Chapter 94
Death of an Artist
“A dancer dies twice — once when they stop dancing, and this first death is the more painful.”
- Martha Graham
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His fingers lifted off the keys in the instant that he felt something to be wrong. Just as her eyes closed, as the music faded into silence, he turned around on instinct. Everything appeared slowed to his eyes, like they were underwater and drowning. The precious instrument that she devoted her entire life to nearly shattered to bits upon the floor, if Abhay didn’t take a dive to catch it. The bow hit the floor off to the side. Piya lay unconscious in his arms, ears bleeding more profusley this time. He set the violin aside and tried to shake her awake, his handkerchief pressed against each ear in an alternating fashion.
“Piya!” He screamed, seeing the paleness of her face. The sound of his voice brought everyone else to the room, the smell of blood alarming. It wouldn’t stop.
“What happened?!” Haseena asked, kneeling upon the floor. If they didn’t do something, she could bleed to death. Abhay was already looking woozy and weaker. She gripped his arm, and he nodded. “Abhay…look at me.”
“I’m….fine…,” he muttered, taking deep breaths. He placed his fingers on her neck, just under her ear, and concentrated. There was already enough of his blood in her system to manipulate. His touch brought that vampiric blood to the veins in the areas, forcing it to clot and stop the bleeding. Those veins protruded and remained visible to the naked eye, blackened as the night. He tried to stand up, but the ordeal was becoming taxing. He had trouble standing.
“Allow me.” Siddharth said, offering to carry Piya to their room. All were focused on her, such was the affection a house of undead had for one of the living.
“Is this the first time this has happened, Abhay?” Mandu asked, holding Piya’s hand on the opposite side of the bed. Abhay shook his head, leaning it back against the headboard. Slowly, his strength was coming back.
“It started after the attack. Maithili did something to cause them, but I don’t know what or when the consequences will show themselves.”
He bit into his wrist and fed her his blood for good measure. In recent days, she drank more of his blood than a human should consume. He didn’t like it, but it kept her healing up with the gravity of her injuries. There was always a worry of addiction when constantly feeding a human vampire blood, which is why they often avoided the same prey for weeks on end.
He asked to be left alone with her. He sat on the side of the bed, regaining his energy. As the color returned to her face, he could feel himself recovering as well.
When she stirred, he opened his eyes. Kneeling on the floor next to the bed, he took her palm and warmed it with his heat. She blinked twice, and stared at the ceiling.
“Piya?”
She didn’t respond, and kept staring. A few tears were shed. He sat on her bedside again and cupped her cheeks. Silence. She then took and pressed his palms against her ears for a brief moment. He repeated her name, and a few other words, but she couldn’t make out what he was saying. Nor did she have a knack for lip reading.
I can’t hear you….
His expression morphed, giving her some relief that they could still communicate in thoughts. She didn’t dare open her mouth, worried about how she would sound without being able to hear her own words.
No….it can’t be.
She could only nod, and burst into tears. She sat up and hugged him tight, wondering how her wails sounded. His arms wrapped around her, rocking her back and forth. He cried with her. They both knew what this meant for her, and what significance it held in their journey. The death of an artist, the pain of losing her first love.
I’m sorry…
The stars were shrouded by clouds, and the late night rain began to fall. But she couldn’t hear it. She had to imagine the sound of the droplets falling. Staring blankly out their window, she sat on the floor, knees up to the chest, and a blankness in the eyes. Their light died with her dreams. She couldn’t play anymore. How could she, when she couldn’t hear the notes anymore? The violin case was shoved into a cabinet under blankets and clothes, never to be touched again.
Her tears had dried up. She knew he was behind her, sitting on the floor and taking her into his embrace. She liked his hugs. She fit right into his frame, like a missing puzzle piece. It was a second home. He kissed her cheek, and clasped their hands together. She didn’t want him to worry more for her.
Look at me. Please?
