❝The only kind of love I want is one where even if it is just for a short moment, it feels like I have lived a lifetime in that moment with that person. ❞ - Jhanvi Raichand.
**You CANNOT read this as standalone. Read Dare to Be before reading this...
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2.22 Like A Phoenix
Aarav walks out of the room in the morning, "She's asking for you."
"Me?" I ask in confusion. Why?
He mentions, "You underestimate your importance."
My brows draw together in confusion, but I deem it better to not ask. He'll come back with a mysterious response as he often does that will only make me wonder more, ask more questions. I stand up and twist the doorknob to enter. I imagine he'd follow but he stays put outside.
Jhanvi looks up from the tiny body resting beside her. "Did you need something?"
She nods at me to come in and I walk further inside the room. She shakes her head to herself noticing I stand at the end of her bed with my hands folded behind me. She lightly reprimands, "Sit, Aarush. I asked you here as a friend, not my security in charge."
She keeps pushing my comfort and even today, I am no better at saying no to her than I was on day 1. My shoulders relax and I walk a few steps to reach the stool. I move it closer to the bed and sit while removing my gun from the back holster and placing it on the side table, making sure to keep the nozzle pointed away from them. She eyes the gun in silence for a second taking the moment to grasp the fact.
I forward my hand to retrieve it, "Sorry, I can..."
She is quick to stop me, "No, it's - uh - okay. Just, I've never seen you carry it before. I mean, I know you must but..."
I lightly nod, "Yeah, there's no reason to keep it on me when we're inside the house."
"Right," she answers and glances at the baby when it... she flails her hand in air. I have to remind myself to not call her 'it'. She is alive and a human being. Babies are just a foreign concept to me.
Jhanvi smiles touching her hand and the baby is quick to grasp on to it in a tight grip, her very tiny fingers encircling her index finger. Her palm isn't big enough and only covers her finger tip. Her gaze still on the child, she speaks to me. "I'm sure you must have heard me asking Annie to be her godmother."
I nod. As I'd told her before, hazards of this job. I see and hear everything and only speak of things necessary and letting things be otherwise. It's usually in one ear and out the other.
She continues, "And Aarav is the godfather. I wasn't raised a Christian but I think this is how it goes. A girl has two godmothers and one godfather and vice versa for a boy." I nod again having no idea where this conversation is going. "Since I'm not a Christian, I want to change it around a little." She carefully picks her up in her arms and speaks to her this time in a quiet voice, "Hey Princess, look who's here. This... is Aarush. One day, you are going to have to thank him. You owe him that, you hear me?"
