A Tale As Old As Time - Page 5

Chapter - 06

“I don’t understand one thing,” Saavi handed Piya a glass of water and sat beside her, “If Jiju has gone back only a decade earlier, how does that change everything around him?” “Isn’t that what time-traveling is all about - rewriting the history? Why would you take such a huge risk if you didn’t want to prevent certain things from happening?” “Even time-traveling has its limitations. You can’t just sit here and control something that took place years ago. To alter a particular incident, you have to be present there. Only then you’ll be able to control your existing timeline and onwards, not the other way around. From what Di has seen it seems like everything has changed, as if an entirely different world has come to exist where all our loved ones are still alive. That would require Jiju to travel back at least thirty years, not just ten. And let’s just say, he did travel all the way back. Then he shouldn’t be so puzzled seeing all the changes around him, right?” “Or it could be owing to the different outcome than what he expected.” “That’s actually a plausible explanation. Remember that time when…”

“I don’t think time-traveling is the issue here, or at least the most pressing one,” Piya finally spoke up, “I think… I believe Saavi’s suspicion was right all along; Ansh is stuck in a dreamland.” “And how are you so sure of it Gudiya?” “Because… I didn’t just see Ayush and Danish there. In that realm, Mridul Papa and Karan are alive as well, I’ve seen their family photo. And I guess even Maa and Papa have a son of their own. That’s all that Ansh has ever wanted - a family where no one had to suffer or sacrifice anything for his sake, specially Maa.” “But Gudiya the nature of a dreamland depends on its creator’s intent. I don’t have to remind you that when Ayush and Mohan created their dreamland, their sole purpose was to torture you guys. That is why you found yourselves trapped in a maze with no supernatural power.” “Yes, I remember.” 

“We have checked the CCTV footage multiple times. When the mishap occurred, Ansh was alone in the room. Even if he wasn’t, it’s practically impossible for any Kaalishakti to put him under any spell or control his mind.” “You just answered your own question Baba.” “I don’t understand.” “Ansh has created this dreamland himself.” Piya smiled in exhaustion while a drop of tear trickled down her cheek, ““I wish I hadn’t met you in the first place” - that’s what he said to me before leaving. And now we have a parallel universe where Ansh Rathod and Piya Sharma’s paths have never crossed. They are happy with their respective families, free of the burden of their shared destiny.” 

“You know Ansh didn’t mean it, right?” Naman said hesitantly, “Take it from me, when it comes to expressing our emotions, we men can be total idiots.” Piya stared at him blankly. As hurt as she was, she knew her childhood friend was right. She didn’t just look through Ansh’s eyes; she felt his every emotion - his pain, his desperation, his deepest, darkest fear. For the longest time, she was on her own, loneliness being her only companion. She was way too familiar with the void left in one’s heart with their loved ones’ departure. Yet, she felt overwhelmed by Ansh’s emotions. When Neha was pulling him away, she could feel Ansh’s heartbreak - a strange emptiness she had never experienced before. It felt as if she was standing at the edge of a cliff, surrounded by black clouds while the dark abyss lying before her awaited her resignation. She could hear its call - so enticing that for a moment there she contemplated giving in. At least that way she would finally be free of the despair that was devouring her from within. 

A part of her felt angry. After all these years, after everything they had been through how could Ansh hold onto that one argument? Whereas another part of her felt devastated. She couldn’t deny when it came to hurting someone with their words, she was much worse than Ansh. Back when Ansh brought her home to cure Vedashree, she insulted him on every occasion, cursing him for his lineage and whatnot. Yet, the man remained patient. Without any expectation, he literally jumped into a fire so that her life didn’t get destroyed. And that was even before she professed her feelings for him. Intentionally or unintentionally, if Ansh ended up creating a dreamland, no one had to tell her the effect of her words on him. Irony was even in his dreamland he was tormented and she had no one but herself to blame for it. 

