A Tale As Old As Time - Page 17

Chapter - 26

“Whenever you remember me, lookup at the sky…”

A rueful smile escaped her lips as Piya gazed upon the moon illuminating the darkness in its full glory. Was it a full moon? She didn’t know. She was sure if she googled it, something scientific would pop up that will explain why the moon looked so enchanting that night. Nevertheless, she wanted to believe her brother was so happy at their family’s reunion that his joy radiated throughout the night…

“How does it feel Ayush? To be able to watch over the people you love?” She paused for a while, as if she was waiting for a response. “I kept my words Bhaiya, I told them everything you wanted me to say. Are you at peace now?” A sudden gust of wind sent a shiver across her spine. Piya noticed the cloud that had blocked a portion of the moon earlier, slowly started to drift away. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She said smiling. “Be happy Ayush… For this separation will be temporary… Very soon, we’ll reunite again Ayush. Until then, keep smiling like this and remember, I love you Bhaiya! Goodnight!”

“Piya!” Startled, Piya looked down and immediately covered her mouth to stifle a scream. Ansh had crawled up against the wall and stopped at the end of her balcony. “Hi…” “What are you…” She held his hand to pull him up and noticed his eyes started glowing. A gentle smile spread across his face while Piya realized Ansh didn’t need her help to begin with, he simply wanted to meet her. “Why didn’t you use the elevator?” “Then how would I recreate this precious moment?” “Was it necessary?” “If people had started expressing their emotions based on essentiality, no one would have fallen in love my dear.” “Fair enough,” She tried to feign indifference but in vain. Ansh could clearly see how she was struggling to maintain a straight face while her big brown eyes gave away her true feelings.

“What if I was asleep? You would have come all the way for nothing.” “I wouldn’t say that… I could still watch you sleep.” “Damn this guy!” Piya cursed in her mind, “He knows exactly what to say!” “Are you done with your interrogation or there’s more to come? Because, you know, a man loves to hang by a railing while trying to steal a glance at his love.” “You should have thought about that before giving me a mini heart attack.” “I suppose that does make me guilty. Although, a curious mind wants to know… You didn’t have an issue with my lame-ass excuse the last time I pulled this trick. Then why now?”

“Because after ten years of marriage you expect you husband to become a bit more innovative. You no longer feel butterflies in your stomach when he tries to flaunt his thoughtfulness through an imaginary phone charger.” “In that case,” Ansh pulled himself up the balcony and spread his wings, surprising Piya a little, “I genuinely wanted to show you something. May I?” Intrigued, she accepted his hand. “Thank you!” He swept her off her feet and whispered, “Now close your eyes.” Piya clutched Ansh’s shirt tightly and leaned against his chest. She could feel his heart racing. Unknowingly, her lips curved into a smile. “Apparently, I have the same effect on you as you have on me…” Even though she mumbled, Ansh heard her clearly.

“You can’t even imagine,” He thought to himself, “I hope you like my surprise. Perhaps that would help me demonstrate what I can’t put into words…” “Where are we going?” “You’ll see, have some patience.” Once they reached their destination, Ansh looked around and heaved nervously, “We’re here.” “Are you sure?” “What do you mean?” “I may not have wings like you but I can sense the direction of the wind. Which tells me flew to three different directions at least ever since we started. So just wanted to check, are you certain this is the place or do you want to continue this treasure hunt for a couple more minutes?” “Can’t you stop being a chatterbox for once in your life and listen to me? Seriously Piya, I’m begging you right now.” “Alright alright… But don’t complain later that I didn’t warn you first.” “Will you just…” “Sorry, here we go…”

As Piya opened her eyes, she was marveled at the breathtaking sight before her… From where they were floating, she could see the Marine Drive and Aarey Forest, as if they were located side by side. The night lights of the beach looked like a swarm of fireflies. Mumbai - the city that never slept, with its hustle and bustle, had taken on a mysterious appearance. Surrounded by clouds which had a mystical blueish glow owing to the moonlight, she felt as if she had entered a fairy-tale world of indescribable beauty.

