Nazar/ Piansh Stories - Page 34

Chapter 04 - https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/153055165

Chapter - 05

Even though Piya had literally shut the door on his face, Ansh was ecstatic to say the least. “Piya

hasn’t forgotten me and the kids are here.” Suddenly he felt an urge to hug his kids at that very

moment. He opened the door and rushed towards their room. Piya was helping the kids with their

homework and as usual the kids were trying all sorts of tricks to do anything other than study. The

sound of their giggle and Piya’s fake scolding sounded like music to Ansh’s ears. He walked to them

straight and took both of his kids in his lap.

Piya was surprised with Ansh’s gesture. Ever since he had woken up, he had been continuously

asking her whether she could recognize him or not. Considering all the horrible thought that had

occupied her mind since the moment she got to know that Ansh might be in another dimension, this

question was rather assuring that Ansh hadn’t gone through something horrible. Or at least, that’s

what she had assumed when they were at Nishant’s apartment. But with each passing moment the

way Ansh was stressing on whether she could recognize him or not and now the latest kid hugging

session – Piya wasn’t sure how to react.

“Papa please! You are hugging us too tight!” Pari’s words brought Ansh to his senses. “Sorry kids! I

really missed you.” Ansh had an apologetic smile. “But we were here all the time. Then why are you

behaving as if we got lost?” Adi was confused. Piya noticed the change in Ansh's expression and

meddled in, “It’s nothing dear! Papa was busy and you know how we lose the sense of time when we

are too engrossed in something. Right Ansh?” “Yeah right!” Ansh felt it would be better if Piya handled

the kids. “So don’t worry! Papa will be fine. But that doesn’t mean I am gonna let you two use this as an

excuse and roam free. Back to study!” The kids groaned and Piya took them to their seats while giving

Ansh a nod, reassuring everything was okay.

Ansh returned to their room and heaved a sigh of relief. He almost blew it but Piya as usual took care

of it. Suddenly a grey envelope caught his attention. It had Piya’s name written on it and he was a bit

curious. But he buried his curiosity as he knew if it were important, Piya would inform him about it.

He decided to take a shower and opened his cupboard when he saw the reflection of their family

portrait in the mirror – him and Piya with their kids. He was as usual a bit reserved, even in the photo

but Piya had no inhibition. It was as if he could her the sound of her laughter through the reflection.

He gently touched her reflection and thought to himself, “You were right! I am indeed a Ghanghor

Ajeeb Prani that I took one argument to heart and ended up in my DREAM LAND! Argument is fine! But I

don’t ever want to live a life that doesn’t include you! I love you Piya!!!” He didn’t realize when Piya had

entered into their room and caught him romancing with the mirror. “Ansh!!!” Ansh came back to his

sense and noticing the MY HUSBAND HAS LOST IT!!! look on Piya’s face, hurriedly left to take his

shower.

Piya stood confused in the middle of the room. By now she was fully convinced that Ansh had a

horrible experience wherever he was. She noticed the envelope on the bed and realized Ansh might

have seen it. Suddenly she felt exhausted. She sat on their bed and started thinking about the day.

She had crossed her line and was well aware of it. Ansh hadn’t really done anything major that she

had to react like that. But she did it anyway! All because of the sudden arrival of the envelope. The

moment Ansh had left the house, she realized what she had told him. “You never realize how you

keep messing around because I have been cleaning up your messes since the moment we had met!!!”

Piya closed her eyes in frustration. Why the hell did she utter those awful words when she didn’t

mean it! And Ansh’s reply just added to the nightmare. “If that’s the case, then I wish I hadn’t met you

in the first place!!!”

Piya looked at the photo frame. It was everything she had ever dreamed of – her own family. No

matter how hard she tried to deny it, her fear of abandonment never left her. They had overcome so

many adversities together still she couldn’t let go off the memory when she was begging Ansh to

believe her and he threw her out. She was at fault too. She believed a piece of paper over Ansh. Her

Ansh who had taken every sorrow upon himself to protect her; the one person who had shown

unflinching trust upon her. Yes, even he was human and he made a mistake. But that one mistake

changed everything. She developed a phobia regarding everything good happening around her.