“Thank you Naman!” She smiled despondently, “Even when we are aware of the truth, at times all we need is reassurance from the ones who are close to our heart.” She took a deep breath and composed herself, “I’m not saying Ansh did it on purpose. I’m simply trying to connect all the dots. As Saavi just stated, every spell has its limitations. Creating a dream world is no easy task. Only the most powerful Kaalishaktis can do that and even with that, they require help from this side. Remember when Dola tried to harm Ansh, she used a specific talisman and had Ruby put it on Ansh? She reigned in Swapnolok but needed a human to ingest her special powder so she could use him/her as a medium and finally step into our realm.” 

She paused for a moment and continued, “How often do we think about leaving everything behind and starting afresh when things don’t go according to our plan?” “Don’t know about the others but I do it at least twenty times a day.” “We had a fight and obviously Ansh was in a bad mood. The only difference between him and a regular person is he possesses so much power that his mind isn’t confined to imagination only. If he wants, he can conjure anything; in this case, a parallel universe.” “That would explain everything,” Saavi exclaimed, “If he was indeed lost in his thoughts, he couldn’t have noticed the vapor coming out of my potion. And when he touched the Kohrayan Talwar, it provided him with the external energy…” “Thereby creating a portal to the past,” Nishant remarked, “Perhaps that’s why he has been sent to the time when you two first met.” Piya nodded her head. “If he hadn’t had his memories intact, he would have easily settled into this different life.”

“That’s what I think too.” Piya heaved a sigh. “Right now, it’s his ties with our world that is causing him so much pain.” “Forgive me for intruding but are you still hung up on his words?”  “No, Naman,” She turned towards him, “I’m more worried about him. Being stuck in a dreamland is dangerous enough as your body cannot survive without your mind. If someone gets hurt there, their body will suffer from the same damage here in this plane. As you can see, someone hit him there but he started bleeding from his head.” “And since you were directly linked with him you also got hurt.” She nodded her head in reply. “Perfect.” Saavi shot a death glare at Naman as the latter made a face. “At this point, I would be less worried if Ansh had cast the time-traveling spell instead.” 

“I agree with Di. Now we can’t be sure if waking Jiju up from his dream would be enough to break this spell.” “You are right Saavi. Now we have to recreate all the incidents that led to Gudiya and Ansh’s wedding and then travel back to the current time so when we try to wake him up, Ansh’s mind doesn’t get stuck between the present and the past.” “How are we gonna do that?” “We’ll have to enter into this parallel world. We have the herbs Saavi used and Kohrayan Talwar. But I guess we’ll have to extract its essence first because none of us is as powerful Ansh that we can channel its power just by touching its hilt.” “What about the source of energy?” “Leave that to me. You can draw some blood from me and Ansh, that should do the work.”  

“Also we’ll need some talismans to keep us connected with this world. That way if something goes wrong, we’ll be able to return without worrying about disrupting the time flow between the two worlds.” “Yes, once these things have been taken care of, I’ll summon Daayan Vriksh to link my consciousness with my counterpart. Clearly, my other world doppelganger has no idea of who Ansh is or how they are connected. Last time I could see through Ansh’s eyes because I was focusing on him. Theoretically speaking, Daayan Vriksh should be able to connect my mind with the other world Piya’s body so I’ll be able to reach out to Ansh.” “I’m sorry but did you just use “I”?” “Yes, I’m not gonna endanger your or Naman’s life for a mess that I created. If something happened to you, who would look after Dafli?”

“And what about Adi and Pari? Their father is already in this state. You want them to lose their mother too?”  “Nothing’s gonna happen to them because I’ll bring Ansh back. And if I fail… I know I have you guys who’ll never let anything happen to them.” “Then why are you being skeptical about us? If something happened to me, wouldn’t you and Ansh take my daughter’s responsibility?” “This is not the time to play a martyr Naman. Dilruba died to protect Pari. I can’t snatch Dafli’s father from her as well.” “Then let me go. That way the kids will be safe.” “Have you lost your mind! We have already lost Ayush to this spell. I’m not gonna lose you too.” “You are simply wasting our time Di. We both know what happened in the past. It wasn’t just about you two or Mohana. Naman, Dad even I did certain things that eventually led to your union. You’ve got to let us help you.” 