“It’s… Incredible!” “You like it?” Ansh exclaimed excitedly. “Ansh! Who would not like this! I have never seen anything more beautiful in my life!” “Thank God!” “How did you find this place?” “I didn’t, I mean… It took me a long time to find the exact spot from where you can enjoy this view.” “Not that I’m complaining but why?” “I figured it was getting boring with me always taking you on a date where basically we float around the roof of our building and I set up a table with your favorite confections. I had to up my game, become more creative in case someday I screwed up so badly that I could pull off a grand gesture to appease you.” “So, you were thinking about damage control?”

“No! Not at all, I just… I wanted to make you feel special. I guess I did the exactopposite by opening my mouth, stupid me!” “Hey,” Piya gently caressed his face, “I was kidding. Your intention matters to me, not your words. Look into my eyes,” She made him face her. “Stay with me, like this, forever… That’s all I need.” She hugged him passionately. “So, you’ll be okay if I stopped doing this?” “Oh no, you have to keep surprising me. I was being generous when I said I needed nothing.” “I’ll keep that in mind,” He leaned in to kiss her. “Just for the record, how did I do?” “I’d say… 9/10 probably?” “Wait, what! Where did you deduct 1 mark?” “I wouldn’t mind some food.” “Mid air!”

“Well, I am not saying you have to arrange something exotic. But I’m kind of missing our table full of chocolate pastries and…” “I had an epiphany, you'd say that.” Ansh pulled a chocolate bar out of his pocket. “It’s nothing fancy but I hope it’ll do the work for now.” “Cadbury!” “Dark chocolate with roasted almonds.” “That’s my favorite!” “I know. Let’s just say, for once I was grateful that Adi shares your liking for chocolates so I could pick one up from his secret stash on my way here. Now don’t give me that look. I’ll buy him more tomorrow.” “Hmm, you’re making it awfully difficult to deduct any mark at all.” “Should I take that as a 10/10?” “For now, yes. But be careful Mr. Rathod, you have already set the bar too high. Next time you’ll have to come up with something even more extraordinary.” “That’s okay. As long as it brings a smile to your face, I’ll keep reinventing myself…”

A simple statement, yet it had the depth of an ocean. For quite some time, none of them uttered a single word. It’s the silence that did the talking. They watched the moon gradually going down, the obscurity surrounding them shifted its tone. Both of them wanted to express their feelings but neither could find the appropriate word or decide where they should start.

“Ansh,” “Yes?” “I think it has been a couple of hours or so since we got here. You must be exhausted. Do you want to go home?” “Honestly, I don’t. But you’re right. I could use some rest. I think I know the perfect place for that. Hold on to me, alright?” He flew towards a tree nearby and helped Piya sat on a branch. “There you go.” He sat beside her and checked if she was comfortable. “How did you know there were these trees on this side?” “I told you, I had been looking for the perfect spot. I checked these trees out too. See, right now we are sitting at an angle from where the moon can be seen at its peak even during the later hours of the night. You get a good view of the shore as well. The only issue is you can’t see the forest from this side.”

“You weren’t kidding.” “Nope. Actually, I think it was good that you mentioned halting somewhere. Otherwise, you would have missed this view.” “It’s so… Surreal! “It is, isn’t it?” “I can’t believe I’m living a moment from “TWILLIGHT”.” “That hideous Robert Pattinson movie?” “How do you know about it!” “Fortunately, or unfortunately, I have two sisters who were crazy about that stupid franchise. They forced me and Rishi to watch those movies along with them. So yeah, I know all about Bella and Edward…” “You’re forgetting Jacob,” “Whatsoever… Which reminds me, how do you know about that? Please tell me you weren’t fawning over that Edward guy.”

