Chapter 6: Morning of Broken Dreams
The courtyard of Aarav's house, which just moments ago was filled with the colors and sweetness of an engagement, now felt like an abandoned cremation ground. The flower garlands hanging in the air had wilted, their petals scattered on the ground, like the last remnants of a lost happiness.
Aarav stood near the door, his eyes fixed on the empty space where Kiyan used to stand. His eyes were dry, but in them was a void that screamed louder than tears.
In the room, Arushi was curled up on her knees. Her shoulders were shaking, muffled sobs escaping her mouth. Karishma sat beside her, one hand rubbing her back, the other smoothing her disheveled hair. "Breathe, Didi… just breathe," Karishma's voice held a gentle, firm calm.
Bhaskar brought a glass of water. His steps were heavy, his face carrying a fatigue that comes not just from one night, but from a lifetime of worries. Karishma and Bhaskar together helped Arushi up, supporting her trembling hands as they led her to the bed.
Nayan quietly came to Aarav. He placed his hand on Aarav's shoulder, which was as cold and hard as stone. "Pull yourself together, brother. Control yourself. Kiyan… Kiyan is gone now. Let's get out of here. We need to take care of Arushi Didi."
Aarav gave no reaction. He stood like a statue. Nayan gently took his hand and led him to Arushi.
As soon as Arushi saw Aarav, her sobs broke out again. She rose and clung to Aarav, hiding her face in his neck. "What… what was that, Aarav? Those eyes… that voice…" Her body was shaking violently.
No tears fell from Aarav's eyes, but a strange moisture emerged, yet he made no sound. He just stood there, bearing his sister's weight, like a pillar on the verge of collapse.
"Come, Didi, sit down," Aarav finally said, his voice as rough and heavy as ash. He sat Arushi back on the bed, then knelt before her. He wiped the tears from Arushi's cheeks with the sleeve of his shirt. "Don't worry, Didi. Everything will be fine."
Bhaskar took a deep breath. "Thank God… thank God this nightmare was exposed before the wedding. Otherwise… who knows what would have happened." There was a tightness in his voice, a doubt about his own judgment.
Aarav looked at his father, but said nothing. He lowered his gaze and stared at a crack on the floor, as if the answer was hidden there.
Karishma looked at everyone, then subtly gestured toward the door. Aarav, Nayan, and Bhaskar silently got up and left the room. Karishma stayed, laying Arushi on the bed, sitting beside her head. "Sleep, Didi. I'm right here."
Arushi's eyes began to close, but a stream of tears still flowed from them, soaking the pillow. Within moments, exhaustion and shock pushed her into a deep sleep.
Karishma covered her with a blanket and quietly left the room. On the veranda, the three men stood Bhaskar leaning against the wall, his head in his hands, Nayan looking worriedly at Aarav.
"She's asleep," Karishma said softly. "She needs… time. We should give her some space."
Aarav nodded, a mechanical, hollow gesture.
Bhaskar lifted his head. His eyes were red. "You both… you both warned me so many times. I kept ignoring you. I didn't listen to you"
Aarav immediately stepped forward and sat beside his father. "Papa, it's not your fault. This was… Virbhadra's game. He didn't give us a chance to understand. Don't blame yourself."
Nayan also came closer. "We are all with you, Uncle. Don't worry. We'll take care of Arushi Didi. And Kiyan too… we'll free him from that Tamomayi's (dark practitioner) clutches."
Karishma stepped forward, her eyes holding an unshakable faith. "Yes, Uncle. We are all with you. We will bring Kiyan back. You are not alone."
Karishma and Nayan looked at each other, then together went to Aarav. They lifted him, and the three embraced a hug that was a stronger promise than words. Finally, tears flowed from Aarav's eyes, silently, without any sobs.
That night, Karishma and Nayan stayed at Aarav's house. Karishma stayed with Arushi, to take care of her. Nayan stayed in Aarav's room, to keep an eye on him.
It was 2 AM. Aarav said to Nayan, "You sleep, Nayan. You must be tired too."
Nayan nodded. "Take care, Aarav." And he turned over in bed.
Aarav quietly left the room. He went to Bhaskar, who was sitting on the sofa staring at the wall. "Papa, it's very late. You should sleep."
After putting Bhaskar to sleep, Aarav went to Karishma. Arushi was in a deep sleep. Karishma nodded to indicate that everything was fine.
Finally, Aarav returned to his room. He went straight to the washbasin and began splashing cold water on his face. The water stream slipped through his fingers. He looked at his reflection in the mirror eyes swollen, red, with deep dark circles underneath. A face that had cried itself dry.
His hands were trembling. He touched his face with trembling hands, as if trying to recognize if this face was still his. Then he picked up a towel and began to wipe his face.
The towel was soft, clean. And suddenly, a memory surfaced that first rainy night, when a drenched Kiyan stood at his door. He had given him this same towel. Kiyan had wiped the water from his face with it. Had dried his wet hair.
Tears streamed from Aarav's eyes again, now not silently, but with a painful sob. He sank to his knees, clutching the towel to his chest. His breaths quickened, turning into hiccups that shook his entire body. He cried in a muffled voice, his head pressed against the door, so the sound wouldn't escape.
He remembered Kiyan's mischievous smile when he teased him. How he would step forward in every danger. His voice "I trust you completely, Aarav. How can I be angry with you?"
That smile… that trust… was now imprisoned somewhere else.
Aarav somehow composed himself. He rose. Stood. He looked at himself in the mirror, wiping his eyes.
"No," he said to himself, his voice carrying a new, stone-like solidity. "I cannot stay weak. I have to control myself. And Kiyan… I have to free him from Virbhadra's clutches."
He carefully placed the towel back, looking at it one last time.
"Kiyan… I will save you, my friend. By defeating that Virbhadra. I will save you."
He lay on the bed, but sleep was nowhere near. Only Kiyan's face kept circling before his eyes — sometimes smiling, sometimes sad, sometimes with those black eyes in which Virbhadra's soul burned. The night passed, and Aarav just kept turning.
On the other side, deep in the forests, the same black Andhkaar Guha (dark cave) .
Kiyan or his body stood inside the cave. He touched the walls, those old stones still bearing his mother's marks. A voice emerged from his mouth, but it wasn't Kiyan's. It was old, rough, soaked in centuries of dust.
"Three hundred years… after three hundred years, I have finally returned to my home."
He walked along the wall, his fingers sliding over the stones. "Three hundred years of torment… completed today. My bondage is broken."
In a corner of the cave lay the Chhayagrasini's (witch-like entity) small, burnt bundle his mother's remains. Kiyan's body picked it up, looked at it in his palm.
"You turned out to be a fool, Chhayagrasini ," his voice carried contempt and envy. "Kiyan could have become the master of evil… but you couldn't stop him from going to that Devanshik (divinely blessed one) . You were my finest creation… yet you turned out to be a fool."
He threw the bundle hard against the wall. Particles of ash began to float in the air.
He moved forward, toward the Agni Kund (sacred fire pit) . The ashes there were still warm. He smiled a victorious, cruel smile. Then he tilted his head back and laughed, looking at the ceiling of the cave.
"Now… this body is mine! Kiyan's body and powers… are now mine!"
His laughter echoed through the cave, bouncing off the stones, creating a demonic resonance.
Outside the cave, the same black crow lay on the ground dead. Its eyes were open, empty. As if with Virbhadra's arrival, its life had also flown away. There was no one left to watch over Kiyan.
Now there was only darkness. And within it, a war of two souls was raging an old, hungry soul close to victory, and a young, broken soul refusing to surrender.
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