Vani FF// The Phoenix (Thread 2 Link in Pg 1) - Page 50

Update soon 🔜🔜🔜🔜

We are dying out of excitement 😂

Loved these updates!! So emotional indeed.

I love the affection and kindness and care that Narayan has for Veer. Their conversation was so good and made Veer come to realizations. It showed his strength but also what he needs to work on with himself. Loved the conversation with his mom and Teer. It was soooo touching ❤️

That farishta is no farishta. He deserves his powers being stolen, and he should get shrap for what he has done. I'm looking forward to his and Veer's face off. And Nikhil and Veer's. Nikhil deserves no mercy for what he has done. He is the worst of the worst, greedy, power hungry, merciless. He has the worst coming his way.

I wish Veer somehow gets his wings back. He doesn't deserve the punishment of living without them. I get so happy when he flies around and shows off 😆 He deserves to be so happy, and be our sanki, crazy, obsessed, confident, Veer. Love him and can't wait to see him back strong, healthy, happy, and madly in love again ❤️

I'm so addicted to this story, so much so in fact that I created a one shot of Sam and Vanshika, a continuation after the latest part you wrote here, where Sam's on the verge of coma. See, I told you I love these two ☺️😆 I haven't written an OS or FF in more than a decade or so, but I love these characters you've created so much that I can't stop imagining them, and so had to sit down and write the scenes that were coming to mind. I haven't posted it yet...not sure if I can on the Naagin 5 forum but I can try if anyone wants to read it.

Thank you so much again for creating this addictive and wonderful FF! Can't wait to read more!! ❤️

We want to read it. Can you post the link here after you write it. I am really interested

Waiting for the next chapters (and some vani romance too.) ...pls update soon .

Can we Expect a Update Today ?

will I get a birthday bonus Chapter 😉

Originally posted by: Aswa_horse

We want to read it. Can you post the link here after you write it. I am really interested

I just posted an OS I wrote of Sam & Vanshika taking place in the hospital because my imagination has been running wild these past few days wondering what happens next 😆 https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/naagin-5/5213853/sam-and-vanshika-os-vani-ff-the-phoenix

I'm not sure how long it will be up or if it will get taken down which I understand since it's not technically Vani, though it has them in it.

Waiting eagerly for part 86 whenever you are able to post, AliChase! Thank you so much again for the inspiration and looking forward to reading more of what happens next!

Chapter 86

“V, stop crying.” Veer snapped at her. Her crying made her even angrier. His own pain was hurting. Then Sam’s situation made him angrier. Now, Vanshika had started crying.

“Veer, it isn’t something she can help.” Meera was a little angry that he was acting out like that.

“He’s not dead, V. He’s not going to die. He can’t die.” Veer told her.

“Why does he have to hurt me like this, Veer? I have never begged anyone so much as I have begged him to get. Apna ego bhi sideline karke I’ve begging him to get but he doesn’t even more. It hurts.” Vanshika cried.

“V, I swear, stop crying. Your crying is actually making me really angry. Stop bloody crying.” Veer shouted at her.

“Veer, tumhari problem kya hai?” Meera hid Vanshika. Bani stood up and put her hand on Meera. A silent signal to let go Vanshika. “Bani, mujhe samajh aa raha hai ki use bohot kuch hua hai but it isn’t like she wants to cry. She’s in pain and people cry in pain.”

“Meera di, not all friendships are the same way.” Bani said. Veer stood up and made Vanshika stand up.

“Get up.” Veer made her stand.

“Veer, please yaar. Nahi hota. I can accept that he is going to disappear in Nepal and Himachal for the next five years but I can’t accept that. Aise motionless. Not even reacting to anything. Nahi hota, yaar.” She shoved him. Veer hugged her. “Please kaho na usse ki uth jaaye. Sam humesha tumhari baat sunta hai.”

“Sam is going to be fine, V. Sam is going to be fine. Kyuki use kuch bhi hua toh main khud ko kabhi maaf nahi kar paaunga. He is my little brother. I was supposed to protect him and I failed.”

Veer felt like he was back 8 years ago. The state in which Veer had found Sam when he ran away from home. He was almost broken down. The way he was drowning in pain. He hadn’t eaten anything for three-four days. He looked so disheveled. He had cried for days on end out of pain. He had found him in Shimla. Deep in forests, lying in the snow and crying. He was broken. Veer had never been so scared before. The state that he found his brother in had made him guilty.

The two had gotten into a fight the night Sam had got into a fight. Veer’s girlfriend was trying to get his attention by trying to cheat on him with another guy. Sam commented on how it wasn’t going to help her. That started a fight between her and Sam. She was an old family friend of Singhania and hence knew the family history. She commented that Ahana had abandoned him because of his habit of being really annoying. That set off a temper. Sam punched her in his anger. Veer had shown up at that moment. He got angry at the fact that his brother had punched a girl. The one who seemed no harm to Sam. Veer turned and punched Sam in return. That started a fight between them. It had gotten worse. Daksh, Ponky, and Tapish interfered and pushed them away from each other.

The night Sam ran away from home. Veer had blamed himself that Sam had left. That had set off tears that his brother had run away because of him. Tapish scolded him for being so brash. He had found Sam after three days in Shimla. Veer wanted to get him back home but Sam insisted that he wanted to stay around here. What had made Sam run away was his childhood insecurity. He had seen Ahana laughing and smiling with Jeet and Vishal. It had picked on his insecurity that he had never been able to make his mother that happy. Then his issues with Vanshika. The two had an unsaid relationship but neither of them would make a move.

“Veer, Sam has to come back. He can’t just leave like this. Abh kaise samjhau use ki mere liye woh kitna important hai.” Vanshika exclaimed.

“Please stop crying, V. Tu royegi toh main bhi tootne lagunga.”

Vanshika wiped away her tears and tried to take a few deep breaths. Vanshika ran her hands through her hair, trying to get herself to stop crying. The two returned the hospital room.

“Seriously utho abhi, Samrat. Bohot mazaak ho gaya. I’m hell done with this.” Vanshika told him. She sat down on the seat next to the bed. She held his hand. He just lay there motionless. The one who always had a way to get through problems was Veer. Now, he himself was breaking down. “Kyu rula rahe ho, yaar? Matlab main itni baar sorry bol chuki jitni baar toh maine tumhe kuch kaha hi nahi. Please uth ja.”

Her voice broke. She looked at Veer. Balwant put his hand on Pawan’s shoulder. Just a while ago his son had come back and now it was back to this state. Sam was always the troublemaking child. Veer’s partner in crime. Here, he was lying motionless. Pawan wished it would go back to that troublemaking child than this. He had just recently got his son back and now was on the verge of losing him.

Veer turned around and saw Ahana. Veer got up to let Ahana sit on the chair next to Sam. The way there were so many pipes attached to Sam made her almost tear up.

“Samrat…” She called him, her voice cracking. She held his hand. She kissed his forehead and his hand. “Humesha hi sabko pareshaan karte rehte ho. But this is too much, Samrat. Abh bas please uth jaao.”

Vanshika grabbed Veer’s sleeve before she could break out into tears. Aishwarya had put bandages around Veer.

