Dusky Moonlight

Chapter- 17(1)

Her room was dead silent, Rathi could even hear the sound of the wind that blows through the window, her eyes were tired of crying. She's blankly staring at the sunrise sitting on her bed. Rathi couldn't understand what's happening around her, it's confusing and terrifying to imagine the things that are going to happen to her in the future. Now she has a great doubt whether she will be alive after the birth of her child. Rathi was always afraid to die, she doesn't want to be that human who has never experienced true freedom. The faith that she will be safe here has totally vanished out from her mind after witnessing Sumaya's death.

I have to live for this child, I can't let these people raise him as a heartless freak like Aadhiyan, she constantly had this thought. Rathi couldn't sleep in the night, she kept thinking about Sumaya who died in front of her eyes holding her hands. Her memories are still playing in her head, the moments they shared doesn't let her sleep. Rathi never felt this lonely, her face danced with fear and anxiousness. She turned her head to the other side and saw the empty space in the bed.

Aadhiyan didn't spend the night with her, in fact, she doesn't know where he is and she knows he's somehow listening to all her thoughts. She didn't search for him or want him either. She despises everything about this place.

Rathi got down from the bed and made her way to the balcony. She looked at the infinite sea, her eyes carried a desire to escape out of this place. But she doesn't know the way.

"Rathi?" Aadhiyan called out her name and she was startled to hear it at that moment.

She nervously gazed at his face, Aadhiyan has shaved his beard during Sumaya's cremation as giving his final respects to her.

There's not even that fake smile on his rugged face and Rathi didn't fear him.

"You should sleep at this time," he told.

"How could I sleep? Tell me. Sumaya died holding this hand," Rathi questioned.

"You should forget that you have to," Aadhiyan replied.

"Are you even a human?" she asked. "I regret for coming here and everything."

Aadhiyan chuckled, "Watch your words, just because I going easy with you doesn't mean I will accept whatever you say."

"I will talk what I am having in my mind, what you will do?" she confronted and he gritted for not able to control her. She is more important to them right now and he can't let anything happen to her.

"Don't fight with me now then you will regret when you need me at your difficult times,"

"Who needs your help?" She left out a sarcastic chuckle.

"I will ask you one thing, can you answer it truly? Then I will trust you that you will help me at my hard times," She came forward.

"If you're put in a situation where you have to choose between me and your life, what you will do?"

Her questioned made him speechless, "that type of situation will never," he answered without meeting her eyes.

"How could you know that?" she retorted. "Okay, then answer this, can you guarantee that I and my child can live a long life here? Will you promise that you will protect us?"

Aadhiyan glared, his eyes fiercely looked showing that he's totally pissed off.

"Because I don't feel safe here, with you as well," she blurted out.

"Tell me," she cornered him.

"I promise, nothing will happen to you," he said with no other way to escape.

"And this child?"

Aadhiyan clenched his jaw, he was not used to give fake promises but right now Rathi has pushed him in the situation where he has to give one. He knows that she has lost her faith in him, he's hearing all her thoughts from the moment Sumaya died. If he didn't do this promise, then she will try to escape this place after knowing the truth in some way and they can't survive if she gets out without finishing their deeds.

So leaving out a sigh, Aadhiyan said, "I promise nothing will happen to you and to our child."

"Can I trust your promise? Because I feel like you're not going to keep your words," Aadhiyan got irritated to hear that.

"What else I can do?" he asked.

"Promise on your god that you will protect us," she asked reaching out her hand.

Aadhiyan didn't expect that Rathi can talk this way. He realized that she will turn against him if he didn't promise. Discerning that he's doing this fake promise for their God, he placed his hand on her hand and thus sealing their argument.

"Do you now believe me?" he asked.

"Yes," she nodded still in skepticism.

"Go get some sleep now," he ordered and Rathi settled and went to take some rest.

**

"Oi, oi. Look at me," Rathi smiled looking at the baby and it was staring everywhere. Mithran was sitting beside her and watching his baby with teary eyes.

"Don't cry, Anna," she requested him and he nodded.

"I still can't believe what happened yesterday," he had an unbelievable face.

"She died in front of me. I never thought this will happen," Rathi again reminded the incident.

"It's all our fate, what else we can do?" he muttered.

"Can I tell you something?" Rathi hesitantly asked and Mithran gazed her in confusion.

"Why don't you leave this place with her? Sumaya told that you have a home in Madagascar,"

"At least you can give a proper life to her and she can live freely there," Rathi advised.

"I can't Rathi, no one will allow it," he rejected that idea.

"Why you are worrying about others, you should leave on your own, Anna. Please don't waste her life,"

Hearing that Mithran's face became hard, something has hit him hard. What she said is true, this child will suffer if she grew up here and he doesn't have that courage to see his own daughter's death someday in the future. Because all these men were cursed to see their beloved one's death. He is now experiencing the cruelty of that. But thinking about his family tradition and the promise they made with the deities is lying in the base of his thoughts and that turned him guilty. For him, leaving this place is not as easy as it sounds.

"No, Rathi. I can't and please don't talk about this to me ever again," he strictly told and Rathi rolled her eyes seeing his inanity.

"She has to live following her destiny," he said looking at his innocent daughter.

Rathi didn't try to converse with him any further and spend her time with the baby until the baby fell asleep.