“Baba please say something!” “Saavi is right Gudiya. I don’t want to risk either of your lives. But you won’t be able to handle everything on your own.” “Sir Ji is right Piya. We are Reevavanshi. We can’t step away from our duties because of familial ties. I know for a fact that Mrs. Ji would have wanted me to fulfill my responsibilities and set a great example for our daughter. Let us help you as you have always taken care of us.” Piya said nothing and gazed upon them. Their determination was evident on their faces. Having no other option, she let out a sigh and agreed to their proposal, “Fine, you win. But if anything happens there, the first thing I’ll do is teleport you two here.” “But Di…” “No buts Saavi. Either agree to this or I’ll be going alone.” “Fine, you win.” “Alright people, let’s get back to work. We have lots of things to do.”

The Reevavanshis spent the next few hours in preparation. Nishant called Vedashree and made an excuse for an urgent mission that required both Ansh and Piya. While Guru Maa assured Piya of the kids’ safety. Knowing how easily the Rathods get panicked by anything remotely related to the supernatural world, Pandit Ji called Avinash and asked him to arrange for a havan. Once the potion was prepared, Nishant soaked a few wristbands made of Rudraksha beads with it and handed them over to Piya, Naman, and Saavi. “As long as you have these with you, you’ll stay connected with our world. Don’t let these break at any cost.”

Naman nodded his head and walked up to Dafli’s crib. He took the infant in his lap and played in their usual style, “Don’t you worry dear, Papa will be back before you can blink.” He put her back in the crib and inhaled the potion. Within a short time, he fell asleep. “The potion has started working, it’s your turn now.” Nishant tried to sound normal but the crack in his voice didn’t escape his daughter’s notice. “We’ll be fine Dad, don’t worry.” “You have my word Baba, I won’t let anything happen to Saavi.” “That’s not enough. Promise me I’ll see you both again.” “We promise.” “You won’t even notice that we are gone.” Piya forced a smile while Nishant hugged them tightly.

“It’s time.” Saavi took a deep breath and proceeded with the ritual. Once she fell unconscious, Piya summoned Daayan Vriksh and commanded its roots to connect all of them together. Before she closed her eyes she looked at Ansh’s face one last time and held his hand, “You found me once before, now it’s my turn. Don’t worry Ansh, I’ll find my way back to you, I promise!” 

Chapter - 07

“Are you out of your mind!” Chaitali lamented, “What the hell were you even thinking?” Avinash looked at her helplessly. He was worried about Ansh just as much as the rest of the family members. However, Chaitali’s accusations added to his guilt, making him wonder whether there was another way of stopping him. “Calm down Chaitali.” Vedashree sat next to Mohana, trying to comfort her, “It’s not like Avinash hit him on purpose.” “I don’t understand, what has happened to my boy suddenly!” Mohana cried out. “Don’t worry Mohana. I’m sure there’s some explanation behind Ansh’s action. Otherwise, when has he ever disobeyed you?” “That’s why I’m worried Chutki. What happened all of a sudden that he behaved this way? It’s so not like him.” 

“Badi Maa, Chachi, I think you should know Bhai has been acting all weird since this morning.” “And you are telling this now?” “Let her speak Chaitali.” “Last night, Bhai went on a date with Ruby. He seemed really happy. But today when we were about to leave for college he seemed like an entirely different person. As if he couldn’t make sense of what was happening. If I didn’t know him better, I’d say he was high.” “Neha, I know you don’t like Ruby but accusing her of drugging Bhai is a bit too much, don’t you think?” “Rishi is right Neha,” Avinash spoke up, “You can't put such serious allegations on someone simply because of your differences in opinion. Besides, if that was the case, Ansh wouldn’t have so much strength that I would have to hit him for pulling him away from Bhabhi.” “Yeah, you are right. I’m sorry Papa.” 