“V, you’re not going to cry.” Veer told her. Vanshika took a deep breath. Ahana held his hand. Vanshika sat next to Sam.

“Sam, you know tum aise nahi ignore kar sakte mujhe. Galti ho gayi, yaar. Please uske liye aise pareshaan mat karo. I’d rather spend my entire life with you bothering me and troubling par aise tum chodke nahi jaa sakte tumhe pata hai mere dil mein kya hai.” Vanshika told him. “Nahi kaha kyuki darr lagta hai. Tumhe pata hai mujhe dad se darr lagta hai. Mujhe pata hai ki jab main tumse keh dungi toh I wouldn’t be able to pretend anymore that there is nothing between us.”

“Tum mere liye bohot hi special ho, Sam. We’ve always been Tom and Jerry. We bother each other par we’ve always been attached to each other.” She added. She took a few deep breaths. She took off the locket she always wears and put it on Sam.

“Yeh kya kar rahi ho?” Pawan asked. The locket had a pendent of a conch shell and a lotus flower. The tiny conch shell had its edges dipped in gold.

“Jo kar sakti hun.” She answered Pawan. She held his arm. “You know bachpan mein dad ne mujhe apne naagin form mein lock karke jungle mein chod diya tha. It was his way of making me tougher to face life. Hota hai aisa mere dad ke family mein. Only the strongest survive. To live as a human and suddenly be turned into a helpless creature scared the life out of me. Bohot darti thi. The fight for survival is difficult. Escaping those birds, somehow main ek mandir ke paas pohochi. A large idol of Narayan was there in the temple. I had coiled myself around the idol. I guess my snake form was around 5-6 feet long. Naag-Naagino ke comparison mein bohot chota. I stayed by the idol for several weeks on end. Bohot darr lagta tha ki bahar jaaungi toh shayad I’ll be killed. I felt like I was all alone but uss time, I felt like he was there with me. Narayan. I had learned why faith was so important to people. Andhere mein bhi Roshni si hoti hai. This locket used to be around the idol. Just one day, it fell from him over me. Bas ek baar wapas apne insaani roop mein aayi tabh se main yeh locket pehenti hun. I have always thought of it as my lucky charm.”

Ahana rubbed her arm, assuring her.

“I know how hopelessness feels, Sam. I haven’t felt that since I had met you. Ajeeb si baat thi. Unn 8 saalon mein jab tum yahan nahi the, one time main actually Himachal tak aayi thi tumse milne. Because I thought that the only one who can help me would be you. But you had already left the place by then. Kuch socha nahi seedha Himachal chali gayi thi. Don’t leave again.”

“Samrat, please uth jaao. Sabh ke liye tum bohot important ho. Tumhe kuch hua toh sabh toot jaayenge.” Ahana told her.

Ahana felt his fingers mover. His eyes blinked a few times. The blurry vision only saw Ahana. She held his face.

“Mom…” Vanshika shouted to alert her mother.

“Ve…bha…” He tried to say.

“Veer theek hai, Sam. Bas tu theek ho jaa.” Vanshika assured him. His sight moved to Vanshika. Then he saw Veer and Bani. The drowsiness started to fill in again. He tried to blink and keep himself awake but his eyes were droopy. He looked at his mother sitting next him. Ahana kissed his forehead.

“I’ll be right here.” She assured him and held his hand. “Promise. Bas tum theek ho jaao.”

Sam closed his eyes at the assurance and let sleep take over. If Ahana said she was going to be there, she would be there. Sam held her hand. At no cost was he going to let it go. He once let it go and for so many years, he couldn’t even see her.

“I need you all to go out now.” Aishwarya told them.

‘Mom…”

“V, pakka promise. I’ll do my best. Right now, I need you to go out. Bani, I need you.”

“Bani kyu?” Pawan asked.

“Sabh mein se sabse zyaada healing powers Bani ke paas hai. We need to clear the internal damage. Aur sabse jaldi agar koi heal kar sakta hai toh woh Bani hai.” Aishwarya explained. Bani nodded. She pushed Vanshika outside.

Everyone was outside except Bani and Aishwarya. The red light in the emergency room was switched on.

“I’m surprised Chachu called you.” Veer pointed as they all sat outside.

“He didn’t. Aishwarya ne call kiya tha mujhe.” Ahana answered.

“I guess bua ko laga ki hum sabki baat se react nahi kar raha toh at least apni mom ki hi baat sun lega. None of us thought of that.” Meera pointed out.

“We didn’t call her because she isn’t a part of our lives.” Daksh commented. Ahana closed her eyes. She didn’t want to break down.

“Daksh, can you please shut up? Har cheez ka ek waqt hota hai.” Vanshika commented.

“Yeh humara family matter hai, Vanshika. Tujhe toh kuch nahi kaha hai. Why are you getting offended?” Daksh asked.

“Offended? Mera muh mat khulwao, Daksh Singhania. Offend hone ke liye kuch izzat nahi bachegi. So, I suggest you shut up.”

“Tumhe pata hi kya hai uske baare mein? She decided to leave us all behind. If she had the courage to do that, can’t she have the courage to listen to this? She has moved on long ago.”

“Tum rehne do, Daksh. Na toh khud mein himmat thi ki jaake kehte ki tumhe unki zaroort thi. Apne ego mein tumhara bhai Ponky kabhi apni maa se nahi mil paaya.”

“Maine Ponky ko nahi roka hai.”

“Really, Daksh? Tumhara gussa, tumhara ego, tumhara dard. Sabh kuch tumhara hai? Don’t freaking lie to yourself. Tumhari wajah se na toh Sam apni mom se mila na hi Ponky aur Monil mil paaye. You had your bitterness but you passed that down to your brothers. Tum toh unke baare mein baat tak nahi karte, what is the assurance that they were to ask you about her and you’ll tell them.”

Her accusation was stinging to Daksh.

“Jis baare mein pata nahi ho, uss baare mein bolna nahi chahiye, Vanshika. I suggest you keep your opinions to yourself.”

“Good then. Tumne prove kar hi diya hai that in the end you’re a carbon copy of Pawan Singhania.”

“Vanshika…” Veer tried to stop.

“Nahi, rok kyu rahe ho? Ise bhi toh pata chale ki kitne hadd tak Sam ke breakdown inn dono ka haath tha.”

“V, that’s it. Stop it.” Veer stopped her. Vanshika made Ponky face Daksh.

“Ek baar na honestly Ponky se pucho ki itni himmat kyu nahi hui ussmein ki apni mom ke baare mein puche kisi se. You’ll know why I blame you, Balwant and Pawan Singhania. Tapish bhai se puchna. Tapish bhai tumhe batayenge.”

“V, mere dad aur chachu hai. Chahe laakh burai ho unmein. They’re still my father and my uncle. Thodi izzat toh de hi sakti ho.”

Meera held Vanshika.

“The truth remains, Veer Singhania. They had never known how to bring up children par zidd thi unki. In mein aur mere dad mein zyaada fark nahi hai. Only that my dad is a bit more disciplinarian and hitler like and they are comparatively less.”

