Nature's Comeback

36- Gyaan's past

Gyaan scratched his forehead. He hadn't expected his cover to be blown out too soon. He glanced at the smirking children, shocked researchers and utterly confused elements, preparing himself for a long conversation.

"You all seem to be aware of the term 'peacemaker'. What does that mean?" Neer asked curiously.

"They were the link between the previous elements and humans," Rewa replied.

"The ones who died out of exhaustion, while trying to heal the world which was destroyed by the greed of elements," Sarah added.

"No wonder you were trying to hide your identity," Sameera spoke in an understanding tone. She was very well accustomed to the saying: Once bitten, twice shy.

"Seeing that you were caught so soon, I don't think you are as smart as your ancestors," Ahana remarked with a smirk.

Gyaan scoffed, "Look at you, the one who doesn't even have half of her ancestor's powers is making a snide remark on my powers."

"You... " Ahana went forward, curling her fingers into a fist to punch him but Neer pulled her back.

"Don't get physical now. We should get all the information about him before acting out," Neer spoke in Ahana's ear, effectively stopping her for the time being.

Ahana scowled, letting Gyaan know that it was far from getting over.

"So, does being a peacemaker mean that you keep butting in the works of every element?" Ahana asked in a sickly sweet voice. Her tone, her words and her expressions highly contradicted each other.

She hated him for putting his nose everywhere. Healer or not, he didn't have to dance on their heads.

Gyaan rolled his eyes at her behaviour, before answering her in an equally fake enthusiastic voice.
"What can I say, I am the heart of elements."

"Heart my foot," Ahana grumbled.

"I have a question," Sarika said, interrupting the silly fight between the duo.

Upon receiving Gyaan's nod, she proceeded to ask him. "It is really awesome that you can heal living things and I am grateful for that. But doesn't your power imbalance nature. There has to be a certain reason behind every life and death. If you change it, then doesn't it put the world in an uproar?"

Gyaan let out a sad smile hearing her words, "If only I could bring back people from death. My powers work only when there is life left inside a being."

This was something he would never forget. It wasn't just a fact. The way Gyaan found out about this truth was going to be forever etched in his mind.

A small bird had fallen in the verandah of Gyaan's house, after having broken one of its wings. A six year old Gyaan rushed to try and comfort the bird.

Gyaan sat back in shock when the bird fluttered and started flying again. It was the first time when Gyaan had healed somebody.

The shock was too much but unfortunately no one believed him, thinking it was just an imagination of a small child.

However, as days passed by such instances continued, making the whole village aware of Gyaan's healing abilities.

Unlike the fate of twins, he was called a blessing- A child of God.

From then, many came to heal their small injuries. And Gyaan gladly healed them in return for praises and some chocolates.

One dreaded day, he found many animals gasping for life after having drunk the water from the pond. The water had turned poisonous because of the chemicals emitted by the nearby factories.

Usually they would have prayed to God to save their animals, but that time they had God's child with them. Everyone urged Gyaan to try and save animals. His parents were a little hesitant but still let him try.

Gyaan managed to save each and every animal but not without a cost. He suffered from high fever for almost a week. And that caused his mother to put a ban on his healing. Gyaan wasn't allowed to use his powers anymore.

Gyaan understood his mother's worry and kept the healing to a minimum. But he couldn't put a total end to it. After all, he was a God's child. And that belief led him to his doom.

Years later, when his mom and dad had gotten into an accident, Gyaan deluded himself into thinking that he was God himself.

"Grandpa, stay with Dad. Dad please hold on for a few minutes, I will come after bringing mom to life."

Leaving his father, Gyaan first went to his mother who had already died. He used all his force to bring his mother back. Seconds ticked by, but there was no change in his mother's position. Gyaan's nose started bleeding because of over exertion yet he kept on trying.

His Grandfather's cry pulled him out of his madness, and he looked to see that his father had stopped breathing.

Gyaan rushed towards him, pleading with his father to keep fighting. Alas! He was long gone. Gyaan didn't give up even then. He now started trying to bring his father back to life. Ultimately, falling unconscious on the ground.

"Gyaan, Gyaan, where are you lost?" Tej asked, waving his palm in front of Gyaan's face.

Gyaan came out of his thoughts and hastily wiped the beads of sweat that had gathered because of the memory. He had stopped crying a long time ago.

"Are you fine?" Reyansh asked gently.

"Yeah, don't worry. I am fine," Gyaan waved it off but seeing that everyone was still concerned, he clarified, yet still kept it vague. "I was just thinking about the time I tried to give life to a dead person."

"What happened then? Were you able to save the person?" Ahana asked the question but everyone had moved their head slightly forward, wanting to know the same thing.

Gyaan shook his head in negative, before chuckling, "I ended up staying in hospital for a few months."

"Oof, what a waste." Everyone moved back deflated by his answer.

"Yeah, it was a waste," Gyaan agreed, having a distant look, before he realized something, "Oh yeah! That was the time, Grandpa took you two in," he said to the twins.

"Ah yes! He did mention about his grandson being like us." Neer nodded.

That was the time when Gyaan's parents died and Gyaan was hospitalized. Till this date, Gyaan didn't know whether his grandfather took them in because of the loneliness that had gathered in that big house? Or because he didn't want the twins to get hospitalized because of the overuse of their powers?

When Gyaan had returned from the hospital, his grandfather had made him swear to never use his power excessively. His Grandpa knew that Gyaan wouldn't fully stop, but he made sure that Gyaan understood where it was necessary to take a break.

His Grandfather wanted to teach the twins the same thing, to know where to pause, and when to stop altogether. And because of this, he asked Gyaan to find and protect the twins as his last wish.