-: Pancha Vastra :- ( By Shailu )

[shailu4ever]

 
Arjun turns and stumbles toward the doorway.
 
The heat is unbearable now.
 
The smoke thick enough to swallow the world.
 
His legs feel like they might collapse.
 
But the doorway appears ahead of him like a tunnel of gray light.
 
Behind them something collapses with a thunderous crash.
 
The roof.
 
Burning debris explodes outward.
 
Arjun dives through the entrance just as the entire structure caves in.
 
They hit the muddy ground hard.
 
Rain pours down around them, hissing as it strikes the burning wreckage.
 
For a long moment he cannot move.
 
The woman’s heart beats wildly against his chest.
 
Both of them are alive.
 
Somehow.
 
 
 
Hands pull them apart. Villagers shout in disbelief.
 
Water splashes over Arjun’s smoking jacket.
 
He rolls onto his back, staring up at the storm-dark sky as rain washes soot from his face.
 
Around him, the village erupts into noise.
 
Someone is crying.
 
Someone is laughing.
 
Several people are speaking at once.
 
Then a voice begins counting.
 
“One… two… three…”
 
Another voice joins in.
 
“Four… five… six…”
 
More villagers gather.
 
“Seven… eight…”
 
A long pause.
 
Then,
 
“Nine.”
 
 
 
The square falls quiet.
 
Someone whispers in disbelief.
 
“All nine.”
 
Another voice answers softly.
 
“Impossible. No one could have gone in there that many times.”
 
A third voice says:
 
“But he did.”
 
And near the edge of the crowd, Amma Lakshmi watches silently, her expression not surprised… but solemn.
 
 
 
Arjun blinks slowly, trying to focus.
 
A shadow falls across him.
 
He turns his head.
 
The small woman is standing above him.
 
Her face is streaked with soot. Her hair has come loose, strands falling across her cheeks. Her eyes are red from smoke and tears.
 
But she is smiling.
 
Not the polite smile of a stranger.
 
Something deeper.
 
Something warmer.
 
Something that feels strangely inevitable.
 
She kneels beside him.
 
Rain runs down her face, washing away the ash.
 
“Thank you,” she whispers.
 
Her voice is soft.
 
But the words seem to echo somewhere deep inside him.
 
As if the island itself has heard them.
 
 
 
The world tilts slightly.
 
The sky spins.
 
The last thing Arjun sees before darkness closes over him is her face leaning closer.
 
Those same dark eyes.
 
Watching him.
 
As if she has been waiting for this moment for a very long time.
 
Then his vision goes black…
 

-- oOo --

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