“Vanshika, bas karo. Let it be. Abhi unhe blame karne se Samrat theek ho jaayega kya? All we can do is try and pray that he gets well.” Ahana told her.

Veer sat down next to Vanshika. Vanshika put her head on Veer’s shoulder.

“He is going to be fine, babe.” Veer assured her.

“We’ll all be fine, Veer. I know ki shayad tumhare saath bohot bura hua hai but we’ll all be fine. Hum sabh ek saath hai toh sabh theek hoga.” She told him.

“Sabh theek ho jaayenge.” Veer nodded.

She joined her hands praying that her lord would listen to her prayers. An hour and a half later, the red light went off. Pawan and Ahana tried to look through the glass. They saw Bani and Aishwarya finally removing the machines off him. A few minutes later, they came out.

“Samrat?”

“Abhi theek hai. He seems a lot more stable. Internal damage majorly heal kar diya hai. Bas thoda sa jo naturally heal ho jaayega. He’s majorly out of danger. Main expect kar rahi hun ki thode der mein use hosh aa jaayega.” Aishwarya assured. She finally walked to Veer and Vanshika who were sitting together. Vanshika simply hugged her mother. Aishwarya smiled. She rubbed her back, assuring her.

“Hum dekh sakte hai use?” Veer asked.

“Bas thode der mein mil sakte ho. I suggest tabh tak tum sabh thode fresh hoke aa jaao. Tabh tak use hosh aa jaana chahiye.” Aishwarya suggested.

The others went home to change into better clothes and get freshen up. Bani, Ahana and Vanshika stayed back. Vanshika had fallen asleep on the chair next to Sam. Bani looked at it and chuckled.

“Pagal hai. She claims that there is nothing between them but their rivalry but then she hasn’t moved for a moment from him.” Bani commented. Ahana looked at Bani.

“Veer theek hai?” Ahana asked.

“Baat avoid kar raha hai but I guess that part is a bit normal. Veeranshu humesha hi aisi baatein avoid karta tha.” Bani answered with a smile.

“Veer thoda sa difficult hai but don’t give up on him.”

“I can’t give up on him. I don’t think I can give up on myself. Veer aur main ek hi hai. Just as how I can’t give up on myself, I can’t give up on him.”

Ahana gave a faint smile. Singhania Family had a history of unstable marriages. Sagar Singhania, Balwant’s own father, had an unstable marriage with his wife. It drove to a point where she wanted to leave but couldn’t out of societal pressure. Even Ishana at a point was done with Balwant’s controlling behavior. She would have left if she had lived longer. Ahana had left. Ahana was expecting that the next generation has their own issues. The instability had caught up on Ponky and Daksh. Neither of them could commit to a relationship. Sam had one relationship but then his ego would poke and even that had become difficult. Veer never wanted to commit to anyone. Teer had liked one girl but she had gotten married to someone else. Tapish was scared of marriage out of worry that he would mess up like his father and uncle. Even if he did have it in his plans to marry but he kept feeling scared of it and would push it behind.

“Singhanias have a knack to sort of ruin their own relationships. Bas isiliye tumse kaha. There can be a time jahan tumhe lage ki mushkil hai. You can’t deal with this but don’t give up. Veer tumse bohot pyaar karta hai.”

“Chachi, mujhe nahi pata exactly what happened between you and chachu ki aapki shaadi utni kharaab ho gayi but ek baat hai jo mere aur Veeranshu ke beech hai. Veeranshu mere saath rehna chahta hai and would go to any lengths to save this. Itna trust toh hai mujhe uss pe. Bas isi trust aur pyaar ke liye main bhi iss rishte mein utna hi rehna chahti hun. Mere aur Veeranshu ke beech it has always been ‘us vs the world’. Kabhi aisi koi baat yaad hi nahi jahan Veeranshu ne mujhe support nahi kiya ho. He supports me and I’m there to support him. Neither of us is looking for a reason to stay together. We just want to stay with each other. Isiliye saath hai. We always consciously make the choice to stay together.” Bani told her.

“They’re lucky ki tum unke life mein aayi ho.”

“I don’t know ki ise apna lucky kahu ya apni kismat but Veeranshu aur mujhe shayad humesha se hi saath aana tha.”

Ahana looked at Bani and Vanshika. There was an odd assurance that this was different than the ones she had. She had also noted how easy Tapish and Meera were. Meera was so assuring with Tapish. She wasn’t expected to be here but she stayed behind with Tapish. The two seemed to be really close. She felt an odd assurance that they would handle it.

Daksh and Ponky stayed back home while Balwant, Pawan, Tapish and Veer returned to the hospital. After a while, Sam woke up. Vanshika was still asleep. He noted that the naagin was holding his hand. She had fallen asleep holding his hand. Balwant, Pawan, Tapish and Sam came inside the room. Sam shshhhed them.

“She’s sleeping.” Sam pointed out.

Ahana didn’t know if she should come before Sam. She was expecting the bitterness from Sam too. Daksh had outright refused to speak to her. Ponky was just expected to follow his brother. Pawan and Ahana made no attempts to speak to each other.

“What? Abhi zinda hu, guys. Can take that sada hua look off your face. Abhi mara nahi.”

“Shut up.” Pawan told him. “Phir se marne ki baat ki toh maar khaaega.”

That woke up Vanshika. “Sam?”

“Haan…” He smiled at her. “Advance mein mere liye ro liya kya?”

“Samrat Singhania, I swear to God, phirse koi aisi harkat kiya na tumne toh I’m going to hunt you down to hell and bring you back just to kill you with my own hands.” Vanshika told him but a tear escaped her eyes.

“Ufff… pehli baar itna pyaar jata rahi ho. Kahin main swarg mein toh nahi.”

“Shut up. Sabhko pareshaan kar rakha hai.” Bani complained. “Aur abh swarg ki baat kar rahe ho. You’re alive and you’re going to stay that way.”

“Swarg se yaad aaya. What happened to that fake swarg-doot?”

“Fake swarg-doot?” Pawan asked.

“Haan. Neither does he have a halo nor does he have wings for me to call him angel. Toh hua na fake.”

“We’ll talk about that jab tum puri tarah theek ho jaaoge.” Bani answered. Bani’s expression was enough to tell Sam not to tread further on the topic.

“Mom? Unhe dekha tha yahan? Did she leave?”

“Samrat…” Slowly, Ahana approached him. Sam just looked at her. He had seen her after 8 years. A bit of greying hair. She no longer seemed like the Ahana Dewan that he had remembered. The Ahana Dewan he knew was a woman of force. He had always been around women who were strong. Richa Singhania, his grandmother. Ishana Singhania. Ahana Dewan. Aishwarya Kashyap. Vanshika Kashyap. Bani Sharma. All these women were a force of their own. They had always been steadfast on their ground. He only knew Ahana Dewan as the woman who was something like a storm. That fire inside her which could burn down forests.

This Ahana Dewan. This woman was different. She seemed so tired. He could see that she had aged. All her years weighing in on her. He couldn’t recognize this woman much. She seemed a lot less of that firecracker Ahana Dewan.

