The Dark Before The Dawn - A Nazar/PiyAnsh FF (Completed) - Page 8

Part - 04

“Piya!!! Do you even realize what you are saying?” Vedashree couldn’t believe her ears when Piya told her, she wanted to move out with the kids. “I do maa. I have thought this through. This is what’s best for them.” “But what about us Piya? How can we live without them?” Chaitali intervened. “I just want to move out chachi. I have never said that I won’t come to this house or you can’t visit us in my new home.” “But beta! Why this sudden decision? Mohana is dead now and Prathmayan is trapped. We had won Pralay-Yudh years ago. There’s no danger to the kids or us anymore. Why do you want to separate the kids from us? Even they are accustomed to living in a joint family.” Shekhar tried to reason with Piya.

“I know papa that for now there’s no threat to us. But this is not permanent. The battle between good and evil is everlasting.” Piya paused for a moment. “There will always be Kalishaktis to harm innocent people and there will be people like us to fight them. But power alone isn’t enough. One needs to know the extent of his power and how to wield it. Otherwise it becomes a burden. Ansh and I have struggled for years because we weren’t prepared for it. But Adi and Pari doesn’t have to. Ansh and I can teach them. But for doing that, I can’t endanger anyone else’s life. So I want to live separately. Even if something goes wrong or things get out of hand, I would be there to control it. But with the constant fear that you might get hurt, I won’t be able to do that.” “But Piya! Is this really necessary? Mohana is no more and Ansh doesn’t need any protection now. You people can sacrifice your powers again, right? Along with Adi and Pari? You guys can have a normal life. Then why risk it all for some hypothetical armageddon which may or may not occur in future?” Chaitali tried to persuade Piya. “But why should I do that chachi? Why should I sacrifice my power or my kids' just to fit in?” Piya asked Chaitali. “Piya! Is power more important than family? You have always chosen this family over everything, you have always confronted Mohana for choosing power. Then why are you are choosing your power over your family this time?” Vedashree was astonished.

Piya paused for a few seconds and looked at the family members. She knew what she was gonna say next, would break everyone’s heart but she had to do it. “I am not choosing power maa! For the first time in my life, I am acknowledging who I am and what my duties are in true sense. This family has always supported us, stood beside us, fought with us. But I’ll ask you all one simple question; have you people ever truly accepted us for who we are? Ansh is a Daavansh. With or without Mohana’s influence, his powers were bound to come out. It was on you to prepare him and protect him from the evil around so that when the time came, he could embrace his identity and fight for what is right. A Daivik was never required to protect him. All he had to do was acknowledge his true self and choose the right path. As his family, you could show him what’s right and wrong like everyone else out there. But you tried to protect him desperately and he grew up blaming himself for his powers. I know all of you love us dearly. But I don’t think Adi or Pari will ever get complete acceptance because they are our kids; they are not normal by common standard. And I don’t want them to grow up thinking their power is the reason of their family’s misery. I want them to accept it, learn how to control it and then it’s on them if they want to fight the good fight or not.”

“Piya!!! We had to protect Ansh because he is Mohana’s firstborn. We wanted him to sacrifice his powers so that no one came looking for him.” Vedashree tried to justify herself. “But that didn’t work either maa, did it? Bhasmika came after him anyway. We don’t know how many innocents have been killed by her along the way. All of these could be averted if we hadn’t sacrificed our powers in the first place.”

“But Piya!!! Magical power is not mandatory for survival in the real world. Why should we burden our kids with it?” Chaitali got hyper. Piya looked at her and replied, “If you had found out that Rishi started smoking when he was a teenager, what would you do? Cut his fingers so that he couldn’t light a cigarette again? Or scold him and make him realize what he was doing was wrong?” Chaitali was at a loss hearing Piya’s sentence.

“For you, power is additional but this is what makes us complete. Like you can’t think of your life without your senses, we can’t think of ours without our powers. We tried, but we were crippled without it. We had to start everything from the scratch again and I don’t want my kids to go through that.”

Piya took a deep breath and looked at everyone. “Nothing is certain in this world. Ansh and I could die any moment. Adi and Pari might indulge in a battle and lose their powers forever. Anything can happen at any moment. But they deserve to live their life to the fullest. They deserve to love themselves for who they are and they surely don’t deserve growing up with a doubt that whether their existence is the reason of other’s suffering? Even after all these years, you guys want us to sacrifice our powers because that would be beneficial for the family. But what about us? Or the thousands of people out there who might be needing our help? This family means everything to me and I’ll die protecting it. But as Adi and Pari’s mother, they are my first priority and I don’t give a damn, if that makes me the bad guy in your eyes. I am sorry!” Piya clearly stated her points and left the hall.

Ansh, who was standing there and witnessing the family drama all along, didn’t utter a single word. In a last ditch effort, Vedashree came near him and said, “Why are you silent? Why can’t you put some sense into Piya? How will I live without you and the kids?” Tears were rolling down her cheeks. “We have had this conversation before maa. Piya didn’t drop the bomb all of a sudden. It’s a mutual decision.” “You are leaving me!!!” Vedashree couldn’t believe her ears. “No. I am staying here. But I need to give my kids their best chance. I had already separated Adi from Piya once and couldn’t even look after him properly. If she wants the kids to stay with her, I won’t stop her. Like she doesn’t want me to choose between her and you and told me that she would leave alone; in the same way I am respecting her decision. I won’t burden her with my weaknesses.” Ansh tried to control his tears and left the place. The Rathods stood in shock and kept wondering what had just happened!!!

