CHAPTER 56
IN HER DREAM
*Avishka smiles as she looks at her father, who is smiling beyond limits today. As she sits in front of him, dressed as a bride, she smiles and turns to look at Rajeev, who is smilingly holding her hand and preparing to chant mantras with her. It looks like that's what the priest is telling both of them, which they are gladly repeating. Avishka is definitely reciting the mantras, but her eyes are very clearly on her father and mother, who appear to be extremely happy because today is their daughter's wedding. This is a big achievement for every parent. This enables them to witness their children's marriages. Her eyes start searching for her brother Advait, whom she has not seen for a long time, because she knows that he must be hiding his face somewhere and crying.*
Prakram comes out while carrying his t-shirt with him after changing and first looks at Avishka, who is smiling brightly in her sleep. However, upon witnessing her radiant smile, Prakram abandoned his t-shirt and moved closer to her. This smile is very different and completely natural, and happiness is visible beyond limits. Upon witnessing her smile, he too breaks into a smile, but in an instant, Avishka's expression begins to shift.
*She starts moving forward smilingly with slow steps. She is not in a good condition at all; she is just moving forward, holding her stomach, and enduring the pain. She is sure that nothing can happen to her now; she just wants to quickly hide herself in her mother's embrace, which is the safest place for anyone. Wiping her tears with the back of her hand, she starts moving while increasing her speed. But suddenly she hears a loud bullet shot from her house, and her eyes become stuck towards the front as if they were like stones. She fears some untoward incident, due to which she increases her speed and starts running so that she can see her mother and brother as soon as possible. However, just as she is about to enter the house, a sudden blast turns everything into ash.*
Mumma...
Avishka suddenly wakes up screaming and calling her mother, and she is terrified that she is just looking for her mother. Prakram immediately moves forward to hold her, but she pushes him back and tries to run outside.
Mumma...
Prakram has understood very well that some very scary dream has frightened her, and perhaps she was remembering her mother in that scary dream, due to which she is searching for her. He takes her in his arms, hugging her tightly before she runs outside. Prakram suddenly hugs Avishka while picking her up from the ground, causing her legs to hang in the air. Immediately sensing Prakram's presence, Avishka wraps her arms around his neck, holds him tightly, and begins to breathe deeply. Prakram feels quite relaxed after seeing this. He is certain that she has at least regained some sense of reality, but based on the way her heartbeat has increased and her whole body is trembling, he can guess her fear quite well. He tenderly strokes her back and gently positions her on his lap as they sit on the coach. Avishka is crying, and Prakram can feel her falling tears on his body, too.
"Mummaaaaaa"
“Shhhh… You are alright.”
Hearing Prakram's voice, Avishka suddenly stops, moves away from him a bit, realizes their position, and immediately gets up from his lap. Prakram does not feel good about her moving away from him. Avishka wipes her tears, bows her head, and tells him.
"I am sorry..."
Prakram has observed her closely and understands that she has not yet fully overcome the influence of her dream. As a result, she is extremely nervous, and the act of hugging him further exacerbates her discomfort. Here, her trembling form forced him to do something. Right from the moment he grabs her hand and pulls her to sit back on his lap, the very next moment he places his lips on her lips.
Avishka is unable to understand all this at once. She tries to put her hands in between to push Prakram away, but the way Prakram's lips are kissing her very slowly is something different, so instead of stopping him, she feels as if she shouldn't stop him at all; this touch is very pleasant and beautiful. But the next moment, she wants to stop because it doesn't seem right to her.
Prakram is closely observing her as they kiss, recognizing her through the sparkle in her eyes and the sudden emergence of other emotions. Before he can understand anything else, Avishka moves back to push him away from her. However, Prakram is determined not to let her go, so he tightly grips her waist, positions her perfectly on his lap, holds her nape, and prevents her from moving back.
Avishka is undoubtedly attempting to move him away from her, but her efforts are not particularly intense. She has started moving up and down much more than her breathing, due to which Prakram leaves her lips and sits by resting his forehead on her head. Avishka starts taking deep breaths by placing her hands on her chest and looks up to see Prakram, who was looking at her. She tries to get up from his lap again, but he holds her tightly and tells her.
"I don't think at all that you should sleep alone; you will get scared again, which I don't want at all."
She tries to say something by shaking her head because she is still breathing very deeply, but in the meantime, Prakram scoops her up in his arms, brings her to the bed, lays her down on the bed, pulls the duvet, and captures her in his arms again. For the first time, Avishka sees clearly that Prakram is not wearing a T-shirt. She immediately turns her back towards him while trying to free herself because some unknown thoughts are troubling her, and his company is pulling her towards him, but her weird thoughts force her to leave. Prakram tells her while taking her in his arms forcefully, holding her hands tightly, and patting her head lightly.
“The less we think about unnecessary things, the better it will be. It would be better if you took a rest at this time; that is important for you and for us. I think we should stop interrupting each other.”