She could still hear him talk in her thoughts, with her mind’s ear. But only him. Everyone else was cut off, even the rest of the vampires in her family unless she made blood bonds with each of them. She didn’t want to. It was too much. Abhay was more against the idea than she was. His nose touched the side of her cheek. When she finally did turn around, she burst into tears, hiding her face in his shirt.
Abhay, striken with guilt and grief, held her as tight as he safely could and sat defeated on the floor, back hunched over to hide her. The beast inside was getting riled up, unable to see her suffer and also unable to control the rage that it felt towards Maithili. She took something that gave his love, life.
You did this to her. I won’t spare you. I’ll give you such a painful death that you’ll regret coming back.
Of course, she couldn’t hear the menacing snarl that escaped his lips while harboring that thought. He cupped her cheek and made her look into his eyes, gesturing towards the bathroom. Her hair was matted with blood closest to the ears, but she hadn’t noticed. It was the least of her concerns. The smallest nod, and he took her inside to shower. Even while he helped her wash her hair, she didn’t show a reaction. Only their hands entwined when his hands were free.
Does that feel better?
She stayed quiet, and stood near the bathroom door after they finished. Abhay opened the closet and looked momentarily at the bottom shelf. The violin lay hidden, stowed and unscathed. The bow did hit the floor earlier but escaped with no visible damage. He took a sign of relief and picked out clothes for the both of them, another pair of night clothes. She hadn’t even looked at it since she woke up. Neglected and forgotten, out of force.
Jaan?
She only stared at the floor, and wiped tears before he could see them. He helped her get dressed and carried her outside to the balcony, letting her hold an umbrella just like when they were just getting to know each other.
Remember this? Just like old times, na?
Piya stared at the sky and the falling rain. So many sounds, and none of them reached her anymore. But at least, leaning her head against his chest still felt the same. That couldn’t change, his heart couldn’t beat. But imagining a sound for it was her speciality. The lights of their souls emerged and mingled, wrapping around them like a beautiful ribbon. Peace could still be found, but she still felt empty. Abhay kissed her head.
I’m sorry. I let her get to you.
Tears began to fill his eyes, falling gracefully down his cheeks and soaking into the fabric of his top. He carried a shell of his Piya in his arms. Losing music, to her, was just as painful as the most painful of deaths could be. It meant just as much to her as Abhay did.
She looked at him, as he continued to stare into the trees. If Abhay weren’t there, she wouldn’t know what to do. That’s why she was glad to forge their permanent bond, to make sure that scenario never happened. She never wanted to live a single day without the things she loved most.
At least I have you.
But it didn’t make it hurt any less.
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It felt like ages since he had a proper conversation with his family, now sitting silently in the living room. Vihaan was playing with a wooden horse that Mandu dug out from one of her old chests, remnants of Vaibhav’s toys.
“Is Piya alright? What is going on?” Mandu asked.
Abhay realized he didn’t clean himself up well, giving away his sorrow with the stains of his tears just under the eyes. He shook his head, and shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants.
“Maithili must have done some dark magic to take her hearing away from her. She isn’t responding in our mind-link either.” He tapped his foot and looked away, biting his lip. “She’s completely shattered.”
“There has to be a way to bring it back, right?”
Abhay wondered about this too. Surely the stone’s power embedded in her could have prevented this, but why didn’t it? Unless, the source of the spell was something external that she had not touched. He shook his head. Only Maithili had those answers.
“I don’t think–”
A bright light appeared in the corner of the room and interrupted him. Out from it emerged Seraphina, with a large book and several trinkets in her hands. Vihaan started to cry and tugged at Siddharth’s arm. Abhay couldn’t even spare the roll of his eyes and just glared at her. The award-winning case of bad timings. Her smile faded on seeing the tensed faces of the Raichands.
“What? Did I interrupt something? I promise I don’t taste good anymore.”
She stressed the “anymore”, reading Abhay’s expression. Out one problem, and straight into another.
“Best you tell me. Because I’m going to be here for a while.”