She had changed. Sam sighed at the realization. “I missed you.” Sam decided to let his heart open to her. After all, even the monks and sages told him that the only way to let the pain go was to acknowledge the part that caused pain.

Her eyes teared. She held his hand and kissed it. Then kissed his forehead. “Tumhe idea bhi nahi hai ki maine tumhe kitna miss kiya hai. Shayad ek bhi din nahi gaya hoga when I haven’t thought of you. Dil kosta raha but self-respect allow hi nahi karta ki wapas us jagah jaau jahan se nikal ke aayi thi.”

Sam looked at her. Then at Vanshika. Bani and then Aishwarya who had just entered the room. His mother. The girl he loved. His sister-in-law. The woman who was a motherly figure to him. Their identity didn’t just stop at their relations with him. It was the first time that the realization had come to him. Ahana Dewan was his mother but she was also a woman. She felt like she was caged in the family and left. Could that be deemed wrong? If she decided to leave, even his father didn’t try to stop her. Could he entirely blame her for her absence?

Sam had thought that she chose to punish his father that way by abandoning him but now when he looked at her, he realized that she had left because she grew up from the woman who depended on Pawan Singhania. From a spitfire temperamental fiery girl, she had become an independent woman. She was a woman now. A woman who knew she was more worthy than being neglected. That had taken a toll on her but she seemed more mature now. A woman who had learned lesson hard way.

“I’m glad ki aap yahan hai, mom.” Sam said.

Sam had no idea what it felt to her motherly affection. Out of fear, she had never reached out to any other children of hers. She would write to Teer regularly but the fear didn’t let her reach out to others. She couldn’t bear the hatred. Her own family hated her. The one who was supposed to be her soulmate had bitterness for her. She couldn’t bear to first-hand face the hatred from her children.

Daksh had already given her a taste of his hatred. She fell silent at that. What could she even say? She couldn’t explain to someone who refused to listen. But Sam’s smile was like a soothing medicine to her age-old wounds.

“Kabhi samjha sakti toh samjhati why I left.”

“You don’t have to explain, mom. It is okay. You might have had your own reason. Dad aur aapke beech problems hai. Aapne kabhi kaha nahi humse because he was our father. It would seem classless to you to bad mouth about my father to me. Aapke liye he might not have been the best husband but aapke liye he was a loving father to your children.”

Sam looked at Vanshika and Bani.

“Agar Bhabhi aur V nahi hote toh shayad ise samajh nahi pata. Phir unke saath itna hi time spend kiya hai ki abhi lagta hai that it’s okay. Agar aapko zabardasti rok ke aapko andar se tod dete toh zyaada dard hota.” He added.

“Kya baat hai. Zindagi mein pehli baar aisa feel ho raha hai ki maine finally apne bachpan ka sapna pura kar liya. I have proved myself to be better than Samrat Singhania.” Vanshika commented with a chuckle. Sam chuckled.

“You’ve always been your best version. I wouldn’t have fallen for you if you reminded me of myself. I fell for you because you were always Vanshika Kashyap.” Sam winked at her.

“Dekhlo. Hosh aaya nahi aur flirt karna shuru ho gaya tumhara.” Vanshika huffed dramatically.

“Wonderful. Itne aansu bahaye the aur abh itna footage khaa rahi ho.” Aishwarya commented. “Let me put it in your words ‘Maa, kitna attitude dikha raha hai. Main baat kar rahi hun toh mujhe ignore kar raha hai’.”

“Mom, shshhh… You’re supposed to be my mother. Aise mere secrets logo ke saamne bata rahi hai.”

“Jab se yahan admitted ho, tabh se yeh ghar nahi gayi hai. Bas yahi baithi hai.” Bani added.

“Babe, please shut up.”

Sam laughed. Aishwarya checked the vitals.

“On a scale of 1 to 10, pain kitna hai?” Aishwarya asked.

“Somewhere around 4 or 5.”

“Weakness?”

“High above in 8.”

“Pain zyaada kahan hai?”

“I guess around my chest. Mostly the ribs.”

“Theek hai. I guess thoda sa rahega. Once weakness kam ho jaaye toh we can start with exercise. Maine diet likh diya hai. You’re going to be on a tough diet, Sam. Toh pehle hi keh rahi hun, I don’t give a damn about your complaints ki diet aisa ha waisa hai. This is what is necessary and you’re going to follow it.”

“Aye aye, doctor. But please kya main ghar jaa sakta hun? This hospital gives me really depressing vibe?”

“Well, saare instruments toh nikaal hi diye hai. Internal healing bhi kaafi better hai. I’ll set the discharge papers.” Aishwarya nodded. Aishwarya assumed that now when he was conscious, it would better to heal him at home rather than have an incident here in the hospital. She was aware of how restless eagles would act out in the hospital.

“Abhi I’ll get back home. Jeet aur Vishal akele hi hai. I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Take care.” Ahana assured him.

“Main call kar dunga ghar pohochke.” Sam assured her. She kissed his forehead.

“Please don’t do anything stupid like this again.”

Sam smiled at her.

Singhania Mansion was all decorated.

“Welcome back home, Sam.” There were party blasts. Sam chuckled. Pawan was helping Sam stand.

“Bhai, I’m glad ki hum sabh ghar wapas aa gaye hai.” Ponky jumped happily. “After a long time, things seem to be settling down. Veer bhai ghar aa gaye aura ap bhi ghar aa gaye. I have missed all of us together.”

Veer pulled Ponky in a head lock. Sam grabbed Bani’s hand. He knew Bani wanted to talk to Veer about what had happened. He also knew it wasn’t the right time. The two looked at each other. Bani understood and nodded in understanding. She assured she wouldn’t be talking to Veer about it.

Bani opened the door to his room, Pawan set him on the bed. Bani put some books on the side table and the water jug. She left grapes and oranges with the water jug.

“Neend aaye toh so jaana but if you’re not sleepy, books padh lena. Fruits rakhe hai if you want to eat something.” Bani told him.

“Thanks, Bhabhi. Aap bhi rest kar lo.”

Bani nodded and then went back to her room. She took a shower. It had been a hell of a time and she hadn’t even been able to take a proper shower.

As the warm water poured over her, she could feel her muscles relax. The muscles ached for rest. The whole ordeal had been mentally and physically tiring. Bani closed her eyes and tried to calm down herself.

“Everything is going to be okay, Bani. Everything will be fine. We will get through.” Bani told herself. As she told herself that, tears started falling down her eyes. Everything they had gone through the past week was exhausting. Just when she would think one trouble goes down, a new one arises.

The tears fell down. The memory of the sight of Veer that way had torn through her heart. The way they had cut down his wings. Veer hadn’t said a word but she knew how much it hurt. She couldn’t explain that pain that surged through. Bani knew love was powerful. It had been so powerful that she could feel her own heartbreak when he lost what meant so much to him. He had lost his balance. He felt so lost. The torture had almost made him sympathetic to Markaat. How much it must have pained that he had grown sympathetic to Markaat, his greatest enemy.

