FADING DARKNESS

CHAPTER 33. AS DARKNESS FADES

"In the depth a light will grow,
A silver shine no shadows know,
Like wings unfolding in the sky,
That circle 'round a gleaming eye,
Turning darkness all away,
Even depths will know their day,
For every shadow has its end,
In light!
Life will return again!"
-Robert Fanney

Piya collapsed on the sofa, her eyes going wide as she heard her brother tell her what had happened. "What?' she asked faintly. She had arrived in Dehradoon a while ago, and had been absolutely delighted to learn about Rudra. And then, Arjun told her about Ranvijay, leaving her flabbergasted. She had had no idea that all this had happened. Arjun had managed to keep the incident from reaching the ears of the media and now when Piya had arrived, intending to give them a surprise visit, she was the one who had ended up surprised. 

Arjun crossed the room over to where Piya sat, and held her hands comfortingly in his. He understood very well what she felt. He remembered that sinking terrorizing fear numbing him for that millisecond after he had heard the gunshot. He had thought his father had been shot. But it wasn't Ranvijay who had pulled the trigger. Ajay had arrived just on time, and knowing that police wouldn't be here quickly enough, he had brought a couple of the office security personnel with him. The office security had always been armed with loaded guns, and one of them had fired straight at Ranvijay's hands, knocking out the gun from his grip just in time. They had held down a howling-in-pain and raging Ranvijay toll the police had arrived, and he had been arrested immediately for attempt to murder. Arjun had made sure that he had confessed to his wife's murder in front of the police and additional murder charges had also been pressed.

"How could someone be such a monster?" Piya was saying. "What if—what if something had happened to you all? What if the bullet had hit Papa?"

"It didn't. Everything's OK now." Arjun said. "And I'll make sure that Ranvijay stays behind bars all his life." He smiled reassuringly at his sister. "And besides, at the end of it all, we could save Ruda=ra from his clutches. It was worth it."

Piya gave him a grateful look. "I am really, really happy, Bhai. About Rudra. I can't wait to meet him! Are you-have you adopted him officially yet?"

Arjun shook his head. "I've started the proceedings. Ajay has been helping me, and for once, I don't regret pulling a few strings in the Dobriyal name if it means that everything goes without hassle." He grinned. "And now that you're here, I'm sure I'll have more energy to do things."

Piya laughed. "You sure know how to fatter, Bhai." She said, lightly punching him in the arm before her expression turned serious again. "Is everyone-you know-OK with it? Your decision?"

Arjun nodded, smiling reassuringly at her. "Yes, of course. Even Mum." he added, as he saw Piya frowning a little. "She was the one, in fact, to make sure that I knew what I was doing. She wanted to know that I was adopting Rudra because I wanted to, and not merely out of a sense of duty."

Piya looked surprised. "Really? She-she did that?"

Arjun nodded. He put his arms around Piya and squeezed lightly. "Mum regrets it, you know. How-how she treated you. She-she wants to make sure that Rudra doesn't suffer like you did...It's-she cares, Piya. She does."

Piya nodded, sighing. "I know, Bhai. I understand that." She stood up. "I'll-I'll go talk to her and Dad and then I'll meet Rudra, OK?"

Arjun nodded, standing up too. "Are you staying tonight? Please say you will."