Prakram swiftly closes her eyes with his large palm, uttering his words with complete clarity. Avishka can feel his breath on her neck, which is very relaxing to her. She does not want to think about anything, and she closes her eyes because these arms really feel a lot safer. Soon, sleep takes both of them in its embrace.
.
.
.
Avishka wakes up a little, and like every day, a strong cologne hits her nostrils and forces her to smile, but immediately she hides her smile and looks towards Prakram, who is sleeping with her, taking her in his arms. Avishka gazes intently at Prakram, who appears to be sleeping comfortably. At night, she tries her best not to sleep near Prakram, but it seems as if he has decided that now he will not let her sleep on the couch at all. Seeing Prakram, tears suddenly come to her eyes, but she immediately wipes those tears before they fall on him.
Avishka's head is on Prakram's chest, and she is able to look at him with considerable difficulty. Because she knows that if she moves even a little, Prakram will get up immediately, she has to move very carefully. However, she senses that her only desire is to see him again. She tries her best to wake up before Prakram every day and even leave the room. which she has been successful many times, and after that, she has to face very strange stares from Prakram. She slowly attempts to stand up, but Prakram, who had been holding her by the waist, responds instantly.
“We have not kept cows and goats, so you have to go early in the morning to graze them.”
As soon as she hears Prakram's voice, Avishka immediately starts looking carefully at him, whose eyes are still closed, but she has just heard his voice. Prakram presses her head on his chest again and tells her.
“At night, we were all having fun with Aashi for a long time. I too want to sleep now, and since everyone else is also in the same mood, you should also go to sleep."
Avishka is unable to say anything to him and keeps her head resting on his chest. Prakram is sleeping with her close to him in this manner, and since she started doing so, she has not experienced any nightmares or lost sleep at all during the night. She sleeps well and feels much fresher in the morning. But somehow, she has started feeling guilty because she does not consider herself worthy of him at all. Lost in these negative thoughts, he begins to cry once more, causing tears to well up in her eyes. Day by day, a strange thought permeates her mind, preventing her from feeling any happiness with Prakram. Just then, there is a loud knock at the door, causing both Prakram and Avishka to immediately look towards it. Avishka emerges from his arms and quickly opens the door, only to find Aashi standing there, rubbing her eyes and holding her doll.
“Aashu… “
“Grandpa is making too much noise; I can't sleep with him... I want to sleep with Papa and with you."
Avishka smiles and immediately tucks her into her lap due to Digvijay's frequent snoring, a problem she has also heard Sandhya complaining about. Although Aashi sleeps very comfortably near him, waking up between them, she can't sleep easily in voice. She smiles and kisses her mother, but she immediately looks at her and tells her by looking into her eyes.
"Papa scolded you; why are you crying?"
Avishka had hidden her tears well, but somehow Aashi always sees her tears, so she immediately hugs her to put her to sleep, and she cannot turn and look at Prakram at all because she knows that Prakram must have started staring at her. Avishka has noticed that whenever Prakram sees her crying or upset, he often scolds her, primarily because he doesn't want to see her like this. She is feeling Prakram's inclination towards her very well, and she has started to understand his changed behavior and every reason for staying close to her. She, too, has started liking him but maintains a distance despite knowing everything. She just wants to keep herself to herself.
She turns and starts coming towards the bed to put Aashi to sleep, but suddenly she finds Prakram in front of her. She has no idea when he came and stood behind her. Due to which she suddenly looks up into his eyes. Prakram can see the wetness in her eyes. She starts passing by him, but he quickly comes in front, holds her face, and caresses her cheeks lightly. He tells her in a very low voice.
"I want to know everything."
Avishka had not taken her eyes off Prakram at all, but as soon as Prakram said all this, a strange fear floated in her eyes, which Prakram had seen very well. Avishka removes her hand from his grip, and her feet move backwards lightly. He is watching everything carefully, and she wants to avoid him. With her eyes down, she simply takes Aashi to the bed and makes her lie down. Aashi has already started sleeping in her arms very well and is aware of her surroundings. Prakram observes her walking towards the bed and then notices Aashi, who is sleeping comfortably in her motherly embrace. As per her usual habit, she has held Avishka's scarf tightly.
He briefly closes his eyes, aware that he will need to exert a great deal of effort to learn everything from Avishka, and he is certain that he will continue doing so. He comes to the bed. Avishka deliberately closes her eyes. She is lying down so that she does not look at Prakram at all, but now Prakram is constantly looking at her, and she knows very well that Prakram's eyes are on her, but she is not opening her eyes even for a moment. Prakram comes closer to her, and Aashi is in between them. He places his hand on her waist and pulls her and Aashi closer to him. Aashi holds her father tightly while holding Avishka's dupatta. But Avishka has not opened her eyes at all. Prakram places his hand on her cheek and keeps caressing her cheeks lightly.