After listening her reason of she being on Earth, even after her death, Akshat decided to help her out. Why he wanted to help her? How he will help her, he had no clue but all he wanted to do was help her. ‘ Hey! If you don’t mind I wanna help you find Sarang’ He said. ‘ I don’t mind any help from you, I am happy that you said so, but hey! Don’t you have your stuff in your life, I mean your grandma died, your studies, your girlfriend or anything you need to focus on’ she said.’ I don’t have a girlfriend’ he said frowning at her. ‘ Oh my God! I made you count so many stuffs right here and you just heard a single word ‘ Girlfriend’, oh! You silly boys’ she said hitting his head. ‘ ouch! That hurts’ he said in teasing tone’ and by the way I don’t think about girls, and what made you think that I might have a girlfriend’ he asked her. ‘ oh! you seem handsome, helpful, devoted kind of boy to me, and a kind of boy every girl would want’ she said. He went quiet for a while, and ‘ you think so?’ he asked her blushing. ‘ Yes! You are pure soul, I can see through you’ she replied smiling at him. ‘ So if I help you? Is it ok with you?’ he asked changing the topic. ‘ yes! Infact it would be of great help, I don’t have much time left on Earth, this day is near to end and then I will have just three days left’ she said in little worried tone. ‘ Let’s head home, we will begin the search from tomorrow’ she added, and they left for home.

They were walking on the streets, there was no conversation between them, she was lost in her thoughts, and Akshat could do nothing but just look at her. He looked at her peaceful, calm, divine face, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He knew that she was here for just 3 more days, he wanted to have all her 3 days with him, he wanted her to stay with him, he wanted her to be his forever, the thought of her leaving, scared the hell out of him. He didn’t wanted to leave her for even a second. He liked listening her, he tried to make a conversation. ‘Can I ask you something?’he asked her. ‘ Yeah sure!’ she said. ‘ How old are you?’ he asked. Hearing his question for once she looked at him in surprise and then said ‘ I am not very good in calculation, I died in 1902, and what’s the year now?’ ‘1950’ he said ‘ yes! So calculate 1902 to 1950’ she said trying to count on her fingers. ‘ 48 years’ he said. ‘ Wow! Someone is Aryabhatta in math’ she said looking at him in proud. ‘ so! Yes I am 48 years’ she added. And then went silent. ‘ So no one died today’ he said breaking the silence again. ‘ Meaning?’ she asked. ‘ No souls passed you through since the morning, so no one died today’. ‘ Oh no! 2,15,650 people died all over the world and 22,100 people died here in Calcutta itself’, she said correcting him. He went all confused and shocked. ‘ How did you know that these number of people died, and if people died then why no soul passed you today’ he asked in curiosity. ‘ I know all this because, when souls pass through other bricks I feel them, every brick feels the passing of soul, and no one passed me through because, no one died of mid age 30 today, i.e. my criteria’ she said with a sigh. He was confused again. ‘ Is this possible?’ he asked in confusion. ‘ What is possible?’ she questioned him back. ‘ that no one died today of same age group?’ he cleared his question. ‘ yes! It doesn’t happen always, but yes! This does happens, once in many years, and today was the day’. She replied calmly. He went complete numb and quiet and shock. And they both walked silently to home.

Midnight…

Akshat was all anxious and couldn’t sleep, he kept thinking about Smriti, on the other hand Smriti was little worried, that if she doesn’t finds Sarang this time, she would have to wait for another 16 years, she couldn’t sleep either. Akshat went to the kitchen for a midnight snack when he heard something in Smriti’s room. He ran off to her room opened the door, and found Smriti lying on the floor in pain, he got all worried, but he didn’t panicked this time, because this time he exactly knew what happened ‘ A wrathful soul passed through her and crushed her soul’, she was conscious but weak, he took her in his arms and laid her on the bed, he gave her some water. She was shivering out of cold, he put some blanket over her but Shivering never stooped so he grabbed her in his arms to heat up her body, he hugged her tightly, he kept rubbing her back, she hugged him back even more tight’ Why are you shivering like this?’ he asked trying to warm her up. ‘ I—…’ she muttered some unfinished words, she couldn’t speak clearly. ‘ It’s ok! It’s ok! You don’t need to answer now’. He said warming her up. She held him little tighter. After a while, she stopped Shivering, but her body was still cold, she could still feel cold. So he didn’t leave her out of his embrace and neither did she. Taking her in his arms, he asked , ‘ What will you do if you find Sarang this time?, Would you tell him about you, take him with you?’ ‘ When I find Sarang, now or after another 16 years, I won’t tell him a single word about him, I will just meet him as a stranger, and leave him as stranger’ she replied. ‘ So, if you don’t want him to know anything about you or his past life, then why are you searching him, just leave this pain, and go to heaven, serve heaven, why serve humans, it also causes you so much pain’ he said, his every word he said to Smriti was beautiful coated in the pain of his care for Smriti. He couldn’t see what she was going through. ‘ Because if I don’t find him, his curse will not go off, of dying at age 16 and getting reborn, he deserves a full fledge beautiful life, he deserves care, he deserves peace, he deserves love….’ she didn’t complete her sentence and went silent. ‘ And what you deserve Smriti? This pain, ?’ he asked in mixed feeling of anger and pain. She didn’t replied his question. He kept silent. He tightened his embrace around her, her body was still cold. There was a complete silence in the room, no one spoke, After a while, Smriti looked at him his eyes were closed. ‘ I don’t know Akshat, what I deserve, but all I know is right here, this moment is the most peaceful thing I have felt after Sarang’ she said to herself. She had her head on his chest, she could hear his heart beating. She hugged him tightly. And slept. She slept after a long time….

After a while, Akshat opened his eyes, he heard every word Smriti said to herself he thought to himself looking at Smriti, ‘ I will not let you anything happen, I will find your Sarang and put you out of this misery and if putting you out of your pain means I have to let you go, then I am ready to do that too because I don’t know about Sarang, you don’t know about Sarang, but I know about myself, I know what I feel for you, I don’t care it’s wrong or Right, I don’t even know what it’s gonna cost me all I know is I love you Smriti…’ He said and kissed her forehead gently. And slept with her in his arms…

To be continued…

– Madhu