The Mourning Moon

Chapter 26

After three days of complete rest, Ansh was finally allowed to go to college. He was finally allowed his freedom. Ansh was overjoyed. He could finally take a breather from his parents constant worrying over him. Don't get him wrong. He did enjoy their love, care and attention. But being constantly worried over becomes suffocating. So now that it was over, he can finally breathe. He got on the bus and went to sit on the window seat. Once he was seated, he lost himself to the thoughts of Shreshth. All of a sudden, his mind wandered to the night he met HIM. The person from his dreams. Only this time he met him from real. HE was real. He was playing with the crystals flying in the air. 'Who was he? What was he doing there? Why does he always come in my dreams? Can he manipulate a person's dreams? If so, then why choose me? I don't even know him.' Ansh was thinking all this when he heard a sigh come from his side seat. He looked towards the source and found a woman in her mid-thirtes, sitting beside him, leaning on the backrest of her seat with her eyes closed. Ansh averted his gaze from the woman and looked outside the window.

"Death," the woman suddenly spoke up.

Ansh looked at her, puzzled. Was she talking to him?

With her eyes closed, the woman continued, "Death is an amazingly mysterious thing, isn't it? For some it is relief, for others it is pain. For some it is the end of everything, for others it is the new beginning." She opened her eyes and looked straight at Ansh, with a smile on her face.

Ansh stared at her dumbfounded. What was she talking about?

Looking at Ansh's reaction, the woman could not help but laugh lightly.

"Death. It snatches your loved ones away from you, leaving you all alone in this cruel, lonely world," said the woman. "Yet death is the reason why new life gets its place in this beautiful world." She once again looks at Ansh. "Those crystals that you have are beautiful. But remember while one means freedom, the other means bondage. I wonder this time which one would you choose." Soon the woman's stop has arrived. Getting up, she cast a one last look at Ansh. Leaning down in Ansh's personal space, she whispered, "We will meet again. Till then... Long live the Kings." She smiled before turning away and leaving.

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Ansh was sitting in the classroom, lost in his thoughts. The meeting with the strange woman had left him shaken. What did she mean by all the things she said. How did she know about the crystals? What did she mean by one of them being freedom while other being bondage? Why did she say 'Long live the kings'? Did Avantika send her? What is the meaning of all this? What the hell is going on?

"Ansh," a voice whispered in his ears, causing him to jerk away. He looked around but no one was there. Everyone was busy doing their own thing. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with him? Ansh clutched at his head. Oh, how he wished Shreshth was there with him. He really needed him.

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"Dead do not arise
They tell no tales.
The body dies
It decays.
But the soul is uneding
It is undead.
He has been reborn
who once was dead.
He will now finish
This unfinished tale.
Together with his soul,
with his mate."