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The weary eyes of Nature gazed through the hole in the ceiling of her enclosure, unable to comprehend the length of her imprisonment. Time never paid a visit, only spoke in her head, out of their own safety. The future was uncertain. Cosmic beings like her weren’t tied to fate or destiny and thus had no reason to have hope in it. Change was in her own hands. She saw past the blinding and concentrated moonlight, towards the glowing stars, counting.
A lock of her grey hairs glowed with whatever remaining power she had left. The Vitael had left her alone in the building, she could tell. Now was the time to act.
Before Maithili used the power of a Mark of Celeste to capture her, she had conserved a small fraction of it in some tree roots beside her feet. Nature disguised as nature. As the Vitael found and made her their prisoner, she discreetly absorbed it back into her body. They couldn’t always outsmart her; she was well aware of the signs of capture before they could even finish their rituals, though she couldn’t escape them. She had lived far longer than their kind even existed.
That girl, that vampire’s soulmate, she is the key.
Nature was too familiar with Piya, having watched her for some time before this calamity struck. And when such a power descended from the skies upon the two lovers, she knew there was a path out of this. Dependent on a human she was irked by, for crossing a line, it was an amusing thought now. Past was kind enough to inform her of this chance.
That meadow of flowers, she goes there a lot, doesn't she?
She always saw Piya’s immense care for those flowers. It would be unlikely that she wouldn’t step foot near them again. Punching through the stone floors with a measly fist, Nature made sure her leftover power wouldn’t go without waste. Fingers morphed into thin plant roots, and buried themselves into the soft earth. Her mind’s eye guided her to those flowers, to bind herself and her remaining power to them, so to give a plea for help. In place of her fingers, in the empty patch of soil beneath her, a small edelweiss bloomed. Only one. It was a sign that she had successfully done her part in reaching freedom. Now all that was left was to wait.
I hope my message reaches you.
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Arnab switched on the TV and undid his tie, weary after a long day of work and from the ignored phone calls and messages he made to Misha. People were advised to stay home and a curfew was put in place citywide. Local police were reporting on strings of murders occuring in the forests around the city. According to the news, half of the corpses bore the signs of an animal attack, likely wolves, and the others remained without a scratch or sign of trauma on their bodies, as if they just dropped dead all of a sudden. Some had underlying illnesses, some were completely healthy. Silent killers like poisons were quickly ruled out. Unsettled, and knowing his adventurous child enjoyed taking hikes in the forests from time to time, he tried calling her again. It went straight to voicemail.
“Misha…I…just wanted to check in, if you’re okay. I saw the news. It’s dangerous outside, please stay safe. I…love you, dear.”
His words choked towards the end, and didn’t come out completely. He was still hesitating. Madhu brought him some tea and set the cup on the table in front of him, as he set the phone under the table.
“She still hasn’t called back?”
“No. Didn’t even read the messages either.”
They knew she was staying with Ruhi, for as long as she needed until she could find her own place. But she wasn’t coming back home. Misha was like that. Once she made a firm decision, there was no force on Earth that could make her reconsider it.
“Have you tried talking to Piya?”
The question always stunned him. He looked at Madhu with wide eyes, then settled. She was feeling some sort of guilt. He shook his head, the tea cup shaking in his hand. Before it spilled, he set it back on the table. Behind them, Sameer descended the stairs, coat slung over the arm.
“Sameer, where are you going?” Arnab asked. He looked at his parents and brought a smile to his lips.
“I’m getting dinner with some old friends. I won’t be long.”
“Be careful out there. Have you seen the headlines?”
“Come on, papa. I’m not going to dine in the middle of the forest. We’re going downtown. Curfew isn’t for a couple hours. I will be back before then.” He said, adjusting his watch.
Arnab nodded, breaking a sweat over an absurd question like that one. He was overthinking this entire situation. His handkerchief brushed past his forehead and down the sides, twice.
“Have fun!” He called. But Sameer was already out the door before then.
Kumkum Bhagya
Cricket
Anupamaa
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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