Slight mismanagement would tick her off and today was no different. What astonished her more was

her own words. Did she really develop some sort of superiority complex just because she was a

Daivik? She knew the way she couldn’t completely overcome her abandonment issue, despite

everything and every good he had ever done, Ansh could never fully accept his Davaansh side

because of the baggage it brought along with the power. Then how on earth she could say that to

him!!! Would Ansh really be better off without her? Considering he would turn completely evil, he

might finally get saved from the constant battle of choosing the right path over his own inherent

nature. But what about her? Would she really be happy without the struggle? Would she make peace

with her loneliness and lead her life like that? Which path is better? Leading a lonely, loveless life with

no fear of heartache or facing a life full of adventure with the love of her life but also living in a

constant fear that he might be better off without he but she would die if another incident separates

them?

“Piya! What’s the matter?” Ansh was surprised when he found Piya crying. “Nothing.” She tried to

smile but it only made her exhaustion evident. “What’s the matter love? Why were you crying?” Ansh

sat beside her and gently stroked her back. “I was?” Piya got startled. It’s only then when she realized

tears were rolling down her cheeks. She tried to wipe off her tears and looked at Ansh. Those eyes!

The love and care was so evident! Then why was she still trapped in her own imagination! Why

couldn’t she just break free? “I am sorry for this morning, Ansh! I truly am! I didn’t really mean

anything.” “It’s okay Piya! And I am sorry too. I shouldn’t have taken you for granted. It’s just, I am so

accustomed to you being around and taking care of everything that sometimes I forget how lucky I am

and how I should acknowledge it more.”

There was something in Ansh’s voice that startled Piya. “What exactly had happened to you Ansh?”

“What do you mean?” Ansh tried to avoid the topic. “When we had sprinkled the antidote on you, I

noticed you were restless in your sleep; as if you were in pain and trying to come out of it desperately

but you couldn’t. Where were you exactly and what’s with the repeated need of confirmation that could

I recognize you or not?” Ansh couldn’t understand what to say. Knowing Piya, he was well aware that

if he had lied, she would have definitely caught him. But he also felt guilty to tell her about the

incident. What would she think about him? Already Piya had issue with him for running off from a

situation since he tried to distance himself from the family after Angad’s death. If she got to know

about his trip to DREAM LAND which was no less than a PRISON WORLD she would be devastated.

He couldn’t do that do her! “Leave it na Piya! What matters is that we are together.” He hugged Piya to

avoid her eyes. “You do realize that I can tell from your touch that something is wrong with you, right?”

“Wait, what?” “The way you are clinging on to me right now – I can tell that something is bothering you

and last time you held me like this when Angad died.” Ansh let go off Piya and looked at her with

disbelief. She wasn’t bluffing. She could indeed decode each of his action. So it was better to confess

everything before her and face the consequence sooner than later. “Actually Piya........” He told her

everything that had happened in the alternate universe.

After he had finished telling about his experience, Ansh looked at Piya with much hesitation. He was

expecting Piya to either take his class or to laugh her lungs out. To his astonishment, Piya did neither

of those things. She just sighed a little and the blank look of hers prevailed. At this point, Ansh was

rather worried for her than himself. He drew her closer to him and asked in a soft tone. “What’s the

matter Piya? I may not be as pro as you but I can understand when you are upset. I know I made a

blunder and thank God that it was reversible. But the best thing about it is that I got to retrospect; I got

to realize how I have been taking you for granted and I am gonna mend my ways. But why are you so

sad? What is it that’s bothering you?”

“I am just tired Ansh!” The tone of Piya’s voice sent a chill down Ansh’s spine. He was about to say

something but Piya closed her eyes and rested her head on Ansh’s shoulder. “It’s so easy in fairy

tales! We know that good will win over evil and everyone will be living happily ever after. But in real life,

it’s never enough.” Piya continued sobbing. “I have never really gotten over my fear that ultimately

everyone would leave me. It’s just whenever something happens, the image of my own childhood

flashes before my eyes and I feel numb; it’s like I can’t breathe or move.” Suddenly Ansh felt like

someone had ripped his heart out seeing Piya like that. “You have always been there for me; you and

Guruma. But despite everything we have been through together, somewhere deep down, I still have this

fear that if something terrible happens then you’ll leave me. You’ll either throw me out of your life or

you’ll distance yourself but I’ll end up being alone. And that feeling Ansh, that fear of separation and

abandonment – I just can’t think or react beyond that. I try! Every day I try to smile, to enjoy our family

moments but the happier I become, the restlessness becomes even more intense.” Piya paused for a

few seconds. “I got accepted at the university for my higher studies. But.......” “But what?” “I also got an

additional offer that the professor under whom I wanted to study, he is joining another university in

Bangalore and he is quite impressed with my resume. He offered me to join as a TA.” Ansh couldn’t

believe his ears. This was a terrific news. But the way Piya was talking, it seemed like she just received

someone’s death news.

