An interlude to Sunset

The part where it all comes together - Arjun

The part where it all comes together - Arjun

A/N - This story would always have the largest part of my heart. I will never abandon it.

As I write the last part of this chapter, the skies broke and rains washed the world around.

"Krishna?"

Tiredness made Arjun stumble the slightest bit, but he did not fall. Of course, he did not fall. Madhav's aura was holding him up, bolstering him with strength and energy. But what was it costing his friend?

"Krishna!"

He tried to shout, and yet Arjun's voice got swallowed up by the sound of the waves. The ocean looked lifeless but the surf and the swell kept hitting the sandy shores every so often. The sand had started turning and had grown coarser over time. Arjun's feet did not thank him for subjecting them to the prolonged exposure.

"Dwarakadhish!"

Utterly exasperated with his friend's obliviousness, Arjun used the sharpest tool in his arsenal and it worked; Krishna turned around and glared.

"What is it, Parth?" He sounded somewhat piqued and Arjun frowned.

"Me? What is it with you, Madhav?" A stray yet familiar misgiving flickered through his thoughts and Arjun's heart clenched the slightest bit. "I...My apologies. You must be busy..."

He had not meant to take such liberties and stepped back with alacrity. He needed to remember that this was not just another adventure they are on and that, not moments back, he was begging Krishna to let him give up on his life and the almost constant pain.

Arjun walked over to the edge of the sea and dipped a foot into the frothy surf.

The water felt unnaturally cold and yet it was better than the sensation of the roughened sand. Arjun stared out at the horizon and tracked Surya Dev's journey as he made his way out of Arjun's range of vision. A feeling of loneliness swept over Arjun's heart and much against its essentiality, desolation started to creep in.

The loneliness he had been subjected to in his own mind was unlike any he had ever felt during all his years.

Even his time during exile had not been this tough. There, the loneliness had streamed from him missing his family and his Krishna's companionship but here, the solitariness was so absolute that he couldn't begin to conjure an existence beyond it.

And encountering such isolation with Krishna being present was completely unexpected but it probably shouldn't be. Even when Krishna was just the Dwarakadhish, his time was infinitely more precious than Arjun's but knowing of his divinity as he now did...

"What are you thinking about, Parth? My apologies for being brusque, my dearest Sakha. I was just thinking about something."

"No apologies needed, Madhav." Arjun hesitated. "I am being foolish."

"No my dear friend; you are overthinking. And I should not have reacted quite like that." Krishna had come over and Arjun fell back into his embrace as the Palanhar's arm draped over his shoulder.

"It is quite alright, Madhav. I am... It is just this loneliness." Arjun closed his eyes and tilted his head back, wishing hard that he could feel some semblance of sea breeze on his face. But he knew that it was not probable, nor was it possible...

Was that the cool touch of salt infused sea breeze? But how?

Arjun turned to look at Madhav and found his friend with the hint of a smile curling up his lips.