-: Pancha Vastra :- ( By Shailu )

[shailu4ever]

 
He frowns, his heart pounding in his chest.
 
“You sound like my ex-girlfriend.”
 
Her smile widens slightly, but there’s no malice in it.
 
“Maybe she was right about you.”
 
The words should sting.
 
Instead, they feel like a release.
 
Someone finally sees the truth without flinching.
 
He hasn’t even admitted it to himself.
 
“She was,” he says quietly.
 
“She was completely right. I’m a ghost. I watch. I don’t participate.”
 
Meera nods, her eyes softening with understanding.
 
“Can I tell you a secret?”
 
He looks at her, his breath suddenly caught in his throat.
 
“Okay.”
 
“I’m terrified too.” She says it so matter-of-factly, it shakes him.
 
Arjun blinks, unsure whether he heard her correctly.
 
“What?”
 
She takes a deep breath, the ocean waves lapping against the shore, the sound oddly comforting.
 
“I’m twenty years old.
 
I’ve never...
 
I’ve never been with anyone.
 
Never kissed, never been touched, never even held hands with someone who wasn’t family.” She laughs softly, but there’s no humor in it.
 
“I’ve been waiting my whole life to be seen. Really seen.
 
Not as the weaver's daughter or the quiet one or the girl who makes pretty things.
 
Just... seen as myself.”
 
Arjun feels his throat constrict.
 
“And you think I can see you?” His voice cracks, the vulnerability in his words stark against the cold air.
 
She turns to him then, her eyes piercing.
 
“I think you see everyone.
 
That’s your gift and your curse.” She pauses, her lips curving into a bittersweet smile.
 
“You see too much, so you hide.
 
You’re afraid that if people look back, they’ll see you just as clearly.
 
But that’s the problem, isn’t it? You’re terrified of being seen for who you really are.”
 
Arjun stares at her, stunned by the truth in her words.
 
She’s right, isn’t she? He’s afraid to be seen.
 
To let anyone truly look past the surface.
 
To let someone see the broken parts he’s buried so deep inside.
 
“Meera, ”
 
Her voice cuts him off.
 
“I chose yes.”