I just found a random writing prompt from a random page. I am trying to start writing as a hobby. It is a story about a divorcing couple and the immediate aftermath.
Word Count is approximately 2200.
Any guidance would be helpful. Thank you :)
——————————————————————————————
The Proof
Harshita didn't feel any regret signing those papers. She never wanted this marriage. She never found anything remotely interesting about this man. He was fine. Fine as in he had all qualities. He had an engineering job, a good upbringing and a good temperament. This marriage was as mundane as him. In the morning she'd prepare their daughter for school; get ready in a sari to teach science at the school in the neighborhood and then he would drop them to school. Evenings were spent apart doing nothing in particular. He'd return on time. Occasionally with snacks. No, there was nothing particularly notable about this union.
That was until the previous month. He was fired from his job for poor performance. Instead of looking for a new job, he decided to write a novel. Of course, the right decision when you have a child to take care of. Stability of the mundane life was the reason why she was still staying with him. Tanya needed money to live, not a dream. What kind of a crazy person forgets about his own child for a wretched novel?
Karthik picked up the pen to sign those papers. God deals in absolutes. He didn't know where he read it. He isn't even sure if it is some phrase or not but it did seem to make sense. He lost his parents 2 months ago, his job a month ago and today his family. He was finally alone. Truly alone. Alone and free to do anything he wants. Yet everything felt empty. The house was as empty as the sky; the words on the paper didn't make any sense. The pen dragged heavily across the paper as his weak fingers strained to move it. He had signed. He stared at the page and all he could think was that the signature didn't look like it was his.
Losing his job was the best thing and worst thing that had happened to him. It allowed him to finally do what he always wanted to. It pushed Harshita to break out of her shell she imposed on herself by quitting her job at ISRO all to be the dutiful wife he never asked for. He was inadvertently the foil to her happiness.
Nothing about this family remained normal. But now at least his wife is happy. Perhaps it was for the best. He wasn't the right person for her. He should have said something; he should have taken some action— Anything instead of watching silently. But nothing, absolutely nothing, not even the death of his parents, compared to the pain of being torn away from Tanya.
He shut the file. He couldn't bear to look at those godforsakened papers for one more second. Karthik's lips quivered as he smiled at Harshita; however her smile was confident and complete. They stared at each other, their mouths open wordlessly.
“Good luck", she said and stood up. She hung the bag on her shoulder and turned around to leave.
He was dazed. He didn't reply although he suddenly leaned forward to hold her wrist. She yanked her wrist back with a blank face. “Uh… is Tanya okay?”, Karthik stuttered.
“Of course she is. Why wouldn't she be okay?” Her brows furrowed with an accent of judgment.
“Yes… of course.”, he breathed.
“I almost forgot. Here are the duplicate house keys.” She shuffled through the bag looking for them.
“You can keep them”, he insisted. She simply said no. She put it in his hand.
She left the courtroom first. Karthik quietly trailed behind Harshita until he stopped near the fence and closed his eyes. He couldn't watch it. Tanya was sobbing and yelling in the car. It pained him to see her held like some animal. She was thrashing her limbs like anything. They could have at least let her out holding their hand or something; there was no need to restrain her like she needed some strait-jacket.
She was her sharp girl after all. She always understood what happened. Harshita's parents let Tanya go when they saw her approaching. But she didn't stop where her mother was. She was there when the custody was declared. She knew she had a lifetime with her mother but her time with him was over. Harshita looked at her with a reprimanding glare.
“Papa! Don't go!" She shouted repeatedly. She screamed. She grabbed his jeans and started pulling him with her full body weight by hanging on them.
“Please… please don't do this my dear”, he could no longer stop those sharp tears from falling, “Go back to mumma.” he looked at the pavement. He tried to remove her hands from his jeans. But then she started hanging on her hands instead.
She continued shouting at him to not leave. He said, “I have been a bad person, Tanya. Do you want to stay with a bad person?” he wiped his nose on his shirt
"I will live with you even when you are bad, papa, I promise! I will convince ma that you're not bad. It doesn't matter to me.” She kept wrenching her hands uselessly.
“I am bad. It is true. Don't talk to bad people." He mumbled.
“I said I don't care!", she shouted. Karthik looked at his daughter one last time.
"Go have some water. We will meet again someday, alright?” He tried to smile.
"How long?” she finally stopped pulling him. She stood on her own feet. Now she was the one looking at the pavement. She was so mature, too mature for her age. He took one of his hands and pushed the hair sticking in her wet cheeks away.
"After I become a good boy. I promise.”
"Okay." She tugged out the handkerchief in his pocket he always kept. She wiped her nose and her face on it. If it were a normal day. He would have probably washed her face, given her strawberry ice cream… But it wasn't a normal day.