“Of course not! But I had friends who LOVED him. Hence I found myself trapped in darkness while two extremely good-looking people mouthed dialogues that made me want to kill myself. No wonder the actors themselves were so miserable that they looked constipated throughout the movie.” “Oh my God!” Ansh burst out laughing, “That’s brutal.” “I’m sorry. There are very few things that bring out the absolute worst in me and let’s just say “TWILLIGHT” is one of them.” “I can’t blame you for that. Wait a second, you said you liked this place and then went ahead with complaining about that movie. That’s kind of contradictory, don’t you think?”

“Umm… You might remember that there was a sequence when Bella visits Edward’s home for the first time; he climbs up a tree with her on his back and shows her the scenic view from a height. It was the only moment from the movie where I thought, how amazing would it be if I could look at the world like this! And today, without even knowing, you fulfilled my wish.” “Not entirely… I guess you just gave me the idea where I should take you next time.” “Where?” “I can find out the exact location where they had shot that scene, thanks to our dear friends Google and ChatGPT. Who knows? I might even come up with an idea how to set up a dinner table for two, on those big brunches. That would give me a perfect 10/10 score.”

Piya stared at Ansh in disbelief and suddenly started laughing. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing,” She tried hard to control her laughter. “It’s just that… Suddenly I’m feeling bad for Mohana.” “I’m sorry?” “Just imagine, she went above and beyond to get hold of your wings. And you’re using them to plan dates with your wife. I’m pretty sure she would be rolling in her grave if she heard our conversation right now.” She burst into laughter again. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” “Try to think from her perspective and you’ll feel heartbroken too.” “I don’t know about myself but you’ll certainly feel her pain more than anyone else in this entire universe.” “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, you have teamed up with her on more occasions than you have fought beside my side. Whenever something happened to her, you were the first one to sense that. You even advocated for her when Singha came in disguise of Angad. And remember what you told her during our final battle?” Ansh smirked mischievously, “I would rather die than leave you alone.” “I didn’t say that! I mean, technically I did, but the context was entirely different!” “So you agreet hat you share a special connection with her?” He winked at her, riling her up further. “I don’t know what to say.” “Lucky for you, I do. “Kabhi Pyaar Kabhi Taqrar” - you can use that phrase to define your relationship with her.”

“Or I can try and convince myself that in reality, I’m having this conversation with Naman but my sleep deprived brain is playing a prank on me. That’s why I’m imagining you at his place.” “It could be a plausible explanation if only you were having this conversation at your home or if he had the ability to fly.” “So I’m fated to suffer all eternity with this memory that my husband lowkey accused me of emotionally cheating on him with his mother!” “Kind of,” “Guess I was better off if I had died along with her.” “See, soulmates!” “Devi Maa! What crime did I commit to deserve such punishment!” “For starters, you ruined your husband’s mood by mentioning your darling mother-in-law. Jokes apart, I think it’s not entirely a bad thing that Naman’s sense of humor is rubbing off on me. I mean, it doesn’t hurt to loosen up a little once in a while, right?”

“Yes, as long as it doesn’t take away the focus from what really matters, I don’t think a friendly banter has ever harmed anyone.” “Piya…” “You’re not without your share of vices Ansh. But hovering is not, has never been one of them. I specifically told you that I needed to take care of something with Baba and for that I needed time. Nonetheless, you showed up in the middle of the night and asked me whether you could take me out on a date, I guess. What am I supposed to make out of it?” “In my defense, I called Saavi before I barged in…” “My point exactly,” “I knew you would be standing on your balcony because… Whether you’re happy, sad or upset, you always look up at the sky and reminisce about Divya Maa. I had been waiting for you because I wanted to make sure you were okay. Otherwise, I would have never disturbed you, ever.”

“I’m not complaining Ansh. I simply want to make sure you’re alright. Because… I don’t know how to explain this but I have this strong feeling that something is bothering you. We practically came back from the verge of death. I’d understand if that made you more protective of me. I could even understand why all of a sudden, your urge to make me feel special overwhelmed you to the extent that you behaved completely out of your character. But when you said you had been looking for the perfect spot for weeks now, it struck me - your desperation, our argument and the eventual mishap with the spell, it can’t be a coincidence. Keeping aside the grand design and its need for a balance, I know you’re struggling with something and it’s consuming you,” She cupped his face lovingly and asked in a soft tone, “What is it Ansh? What are you not telling me?”

