Ira pushed him and ran inside the inn. Her face was burning as if it was on fire."What is wrong with me? It was just a kiss on the forehead! Why am I so fl.u.s.tered!? But... wait... he actually tried to kiss me on the lips!!!"
Ira turned red just at the thought of that incident. Her heart was thumping faster and faster. She tried to calm herself down, but unfortunately nothing worked.
She rolled on her bed as she thought, "How nice would it be if we are truly in love... But.... I have a world to return. This is not my place. I feel like, if I don"t remind myself about it over and over, I might get swept off my feet.... We are never meant to be. We can never be together."
Ira felt sad the moment that thought hit her. The happiness she felt a few seconds ago vanished into thin air....
She crawled onto her bed hoping to get some sleep. Before she knew, it was already the time for her to pack up.
....
Shiv and Abhinav packed their belongings and was ready to wake Ira up. Before they entered her room, Ira was all ready to start on with their journey.
"Oh, you are already awake? I thought you would still be sleeping like dead!" Abhinav casually commented.
"Well, excuse me! I"m not you.*Humph*"
Shiv carried his stuff and was standing right behind Abhinav.
"Okay, let"s start."
"Hmm... Argh... Argh...." Ira clung onto her chest as she groaned in immense pain. Her knees gave out as she fell to the floor.
Shiv and Abhinav were shocked for a moment. They couldn"t understand what in the world just happened.
Abhinav quickly gathered himself. Since he was a doctor, he had to maintain a calm posture and be level headed on such situations.
Shiv on the other hand could barely understand what just happened. His eyes were completely focused on the girl before him who was suffering from extreme pain.
Abhinav took her pulse, it was indeed not normal. He tried to first relieve her from the pain by giving some emergency painkillers he already had. But nothing worked. Ira was still in pain.
She was tossing and turning on the bed. Her breathing was uneven. She was barely keeping her consciousness.
Shiv broke into cold sweat and he was extremely alarmed. He grabbed Abhinav by his collar and pushed him hard against the wall.
"What happened to her? Aren"t you a doctor!? Do something! Right now!!"
"Shiv, calm down a little! I am ashamed to tell this, but I really have no idea why she is in so much pain! This is something, I can"t medically understand!!"
"So are you telling me to just watch her suffer from all this pain, until it subsides on it"s own? Are you serious!??"
Abhinav didn"t reply for a while. He lowered his head and softly whispered, "I will try to do what I can. Let"s not lose hope...."
Shiv freed him from his grasp. Abhinav tried all sorts of medicines on her but nothing had any effect....
Finally after half an hour of struggle, Ira showed signs of improvement.
"What... just happened? I felt like my heart was being squeezed...." Ira spoke in a tired manner.
"You were in a lot of pain just now... How are you feeling? Does it hurt anywhere, anymore?"
"Huh-huh. Not anymore. I feel completely fine now."
Shiv rushed towards her and hugged her tight in his arms.
Ira could slightly feel like he was trembling. She patted on his shoulders and quietly whispered into his ears, "I"m alright. Even though I don"t know what happened, I feel great now. Don"t worry..."
Somehow hearing her say these words, made him rea.s.sured.
Abhinav was still confused as he was still not able to find the reason for her pain.
"Are you really alright!? Do tell me if I hurts anywhere, okay?"
"Yes, yes. I am fine. I"m completely fine. I can even dance and show you now! By the way, it"s already time... we haven"t left because of me... Sorry..."
She felt bad as it delayed their journey.
"I"m not sure whether we can continue in your current state...." Abhinav was not entirely sure whether she was completely alright to carry on with their journey.
But Shiv could not afford to delay any longer. He knows that Aditya and the others are waiting for his return. He couldn"t make up his mind as to stay or leave.
Ira noticed the concerned look on his face. She immediately understood that he might have something, but is hesitant to spill it out.
Before Shiv could make up his mind and give an answer, Ira spoke.
"Abhi, I"m really okay. I think we can continue on with our journey. Even if we start now, we can still make it by noon! Instead of wasting our time here, why don"t we just start."
"But..."
Abhinav looked at Shiv for help. That was when he also noticed the hesitant look on his face.
"Ahh... I give up! But you must tell me if you are in pain. When you do, we will immediately stop our travel. Is that fine?"
Ira nodded her head like a hen pecking on the grains.
"I will surely tell you! Now, let"s go."
Abhinav went first with their stuffs and took their horses from their stables. He obviously doesn"t want to be a lightblub and continue being a third wheel.
Ira got up and pulled Shiv by his hand.
"Now get up... What"s with you?"
Shiv still couldn"t make up his mind. He was still hasitant about continuing on with their journey. But he must return and take the injured peasants back to the hidden village....
Ira pinched the s.p.a.ce between his brows.
"Quite frowning! It doesn"t look good on you..." She smiled brightly at him.
"I don"t know what is eating you... But I believe, I am atleast capable of helping you with it like this... Now, don"t worry too much. I"m not that weak!"
Seeing the girl being back to her energetic self, he couldn"t help but feel a little calm inside.
He looked her straight in the eye for a second and embraced her tightly on his arms once again, as he spoke sincerely, "Thank you!"
Those words made Ira completely fl.u.s.tered. Above all, he hugged her again, not once, but twice!!
She could feel her heart beating faster and faster.
He mind went completely blank. She just stood there and let him hug her.
"Just what are those brats doing? Did they forget about my presence and are indulged in their own little world!? *Humph*"
Poor little Abhinav, stood outside the inn all ready to depart....