something new. So, please bear with me 🙏🏽
—————————————————————————
Habitation
She jerked from the annoying buzzing emanating from the underside of her pillow. She had half the heart to ignore it. Yet not wanting to disturb him, she pulled her phone out and silenced it. She really wanted to go back to sleep, it was a Saturday after all but she had a 5K to run in four weeks and couldn't afford going back to sleep. She cursed her friend, Abhi for signing her up to run for a charity. Why were all her friends insane?
She peeked at the time on the phone display through one eye even when she knew it would be five twenty.
She slowly sat upright on the bed cursing her friend one more time for good measure before tilting her head to look at his sleeping form, on the left side of their bed.
If she didn't tilt her head to the right or acted like she couldn't see to her right, she could mistake it for a normal day. Him at the far left corner of the bed, his back to her side. This was normal.
Sure, they had always cuddled during the honeymoon period of their marriage. It had slowly moved to cuddle for a while but sleep on separate sides for the next few years. They had gradually found comfort in their own space a few years later. And then the arrival of the kids had pushed them to the either corner of the bed. Both kids now had their own room, yet, their position at the opposite corner of the King-sized bed remained consistent. Him, the avid reader, always with the night light on his side of the bed turned on, focussed on his Kindle. Her, the avid Korean series consumer, watching the next big hit on her tablet. On odd nights, their youngest coming back to sleep in between them owing to a nightmare was also usual. And she had no issues with it. Nor did he. They both liked their quiet winding-down time after work, in their own space.
She had an urge to run her hand through his greying hair but sighing, she quietly got down from the bed and walked into the closet to get her running attire. She picked up her toothbrush from their attached bathroom along the way without turning on the bathroom lights.
Closing the door to their bedroom softly, she walked groggily towards her younger one's bedroom. She smiled at the little one sleeping with the mouth open and closed the door softly lest she disturb her kid.
She walked down the stairs and stopped for a second at the dining room, looking at what lay scattered on the floor. Quelling the urge to do the most natural thing, she walked past the "crime scene" into the smaller guest bedroom's bathroom.
She went about her chores on autopilot. Finally pulling the running bra over her torso, she looked at herself in the mirror. There were no remnants of tears on her cheeks. Had this occurred when she was a new bride, she would have definitely cried. Not now. Not today. Not that it was the norm, but she wondered if it was her age that led her to not take the events of the previous night to heart or did she not care about her relationship anymore? Is this what fourteen years of marriage did to all couples? Or was this just her?
Shaking her head she walked out the tiny guest bathroom to the kitchen. She really craved some Masala Chai in lieu of her usual coffee that morning and she quickly checked the fridge to make sure they had ginger at home for the chai and placed it on the kitchen counter. She wanted to make sure she had everything for the tea after her run.