—
He couldn't bear to return to his house. Karthik spent the day just wandering in the outskirts of the city, where he had his second plot. It was mostly weeds and wilderness growing with cows munching and some other birds squawking and chirping. Before long the sun had set and he had to return… somewhere. The house ceased to be a home two weeks prior when his wife— no ex-wife left with Tanya. But that day it felt extra empty. It wasn't as could get his family to return in those two weeks. But at least then the family still existed. Maybe it was the naive hope in him. That maybe by a twist of fate she would come running to him and he would beg for forgiveness and she would accept him and his passion… yeah… that plan kind of failed and he should have thought of some plan B.
After some contemplation he booked a room at Radisson. It was on the bypass right outside the colony. Normally he wouldn't do something so out of the world that it only belongs to a Netflix series. But there he was opening the door to his hotel room trying to hide his face. No one was looking at him. The corridor was empty. It was merely a performance for himself to save his ego. What was he even thinking? Now that he had paid for it he had no choice but to use it. No need to waste money although he could leave at 6 AM before anyone is awake.
A divorce was supposed to be an agreement. It was only logical to accept the compromise. Fair to both parties. Yet he feels like he lost everything and she got everything. That was not the right way to think, he knew it. But he wasn't in the mood to decide what's right and wrong.
He crashed into the bed and kicked off his shoes. That fucking DNA test. It did not make sense. He had done everything for her. All he earned was for her, all the love he had was for her, he was breathing for her, he was waking for her, God he would kill himself if that would mean she lives another day. By all means, he was her daughter. Why is it that she doesn't have his blood? Why?
He was nothing more than a nobody to Tanya.
—
The first day at his house, after the divorce felt empty. He had always insisted that he should help Harshita in doing the house chores. She would deny him and force him not to do any chores and he would complain that there would be many women who would die to have a husband who helps. Now only he could do the house chores. God did listen to him. He picked up the bed broom kept underneath the sofa. He brought fresh pillow covers from the almirah in Tanya's room to their bedroom. Straightened the bedsheet. Broomed it. There were still 4 pillows. His, Harshita's, Tanya's and her side pillow. She couldn't sleep without her side pillow. He wondered how she was sleeping without it in Bangalore. They flew to Bangalore yesterday, when he was sleeping at the hotel. No, no, him going to the hotel was an embarrassment. He would kindly, more like aggressively , like to wipe that off from his memory.
As soon as he removed the cover of Tanya's pillow, her blue clip fell. Tanya had a habit of forgetting to take out her clips before bed. She'd keep them in her pillow case. He picked it and kept it on the dressing table. It was now mostly empty. It had a few men's perfume and deodorants, hair oil, a face cream and baby powder. And the old pink comb with crumbling plastic because it was left out in the sun on the balcony for a month once.
—
Karthik was lying on the sofa, typing on his laptop. The TV was playing discovery science but he didn't care. It was late. It was past 12. He was about to fall fast asleep when a phone call startled him awake. He frantically picked it up. He didn't even think. What? Harshita called him? At this hour? Nevertheless, he said hello.
“Hello, papa.”
“Oh, it is you… You got me scared for a moment there.”
“Sorry. Ma is sleeping. I couldn't sleep so I called you.”
"Oh, I see. Why can't you sleep?" He sat up, scratching his head. He yawned loudly.
“The AC is too warm."
Harshita always preferred the AC warmer. He would turn it down and she would turn it up. I would again turn it down. She would then again turn it up. It went on like that all night. She would turn it up and he would crank it down. Tanya liked the AC cooler because he would always hog herself in a roll of two blankets.
“Oh. You should remove your blanket."
“I have already, Ma said that… What are you doing?"
"I was uh… watching TV? Falling asleep? And writing? I don't know. I found your blue clip this morning. You forgot it inside the cover.” He looked around.
“I will take it when I return", she said. She wouldn't get to return. How does he tell her… That's Harshita ’s job. He shouldn't care, he is not the father. The paternity test said so, so what's love got to do now, right?
"That's gonna take a long time”, he grumbled.
"Oh, right. You should go to sleep, papa." Haha, she is so grown up.
“You shouldn't call me this late. God knows what they might say. They might report me for being the bad uncle they show you in good touch and bad touch videos.”
“Papa, I know the DNA showed 0% but you are my real father. I consider you to be my only father. I don't even want to meet the other father!”
"Thank you. I think I know who he might be. You have likely met him… I shouldn't have said that. Don't tell your mother, okay?” He rubbed his forehead.
“That is even worse! He has met me and never even loved me? That sounds like Sanvi's father. Sanvi's father doesn't love Sanvi and Sanvi wants to kill him when she grows up. She says that he isn't even a real father. My other father is like that, which means he isn't a real father either”, she said and yawned. He laughed. Tanya paused and continued, “Papa, if ma isn't married to my other father, then how is it that I am his baby? You were married to her then I should be your child. The DNA test says I am not your child.”
"I don't know. Ask Ma tomorrow. She was the one pregnant, she knows.” He scowled. She replied affirmative.
"Thank you, Tanya. You made me sooo happy.” She got flustered and giggled. “Good Night. Sweet dreams.”
"Good night, sweet dreams.” She yawned and cut the call.
