The long night finally ended, leaving both Ira and Chahna into a daze. Both the girls questioned their feelings over and over again. They both just couldn"t believe what was happening to them.Ira knew she liked Shiv, but she was scared to make a move. After all she believes she is not someone who was meant to be in that world. Above all she was afraid of hurting Shiv"s feelings. She was not sure why she came to that world in the first place. But one day, just like how she came, if she were to disappear into the thin air, what would happen to Shiv... That was the thought that kept haunting her...
.....
"Ira... Are you awake? I would like to speak with you about something...." Shiv knocked onto her door.
"Yeah, give me a second. I will get ready and come out."
.....
Shiv and Ira both walked along the pond in the garden of the main house.
"Hmm.... The air indeed feels great.... Its so relaxing here...." As she said Ira spread her arms and walked backwards facing Shiv.
Shiv smiled at the look of the girl as she was back to being her active self. He was so worried that he might not be able to see her energetic and naughty self once again. He was so distressed when he found out she was kidnapped.
He felt like seeing her smiling face once again was worth all the troubles that he had faced. It felt like just yesterday that she was kidnapped, but now she was fine and standing right in front of him. He was so thankful to the G.o.ds that she finally came back to his side.
"Why are you grinning like that? Did I do something funny??"
"No. Its just that, I am so glad that you are here with me. I hope this moment lasts forever..."
Ira didn"t say anything. She just sat down in front of the pond as she signalled Shiv to sit beside her.
"So what is it that you want to talk about?" She casually threw a question at him.
"It"s just that, I want to speak with you about what you told me before...."
Ira listened to him patiently as he continued to speak.
"Do you remember anything after we went to that village?"
Ira shook her head indicating a "No". She was not aware of what happened while she was unconscious. She was also not aware of the existence of that girl who called herself "Seal".
She was clueless as to what had happened and she started to look anxious.
Shiv understood her anxiety as he slowly tried to explain to her all the things that had happened during the time that she was lying unconscious on the bed.
Ira was clearly shocked learning something new about herself. She was suddenly scared knowing that she actually acted like someone else and till now she was not aware that, that person was actually within her own body all these years, protecting her.
Shiv gently patted on her shoulder, "I can understand that you might feel completely lost in all the things that I have just told you. I just wanted to inform you about it so that you would not feel that bad when you are put in the situation to face it once again. No matter what happens, just remember that I will always be by your side and protect you at all costs. If you feel tired you can always lean on me. I will be sure to hold you!"
Hearing his comforting words brought clarity to her clouded mind.
"Maybe... just maybe just like my aunt told... I might actually belong in here rather than that world... It"s just that I refuse to accept that fact.... If I accept it, it means I have to lose my family over there...."
That very thought killed her from within. No matter what, she was raised by that family. It doesn"t matter in which world she belonged to, she just doesn"t want to lose her family.
She rested her head on Shiv"s shoulders, "I didn"t tell you everything before... I was scared to accept the fact that I was someone who was actually born in this world but was sent to the future to be protected..."
Shiv was a little shocked to hear the truth from her mouth but not as shocked as she thought he would be. He had always felt like something was missing, on what she had told him. Hearing Abhinav"s explanation on her ident.i.ty, he couldn"t help but agree with him. But Ira herself denied the fact that she was someone that had originally belonged in this world.
Shiv tried to understand her worries and concerns from her point of view. If she were to even simply state the fact that she had belonged to this world, then it meant that she had to sacrifice her family, that had raised her as if she were their own child for those 20 years.
He can"t begin explaining how much it meant for her to even tell him that she might have been someone that belonged to that world....
Ira"s face was full of mixed emotions. She was not sure whether what she was doing was right or wrong. All she wanted was just to talk to him, about everything. She doesn"t want to hide anything from him anymore.
Ira was not sure what they both might have to face in the future, she just thought that it would be great to have someone like Shiv by her side.
Shiv held onto her hand, and said "Don"t worry, I am sure everything will turn up fine. Even though I don"t have any a.s.surance about the future that we might have to face... One thing that I can promise you is that, no matter where you might go, I will always be right behind you. All you have to do is turn around and take a rest before you start running again."
Ira felt so touched hearing his words, she couldn"t help but cry after hearing those words. She burrowed her head onto his wide chest and cried like a baby....
Shiv didn"t say anything except to caress her head lovingly as he held her tightly in his arms. He silently prayed for her to cry away with all the sadness that might come her way and turn a new leaf, where she will only be faced with happiness and laughter.
....
After a fine amount of time, Ira calmed down.
"I have finally decided. I will tell them about me. That is the only way to answer all of their questions."
"You don"t have to explain to them if you don"t want to. n.o.body here will question your ident.i.ty..."
Ira shook her head, "No, that"s not the right thing to do. I have decided to get your help in protecting my family. Since you trust them, I will also do the same. I will tell them about my ident.i.ty afterall we don"t know what we might have to face in the future."
Shiv couldn"t say anything in return. He was convinced by her thoughts and quietly agreed to allow her to do whatever she wanted.