“Shekhar Ji, have you called Mridul?” “Yes, he’s on the way. It’s a good thing Kajal isn’t here. Otherwise, she would be stressed out too.” “Maa, what has happened to Bhai?” Vishesh asked with tears in his eyes. “Is he gonna be okay?” “He’ll be alright dear, don’t worry. You stay here with your Kaki. I’ll go upstairs and check up on him, okay?” “Okay.” Vedashree patted Mohana’s shoulder in assurance and went upstairs. To her surprise, there was no trace of Ansh in his room. He had already left…

As Ansh saw his building’s reflection slowly disappearing from his rearview mirror, he heaved a sigh of relief. It was bad enough that he was stuck in the past. With his family playing house with Mohana, he lost his remaining bit of patience to explain his side of the story to them. Everything about this wretched world made him sick. Wasn’t this ironic? All he had ever wished for was right before his eyes yet, never had he ever felt so miserable. Perhaps that’s the reason why Piya never ran behind the mirage called a normal life. After all, she had always been so perceptive. She accepted and cherished the life they shared together despite the baggage that came along with their powers.

Lost in his thoughts, Ansh didn’t realize when he entered the wrong lane and was about to get hit by a truck coming from the opposite direction. His trance broke at the sound of glass shattering as another scooty rider willingly came between his car and that truck. Fortunately, the truck driver was able to stop his vehicle in the nick of time. However, the scooty crashed, injuring its owner. Ansh hit the brake desperately and once his car stopped, he rushed towards the kind stranger who risked her life to save his. 

“I’m so sorry Miss! Are you alright?”  “What sort of idiot are you?” Piya took off her helmet and looked at her lacerated elbow, “Even if you were blind to miss that gigantic truck heading your way, couldn’t you hear when I was screaming my lungs off at you?” Ansh stood mum, bewildered by the incident. This is what happened during their college trip - he was about to die and Piya saved him. Albeit differently, it seemed like history was repeating itself. “Hello Sir, I’m talking to you! After pulling such a stunt, now you choose to be quiet?” Getting no reply from the weird stranger, Piya gave up. It wasn’t like she saved his life with some sort of expectation. Nonetheless, a simple word of gratitude wouldn’t hurt.

Exasperated, she tried to pick her scooty up when Ansh approached her, “You are hurt.” “Oh really? I wouldn’t have noticed if you hadn’t pointed it out.” “I know you are angry. But please, let me help you.” Ansh put his hand over her elbow and tried to heal her wound when he realized his powers weren’t working. “What the hell are you doing?” Piya’s temper reached its peak while Ansh looked at his palms in shock. What was happening? How could he lose his powers all of a sudden? “Apparently you are too keen to reach the hospital today.” Piya was about to punch him but suddenly Ansh fell to the ground and started vomiting.

At first, Piya couldn’t understand what should she do. Until that moment she felt this guy to be a complete moron. However, looking at his condition she realized she judged him too early. She knelt beside him and held his forehead gently when she noticed blood dripping from behind his head. “Did you hit your head while trying to stop the car?” “Piya listen,” He said with much difficulty. “It might be a concussion,” She mumbled to herself, “We need to get you to the hospital right away.” Ansh tried to stop her but in vain. Piya made him lie on the road and ran towards the truck driver who was already coming their way. As he was about to lose consciousness, he saw her terrified face, pleading with him to stay awake while he closed his eyes with a strange satisfaction…

“If I were given a choice, I would choose you all over again, with my eyes closed, in every single lifetime, in every alternate reality. I would choose you because I love you!”

“Piya!” Ansh woke up with a jerk. Once he recalled what had happened earlier, he hurriedly tried to get down from his bed when a familiar voice took him by surprise, “Finally you are awake.” Piya entered the cabin with a mug of coffee in her hand, “You gave us quite the scare last night.” She took the seat beside his bed and continued, “How are you feeling now? It’s okay if you don’t feel like talking. A simple thumbs-up would suffice.” Ansh nodded his head and showed her his thumb making her giggle, “You’re really funny, you know. I didn’t expect you to follow my instructions to the word, specially after what happened yesterday.” She sighed.

“I owe you an apology. I’m extremely sorry for blasting you without noticing your injury.” “It’s okay,” He said weakly, “I deserved that.” “Your family is here.” “How did you…” “When we brought you here, your sister was calling you. So I gave her the address and she came along with your uncle and aunt.” She said with a smile, “They are outside, finishing the hospital formalities.” “Even you got injured.” He pointed towards her elbow, “You should have gotten it checked by now.” “Oh that, I forgot about it completely. Don’t worry, I’ll see the doctor once my parents arrive.” “Your parents?” “Yeah, what’s so surprising about that?” 