Bani silently let those tears fall. Adi-Naagin was expected to be poised and strong-willed. Naagvansh was known for its judgemental orthodoxy. Their Queens were expected to be strong-willed. Someone who could withstand the storms with a grin. They were expected to withstand the greatest pain with a poker face. Bani wasn’t just a Queen. She was Adi-Naagin. Display of pain and tears before Naagvansh would make people undermine her authority. She recently began to show them what a powerful Naagin she was. She had begun to show her stature. She couldn’t afford to breakdown before them all. Hence, she let those tears fall in silence, alone. She didn’t cry for herself. It was pain on how they had hurt her Veer. He was always the unbreakable force and they had broken him down.

“Bani…” She heard Veer. She put a hand on her mouth. She couldn’t let Veer hear her crying. No. She had to be strong for him. She would be strong for him.

“Haan. Bas aayi abhi.” She tried to answer as normally as she could. She walked out of the shower. She wore fresh clothes, wrapped her hair in a hair towel. She looked at herself in the mirror. Taking a few deep breaths, she calmed herself down. Pulling herself together.

“Bani, you’re strong. You’re powerful. You’re a woman. You’re Adi-Naagin. Tum yeh kar sakti ho.” She told herself. Bani took a few more breaths, put on a smile, and walked out.

Chapter 87

“Itna time laga rahi thi…” Veer complained.

“Haan toh naha rahi thi. Kyu koi urgent kaam thodi na tha. I can take a hot water shower to my pleasure.”

“There are other things that can be done to have pleasure.” Veer winked at her. She rolled her eyes at him.

“How old are you? 15? Come on. You can flirt better, Veeranshu Singhania.”

Bani went to the dressing table and started put moisturizer on herself. Veer sat on the bed and just looked at her rubbing the moisturizer on her legs. She looked so beautiful. Her hair wrapped in the hair towel.

He got up and turned around the dressing table stool so she faced him.

“Veeranshu, kya kar rahe ho?” She asked. Veer took the bottle of moisturizer from her. “Main -”

She was cut off by Veer applying the moisturizer on her arms. Slowly rubbing over her arms. He stared at her and she looked at him. From the side of her shoulder to her wrist. He took his sweet time.

“Chance maar raha kyu. Kya hai na, abhi tumne kaha ki I can flirt better. Bas. Generally, flirt karte waqt kaha chune ko milta hai? Isi bahane I get to touch you and have this silent flirting.” He winked at her.

“Oh, really?”

“Bilkul, sweetheart.”

Bani smiled. She had never liked those cliched nicknames but she loved it when Veer called her sweetheart. Even gharwali. She had missed him calling her sweetheart.

Veer turned around the stool once he had applied the moisturizer on her arms. She stared at him on the mirror and he looked at her.

“Bas tum mujhe aise hi dekhti rahi na toh mujhe nasha hi ho jaayega.”

“Phir tumhe mujhse kon bachayega? Kya hai na, kabhi kabhi tumhe dekhte dekhte niyat kharab ho hi jaati hai meri. Not to mention, there’s a conception that you don’t trust yourself around a naagin.” A grin graced her lips.

“Hmmm… shayad tumhara hi jaadu hai. Main kahin aur dekh hi nahi paata.”

He rubbed the moisturizer on her neck as slowly as he could. Going over her shoulder and collar bone. Then to the edge of her kurti covering her breasts. He took it towards her back. Unzipping her kurti and going around her waist. Bani sighed and leaned back on him. His warmth almost making her weak against him. Even with his hands going around her, the two didn’t stop looking at each other through the mirror.

“Look at you, sweetheart. I just don’t want to stop looking at you.”

Bani sighed and closed her eyes. He poked her and she opened her eyes.

“Kya kar rahe ho? Stop poking me.”

“Don’t close your eyes. I want you to look at me.”

“It just happens.” She leaned back on him enough that her back was against his chest.

“I think there are a lot of places jahan lagana bacha hai. I suggest we take this off.”

Bani laughed.

“Nice try, hero. Nahi hone wala. Now, if you’re done. I want to go eat something. Bhuk lagi hai.”

Veer wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Jaaogi tabh jab main jaane dun.” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Tum kya khaoge?”

“Kuch nahi. Not hungry.”

Bani knew he hadn’t eaten anything for a long time. He just didn’t feel like eating. Balwant told her that once in a while, things trigger back those memories and he gets disturbed. He had told the workers not to switch off the light. Darkness had started to trigger those memories. She smiled at Veer.

“Theek hai. Bas company hi de do. Sabh sone chale gaye hai.”

Bani and Veer walked down. She grilled the bread. Veer just looked at Bani as she was grilling her bread. From the shelf, she pulled out Nutella.

“I swear Nutella ko national food declare kar dena chahiye.” Bani commented. She took a spoon and ate Nutella.

“Bani…” Veer raised an eyebrow at her as she licked the spoon.

“Haan. I know. I’m supposed to eat it with bread.”

Bani took the bread and applied a little too much Nutella on it. She knew that if she distracted him enough from everything that triggered his memories, she could manage to get him to eat something. The one thing that distracted him the most was her. She started eating and winked at him. Sitting on the counter, she swung her legs.

Veer sighed and walked closer to her. He leaned in to kissed but she refused to kiss him while she was eating. Veer started eating from the opposite end of the bread to reach her lips. As soon as he’d reach close to her lips. She’d bring up another piece of bread with Nutella. Veer had no idea of how many slices of bread the two had eaten like that. They had finished almost the whole packet of bread leaving a few slices.

A bit of Nutella was smeared on his cheeks. Bani leaned in and licked it off his cheek and winked at him. Veer sighed.

“Sweetheart…”

She wrapped her legs around his waist. Veer had missed her terribly. His eyes fell on the ring she wore. The ring he had given her. She got up and moved away from him to get something.

Suddenly, the light went off. Panic rose in Veer.

“Bani…” Veer called her frantically.

“Veeranshu, calm down. Yahin hun.” She held his arm. She opened the window and a bit of moonlight flashed in.

“Bani, kahan ho?” Veer asked. His heart beat went faster. Hands shook slightly.

“Shhhshhh… relax. Yahin hun. Bilkul theek hun.”

She made him sit down. The two sat on the floor. Veer’s grip on her arm was tight. She could feel that steely eagle grip. Veer was panicking and almost feared that if he loosened his grip, she’d disappear again. Bani realized it. Bani turned around. She across him. One of his legs over him and the other one behind her.

Once Veer’s eyes adjusted to less light and his cheel eyes flashes. He could see enough in the darkness. He saw Bani right before him. He took a few deep breaths before him.

‘I am safe. Bani is safe. We are together. We are home’ Veer told himself. He saw Bani with a few tubs of ice-cream. She had opened all the tubs.

“Bani?” He asked.

“Ice-cream. Shshhh… kisi ko batana mat. Ponky phir se royega that someone ate his ice-cream. If he doesn’t know who ate his ice-cream he can’t make us feel guilty.”

Veer just looked at her. She started to eat ice-cream. The two began to eat ice-cream together. Bani fed him some ice-cream. She then let the spoon put the ice-cream on his neck.

“Oopsss…” She teased. Veer sighed. Cliched. Cliched move. But he couldn’t help but smile. She leaned in started licked it off his neck. “Unfortunately, you can try the same trick on me.”

