The day Hritika was desperately waiting for was finally here. She accumulated everything, before calling all the elements to the theatre room of the pack house.
"What's going on, Didi?" Avan asked as he was the first one to arrive.
"Wait for a few minutes. I will let you all know together," Hritika said as they patiently waited for others to arrive.
Unlike Avan, who was just playing when Hritika called them, others took some time to come as they had to take permission for a day off before arriving.
"Everything alright?" Neer asked as soon as he came, worried because of her sudden call.
"Take your seats. I am going to show you all something really amazing," Hritika said, while messaging the worker to switch off the lights of the theatre room.
"Looks like a new movie has come up," Avan guessed, looking excited as he made himself comfortable.
The other elements shook their heads at his assumption, knowing that Hritika wouldn't have called them in the middle of the day for a movie.
They were curious, but they all knew Hritika wouldn't just answer them. So they sat down quietly and waited patiently.
The screen lit up suddenly and what came up, made them all stand up in shock.
It was them in the newspaper. Their photos along with a huge headline- Elements: the Saviours of the World.
They looked at Hritika with glistened eyes, who blinked her eyes in return.
"Sit down. There's so much more to show," Hritika said.
It took some time, but Ravi and the kids managed to prove the innocence of the elements.
A long time had passed since the first proof was out. However, Hritika kept it to herself as she wanted to wait until the public opinion was changed about elements. And one proof wasn't enough for them.
So she waited until everything was out and the reaction of citizens was clear as she didn't want to give false hopes to the elements.
Until now, the reactions were 50-50. Some believed the proof, while others thought it was made up. But today was the day that changed everything in one go. A proof that no one could deny.
The moment this happened, Hritika accumulated everything the kids had found and Ravi had shown to the world. She turned the various video clips and headlines into one single movie so the elements could watch their victory.
The elements barely managed to sit still. Their heartbeats were going crazy with just the thought of getting rid of that dirty stain on their names.
They watched without a single blink of their eyes as one by one all the proofs started showcasing according to the dates.
The first thing the kids had done was to find out all the strangers that had spoken against the elements to the media. It took a lot of money to convince them. But once their pockets were full, those greedy people easily acknowledged that they didn't know the elements personally and were paid to make false claims against them.
The next part was a little hard as they were going against the actual people whose properties or themselves had gotten hurt by the elements. It required great power from the higher ups to find proof against them, and showcase that those people were actually criminals. Some of them had regular visits to the police station for eve-teasing, while the other was a huge criminal accused of human trafficking and illegal experiments. Hritika's contacts had really helped them in this one.
The kids took a huge risk and decided to show some of the footage they had taken when elements were helping save the world through disasters. It wasn't much as their mobile devices weren't working most of the time. But there were still some small clippings they had taken when things had started looking up.
The videos clearly portrayed the elements working alongside the researchers. The mixture of technology and nature was out there for everyone to see. And so was the fact that the statements given by the researchers were entirely false.
The researchers were put into investigation after that. Although they were going through troubles, the researchers actually felt proud of their kids. The kids had not only trusted the elements until the very end, but they also managed to prove their innocence.
They felt ashamed for not having trusted the people who were like their family and also lying to save their own asses. Hence, they now came out to speak the truth to the world.
Avan sat up straight when he noticed that his mother was also on the screen. He looked at the screen with wide eyes as his mother informed the people about all the times he had saved everyone. She spoke about his kindness, his helpful nature, and almost everything about him. But still there was no mention about him being her child.
Avan gave up at that moment. Until now, he had been making excuses for her. Although hurt by her actions, Avan still kept giving her the benefit of the doubt. But it all ended today. He lost all the hopes of ever reuniting with her. All the dreams of meeting her, hugging her, seeing her shocked face to see him alive; everything shattered at that moment.
His heart was broken beyond repair, but surprisingly he didn't shed a single tear today. He wasn't going to ruin everyone's happiness by crying on this wonderful day. He was going to be happy. Happy for himself and happy for all the elements.
Letting out a shaky breath, Avan readied himself to let out a huge smile as Hritika announced that the next clip was the last and the most important clip.
Hritika claimed that this was the actual proof that could prove the video wrong. All other proofs were circumstantial evidence, but this evidence was the one that could remove the stain of Neer being a murderer.
All the elements held each other's hand in nervousness and anticipation. The last clip started showing the man that Neer had 'supposedly killed.'
The kids managed to find that junior artist who was very much alive and had been hiding in a remote island. He claimed that he was being forced to do this, but his extravagant mansion said otherwise.
It didn't matter to elements whether he was forced or was he paid to do such an act. What mattered was that the truth was out. No video, no evidence mattered when the dead man was actually alive.
They all stood up, gathering around for a group hug as they cried out of happiness.
No one knew what the future held, but they weren't going to be held as criminals anymore.
"We are finally free," Ahana shouted in happiness, "Finally innocent."
"And this all happened because of your help," Neer said, forwarding his hand to Hritika so she could join the group hug.
"Thank you for trusting me," he whispered to her as she joined them.
"Always," Hritika said, looking at him with love-filled eyes, while thanking God for the dim lights in the room.
Hritika stayed there for a few minutes, before leaving all the elements alone to enjoy their moment.
YOU ARE READING
Nature in Hiding
FantasyBook Two of Nature's Series. (Sequel to Nature's Comeback) The glass was cracked yet it was still surviving. But Now it was Shattered!! Elements were already scarred from their past. It had taken a lot of courage and hope for them to become close w...