To Piya’s surprise, Ansh let out a dry smile before resting his head on her lap. “It never ceases to amaze me how you can read my thoughts even when I don't say anything.” He took her hand and placed it on his heart. “You remember when we decided that we would meticulously monitor whatever content our kids wanted to watch?” “Yes.” “Adi came to me one day and said he wanted to watch this animated series called “CASTLEVANIA”…” “Is it the one with Dracula and his wife?” “You know about that?” “Adi proposed that I should watch the later seasons while you start with the earlier ones. He thought it would get him approval sooner.” “You didn’t say yes, did you?” “Of course not. He’s still too young for such stories. But credit where it’s due, it’s a really well-made show.”

“Good, it means I don’t have to elaborate on the plot then.” Ansh paused for a second, “When I started watching the series, I felt like I saw my own life playing out on the screen. And during the climax when Dracula attacked Alucard, I…” He clutched Piya’s hand tightly in a desperate attempt to control himself. “I kept thinking what would happen once I lost you? Because… We both know that was inevitable. Without you, it would be a matter of time before I lost my humanity. And if that day came, I’m certain Adi would stand by what’s right, even if that meant fighting me. I could not bring myself to imagine what would happen next… I… I could not imagine hurting our boy like that!” “Hey, listen to me… It’s just a fictional show. You’re nothing like Dracula. Neither will you descend to madness nor will our son go against you.”

“I wish I could say you’re right. But deep down, even you know that without you, I’m doomed. Had I remained immortal, sooner or later I would have become the greatest threat for humanity.” “Is that why you started withdrawing from me?” “I didn’t intend to distance myself from you Piya. I could never do that, I wouldn’t. I simply wanted to prove to myself that I was capable of handling things alone, that in your absence I wouldn’t hurt anybody. But the more I tried, the worse it got. Each time I messed up, we got into an argument and instead of listening to your suggestion, I focused on the words you used in the heat of the moment. I started to feel like a burden. That’s when for the first time I wondered what if you and I had never met in the first place? That way we could have prevented the chain of incidents that led me to become invincible.” “Ansh!”

“I know it sounds stupid. I mean, which sane person envisions his future based on a fictional show? It took me some time but eventually I realized that I could either keep worrying about these ‘what ifs’ or I could face whatever challenge life throws at me, with you by my side. Because if I truly loved you, that alone would prevent me from hurting any innocent, let alone our own children. Hence, I started to look for an appropriate place where I could bring you and come clean about everything. Unfortunately, before I could do that, we got into another argument; you said you regretted cleaning up my mess and I ended up wishing for something I never truly meant. That’s why I brought you here tonight. I’ve wasted enough time waiting for the perfect moment, not anymore. Tonight, I bare my heart to you, in all honesty, and ask for your forgiveness. Will you give me another chance to hold your hand and walk by your side, till death do us apart?”

“I wish I could say that,” She slowly pulled her hand away from Ansh’s grip, stunning him. “You still haven’t asked me about my conversation with Baba,” “I don’t have to… Too many things were going on in the dream world. We got to see our loved ones only to say goodbye. That wasn’t easy for me and I’m sure it must have been equally, if not more, difficult for you guys. I wouldn’t be surprised if you wanted to talk to him about Divya Maa. Her memories belong to you… I would never try to force myself into that equation unless you include me yourself.” “You are right. I met Maa in Pataal Lok…” Ansh sprung up from his position and looked at Piya intently. She didn’t look bereaved but her eyes had the same loneliness he had identified with years ago. “The moment you threw me across your room, I realized I had lost you,” “Piya I’d never…”

“I know, I know. I’d say it was a blessing in disguise because it helped me take the decision I was trying to avoid desperately. I grew up without my parents Ansh. I spent my entire childhood blaming myself for Maa’s disappearance. I know exactly how it feels when you spend every waking moment, asking yourself – what could you have done differently that would have prevented your family’s destruction? I didn’t want Adi and Pari to have the same fate as me. In the ideal scenario, we would end up with each other. But if there had to be a choice, I would rather want them to have you than me…” She stopped midway, trying to control herself.