“Kyu?”

“Because tumne hi toh itne pyaar se moisturizer lagaya hai. Not going to taste good if you try it.”

“Mujhe doubt hone laga hai ki yeh tumhari saazish hai mujhe pareshaan karne ki.”

“Please. Rehne do. Yeh sabh kaam tum karte ho. I’m a really sweet person.”

“Log kutte billi paalte hai aur tum galat fehmi paal rahi ho.”

“Koi galat fehmi nahi hai. Main hun bohot sweet.” Bani declared while eating ice-cream.

Veer wrapped his arms around her.

“Remember that night? Ponky ki bachelor party?”

“Haan.”

Bani ate two spoons of ice-cream and looked at Veer.

“Uss raat tumne mujhse kaha ki tumhe meri zindagi ka ek din chahiye.”

“Haan. 24 hrs.”

“Tabh pata ek baar ke liye I was so worried. I had never been so worried around you as much as I was in that moment.”

“What? Kyu?”

“Imagine. Koi itna confidently tumse keh raha hai ki all the person needs is 24 hrs. Matlab tumhare confidence ne actually mujhe thoda sa dara diya tha. I was like ‘what the hell? Yeh 24 hrs mein kya hi kar lega? How is he so confident ki 10,000 divya varsh ki nafrat ko 24 hrs mein kaise udan choo kar dega’. I mean itna confidently bol rahe ki all you need is 24 hrs to make me feel the same thing that you felt.”

Veer chuckled.

“Baat toh rahi hai, Bani. Those 24 hrs were sort of enough. Usne humare equation ko hi change kar diya. Was it the fact that I had saved you as a child?”

“That is debatable ki tum woh challenge jeete ya nahi par jis baat ne actually change kiya tha humare relationship ko that were four things. One, honesty. Maine kabhi socha hi nahi tha ki tum aise apna sach mujhe bata doge. Woh bhi uss tarah se. I believed the same thing ki jab tak relationship mein honesty na ho, woh kaise survive kar sakti hai. Par tum aise apni sacchai bataoge, maine nahi socha tha. Two, tum jaise pyaar jatate ho. I had never come across anyone who could wear their heart on a sleeve and be so relaxed about it. Darte hai log itna open aur itna expressive hone se. Par tum itne comfortable the apne space mein. Pyaar hai toh hai. Kisi ki care karte ho toh karte ho. There’s no point where you try to hide it. Jis tarah se tum apne bhaiyo se pyaar karte ho. Jaise tum apni maa se pyaar karte ho. Jaise tum mujhse pyaar karte ho. Three, aisa maine kabhi kisi ko nahi dekha jo apne baat ke khade ho sake. Log kehte kuch hai aur karte kuch aur hai. Tum jo karte ho use accept karte ho. Brush off nahi karte saying it is something else.”

Bani ate a few more spoons of ice-cream.

“Like you were obsessed with me and you admit ki woh obsession tha. Kitne hi ladke obsessed hote hai but then they say ki yeh unka obsession nahi unka pyaar hai. People are scared of admitting their faults. Tum mein itni himmat thi accept karne ki sacchai ko. I haven’t seen many people who can admit the truth. Jaise tumne kaha tha mujhse ‘Main bura hun, apni burai ko gale mein lagake ghumta hun’. Jo bhi hai saamne hai. Fourth, commitment. Tum, Veeranshu Singhania, apni zindagi mein kisi ko commitment nahi diya hai but jab diya toh puri honesty se diya hai. When people say commitment, unhe lagta hai that is just fidelity. Par commitment mein sirf fidelity nahi hota hai. It is a part of it. Commitment ka yeh matlab bhi hai ki har haal mein, use apne partner ko support karna hota hai. Chahe phir kuch bhi ho. Har situation mein apne partner ko support kare. Tum daddyji ke saamne bhi khade ho gaye mujhe support karne. Itne mein toh ladko ko tag mil jaata hai ‘Joru ka ghulam’ and all. Jaise tumhari image hai, that badtameezi, arrogant rich bad boy wali, I thought tumhe bhi aisi baton se fark padgea and you’ll move away. Par tumhe humesha mujhe support kiya hai. Yeh jaanne ke baad bhi ki main Adi-Naagin hun. Even after I had threatened your family.”

“Ufff…. Kya baat hai. Hmm.. aur kaho. Sun raha hun. Mujhe apni tareef sunna accha lagta hai.”

“Meera di mujhe humesha kehti thi ‘Shayad humse Veer ko samajhne mein koi galti hui hai.’. That same day jab Meera di mere kapde pehenke humare room mein thi. Jis moment Meera di ne change kiya aur main jaa rahi thi toh maine unse kaha ki agar unhe lage ki koi khatra hai toh woh seedha tumhare paas chali jaaaye. Uss waqt samajh nahi aaya tha par ek ajeeb sa trust tha mujhe tum par. Tabse hi, ki jo bhi ho tum Meera di ko kuch nahi hone doge.”

“Yeh mujhe pata tha. Tumhari aankhon mein dikhta hai. Tum na keh sakti ho baton se par phir bhi jab baat important hoti hai toh you do trust me. Kyuki every time you think you’re in trouble, tum humesha mera sleeve pakad leti thi. You still do it.”

“Mujhe na kaafi waqt tak samajh hi nahi aata tha ki tum kya sochte ho, kya karte ho. Kyu karte ho. Maanna hi nahi chahti thi ki tumhe mujhse pyaar hai. Itna confusing tha. Tum woh sabh karte ho jo har ladki chahti hai ki uska pati kare. You love, you care, protect bhi karte ho, saath dete ho, mushkil ho toh saamne khade hote ho. Typical Prince Charming kind of things. Matlab jo humesha se main chahti thi ki mere liye koi kare. Ek tarah se I knew you have always been the perfect husband par phir yeh tumhara bad boy side hai. Tumhara mann hua toh sunoge aur baat samjhoge. Nahi hua toh bas chal doge bina puri baat sune hi. Itna confusing tha. Matlab koi itna confusing kaise ho sakta par you were so clear in your own space.”

“Sweetheart, meri image kharab kar rahi ho. Main koi Prince Charming nahi hun. Villain hi theek hun.”

“Typical ‘Lion fell in love with the lamb’.”

“I think the correct thing would be ‘the eagle fell in love with the snake’.”

Bani laughed.

“Mujhe lagta hai ki tumhe illegal kar dena chahiye. It should be illegal to be this amazing.”

Veer chuckled.

“I wish I was. But hun nahi, Bani.”

"Nahi hote toh main pagal thi ki ek cheel se pyaar kar baith thi?"

Veer laughed at that. He threw his head back laughing. This wasn’t Bani Sharma. No, this was Mrs Veeranshu Singhania.

“I guess you’re going to be busy tomorrow,” Veer added a little more seriously.

“Haan. Mahashivratri hai. Pooja hone wali hai. It is going to follow for the next 24 hrs. Subah I’ll have fast. Phir shaam ko Naag Mandir mein sabh aane waale hai. Wahan Mahashivratri ki pooja hogi.”

