Tale of Silent Longing

19| All's Well that ends Well

"But if all of this was going on for so many days, what triggered you to take such a big step tonight?" Alaric asked.

"Whatever is happening, it is happening because of me. If I stop existing, nobody will have to face any problem. My family has taken a lot of pain to send me to such a great college. They have high hopes for me and here I am, not studying at all. Today morning, when I saw my grades on the board, it broke my heart. I have never flunked in any of the subjects ever but this time, I failed a weekly test. I cannot even think of facing my family," Mariah explained, sounding miserable.

Everyone present in the room was saddened after hearing Mariah's story. Even the cold-hearted
Mr. Mehta felt disheartened after hearing all of this. Tanya was on the verge of breaking down.

"Who told you that if you are not here
anymore, everything will be fine? If you wouldn't be here, someone else would be." Professor Anna spoke, breaking the silence that had prevailed in the room.

She caressed Mariah's head. "Don't worry Mariah, now you have nothing to fear. Now we have shardul's location and even evidence against him. Whatever has happened, just forget about it and start preparing for the upcoming examinations. Nobody is going to bother you again," Alaric reassured her.

"But what about my family?" Mariah asked.

"You don't have to worry about that.
We are informing the police near your house. They will take care of everything," Alaric informed her. "Never in my wildest dream, I had thought that such horrifying rackets were going on near the college. Officer Alaric, please make sure all of them get caught and a big case is made. If you need more funds, do contact me" Mr.Mehta spoke in a grave tone.

"As for now, make sure that apart from the people in the room, nobody else gets to know about it" the principal joined in. "Don't go to the event. Head back to your dorm, Mariah," the principal instructed.

"Alaric and I will drop you home," Anna offered.

All of them came out of the principal's office and started walking towards the main gate of the college. Once they were out, Jahaan spoke, "Just wait here, I will go and bring my car" saying that he left.

Professor Anna and officer Alaric accompanied Mariah to their car. They were about to get into the car when Mariah suddenly stopped, turned back, and ran towards Tanya .

She hugged her tightly and spoke, "Thank you Tanya . If you weren't here, I don't think I would have ever gotten out of this trouble. You have not only saved me but have also given me my normal life back."

Mariah had tears in her eyes while she expressed her gratitude. "Stop thanking me so much, Mariah. And if you really want to express your gratitude, start studying with all your heart and pass the exams with flying colors," Tanya spoke while caressing her hair.

" Tanya , we need to acknowledge how brave you are. I don't think anybody else would have done what you did tonight. You are a star my dear," Professor Anna spoke with a grin.

Just then Jahaan came there with his car. "Professor Anna, even I have something important to tell you," Tanya said with a poker face.

"Professor, I am very jealous of you. Had officer Alaric been a couple of years younger or I would be a few years older, I would have definitely stolen him from you. He is really very handsome and charming," Tanya spoke with a giggle.

On hearing this, everyone roared with laughter.
"Had that been the case, I would have wooed you long back. Just look at how adorable you are" Alaric replied with a chuckle.

"One second Tanya . All of this would not have been so easy. I would have tried my best too" Illahi joined in.

"Alright alright, if you guys are done with flirting, let's get going," Anna said while hitting Alaric on his bicep. Then, they left. Jordan , Tanya , and Illahi  got into Jahaan 's car.

"Where are we going?" Jahaan asked while starting up his car. "Let's head to my dorm. We can study together there" illahi proposed.

"Are you sure?" Jordan tilted his head from the front seat and asked.

"Yeah, let's go. And I really want to study with you guys and score good grades" illahi replied and all of them headed to her dorm.

The next month went very smoothly for Tanya . She was busy preparing for the examination and shardul was arrested.

Court proceedings were still going on. On the last day of the exam when they stepped out of college, Tanya appeared to be very sad. Stretching her body, illahi spoke, "Finally the exams are over. Now I can sleep for as long as I want to".

"Hey, what's wrong Tanya ? Why do you seem upset? Aren't you happy that the exams are over?" she asked.

"Well... I am happy but what's next? For the next two weeks, we will have no lectures, no meetups. Everyone is going home. What will I do?" Tanya replied and sulked.

"You should also go home. You are always homesick," illahi suggested.

"Well, you got a point but once I go there, I wouldn't feel like coming back. Two weeks is way too little for me," Tanya answered.

They continued talking while walking up to their dorm. "Let's do one thing. Both of us should stay here and plan for a trip" illahi suggested again.

"That does sound like a good idea. If Jordan and Jahaan accompany us, it would be even more fun" Tanya chuckled.

"Well, just say it directly that you want to travel with Jahaan ; don't beat around the bush" illahi rolled her eyes.

The next day, the clock struck 9.30 yet the two girls were asleep. Весаuse of exams, they could not sleep well for the last couple of days. Both of them were lost in their dream worlds when suddenly someone knocked at the door.