“Everything was going according to my plan. I got to save you, I managed to prevent Saavi from endangering her life, I found peace. But when I met Maa, I realized I lost the will to fight for myself. She literally made me relive my entire life so I could find that will again. Do you know why?” “Because… I hurt you so much that you did not want to return to me.” “On the surface, yes. I was tired of proving myself over and over again. I was frustrated and wondered why you still needed reassurance from me that I loved you. But underneath all of that, I was scared of losing you… I…” She pressed her palms against her face, but it did nothing to stifle the sob that tore through her chest. “Hey, come here,” Ansh pulled her in a hug to comfort her.

“When you started pulling away, I thought you didn’t need me anymore. I was already afraid that I no longer possessed enough power to protect you from harm’s way. The emotional disconnect made it even worse. My fear of failing to protect and subsequently losing the people I love, exacerbated my inferiority complex. While you were the center of my world, I felt like I had become a burden for you… Someone whose presence didn’t affect you but you chose to keep her in your life anyway because that was the honorable thing to do. And this realization that you… That I had become nothing in your life who I considered my everything, it started to destroy me from within.” “Why didn’t you tell me any of this!”

“How could I tell you when I didn’t know myself? I mean, I literally watched my entire life unfold before my eyes and still, Maa had to spell everything out for me so I could recognize my inner demons and fight them.” “We reallys crewed up this time, didn’t we?” “We did. For what it’s worth, I got to meet Maa and my brothers one last time.” “Ayush?” “Danish too.” “Piya I… I don’t know if there’s anything I can say to alleviate the pain I have caused you. Honestly, I don’t think my words will account for anything as this is what I have been doing ever since the day we met. I make these weird scenarios in my mind, act upon them and feel like I’m protecting you but in reality, I always end up hurting you. And when everything gets sorted, I make these promises about being transparent and then inadvertently break them…”

“Well, you said it yourself. I wish I could put the entire blame on you but I have my own share of faults. Maybe we should stop feeling guilty about where we went wrong and focus on what’s ahead of us. If we’ve learned one thing that is - a perfect world does not exist. But together, we are perfect with all our imperfection. Let’s not ever take that for granted anymore.” “You have my word.” “For the millionth time?” “More like zillionth,” He tried to stand up and balance himself before spreading his wings, “But something tells me this time it’ll work.” “Why is that?”

“Because,” He swept Piya off again and smiled, “I got to experience firsthand, “I LOVE YOU IN EVERY UNIVERSE”… I refuse to accept any other alternative.” “Did you just quote Dr. Strange?” Piya raised her eyebrow, “I did. But please don’t quote Christine?” “Actually, I have the same advice for you Mr. Rathod, “FACE YOUR FEARS”,” Piya gently pressed her forehead against Ansh’s, “It will lead you back to me...” “I love you Piya!” “As I love you! In every single lifetime, in every alternate reality, with all your charms and quirks, I love you!”

As they witnessed the crimson ray spread around the eastern sky, both looked at each other and smiled, for it wasn’t just the beginning of a new day, but the beginning of their new chapter. A life they were ready to build from scratch, with a newfound hope and a love that had been immortalized in its transcend to the boundaries of realism and dream…

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Author’s Note: And just like that, the story ends here. I express my heartfelt gratitude to each one of my readers who had the patience to wait for almost 2 years as I continued writing this FF. I will post a short Epilogue soon because I wanted to end this FF the same way it started. But other than that, life came a full circle for all the characters and I can finally heave a sigh of relief that I could tie all the loose ends and give the story a proper ending (I hope )...

Thank you so much guys! I hope you enjoyed reading the fic as much as I enjoyed writing it…