“Toh tum Naag Mandir mein hi rehne waali ho?”

“Haan. I’ll be leaving early. Tayyariya toh kara di hai. Do you want to come?”

“Aane denge?”

“Of course. Waise toh pehle hi tumhe permission mili hai Naag Mandir mein aane ki toh I don’t see why you can’t come.”

Next morning, Bani and Vanshika had gone to Naag Mandir. Mahashivratri was one of the largest fesitvals for Naagvansh. Every year, it is held with great pomp. They changed into their human naagin form before they entered the temple.

Every inch of the Naag Mandir was decorated with flowers. Bani and Vanshika had showed up early before the time of pooja so they could make sure everything was being done properly. She entered the temple and right after her Bela showed up.

“Bani.” Bela had heard of the incident. “Tumhe dekh ke accha laga. If you’re here matlab Veer theek thaak mil gaya hai.”

Bani told Bela about everything that had happened.

“Uss farishte ke saath toh aur bhi bura hona chahiye tha. Koi itna kaise gir sakta hai for their fake sense of justice? Jab Bholenath ne khud hi usse accept kiya hai toh yeh farishta hota kon hai apna judgement dene wala?” Bela was outraged. Bani was glad that she had Bela agreeing with her. “Bani, seriously. Agar phir se yeh farishta aaya toh mujhe inform karna. Main bhi dekhti hun ki aakhir yeh hai kon Naagon ka so called well-wisher jo actually mein ek civil war shuru kar deta. Because I know one thing. Veer ko kuch bhi hota toh saare cheel hum naagon ko blame karte aur it would start an unending war.”

Bani nodded. The repercussions of his act could be so violent. Bani knew that killing Aakesh had ended with her getting a curse. It was enough to say that Veer had an important part to play in the destiny.

“Adi-Naagin, Naagrani.” Panditayin came to greet them. The two greeted her. Amar and Aishwarya showed up after that.

“Bani…” Amar pulled her aside. Bani simply wrapped her arms around him. Amar had always felt like her father to her. He always supported her like that and gave her that comfort. Amar rubbed her back affectionately. She let herself cry on his shoulder for a few moments. He just held her and let her cry. “You’ve been really brave, baccha.”

“Chachu, Veeranshu kabhi theek ho paayega? Aaj kal toh andhere se bhi darta hai. That is worrisome kyu Veeranshu toh Raat ka Raja tha. Cheels are more attached to the night. This is going to start undermining his authority over all the cheels.”

“Bani, see the thing about faith is to stay hopefull till death. Marte hue insaan ko bhi ek chota sa hope hota hai ki nahi bach hi jaayega. Just have faith. Narayan ne hi yeh kahani shuru kiya hai toh Narayan hi decide kare. All we do is leave it to him. Jo bhi Narayan karenge woh sahi hi hoga. Agar Narayan ne saare cheelon mein se Veer ko chuna hai toh uska reason hoga na. Saari Maya toh unki hai. I’m sure he knows what he is doing.”

Bani took a deep breath. He was right. She was going to leave it all to Narayan and Bholenath. Whatever they have decided, she was okay with it. The Kashyap Family gathered at the temple.

Bani and Bela did the pooja first. They did it together. Praying to Bholenath that he shows them the right path and helps them to make the right decisions.

"Bholenath, aapko pata hai ki mere dil mein kya hai. Mujhe aap par pura vishwas hai ki aap jo bhi nirnay lenge woh sahi hi hoga. Bas itni prarthna hai ki bas Veeranshu ko uska confidence phir se mil jaaye. Toot gaya hai is sabh ke baad. Uske saath main humesha hi rahungi, Bholenath. Par mujhe yeh bhi pata hai ki is duniya mein aisa koi andhera nahi hai jise aap kaabu nahi kar sakte. Aap ko toh Mahakaal hai." Bani prayed silently.

The morning pooja was done. Bani had been fasting for the whole time. By the evening, Veer had shown up at the temple. Tapish had come with the Singhanias and Meera came with Sharmas. Bani was happy to see her papa and Meera di.

"Haaye Ram. Dekho kitna sundar hai yeh mandir." Chachi commented. "Tumne ise banwaya tha kya?" Chachi asked Bani.

"Nahi, Chachi. Mandir pehle se hi tha. Mujhe bhi nahi pata kisne yeh mandir banwaya tha. Bas itna pata hai ki mujhse pehle bhi yeh mandir tha."

"Baap re. Uske baad bhi itni acchi halat mein? Sarkaar ko iske baare mein pata nahi hai? Aur main na internet pe padh rahi thi ki tum naag naagin kisi khazane ki bhi raksha karte ho. Aisa koi khazana hai kya yahan?"

"Chachi, yahan koi khazana nahi hai."

"Maa, kya kar rahe ho. Pooja ke liye aaye hai na? Toh pooja kare?" Meera asked.

"Haan. Haan."

The Sharma Family did the pooja. Girish and Ritu did it together and Mehek Dehek stayed with Daksh and Ponky.

Chachi looked at Bani in her naagin avtar and was surprised. The jewellery she was decked in. Her eyes were blue.

"Waise bohot hi acchi lag rahi hai. Asli hai kya?"

"Kya puch rahi hai? Kuch bhi bolna hai." Girish commented.

"Bhagwaan bas itna karna ki meri Meera ko koi accha ladka mil jaaye. Iski shaadi hi nahi ho rahi. Aapko toh pata kitna society ka pressure hai mujhe. Matlab itni badi ho gayi hai par shaadi hi nahi ho rahi iski. Jab shaadi pakki hui toh..." She looked at Bani and Veer. "Khair. Bas sabh kuch accha ho jaaye. Phir Mehek Dehek ko bhi acche amir ladke mil jaaye." Chachi prayed.

Meera and Bani gave each other look. Well, something seemed normal. Chachi was still the same material pleasure loving person.

"Shiv ji ko gussa toh nahi dila degi na maa?" Meera asked, genuinely worried. Bani laughed at that.

"Meera di, koi gussa nahi aayega."

Veer just stood before the idol. He had never paid attention to it before. Every other time Veer had been here before, he had different priorities. Or more specifically one priority. Bani. Veer's recent incident had made him more broken.

"Maine na ek baar suna tha ki kabhi kabhi ek insaan ko Mahadev ko dekhte dekhte hi unki kripa mil gayi." Veer turned to see him there. His same yellow outfit. "Kahi tumhara bhi yahi karne ka vichaar toh nahi hai?" He was sitting on the edge of the balcony of the temple.

"Nahi, aisa kuch nahi hai." Veer answered. "Bas mujhe nahi lagta ki koi bhagwaan mujhse associate karne mein interested hai."

He laughed at Veer's statement.

"Aashcharya ho sakta hai tumhe parantu tumhe kaise pata ki koi bhagwaan tumse prasaan nahi hue?"

"Really? Bani ko dekha hai? Bani itna pooja karti hai. Itna strong faith hai uska. Bani jaise logo se woh milte hai."