Neither Ansh nor Piya wanted their kids to know about what was going on. The kids were told that Piya got a project for which she had to relocate and Ansh would drop by every now and then. Knowing how intelligent their kids were and how they would try to persuade them to live together if they got to know about the real reason, PiyAnsh acted normal in front of them. Ansh made them understand how important professional commitments were and instructed them not to annoy Piya too much. When everything was taken care of and Ansh was about to see them off, the kids were excited as they thought it would be more like a picnic. However, Ansh felt like someone had ripped off his heart from his chest. Looking at Piya, he could understand she was going through the same pain but as always, she put on a brave face and joined the kids in their laughter.

Ansh spent the entire day helping Piya to settle down and playing with the kids.They had dinner together and later when he was about to leave, Piya requested him to stay with them for the night and leave in the morning. In their room, an awkward silence prevailed.Neither of them could utter a single word. But Ansh was dying inside and finally asked Piya the question that had been bugging him since the moment Piya had expressed her desire to live separately, “Can I ask you something Piya?” “Sure! What is it?” “Are you really doing this for the kids or is this your way of punishing me?” Piya was stunned by Ansh’s allegation. She knew he was hurt and was dying inside all along thinking about the pain she was causing him. Yet, his accusation made her want to scream. After all these time, this is what he had thought of her? She wanted to confront him for even thinking that she was using their kids as an excuse. But despite everything, he deserved to know the truth and Piya decided to give it to him. “What do you think?” Suddenly Ansh felt guilty. Even though Piya had a straight face, the hurt in her eyes and voice was visible. “I am sorry Piya!!! I never should have brought this up. I umm, I should go.” He was about to leave when Piya asked him, “Do you remember our first meeting?” Ansh stopped in his track and looked back.

“It was the annual lantern festival and I went there as some college-mate had told me about wishes coming true after flying off a lantern.” “I remember everything.” Ansh stepped towards her. “That was the first time when I had touched you and felt a spark. You might not know but I was very close. I listened to your prayer. You were asking for your mother.” “I was, wasn’t I?” Piya had a faint smile and looked away to hide her tears. “Even during our college trip, when you found me after those shooters had attacked us, I was talking about maa in my semiconscious state and you realized how much I yearned for her!” Ansh was puzzled. He couldn’t understand why Piya was bringing up all those old incidents. “I have always craved for my mother’s love Ansh. But when you came into my life, for the first time I felt I wasn’t alone anymore. You gave me everything I had ever wanted - love, assurance and a family. Which is why, I decided to become everything you needed me to be - your friend, your partner and a protector of your family. I knew how difficult it was for you to find your own way and tried to help you. But I could never realize when I had lost myself along the way.” Ansh was taken aback at Piya’s last sentence.

"I had never questioned your decisions Ansh. Because I always felt you would do what's right for our family. When we had sacrificed our powers, I thought it was necessary for our family's wellbeing. But I was wrong. It didn't take you a moment to throw me out of your life and suddenly I realized that you might have been the center of my world but I was just a very important second priority in your life." Tears started rolling down her eyes but she didn't care. "I always thought you accepted me for who I was and made me a part of your world. But at the end of the day, nothing mattered more to you than your family's happiness; not even our love. I was appreciated only when I could safeguard your family but when I needed you the most, you deserted me!" Ansh tried to say something but Piya stopped him, "I still had some belief that even if you had failed me, you would at least prioritize our kids but I couldn't be more wrong! You chose to marry Bhasmika because maa wanted you to move on and start afresh. You thought surrendering in front of Mohana was the only way to protect our family. But did you think for once how it would affect me or the kids? You just decided to be the martyr and asked them to take care of themselves as well as everyone else. Like chachi, you suggested me to sacrifice our powers once again the night I had told you about my decision. That moment I realized I couldn't hold any grudge against you. How could I blame you for not accepting me when you have never even accepted yourself? You have always believed being a Daavansh has been a curse for your family. So tell me, could I really trust you with our kids? Could you look into my eyes and promise me that you would choose Adi and Pari over your family if something wrong happened someday?"

“That day when Adi joined me and told me that he wanted to fight, I realized that’s who he is and I would be damned if I didn’t give him that chance. I want our kids to grow up in a big family but more than that, I want them to accept who they are. I want them to explore their options, to thrive, to fall in love someday, even get their hearts broken along the way. I want them to enjoy every aspect of their lives. But I don’t want them to lose their selves for someone else’s love or acceptance. I don't want them to question their existence like I did.” Piya paused for a moment. “You told me the other night how you had always looked up to Mridul papa while growing up. Today I am urging you! Be the father who won’t endanger his kids’ lives and accept them for who they are. Be their guide, not their burden. Give them their best chance Ansh, please!!!” Piya left the room leaving a shattered Ansh behind.