The Mourning Moon

Chapter 18

The person stood a few distance away from Ansh, their back facing him just like in his dreams. They had their hand extended in the air, their palm facing upwards as they played with the red diamonds that were dancing in the air. Ansh stared in awe. He inched closer to the figure when he stepped on a fallen twig that broke in half causing the person to freeze. The person put their hand down on their side as the red diamonds vanished into thin air. The person started walking forward, away from Ansh.

"Please wait," Ansh desperately called out causing the person to stop.

"Who are you?," Ansh asked. "You are the one who saved me from Avantika's attack that day, didn't you. That diamond shield that saved me, protected me. It was you, right? Please tell me who you are."

The person said nothing. Instead they started moving away from Ansh.

"No. Please wait. Please don't leave." Ansh ran after the person but before he could reach the person, he tripped and fell, closing his eyes waiting for the impact. But instead of rough, hard forest floor, he landed on something soft. He opened his eyes and found himself lying on Talc. He looked up and found that the person had vanished. The Talc crystal that cushioned his fall had also vanished. He sat on the forest ground for who knows how long when heard someone calling his name. He looked towards the sound and found Vivaan rushing towards him.

"Dude, what are you doing here all alone? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is roam alone in the forest?," Vivaan admonished Ansh.

Ansh looked at him with frantic eyes as he said, "Vivaan, there was someone here."

Vivaan froze at that. "Someone was here? What do you mean?"

"Someone was here, Vivaan. Someone was right there." Ansh pointed towards the now empty spot. Vivaan looked towards the place Ansh was pointing to but found no one there.

"Ansh, no one is there."

"That's because that person vanished." Ansh looked behind Vivaan and found Shreshth standing there looking worried. Ansh quickly stood up and went to Shreshth. He held Shreshth by his shoulders and said, "I swear Shreshth, I...I...I saw him...I," Ansh fainted but before he could fall to the ground Shreshth caught him. He slid down the ground holding Ansh, calling for him. But he got no response. Shreshth looked at Vivaan, distraughted.

The next day, Ansh woke up feeling disoriented. As his mind became clear, he took in the surroundings. He was in the tent lying down on his mat, with someone's head on his chest and arms wrapped around his waist. He looked down and found Shreshth sleeping peacefully. Ansh blushed furiously. The shutter of the camera went off. Ansh looked towards the sound and found Somya with a camera in her hands smiling like a cat who ate a canary. Behind her were Vivaan and Ishita who were smiling teasingly while holding two trays of food. The trio came inside and left after silently putting the food down. Shreshth woke up a little while later. And the position he found himself in had him blushing as well. He quickly got off of Ansh and sat up murmuring 'sorry'. Ansh said 'It was fine' before he too got up. They freshened up and had their breakfast all the while blushing, the events of last night at the back of their mind. It wasn't until late at night in the comfort of his bed that Ansh let himself think of the events that transpired the night before.