Meeting Again

Chapter 8

(The past incident is in italics and present is in normal straight writing.)

Lying on the bed, Nivedita delved into the memory of that dreadful day three years ago — how she had nearly lost her children and completely her best friend Mary to death, how she got separated from Advik, and how she eventually met Rita Maa and Ashoke Papa, who became the saviors of her and her angels.

꧁ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO꧂

Nivedita was sitting on the bench by the edge of that cliff, she was heavily pregnant of more than seven months, her belly cradling the promise of a life yet to be born. Advik, whom she once truly loved and considered he also loved her back, stood beside her, his eyes appearently reflecting the anticipation of impending parenthood but Nivedita knew it was just a facade to make her a fool again so she looked away from Advik's eyes.

As Advik moved away to answer a call, Nivedita, caught in the serenity of the moment, bent to smell a beautiful wildflower at the edge of the path. The fragrance, once a simple pleasure, now unleashed an uneasiness that caused her to cough violently. When she stood from the bench Mary and Jenny, her escorts and best friends beside her, observed her keenly, a sense of anxiety enveloping them.

Suddenly, the world around her trembled as her breathing seem to stop, the railing by the edge of cliff she clung to vibrated violently, as if disconnected from the earth beneath. As she teetered on the edge, the ground beneath her feet vanishing, Nivedita's eyes searched desperately for Advik. His distant figure was a poignant reminder of the love and dreams that hung in the balance. Tears blurred her vision as she accepted the inevitable — the heart-wrenching reality that she might never see Advik again.

Panic seized Nivedita, and she grasped the railing tighter but it caused her to furthur lose balance.

In that moment of precarious imbalance, when she fell off the cliff the world seemed to slow. Fear gripped her heart, not for her own life, but for the life within her. The terror of losing her unborn child overwhelmed her, and she began to chant prayers to the heavens, pleading for the safety of the little one she carried.

Just as the abyss below seemed ready to consume her, a hand reached out. It was not Advik's, but Mary's. In a breathtaking display of strength and courage, Mary, her once cheerful bestie, held Nivedita aloft. Their eyes locked, and a silent understanding passed between them — a promise to endure the storm together.

"Mery, no!" Nivedita cried out, seeing her friend's chest bleeding from the brutal impact against a tree. But Mery, with a smile that masked the pain, reassured her through tear-filled eyes. "Nivi, I'm a martial arts ninja. I've got you, and I'll save you."

With Nivedita suspended in the air, her unconscious form supported by Mery's strength, the world became a surreal ballet of emotions. "Mery, please," Nivedita pleaded, her voice trembling with a mix of gratitude and sorrow.

"Shh, Nivi," Mery whispered, her smile unwavering. "I promised to protect you, and I will. We'll get through this together."

Before Nivedita could loss consciousness may be because of some poisonous sedative in that wildflower, Mery managed a lighthearted remark, "Guess I'm not just your goofy bestie, huh? Ninja skills, remember?"

Her dream dissolved into darkness, leaving Nivedita with a poignant mix of emotions — gratitude for Mery's unwavering friendship, sorrow for the sacrifice she witnessed, and an enduring fear that lingered from that cliff's edge, where dreams once stood on the precipice of tragedy.