“I wasn’t prepared for it obviously and I was flexed and then I came to the room and lashed out at you

without any reason.” Piya covered her face in frustration. “I don’t know what came over me and I just

used you as a punching bag and said some really harsh things. It’s like I am losing control over

everything.” It took her a while to get control over herself. “The smallest inconvenience drives me off

the edge these days and if this is our condition together, I don’t know how are we gonna make this

work in long distance.” Ansh was sad listening to her words. How he wished he could have assured

her that she was worrying for nothing but deep down, he knew he was majorly responsible for Piya’s

outburst. With his constant flipping and everything, he never made it easy for Piya. If her parents

were the reason behind her fear of losing everything, he too contributed to it and more importantly,

at the time when she needed him the most. But he was convinced of another thing too. No matter

how difficult their situation was, they belonged with each other and only they could help themselves.

“I get from where you are coming from Piya!” Ansh took a deep breath and continued, “It’s not just

you, even I am terrified of every little change because of everything we have gone through. And I am

not gonna deny, I have left you alone on several occasion. Sometimes owing to misunderstanding and

sometimes in a bid to protect you. But I left you alone.” Piya noticed the guilt in his voice and tried to

cheer him up. “That you do. Today you broke your previous record also - ran off to an alternate

dimension to avoid fighting.” Piya started laughing and Ansh too, joined her, “Jokes apart Piya! It’s not

healthy. We are amazing as a team when we are fighting and we both have been each other’s shield

but we have issues too! Real issues! And we need to work on that. Even now you are trying to cheer me

up. That has always been the case. You neglect yourself and I often forget that I need to take care of

you in a better way. In the same way, I have a tendency to run away. As you have pointed out, today I

sought refuge in an alternate dimension. But it needs to stop.”

“What are you suggesting?” Piya was confused.“Let’s start by taking taking small steps. Clearly, we

have a lot of issues and it's marital not supernatural. So we should consult a marriage counselor. It

could really help us to overcome our insecurities. But first things first! You just received an amazing

offer and tonight we are gonna celebrate it. Get ready!” “But Ansh!” “No buts Piya! Get up and get

ready!” “Just think about it Ansh. I applied for it because it was in Mumbai and I would be able to look

after our kids. But if I take this offer, either they’ll have to accompany me or I’ll have to live without you

and the kids which I am not gonna do anyway.” “Stop behaving like a child Piya!” Ansh made Piya face

him. “Would you stop me from going on a business trip that would ultimately help our business expand?

No right? So why would you compromise your career? Let’s face it, we got married way too early. If it

weren't for the Rahu Mahadasha of my Kundli, we wouldn’t get married so early. We are still young

and have so much to explore and you got an amazing offer to work and study under a brilliant

professor. So you should take it.” Piya was still hesistent.

“We have two beautiful kids Piya and we should inspire them through our works. We could make

change look like a normal thing and hopefully they wouldn’t struggle as much as we did because we’ll

be there to look after them. We’ll make it work. Because chasing dreams is necessary too! I think the

only reason we were always stressed out because most of our lives we had done what was expected out

of us and not what we wanted to. So let’s start by changing that.” Ansh smiled at Piya to reassure her.

“Think this through Ansh!” Piya smirked. “If this time you try to bail on me, I’ll drag your sorry ass and

you won’t have Kohrayan Taral to escape to another dimension.” “I am not worried about that

madam!!!” Ansh put his arms around Piya’s shoulder. “Anything is okay as long as we both are

together. Although you are the one who should be saying this.” “And why is that?” “Because, in an

alternate universe Ruby might be cute but Naman was creepier than ever. You’ve gotta be mine if you

want to get saved.” “Ansh!!!” Piya threw a pillow at him and Ansh started running around the room.

His mission was accomplished! Finally he could bring a smile to her face. Amidst all the chaos, he was

thankful to God for showing him the right way, to give him and Piya a second chance so that they

could start everything all over again with more love and understanding between them.