"Tumhe awashya kisi ne uchit prakar se samjhaya nahi hai. Bhagwaan satya ke samaan hote hai. Woh satya jise na toh bhay hota hai na ghrina. Satya ko koi badal nahi sakta, Veeranshu. Jo satya hai woh satya hai. Bhagwaan ko aawasyakta kisi ke pooja ya unke anant prarthna ki nahi hoti. Unhe keval uss prem ki iccha hoti hai. Uss vishwas ki. Yeh vishwas ki anthth mere bhagwaan mere saath hai. Agar Mahadev Bani ke saath hai iska karan hai ki Bani ka vishwaas hai. Yeh vishwaas ki Mahadev Bani se koi galti nahi hone denge. Prem karne wale pita ke samaan use galti karne par daante, samjhaye, na samjhte toh dand de ke samjhaye. Bhagwaan uss vyakti ki aashwayakta anusaar aate hai. Kisi ke liye Bhagwaan unke pita samnaan hai toh kisi ke liye mitr samaan hai."

"Really? Dost banke kyu aaye?"

"Ek baat batao. Jab tumhe kuch nahi dikh raha tha toh uss andhere mein hi main tumhe bulata toh kya tum vishwaas kar paate? Ki main tumhara mitr hun, tumhe haani nahi pohochana chahta."

"Doubt hota."

"Bas. Isi karan. Jis vyakti ko jo aawashyakta hoti hai unhe usi prakar se sahayta karte hai."

"Meri help karne ke liye thanks."

"Main haath sahayta ke liye humesha hi deta hun, Veeranshu. Uss sahayta ko sweekar karna na karna vyakti par nirbhar karta hai."

"Toh Markaat ko kyu nahi help kiya aapne? Markaat ne toh itni baar Narayan ko bulaya hai. 12,000 divya varsh Narayan ko bulata raha phir bhi Narayan nahi aaye uske liye. Jaise tum mere liye aaye, waise Markaat ke liye kyu nahi? Narayan nahi aaye yeh mujhe nahi pata kyu par tum kyu nahi gaye?"

"Sahayta ka prayaas maine kiya tha, Veeranshu. Bohot pehle kiya tha. Parantu uske mann mein swayam ka ghamand bhadhane ki bhuk thi. Swayam ko Prakriti se bhi upar dekhna chahta tha. Yeh sambhav nahi hota hai. Iss satya ko sweekar karna uske liye maanya nahi tha."

"Toh samjhane ki jagah use aise baandh ke kye chale gaye?"

"Veeranshu, tumne apno ke mrit shareer ki maya dekhi thi. Tumne jo dekha woh maya thi. Parantu ju Anant aur Vasuki ne dekha woh satya tha. Apne hi bhai, apne putra, apne vanshajo ke mrit dekh dekhe the. Woh satya tha. Kitne hi apno ki chita ko agni di thi unhone. Uss maa ki peedha ko anubhav karo jisne apne kitne hi putro ki chita dekhi thi. Un putro ki jinhone koi anyay nahi kiya kisi ke saath. Apna karm karte hue mrityu ko prapt ho gaye. Uss peedha ka anumaan Markaat ko hota aur uska praayshchit kiya hota. Toh Mahadev use kshama bhi kar dete."

"Jaise mujhe maaf kiya tha. Maine bhi Aakesh ke roop mein bohot saare naag naagino ki jaan li thi par maaf kar diya tha unhone tabhi toh Bani aur mujhe accept kiya hai." Veer had begun to understand.

Narayan smiled at him. Narayan looked at Shivling.

"Shiv ko Bholenath isiliye kehte hai, Veeranshu. Har karm ki kshama Shiv ke paas mil jaati hai. Har peeda ka samadhaan mil jaata hai Mahadev ke paas. Aaj toh Mahashivrati bhi hai. Kshama mil hi jaati hai."

Narayan knew that this sympathy Veer had grown for Markaat was bothering him. He didn't want to carry it on but the torture he had gone through made him sympathetic. Veer had felt like he was a handicapped bird without his wings. Veer knew that until he let go of this sympathy-aided pain for Markaat, he couldn't accept his own pain.

Narayan gave Veer a diya. Veer looked confused.

"Diya jalao."

Veer didn't argue. He followed. He put the diya before Shivling and poured ghee in the diya. Then melting it. He lit the diya.

"Abh is jalte diye ke apni mein apni peedha bhi jalao."

Veer looked at him.

"Tumhare mann mein hai ki kahi Markaat ko marne ki jagah use sahi karne ki koshish karte toh galti nahi hoti tumse. Diya mein jalti agni roshni bhi deti hai, Veeranshu. Parantu vyakti dekhna hi na chahe, satya ko samajhna hi na chahe toh kya kar sakte hai. Iss diya ko mandir mein rakho toh vishwaas ka aadhar banti hai parantu is diya ko jungle mein rakh do, pure jungle ko jalane wali apni ban sakti hai. Abh is diye ka vyakti ke jeevan mein kya staan hai, yeh vyakti par nirbhar karta hai. Bani ko bhi Mahadev har baat par darshan nahi dete parantu kya iska arth yeh hai ki Mahadev uske saath nahi hai?"

Narayan put another diya next to it. Veer lit it.

"Kshama use milti hai jo prayas kare apni galti ko samajhne ki."

"Uss farishte ko kyu bheja phir mujhe marne ke liye?"

"Yeh tumhara bhram hai ki tumhare ant ke liye farishte ko bheja tha. Jise kshama de di ho, uspar punah aakraman nahi karte, Veeranshu."

Veer was lighting another diya. The wind blew in making it difficult for him to light it properly. Bani put her hand before the diya, blocking the wind.

"Iss sympathy ko kaise chodu? Jaa hi nahi rahi." Veer confessed to Narayan.

"Use marne ke liye kshama maang lo. Isiliye nahi kyuki tumse koi apraadh hua hai. Isiliye kyuki tumhare mann ka bhoj halka ho jaaye."

"Isse theek ho jaayega. I don't believe in the word sorries. Ek word ki kya kimat hai against everything that must have caused the hurt."

"Shabd mein apni maya hoti hai. Jab kshama mann se maangi jaaye toh yeh sabh kuch hai. Mere samajhse tumne koi galti nahi kiya hai. Parantu tumhare mann mein hai ki tumne galat kiya hai. Tum Markaat ko punah jeevit nahi kar sakte, Veeranshu. Apni taraf se tumne Markaat ke liye woh kiya hai jo shayad koi nahi karta. Uske antim sanskaar ke liye koi nahi tha. Koi nahi karta. Tumne kiya hai. Shayad tumhare mann ko shaanti mil jaaye."

Veer closed his eyes. He started shaking at the darkness. After a moment, he saw a light flashing. There was something about that light.

Veer sighed and opened his eyes. It felt a bit lighter. He smiled at Narayan.

Mind-blowing. Awesome. Thank god Sam is fine..

I hope veer will be fine soon.

Loved it. Loved it so much.

Update soon

Fabulous 🥰 really enjoyed reading it 💯

Happily Sam is in Good state now. Please Jaldi Vanshika aur Sam ka confession bhi kara dena. Really excited.

Veeranshu & Narayan Talks are Awesome.

Loved it very much...