Nature in Hiding

63- A shock of happiness

The elements entered the house where Neer was supposedly captured, only to stop with their mouths hung open at the scene.

The person they had come to rescue, for whom they were ready to take some hits, was lying lazily on the couch, eating snacks while watching a movie.

"Oh! Here you are. I have been waiting for you. Gosh! You took so much time," Neer said, as stood up. He forwarded his hands for a hug, only to be swatted away by Ahana.

"Where are the others?" Ahana asked, looking around the house, "Are they hiding to take us by surprise? Have they forced you to act this way, so that we get our guards down and they can attack us easily," she asked looking suspicious.

"Calm down. They aren't planning anything. And they aren't here either. I am alone," Neer said, squeezing her shoulders.

"Why were you still here then? You could have used this opportunity to run off. Such an idiot," Sameera screeched, rubbing her forehead in distress, before she turned to others, "Let's get away, before they come back."

"You are right. We can avoid the fight this way," Ahana said, agreeing with Sameera. "Let's go," she said to Gyaan, moving back so she could help him walk again.

"No." Gyaan moved back a little, causing Ahana to feel a little hurt. She too stepped back, unsure about his reaction.

"Wait!" Gyaan said hurriedly, as it clicked to him that she took his actions in a wrong way. "What I meant was, that No, we don't need to run away," he explained his actions, before explaining the reason behind it, "At least that's what it seems from Neer's body language." Gyaan then turned towards Neer with raised eyebrows for him to confirm or deny his observation.

"Correct," Neer said, before informing others, "The werewolves are opening their doors for us again. They are ready to give us shelter if we agree."

"This might be a trap," Ahana warned her twin.

Neer shook his head with a small smile, understanding where she was coming from.

"They found a loophole in the video that made us believe our innocence. And Hritika is confident that she can find some concrete proof soon," Neer told them the good news.

They all glanced at each other with wide eyes.

"Did she actually find something to prove that we aren't...that we aren't the traitors they made us out to be?" Ahana asked as it was hard to believe it.

What had seemed impossible once had become a reality now. There was a chance that they wouldn't be looked upon as murderers in future. Just the thought of not being looked at or chased as wanted criminals brought tears in everyone's eyes.

"Ravi and the kids helped her. They are trying hard to prove our innocence," Neer informed them.

Sameera lost her balance, and would have fallen down if it wasn't for the twins' timing to catch her.

"Careful," Neer said softly, before making her sit on the couch.

"He is helping us," Sameera muttered in a broken voice to no one in particular.

Sameera had lost all the hopes after that call where Ravi had asked to choose between him and the elements. She had successfully hidden her pain from all the elements, but inside her heart was breaking every single second.

More than the fact that she could be proven innocent, what sealed her wounded heart was Ravi's efforts. Even after her refusal to choose him, he was still trying for them.

While on one side Sameera was tearing up with happiness, on the other side Avan was full blown crying.

"Avan, Avan, sshhh. What happened dear? Don't cry, don't cry. You will end up getting sick." Ahana tried to comfort him while kneeling down and hugging him. She patted his back and tried calming him down, but nothing worked.

All other elements looked at each other, asking through their eyes if anyone knew how they could help the child.

Understanding that the young folks were useless in this department, Sameera wiped off her tears and stood up to take Avan in her arms.

She sat on the floor with Avan on her lap and rocked him like an infant. She didn't say anything and gave him time to figure out his big emotions.

They had been receiving bad news after bad news for a long time. So this abrupt good news shook them up more than they could have imagined. Sameera understood that just like her, Avan must have also received a shock. A shock that was probably too much for a child to take. 

Calming down after a while, Avan spoke through hiccups, "Ayaan still loves me. He is still my brother."

Avan kept repeating, "He is still my brother," before he fell asleep due to exhaustion.

Ahana's eyes welled up after seeing his condition. "This little guy has been hiding so much pain inside him," she muttered, while caressing Avan's head.

"I feel bad for Ayaan too. He loves his brother so much. Keeping his pain aside, he is trying so hard to prove his younger brother's innocence to the world," Neer said, sitting beside Ahana and Sameera.

"It's true that both brothers love each other so much," Ahana agreed, before asking, "But what pain are you talking about? Pain of separation?"

"Ayaan thinks Avan is dead." Neer threw the bomb on all elements. "They all do," he said, looking at Sameera too.

"They...they think we are dead?" Sameera asked to confirm.

"Dammit!" Gyaan cursed, before apologizing to everyone as it was his idea to show them dead.

"No, don't apologize. You did that thinking of our safety," Ahana said, blinking her eyes at Gyaan in assurance.

"And it's better for them too," Avan said in a cracking voice, having already woken up.

"The world's shortest nap award goes to Avan!" Neer announced with a clap.

"Thank you, thank you," Avan bowed, while making himself comfortable in Sameera's lap.

"Why is it better for them? Do you not want Ayaan to know that you are alive?" Gyaan questioned, coming back to the topic.

"Rather than wasting his life by constantly worrying about my whereabouts and safety, it would be better for him to just feel sad about my death. At least, in that case, he will be able to move on after a while," Avan said, again giving them a glimpse of an old scholar inside the little child.

Time and time again, Avan had proved that he wasn't an usual child. He still maintained an innocence of a kid, but his intellect was far ahead from his age.

Sameera held him tighter, knowing how hard a decision it was. Even after proving their innocence, there was little to no chance for them going back  to normalcy. Because now everyone was aware of their truth. Hiding was impossible if they went back. Even if regular citizens accepted them as they were, the greedy minds would want more.

Going back only meant easy access to the scientists and doctors. They could easily turn them into experiments without any repercussions. Probably the government and huge businesses would also fund them in the name of creating a better future.

Wanted criminals or not, the human world was a risk to the lives of elements. Ultimately it would affect the lives of their loved ones, whose life would just revolve around trying to save and hide the elements from everyone. And just like that they would end up wasting their whole lives.

So, just like Avan said, it was probably better for their loved ones to move on in their lives. They were already dead to the world. And it was probably for the best if they wanted their loved ones to live a hassle free and safe life.