Prithvi... [Vol 5]

Chapter 120

Indrajit awakened from his nap and was instantly filled with profound relief.  His eyelids were being dragged down by a powerful force but he fought against the pull. He didn't want to drift back into sleep. He couldn't bear more of those convoluted, mind-twisting dreams.

They had begun shortly after his brother had taken his step-mother out of the room.

A few minor aspects had been different in each dream. He had been a child in some and a teenager in others. The settings too had been different, though he couldn't remember any of them. But a horrific common theme had run through the dreams.

In half of them, he was with his father...happy, talking, hopeful...and then his father would turn into Prithvi. And before he could react with anger, Prithvi would transform into their father again...

The other dreams uniformly began with him fighting Prithvi fiercely, displaying a strength that he did not possess in real life. However, each time he would come close to killing Prithvi, his father would take his brother's place, and then he would realise he had been fighting his father all along.

And so it had continued in dream after dream. Adityaraj turning into Prithvi...Prithvi turning into Adityaraj...melding into each other until the lines between them were so blurred that they became indistinguishable...

As he struggled to stay awake and emerge from the painful and suffocating confusion, he realised someone was standing beside him and speaking to him.

Was it Prithvi...or his father...no, it was another face.

It was Jiva, he recognised wearily. The fellow was telling him eagerly that Prithvi had asked him to return.

Was it Prithvi...or was it their father who had asked Jiva to return?

They were two different people, weren't they? Or were they the same...

*******************************

Rajeshwari did not look at her beautiful surroundings as she followed Sumer Singh. She had grown up in more luxurious settings, and the loveliness of Aadyabhoomi's interiors did not hold any appeal for her.

Moreover, she was quite tensed at the moment. Prithvi's great-uncle, Uday Singh, had asked to see her. Why? Why did he want to meet her? She couldn't guess the reason because she didn't know much about the man. All she knew was that her grandfather loathed him. And that was usually proof of a person's goodness.

Yet, she was terrified of meeting new people. And the prospect of meeting a relative of Prithvi's from his father's side was daunting. But she was desperate to make a good impression on everyone in Aadyabhoomi, and so she'd somehow put on a brave front while accepting Uday Singh's request. Nonetheless, she was extremely glad that Kadambari was walking right behind her. And the man who had brought the request, Sumer Singh...he seemed sombre and gloomy but he had a solidly reassuring air about him. It was comforting to walk between the middle-aged duo.

Prithvi, of course, was the reason she had shown the courage to step out of the room. She had met him after more than a decade, but there wasn't any doubt in her head that if anything went wrong, he would take care of her. No, it was more than that. Nothing could go wrong as long as he was on her side. Maybe Prithvi would be with Uday Singh. And perhaps Nandini too would be there. It would be amazing to meet that adorable, friendly girl again...

With her mood brightening a little, Rajeshwari straightened her posture and walked with a firmer tread.

The woman walking a couple of steps behind her would not have noticed the difference since she was busy scowling at the back of Sumer Singh's head.