Soul Bonds

°•○Shiwalik Guilty?○•°

Himadri's words and hug comforted Shivanya a lot at that moment when she saw the emotional burden of her brother and Avyaan unfold. They cried until their throats ached when finally Himadri interrupted gently.

"Enough boys, I'm not a doctor yet. If you get a sore throat tomorrow you'll need to visit an actual doctor, free mein kaam nahi hoga!" She joked pulling Avyaan into her own embrace.

She pushed back her own turmoils seeing her loved ones in such hurt. Her joke did earn a soft chuckle chocked with sobs from the boys and Shiwalik stayed silent observing Himadri.

"Dri, I need to talk to-" He tried to say something but was cut off by Himadri. "Not now Dadu!! We haven't even ate anything since morning due to the fast... pehle pet puja tyacha nantar zopaycha direct. You can have some privacy with Vaini, amhi tighe tr zopnar ahot. Right boys?"
(First let's fill our stomachs and then directly sleep. You can have some privacy with Vaini, we three are gonna sleep.)

She teased the couple as Avyaan and Advait obediently nodded their heads, sniffling and wiping their tear stained cheeks. Both the girls noticed the change in Shiwalik. His silence bothered them.

Shiwalik went and met their grandmother, spending some time with her as well. He returned back to his room only to find Shivanya sitting there with her gun. Only he knew how much his रानटी मांजर(wild cat) was holding her anger.

"A-anya why are y-you having that g-gun bala?" He asked stuttering. "You didn't die four years back na but just made us think that way so I thought why not really kill you?" She said pointing her gun at him.

That's what our jungli billi can do. Shiwalik, too nervous to speak a word, cautiously approached her and hugged her tightly as she sighed and hugged him back dropping the gun. As they enjoyed the warmth and comfort, many questions hung in the air and they knew they had to clear everything right now.

As they broke the hug the first thing Shiwalik knew was a stinging sensation on his right cheek and soon realized he got slapped by his girlfriend- well fiance. He looked at her shocked while she deadpanned, "Hima ne pn maar khalla, I'm not partial love and you deserve it, atleast we knew she's alive." Shiwalik knew he will face something like this and was ready for that.
(Even Himadri got slapped by me)

"Anya..." He tried to coax her but was interrupted by a knock. Himadri peeped in and called Shivanya completely ignoring Shiwalik. As Shivanya went out, he was left alone in the room to deal with the silent treatment his girls were giving him.

"What happened Hima?" Shivanya asked in annoyance. Himadri understood the reason for her annoyance and discreetly ignored the tone Shivanya used. "Vaini te jevan! Upwas nahi modlay apan ajun." She said as politely as possible, well it was a way to save her brother from the hungry lioness.
(Vaini dinner! We haven't yet broke our fast.)

"Call everyone! I'll prepare the table." Shivanya ordered and went away while Himadri sighed in relief. She called everyone but Shiwalik, she was really angry at him. Yes, she was being selfish but everything could've been right if he hadn't left or he would've assured that he was alive and safe.

Shiwalik had his reasons but his siblings were just teenagers. Himadri, a 16 year old girl, was forced to leave her house and the guilt of being the reason for her brother's death who was actually alive added more. Avyaan, an 11 year old child, was compelled to live without his siblings who were like his parents.

As much as she blamed herself for all this, she also considered Shiwalik equally responsible. Maybe she is wrong, maybe she is right but she's just a 20 year old girl who had to live away from her heart for 4 years and losing her crucial years.

Shiwalik understood her like no one else could and was ready to take her anger without a word. Not only hers, but he was ready to his family's anger knowing what consequences they faced due to him.

Avyaan noticed the absence of his elder brother and decided to call him. As the family sat together and broke their fast, the lioness calmed down. The fierce cub was now a bit relaxed and the two goofball cubs were all ready to sleep.

Everyone retired to their rooms and on Shivanya's insistence, Himadri agreed on sleeping in their room today. Well she was the only one who could calm the mamabear. As the girls entered the room, they found Shiwalik all snuggled up in his quilt. Well their mother had made it specially for him from her saree and it mattered to him a lot.

Shivanya had a huge temptation of forgiving him and leave everything behind but clearing the misunderstanding was necessary and she wanted it to happen right now! "Shiwalik we need to talk get up!" She said coldly.

Shiwalik was already in deep sleep as he got his comfort place and peace back after 4 years. "Shiwa! Get up, we need to talk!!!" Shivanya raised her voice whereas Himadri noticed her growing frustration.

She went near Shiwalik and realized he was in a deep sleep and looked pretty tired. She decided to calm her Vaini rather than disturbing her peacefully sleeping brother and did so, "Vaini! He's in deep sleep and seems pretty tired. Let's talk tomorrow?"

Himadri uttered softly as Shivanya thought for a moment and agreed. Normally Shiwalik sleeping wouldn't have mattered to the girl but he had experienced nightmares since he turned 20 and never really got proper sleep.

They turned off the main light and switched on the soft lights. Himadri layed beside her brother as Shivanya opened the couch-bed and settled on that.

Almost 20 minutes passed by and Himadri was only one awake. She was staring at her brother, how his features had changed, how the change was so visible that she felt it was her brother in a different body. It started hitting her, she missed 4 yeas with her brothers, with her family, the special moments a family shares.

Her trance broke as she heard whimpers coming from her brother. He was experiencing those dreams again! "Dada! Dada, wake up! It's not the reality, it's just your dream, wake up! Come out of it!!!" She said softly tapping his forehead indicating him her presence.

It took her 5 minutes to get him out of that, as he woke up with a jerk, his face wet with all the sweat. "It was nothing, okay? Just a random bad dream... I'm right here Dada!" A person's presence mattered to him at that moment, regardless whether that person was his younger sibling or his bestfriend.

Himadri held his hand tightly, physically telling him that she's right there while also comforting him through words. Shiwalik dreamt of the incident that took place 4 years ago which was a very common nightmare he used to experience since 4 years and it pulled him back to the ocean of guilt.

"H-hima! Im- I'm scared, I- I don't wanna lose my siblings." He whispered, his voice filled with vulnerability.
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So sorry readers!! There was too much work to do and so couldn't update the chapter... I don't want to be someone who is always giving excuses but I've upcoming preliminary and board exams so I hope you guys understand! I'll still try my best to be regular with chapter.

How was Himadri?

How was Shivanya?

How was Shiwalik?

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