The Exchange

Unmasked

She stared out the window during the entire car ride into the mountains, not uttering a single word. If Maya or Kunal asked her something, she would simply ignore them, not moving her head in the slightest. She knew that if she opened her mouth, if she started speaking, the tears would start flowing from her eyes, and she could not take that chance. But, there was strange sensation in the bottom of her heart...a strange sensation of hope. Her Abhi knew what had happened...her Abhi knew where she was, who she was with. He knew that she was in trouble. And no matter how hard her mind tried to once again tell her that she would never see him again, her heart knew that was the biggest lie ever told. Her heart knew that he would be waiting for her at the amphitheater...her heart knew that this was the final stretch. But, in the midst of the hope she was finally allowing herself to feel, there was an even greater sensation of fear. Fear as to what Dr. Khera would do to him...fear that he would take his hand away from him...or perhaps even worse. However, she also felt stronger than she had in the past year...as this was a matter of her Abhi....and she would not let anyone...not even god harm him. She was born with the only purpose of loving him, of sheltering him...and whatever was about to happen, she would catch him if he fell just as he had always caught her. 

When the three of them arrived to the venue, Maya immediately went on stage to take photos as she always did. They were surrounded by the mountains and the lakes, and she did not want to miss a single opportunity for publicity. Akshu went straight backstage with Kunal, both of them doing their routine soundcheck. And the moment she stepped backstage, she knew he was there. He felt his presence, she felt him so close to her. She looked around and did not see him...but it did not matter. As she did not need her eyes to confirm what her heart already knew....

And if her heart knew, it was true. Her Abhi was sitting on the ledge that connected to the ceiling in anticipation of the moment his Akshu would start singing. Because once she did, the world would see her...once she did, the world would know it was her. When she sang today, the world would cheer for Mrs. Akshara Birla...when she sang today, his dream would finally come true. And when she sang today, Maya's game would finally come to an end....there were 30 minutes until the show started, but each minute felt like an eternity. Each minute was standing in between his Akshu's freedom and her captivity...between him suffocating and him breathing freely. 

And then, he heard her start to warm up...he heard her start to sing. "Lag ja gale..." With these words, he let himself forget why he was here, what he had been planning to do. With these words, hundreds of memories rushed into his mind...the first time she fell into his arms, her clutching onto him every time she had a panic attack, her singing to him and only him....this song had been their song, the mark of their love since the day they first came truly face to face. But, as he felt himself getting swept away in her love, he knew he had to control himself...he knew he had to avenge her. 

With that, he pulled the lever he had been waiting to pull since he stepped foot backstage. He pulled the lever that marked the end of the darkness in their lives. He pulled the lever that marked the start of their reunion. The curtains that separated backstage from the front fell down, the cables collapsing, the stage shaking. Maya dropped her mic in shock as Akshu continued to sing the last few lines, not fully processing what had happened. 

But, the second she looked up from the floor, she saw thousands of people standing in front of her, watching her sing. She saw Maya staring at her as if she would launch at her any second. She saw Kunal walking around the room in terror, trying to figure out what the hell had gone wrong. And finally, she saw him jump down from the ledge he had been sitting on, staring deep into her eyes...staring deep into her soul. 

As the crowd gasped in astonishment, as the media went wild taking their photos, she felt herself losing control of her breaths. She felt the panic kicking in...she felt herself no longer able to inhale even a second ounce of air. She started running down the stairs, running as fast as she could, unable to fully come to terms with the fact that she was no longer a ghost...that she was no longer living in the darkness.

And her light, her hope, her faith...he followed behind her, screaming her name, telling her to stop, telling her that it would all be okay now...