Ansh remained silent. Clearly, Divya and Nishant didn’t separate in this timeline. While a part of him felt happy knowing Piya finally got the love she always craved, the accompanying dread numbed his senses. Both of them were broken souls who found their solace in each other. And now that she was content and more importantly happy, what was his place in her life? Was it even justified on his part to burden this thriving young girl with his share of woes? “Hey, are you alright? Should I call the doctor?” The genuine concern in her voice melted his heart. She might not recognize him but he felt the same warmth around her. Why did those two deep eyes overwhelm him with so many emotions when his mind was telling him something else? He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. No, he wouldn’t repeat the same mistake. He wouldn’t let another statement dictate his life. No matter how perfect this illusionary world seemed, the biggest truth was he loved her as she loved him. He simply had to remind her of him, that was it.  

“I’m fine.” He smiled with great difficulty, “I’m still feeling a little dizzy hence couldn’t answer your question.” He paused for a moment, “There’s a girls’ hostel down the road where our accident happened. I guess that gave me the impression that you were living alone.” “That’s an honest mistake. But no, I live with my family. I wasn’t sure how long it would take for you to regain consciousness. And I couldn’t leave you alone either. So I informed my parents and told them I’d be here for the night.” “And they approved!” “They are used to it.” She smiled sheepishly. “You’d be surprised to know the number of people I have helped and got myself into trouble in return. I remember one time I almost got arrested for helping a pickpocket.” She laughed out loudly while he stared at her in disbelief. 

“I’m surprised your parents are okay with it.” “Why wouldn’t they be? I turned out this way because of them only.” “You seem to be quite close with your folks.” “That I am,” She said with a warm smile, “They are the best.” “And your siblings?” “Freakishly annoying but I love them immensely. Wait a second, how did you guess I have siblings?” “This isn’t the first time we are meeting. It might have escaped your notice, we met at the nursery yesterday before all this happened.” “I knew it!” She exclaimed in childlike enthusiasm, “That’s why you looked so familiar.” “I’m Ansh.” “Nice to meet you Ansh. I’m…” “Piya,” He pointed towards her ID card, “It has been a pleasure meeting you.”

His deep voice caught Piya off guard. There was something about his aura that intrigued her, something unexplainable. Whenever their eyes met, she could sense pain and longing but couldn’t tell whether it was her imagination or if the guy was truly suffering. Just then her phone beeped. “It’s my father. I better be going now.” She picked up her bag and smiled at him. “Take care of yourself Ansh, and be careful. You won’t be so lucky every time for someone to come to your rescue.” “I’ll take my chances if it means  I’ll get to see you again.” “Are you flirting with me?” She rolled her eyes at him. “I am.” “What gave you the impression you could do that?” “I apologize if I made you feel uncomfortable, but...”

“It’s okay, I like your straightforwardness.” “Does that mean I can ask you out on a date?” “I wish I could say “YES” to that.” “It’s a simple word. You shouldn’t have much difficulty mouthing it.” “Well, I hate to break your heart but I’m getting engaged to my best friend. Nonetheless, I am flattered, and to be completely honest, a bit heartbroken myself. Guess we should have met a decade earlier before my fiancé could make his move.” “Wait, what?” “I’m getting married to my childhood sweetheart. So you see, there’s possibly no way for us to end up together, at least not in this lifetime. But I’ll definitely remember you and guess what? I’m gonna tell my grandkids about you, emphasizing how lucky their dumb grandpa got that I chose him over this mysterious young man.” “Piya... I...” “Goodbye Ansh!”

As he watched her going away, Ansh felt like someone had crushed his throat and stabbed him with thousands of swords all at once. Never in his life he had experienced such agony. He wanted to burn the world down, he wanted to scream until every living thing on this planet could feel his pain and rally behind him so the wheel of time was left with no other choice but to bow before his will and reunite him with his beloved. Instead, he looked on helplessly, waiting for another miracle so he could finally wake up from this nightmare until realization dawned upon him - he had truly lost Piya. With no beginning or any end, he was trapped in this prison world forever to relive a horror that he wouldn’t wish for his worst enemy...