My Beloved

Chapter Fourteen

~KAIRA~

The oceanic breeze touched my face, soothing me a little from my inner turmoil and making my hair dance in the process. The ship's wood was creaking beneath my feet as I looked into the horizon. The sun sank low in the sky, painting the sky in shades of red and gold. With each wave, the ship gilded forward, towards a world that brought an eerie sense of unknown yet excitement and hope at the same time.

We have been sailing for a few hours now, headed to some island named Porta. After Gaurav delivered the news, which left me more confused and curious regarding what was happening, Kalil pleaded with me to accompany him and promised me that he'd tell me everything along the way. Which hasn't happened yet. I don't know why I believed that man. After his disappearance for months, I still had faith in him. The connection that I felt with him that night was still as it was, even after so long. But that doesn't mean I'm going to be okay with him leaving me like that. His leaving Kalu or Azlan behind was proof enough that it wasn't just one-sided; he also felt what I did. But why all these secrets, then?

I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice someone standing beside me. "Are you okay, Kaira?" asked Gaurav, or I might say Kabeer. I replied with a shrug.

"It must be hard, wrapping your head around all this."

"I don't even know what 'all this' is yet." I replied, chuckling at the irony behind how I have embarked on this journey trusting these guys, whom I have known for months now but, in actuality, haven't known at all.

"Yeah, he'll come soon to share it all. Give him some time. You are the only one he has now. Other than me, Aisha and Azlan, of course," he said.

"What do you mean by I'm the only one he has now? And who is Aisha?" I asked.

"My wife." He said, smiling, to which I smiled in return as he continued, "You'll love her. Maybe. She's a pure soul with not even a single bad bone in her body. And about Kalil, it's better if he himself opens up to you." saying that he stared into the horizon. We stood there in a comfortable silence.

"Kabeer, do you mind leaving us for some time?" I heard Kalil's voice from behind.

"No, go on." Kabeer said, patting Kalil twice on the shoulder while leaving the deck.

Kalil came and stood beside me where Kabeer was standing moments ago. We stood there for another few minutes, in which I stole glances at him. He had been awfully quiet since the news and wasn't looking that great either. I don't know why, but my instincts were telling me to hug him, which I didn't succumb to, but I kept my hand on the railing, really close to where he had kept his hand. After some seconds, I moved it even closer to his hand, and then some more. He seemed to not notice all of this at all. But then he finally moved his hand for the last bit that I wasn't ready to cross. His little finger touched mine, and seeing that I didn't protest, he kept his whole hand on mine. His hand sent a much-needed flow of warmth against the cold, salty breeze.

"Your hands are freezing, Kaira. We should head inside." He said it with a heavy voice, which was different from his usual one.

Rather than acknowledging what he just said, I asked, "Are you okay?" He shrugged. And before I could ask my other questions, he hugged me. I had hugged him before—side hugs and other than that too—but this felt different. This felt more intimate and raw. He nestled his head in the crook of my neck, taking a deep breath with my hair all over his face, and sighed. As if he were smelling me and my smell somehow soothed him, his tense muscles relaxed. "Let's get this over with..." he mumbled to himself and broke the hug.

He kissed my forehead, and the wheels turning in my head stopped for the time being. Then we stood facing each other, lost in each other's eyes, for another five minutes. "I don't know where to start!" he said with a nervous chuckle after seeing my earnest eyes.

"Okay, so let me ask the questions, and you just focus on answering them. Let's start with, Who are you?" I replied gently, giving his hand a tight squeeze.

"We are not humans. Our kind is known as Aireths. We live in a place far from here, a realm called the Oasis. That is where we are headed now." Kalil replied.

"Oh! Why did you disappear and decide to come back disguised? Why all these secrets?" I asked. These things are what broke my heart the most. His coming back as Kairav and keeping me in the dark the whole time is what has hurt me the most.

"Kaira, I assure you, I didn't want to do any of it like this. It was a necessity. I got a message from Kabeer at the dawn of that night about my father searching for me. I had to leave at once because visiting earth is not permitted that easily, and he didn't know about my coming here. Basically, I had sneaked out. When I went back, my father assigned me some duties and training. I was busy performing those. One day, while going through the training, I came across a photo. It had a family in it with two little kids. One of them, a girl, had a locket in her hand. I didn't remember where I had seen that locket, but I was sure that it was on earth somewhere. The locket looked similar to what we all had, but according to an elder whom I trust very much, it's much more powerful and, if fallen into the hands of evil, much more dangerous." Kalil explained.

"Let me guess, it's this locket," I said, showing him my locket, which was tied to my neck. "And you came here disguised so that you could find it, but you found it with me and questioned me about it. When you didn't get an answer from me, you decided to stay and look into it. So it was never about me; all this time, it was about this damn locket?" I asked with a tone of anger.

"No, no, darling... Please don't misunderstand me. It was always about you. You have no idea how hard it was for me to stay away from you all these months." He started pleading with his eyes and taking both of my hands in his hands. "Please, darling, believe me, you are my everything, since the moment I laid my eyes on you. All this came long after our first meeting. Whatever we had, whatever we experienced, and whatever we still do whenever we are together, is as pure as it can get. Our kind have soulmates. It's rare, but it's there, and you are mine! You are my soulmate."

His words sent a shiver down my spine. I know what a soulmate is, so I'm not going to question him on that, but the concept of soulmates is not real.

(Oh, just like you believed that the concept of Kalil having wings was not real too.)

Ignoring her, I continued to sort out the chaos of questions going on in my mind.

"Why didn't you tell me everything earlier, and why now? And why are you taking me with you now? The news... what was that?" I asked him.

"Because, darling, I was not the only one who came looking for that locket. There are some who want to get ahold of that locket for not-so-good motives. And after hearing what has happened in the Oasis, I am pretty sure about it. I feared that all this would scare you; the fact that they are behind this locket puts you in harm's way. I can't let that happen. You are too precious for me. Hence, you are coming with us. That way, I can protect you, and we can also solve this locket mystery as well as how you lost your memories."

"How do you know about my amnesia?" I asked, shocked. But then continued, "That son of a bitch, Azlan..."

"Yeah," he said, giving me a small smile.

"What about the news?"

"The king of the Oasis, my father, is dead." He told me with a heavy voice.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Kalil..."I started, "Wait a minute, your father was a king, and he is dead."

"Yes. I was announced as the crown prince when I went back last time. That makes me the king now." He said he was looking into the horizon.