Till The Spring

17🌸 Past links finds future feelings

A heavy quiet settled in Sara's living room, amplifying the unspoken emotions hanging between her and Nazareth. Sara's eyes sought answers from Nazareth's gaze, questioning the unexpected rescue. Nazareth, uncertain of his own motivations, silently met her gaze, the unspoken tension lingering in the air.
"Care for some tea, Prof Reth?" Sara broke the silence as she extended a cup towards him.
"Thanks, for helping me there. I didn't know who that person was but I have been seeing him for years now." Sara utters slowly.
"And you haven't talked about it with anyone?" He asks.
"I just have my Granny, don't want to trouble her more." She replied.
"And what if he harms you someday?" He snaps instantly when she looks at him, stunned.
"Life is no joke, try to take things seriously." He advised in a serious tone.
"I don't get negative vibes from him." She counter replied.
"Vibe? What vibe? Do the attackers have a separate set of vibes! You Gen Z people have learnt the slang by heart but don't know how to use it!" Nazareth says in a disgusted tone.
"Whom to depend on? I don't have a father. Can't keep stressing Ishan as he too has his own life. Even if things go wrong even then I won't want granny to worry, she already had enough. What should I do ask you to pick and drop?" Sara's abrupt statement caught Nazareth off guard, causing him to spit out his tea in surprise.
"W-Why will I!? I can't. I won't. I'm a busy person. We live the complete opposite." Nazareth, wiping his mouth, responded quickly.
"The rehearsals take a bit long, it's November already, the sun sets early, what can I do? But the thing still confused me:What were you doing there?" Sara questions with a hint of confusion.
I saw someone watching you at the university. I wanted to make sure you were safe. Nazareth explained in his mind.
"Sheer co-incidence." He quickly replied standing up with a sense of urgency.

As Nazareth passed by, his eyes lingered on the framed photo of little Sara. A sense of familiarity washed over him, the mystery deepening.
"Miss Sara by any chance have you ever participated in Carols?" He asks out of the blue but before she could reply he stops in thinking it to be a silly question and left.
"I did visit," Sara replied from behind, but Nazareth had already left, leaving the words hanging in the air.

The Nobel feelings of doing a play worn off by the fifth day of rehearsals. The initial thrill of doing the play had worn off. Nazareth's relentless pursuit of perfection in every scene left the cast questioning their commitment. Amidst the strain, Ishan and Rudra's arguments became a welcome distraction, offering a brief respite from constant dialogue repetition. However, by the end of the sixth day, the growing resentment towards Nazareth reached a point where even Laksh, playing Bluntschli, contemplated leaving.
Sara, engrossed in rehearsals with Laksh and Rudra, noticed Ishan's growing impatience. Whether it was more lines with Laksh or Rudra's antics, each scene seemed to test Ishan's patience, prompting him to either distract himself on the phone or exit the rehearsal hall.

It was a recess time when Ishan was sitting at the corner of the hall alone busy with his phone when Sara comes and sits in front of him, quietly and slides a sipper or cold coffee towards him.
"I don't want to." He says rudely.
"I didn't ask what you wanted." Says retorted.
"Stop sitting in my way, you're blocking the sunshine." He says in an attitude.
"There's no trace of the sun outside; the sky is filled with clouds, so stop lying," Sara asserts, taking away his phone.
"Now stop being cold and blurt out what's bothering you," she adds, urging Ishan to open up.
"Ishan released a frustrated sigh. "Really!? You know what I hate? When you start siding with people other than me. It pisses me off! I hated getting defeated at the soccer match, but more than that, I hated you seeing you jumping and celebrating for him! I might sound stupid and possessive, but that's how I've become, and I can't help it! You're just-just making me mad, Sara. You should be concerned about me, only me, and I hate this role of Major Petkoff or whatsoever. I should be doing that Captain's role, but that Nazi poked in between and gave that role to somebody else! I wanted to quit, but I couldn't, as I want to be with you in any form. I just... feel so embarrassed that I am behaving like this, don't know why!" Ishan poured out, getting unfiltered, and stopped abruptly when Sara hugged him tightly.
"I'm sorry!" Sara says softly as Ishan covers his face, feeling shy about his words.
Despite confronting everything, Ishan concealed the incident when he saw Nazareth helping her with an umbrella on a rainy day and even dropping her home. Subconsciously, a feeling of insecurity developed within him, which seemed strange as he considered it too stupid to get jealous of his professor.