Her Only Saviour

59. An ocean of silence

𝕬𝖆𝖓𝖐𝖍𝖔𝖓 𝖒𝖊𝖎𝖓 𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖎 𝖆𝖏𝖆𝖇 𝖘𝖎 𝖆𝖏𝖆𝖇 𝖘𝖎 𝖆𝖉𝖆𝖞𝖊𝖎𝖓 𝖍𝖆𝖎𝖓
𝕯𝖎𝖑 𝖐𝖔 𝖇𝖆𝖓𝖆 𝖉𝖊 𝖏𝖔 𝖕𝖆𝖙𝖆𝖓𝖌 𝖘𝖆𝖆𝖓𝖘𝖊𝖎𝖓 𝖞𝖊𝖍 𝖍𝖆𝖜𝖆𝖞𝖊𝖎𝖓 𝖍𝖆𝖎𝖓

𝕿𝖊𝖗𝖆 𝖈𝖍𝖊𝖍𝖗𝖆 𝖏𝖆𝖇 𝖓𝖆𝖟𝖆𝖗 𝖆𝖆𝖞𝖊
𝕯𝖎𝖓 𝖞𝖊𝖍 𝖒𝖊𝖗𝖆 𝖉𝖍𝖆𝖉𝖆𝖐 𝖏𝖆𝖆𝖞𝖊

𝖅𝖆𝖐𝖍𝖒 𝖏𝖔 𝖉𝖎𝖑 𝖐𝖊 𝖇𝖍𝖆𝖗 𝖏𝖆𝖆𝖞𝖊𝖎𝖓
𝕶𝖞𝖆 𝖙𝖚𝖒 𝖎𝖙𝖓𝖊 𝖇𝖊𝖜𝖆𝖋𝖆 𝖍𝖔…

~~~~~~~~~~~

The tear dried before it reached her lips.

She didn’t wipe it. Just let it fall—let it be.

Then, without a word, she walked to the corner of the room where a
long-forgotten bag sat covered in a white cloth. She pulled it open with practiced hands.

Inside: ghungroos.

Her second skin.

Once, these bells had been the loudest sound in her world. Louder than heartbreak, louder than judgment, louder than the chaos that always followed her footsteps.
Today, she needed them again—not for a performance, not for anyone else—but for herself.

She tied them around her ankles in silence.

The familiar metallic scent of oxidized brass met her senses as her fingers tightened each knot. She stood slowly and walked to the mirror.

What stared back at her wasn’t the girl who once danced under stage lights with pride glowing in her eyes.

It was a woman with war wounds.
Scars hidden behind kohl-lined eyes.
A heart carrying the weight of betrayal, guilt, love, and now—life.

But still… a dancer.

Always.

She switched on the speaker.
The marble floor beneath her bare feet creaked like it recognized her after a long time.

The first note hit the room like a breath held too long.

Soft. Melancholic. The opening beats of her Alarippu—a dance of awakening.

And she began.

Each step, each flick of her hand, each precise tilt of her neck was not performance—it was exorcism.

Her feet hit the floor harder than ever, the ghungroos crying out with every movement. She wasn’t dancing a routine. She was dancing out of grief.
Anger. Silence. Memory.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐧𝐢𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐡’𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬—“𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗲.”

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫—𝘂𝗻𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗱, 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝.

𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬.